Birthday Party at Hidden Valley

Kelsey has been bugging me to go backpacking for the last few weeks.  Yep, my wife has been trying to convince me to go backpacking in the snow with her.  I am a lucky man.  And since today is Kelsey's birthday, backpacking over the weekend seemed like a good way to celebrate. We decided to go with Phil and his wife, Katy, to Hidden Valley for a quick overnighter.  Hidden valley is a steep 3-mile hike just above Ogden.  Katy is 7 1/2 months pregnant, but she's also super tough so she handled it no problem.  It was a beautiful hike, didn't see a single other person, and woke up to perfect blue skies and comfortable temperatures.

Unfortunately for me, I poked a hole in my Neoair mattress and spent a cold and uncomfortable night on the ground.  Luckily I had a 3/4 length z-rest as well and I could pull a foam bivy pad out of the back of my cilogear pack, but I was still quite chilled.  The view in the morning made up for it.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Kelsey and I near the trailhead

Katy and Phil also near the trailhead, looking toward hidden valley.  Hidden Valley is at about 7500 ft, the trailhead is at about 4700 ft.

Katy bundled up for the night.

Myself getting ready for bed.  Didn't realize how long the night would be without a good pad.

Phil warming up and cooking breakfast in the sun the next morning.

Phil and Katy with Mt. Allen and Mt. Ogden in the background.  Mt. Allen is the most prominent mountain from this angle, but Mt. Ogden is actually higher, it's just slightly hidden behind Mt. Allen.

Kelsey and I.  After a 20ish degree night, we are enjoying the 45 degree morning sun.  The temperature had risen to 60 degrees by the time we got back to the trailhead at noon.