By Tara D. McKinney
tdm5@email.byu.edu
Mist, legend, adventure and disaster mingle together amid the flora and fauna around Mount Timpanogos, located north of Provo and southeast of Salt Lake City in the Wasatch Mountains.
Students and residents in the Wasatch area look to Mount Timpanogos as a source of recreation and solitude. The mountain is a favorite hiking spot for Pamela Castillo, a controller for the Marriott School at Brigham Young University.
'I always go between mid-July and Aug. 10 to see the wild flowers in bloom ... I take my kids and a zoom lens camera and the wild flowers close up will just make you want to cry ... flooded with red, blue and white flowers,' Castillo said.
Castillo has hiked Mount Timpanogos for 15 years. She lives by the mouth of American Fork Canyon and pays an annual fee so she can visit Mount Timpanogos as often as she likes. Castillo said that anyone can hike the legendary mountain, but that people should be prepared for cold temperatures even in the middle of summer. She recommends bringing water or a water purifier, sun block, energy snacks and plenty of warm clothing.
'Bring a warm jacket ... you can be cooking on the valley floor, but the wind can really blow on top of Timp,' she said.
Castillo said people can have a fun day without hiking all the way to the top, but also said the allure of Mount Timpanogos can result in tragedy.
Michael Kelsey relates several calamitous events on Mount Timpanogos in his book, 'Climbing and Exploring Utah's Mount Timpanogos.' The book recounts deaths by suicide, freezing, avalanche, heart attack, plane crash, falling from cliffs and ski lifts, snow holes and murder. There is also the danger of the glacier located below Emerald Lake. Many people race swiftly down the glacier without any way of stopping. This practice is so common that a rescue team is on hand at the base of the glacier to patch up those nervy enough to risk their safety.
'It's very dangerous. People take plastic bags and slide down that glacier. There are two paramedics and a nurse camped out permanently to rescue the idiots who slide down it,' Castillo said.
In addition to damaging themselves, visitors to Mount Timpanogos can inflict harm upon the mountain itself. The annual Timpanogos Hike started in 1912 with Eugene Roberts, an athletic director for BYU. Roberts led thousands of hikers up the mountain. The annual Timpanogos Hike evolved into an all day event complete with a bonfire, badges for those who hiked to the summit and a reenactment of Roberts legend of Timpanogos. The annual hike drew thousands to Mount Timpanogos.
The traffic was so frequent, the U.S. Forest Service built a trail with the help of BYU students. In 1970, the annual Timpanogos hike was ended by the U.S. Forest Service due to the damage caused by the masses of hikers who would not stick to the trail.
'Mount Timpanogos is a wilderness area. (We must) maintain the solitude of the mountain and as much of the ecosystem in as primitive a state as we can with as little human intrusion possible. Timpanogos is in such a largely populated area ... It is impossible to keep it pristine,' said Loyal Roberts, a public affairs officer for the Uinta Forest Service.
Mount Timpanogos was set aside as a wilderness area in 1961. According to a brochure from Uinta Forest Service, the public can maintain the beauty of the mountain by following several guidelines. Campfires, groups more than 15 people, shortcuts off the designated trail and bicycles are not allowed. In his time, Eugene Roberts wanted to preserve Mount Timpanogos. He invented a myth that sparked the interest of residents around the mountain and inspired them to beautify the area.
The legend starred Utahna, a beautiful Indian maiden, who planned to sacrifice herself to appease the angry god, Timpanogos, whose wrath was felt by her tribe. On her way to the top of Mount Timpanogos she was intercepted by Red Eagle, an Indian brave from a neighboring tribe. Red Eagle tricked her into believing that he was Timpanogos, the god, and that her sacrifice would be to dwell with him in Timpanogos cave forever. Utahna happily complied until she found out that Red Eagle was a fraud. She then threw herself off the mountain, Red Eagle died shortly afterward. Timpanogos, the god, felt sorry for the lovers and made their souls into a heart shaped mark inside Timpanogos cave.
The Utah Regional Ballet performs a dance interpretation of the Legend of Timpanogos in American Fork. The legend is a prominent part of the culture surrounding Mount Timpanogos.