This year is a big year of firsts for G.O.A.T. as we get off the ground, and we can now celebrate another successful first – a local G.O.A.T. trip!
While everyone loves a fun, exciting trip away from home, there are so many opportunities in our own backyards to foster a sense of adventure, meet new friends, and just get out and explore. I created the local G.O.A.T. experience to do just that!
Our first local G.O.A.T trip was to hike Silver Lake Trail in American Fork Canyon, about 30 minutes south of downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. I picked this trail because it is relatively easy, halfway between SLC and Provo (a good central spot!), and has an amazing lake at the top that you can swim in. Many of the lakes in the area are in watersheds, so finding a good alpine lake that you can get in is a gem!
We met at a carpool lot outside of the canyon at 6:30am and carpooled up to the trailhead. Once you turn off from Tibble Fork Reservoir, you drive on a 3 mile dirt road that is extremely bumpy, so needless to say we were all wide awake by the time we got to the trailhead!
There were 6 of us total – 2 girls I had previously met, and 3 that were new to GOAT. Funny story about the 3 that were new…There were actually four new girls, but the 4th girl ended up not being able to join us, but she was the one who recruited the other 3! Apparently she had met one of the other girls at a park, told her about the hiking trip, and then that girl told 2 more of her friends. Word of mouth spreads like fire, y’all!
Everyone was super friendly, and we enjoyed each other’s company hiking up the trail. It was about 2.5 miles from the trailhead to the lake, and about 1,300 feet of elevation gain. It was definitely steep towards the end, and we took a lot of water and catch-your-breath breaks before we finally made it to the top.
The lake was absolutely gorgeous, and the weather was phenomenal. I had packed us PB&J sandwiches along with snackle boxes filled with yummy treats like trail mix, almonds, fig newton cookies, and beef jerky. We sat down for awhile under a tree to enjoy our snacks before deciding we all wanted to cold plunge.
The water was absolutely freezing, but we did it! We stripped down to our sports bras and shorts and jumped in – some of us making more of a splash than others. We couldn’t stay in too long because of how cold it was, but it definitely felt refreshing after sweating our way up the mountain.
After drying off and finishing up our snacks, we headed back down to the cars. In total we hiked about 5 miles and 1,300 feet of gain. It was a great morning meeting new friends and enjoying a great hike together. Fun fact: 3 of the girls had lived in SLC their whole life and had never hiked to Silver Lake! It was great to get everyone out enjoying the great outdoors together.
