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This hike was originally for American Fork Twins, but the clouds started to thicken as we headed for Hidden Peak, so we decided to get some sun down pictures from the White Pine Pass. We began on the back side of Hidden Peak, followed the service road in the circ below the Twins, and headed into a really wooded area called Gad Valley. This is one of Snowbirds very popular ski runs during the season. We passed the ski house in the basin of this gulch, and began to climb to the upper gad lift. When we got to the lift we could see a boulder field down the service road.
This boulder field is where we began our climb to the White Pine Pass. This would be a very steep decent into unknown territory so I advise climbing the ridge route to the twins, but take the White Pine Trail to the lake. As we watched the sky begin to turn to dusk, we decided to transcend the saddle to get the sunset on film. These are some of the best pictures in my collection, and I will probably never get such great sundown shots again in my life. One of the pictures I took was the Pfeifferhorn with purple clouds looming over the summit. The shots got better as the sun headed over the Oquirrh Mountains; the sky lost its blue hue, and began to turn an orange/red color.
As the sun set we decided to make are descend to the car. The hike down was bushwhacking in the dark, and very scary without headlamps, I could not see anything. We tried to follow the ski run, and we made it to the car just in time to watch the thunderheads tear into the twins. It had began raining lightly, so the car was a welcome site. I do not recommend staying on this trail past sun down unless you are familiar with Gad Valley, but if you are familiar with Gad Valley and you get lucky enough you may also witness some beautiful sunsets. What a great place we live, the canyons, and all the beauty that they hold.
Trail Information:
Little Cottonwood Canyon- Trail Head- Hidden Peak- 11,000 feet
Distance to the White Pine Canyon Pass. Bushwhack through Gad Valley- 3 miles
Elevation Gain- 2100 feet to 10,210 feet
Hiking time- 3hrs 6min
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