Sundance

September 21st, 2024

Heading southwest on the 17th, I drove through overcast skies to Kamas. I parked in front of the Mirror Lake Diner just in time for the rain. I ordered my standard Sausage and Cheddar Omelet, but received a Mushroom and Cheddar instead. This was not a good start to the day, but was quickly rectified by the cook, and I had the correct order in about 3 minutes.

Once breakfast was taken care of, I drove over the pass to Heber City and stocked up on groceries. As I left Lee’s Market, the skies began to clear and I was surprised to learn that the peaks of the Wasatch Range were covered in snow. My destination was on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos, so I knew I would be near some cooler temperatures. I passed Deer Creek Reservoir and turned onto the North Alpine Loop Road. I had driven up this narrow winding road many times back in 1992 and 93. It climbed up and past the Sundance Mountain Ski Resort and Sundance Independent Film Institute, to Mount Timpanogos Campground. This campground was completely deserted, so I backed into site number 18. This gave me the best opportunity for my solar panels to collect a few rays, and my StarLink satellite dish to have a view of the northern sky.

I was just a little above Sundance and the Nordic Center trailhead, so the next morning, once the temperature rose from 30 to the high 40s, I drove down to visit. It is very different from when I was there 30+ years ago. The basic buildings are still there, but there are many new ones. There is a new ski lift right out of the resort that connects over to the main ski area. The parking area was filled up, as there is a large new Inn being built next to it. I had to drive over the ridge to the new parking areas C, D, and E. There you are to take a shuttle back to the main resort. I chose to make the hike of about 1 mile, but mostly downhill.

Years ago, my friends and I would make the trip down from Park City on Sunday mornings. We would X-C ski out of the Nordic Center, and when done, would go to The Tree Room for all you could eat breakfast buffet. The first time we were there, the waitress asked if we had been there before. We hadn’t, so she explained that we were to take our time, eating slowly with breaks. That way we could stay and lounge in the warmth all morning. The walls of the room were covered in old wood from a horse stable and hanging all around were photographs from the filming of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” starring Paul Newman, Katherine Ross, and of course, Robert Redford, who owned the resort. A large ponderosa pine tree grew up through the center of the room and out the roof. It was an interesting and cozy place to spend a Sunday morning after a couple of hours of skiing.

The Tree Room no longer serves brunch on Sunday mornings or any other day. It caters to a very elite clientele that can afford very expensive food from 5 until 9 in the evening. The resort now mostly hosts business conferences. The independent filming is not longer done. Robert Redford sold the resort and property back in 2020.

In the winter of 1993, we had record snowfall in the Wasatch Range. There were many avalanches in the area and a number of people lost their lives due to them. My friends and I were skiing out of the Nordic Center in late February. We topped the ridge overlooking the Sundance facilities and many of the highly valuable homes that had been built just upslope. But, a large avalanche had rolled off of Mount Timpanogos, and the homes were demolished. All that remained in view, were the stone chimneys and large piles of kindling. It was a very sobering sight. In the 31 intervening years, the slope has been recovered with multi-million dollar homes.

The North Alpine Loop Road, allows one to drive around Mount Timpanogos. It is quite a few miles, and takes several hours, as the paved surface is only about 1 1/2 lanes wide and has many hairpin turns as it climbs over the northern ridge and winds down to the basin between Salt Lake City and Provo. It is worth the time, especially at this time of year. The maples are turning red and aspens are golden. The peaks are dusted with snow, as well as some icefields left from the previous winter.

The campground where I am staying, closes on Sunday. Saturday night will be my last here. I will be turning south. I am not too happy about that, as the remainder of my fall plans are not working out. I had planned on a week at Great Basin National Park, just over the border into Nevada. However, it turns out that this fall, the Park Service chose to shut down the park road and campgrounds for maintenance. That is probably courtesy of the “Infrastructure” bill passed by Congress. I decided I would just revisit Bryce Canyon instead, but the Park Service changed the campground there to the reservation system rather than “First Come First Serve”, as it was 2 years ago. All sites are booked for the fall. Many other Forest Service campgrounds to the south appear to be booked on weekends. I will have to take my chances finding dispersed sites. For my last destination of the fall, I had planned to be at The Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. But now I see that they are charging a campsite fee, day use fee, and out of state fee, making the cost to much per day. I will drive through and look, but not stay. Oh well, some of the best places you find that aren’t in the plan, turn out to be the most memorable.

I will drive southward, and see what surprises await.

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” – John Muir