Weather:  Generally clear skies, a few clouds.
Present were:  Gordon, K7HFV; Clint, KA7OEI; Tim, KK7EF; Ron Jones, K7RJ; Mark, WB7CAK.
Destination:  To Twin Lakes Pass, then back down to Lake Solitude.
Comments:  Twin Lakes Pass is a slight side-trip off the loop that goes past Lake Solitude.
Question of the day:  "Where are the meese?"  On our way up we were warned by a party coming down the trail about the presence of several moose just below Twin Lakes Dam.  Ron went looking for them - but never saw them.
Total distance:  Approx. 5.2 miles.  The GPS receiver recorded 3.88 miles before the battery died, and an additional 1.3 miles is estimated from the map.
Times:  Depart vehicle:  1847;  Arrive at Twin Lakes Dam:  1919;  Depart Dam:  1940;  Pass turnoff to Lake Solitude:  1946;  Arrive at Twin Lakes Pass:  2002;  Depart Pass:  2028;  Turnoff toward Lake Solitude:  2042;  Arrive at the Solitude Tunnel (a.k.a. the "Suck 'n Blow" mine):  2102;  Batteries went dead in GPS receiver:  2115;  Return to vehicle:  Approx. 2135.
Altitudes in feet ASL (approx):  Silver Lake:  8700;  Twin Lakes Dam:  9560;  Turnoff to Lake Solitude:  9620;  Twin Lakes Pass:  10020;  Solitude Tunnel:  9100;
Elevation gain/loss:  1320 feet, approx.
Local sunset on this date:  8:39 pm.  (10 minutes earlier than last week.)

Images (180-700k each, .JPG):

• IMG01163r - Twin Lakes Reservoir - from the spillway.
• IMG01166 - Mark and Gordon at Twin Lakes.
• IMG01167 - A soothing picture of some trees, rocks, and a few flowers.  (There's a deer there, too...)
• IMG01170- Twin lakes Reservoir from Twin Lakes Pass.  #1169 is similar, except that it is portrait orientation.
• IMG01171 - A sign at Twin Lakes Pass warning that "you" are responsible for your own actions once you pass this point.  (Does this mean that, up to this point, "you" are not responsible?  If not, who is?)
• IMG01173 - Ron, Gordon and Mark on Twin Lakes Pass.
• IMG01174 - Clayton Peak from Twin Lakes Pass - the destination of the July 28 Wednesday Night Hike.
• IMG01176 - The ridgeline and cirque above Twin Lakes.
• IMG01179 - A view down into Grizzly Gulch from Twin Lakes Pass.
• IMG01180 - Mark, Gordon, Tim and Ron on Twin Lakes Pass.
• IMG01182 - Yet another picture of Twin Lakes Reservoir - but more alpenglow this time. Similar is #1181.
• IMG01183 - Scotts Peak in the alpenglow/twilight.

Maps/profiles:

• GPS track of the hike.The recorded track is in green, whereas the "guessed" path (after the GPS receiver's batteries had died) is shown in magenta.
• Elevation profile of the hike.  This does not include that portion after the GPS receiver had stopped.
• A more detailed GPS track - The portion of the track "guesstimated" after the GPS receiver had stopped recording is in heavier red.

A bit about the area:

Twin Lakes reservoir appears to be one just one lake - but prior to the reservoir's existence, there were two small lakes with the upper one draining into the lower.  Built in 1917 (at the same time as the Lake Mary and Mountain Dell dams) the dams for Lakes Twin and Mary were built for storage of Salt Lake City drinking water - and since then, only the one "lake" has generally been visible.  In 1996, these lakes were again visible when the reservoir had been completed drained to allow re-grouting and resurfacing of the (then) crumbling concrete dam.  There few pictures of "behind the dam" on the "Past Hikes" page.  Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any pictures of the "restored" Twin Lakes themselves (that is, the two individual lakes with the dry dam) themselves.

The trail divides part way to Twin Lakes Pass with the old road leading down past Lake Solitude - past the Solitude Tunnel, dubbed by our group as the "Suck and Blow" mine.  This name is a result of the fact that, in the summer, a cool, damp breeze emanates from the mine's collapsed portal.  This breeze is a result of air in the mine being cooled and becoming more dense and thus falling, coming out of the portal:  We believe that when the ambient air temperature is below that of the mine's interior, the opposite effect will occur and air will be sucked into the portal - but none of us have been there in the winter to verify this theory.  We are also curious as to where the other end of the airflow might actually be...

Comments:

• If you want one (or more) of these images and wish some sort of adjustment (color, brightness, exposure, etc.) please let me know:  All of these image have been processed in some way.
• These images are 180-700k in size, .JPG and are in chronological order.
• No-one ever said that all of these images (or any of them) were good.  Some of them may have definite focus/exposure "issues."
• EXIF data is present for many of the images, showing time, date, and precise exposure conditions.  Recent versions of Irfanview will show this in the "View->Image Information->EXIF" tab.
• All images taken using a Sigma SD-10 camera using the 18-50mm zoom lens.

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