Groves 1

What NOT to Do When Hiking Big Mountains: A Memoir

Nature can be one of the most beautiful things this world has to offer for us. It can also be

extremely unforgiving. In my personal life, this duality is best represented by the time I went

hiked Mount Timpanogos. During the summer of 2017, my church group had planned a three

day-long trip to Strawberry Reservoir that included a hike to the top of Mount Timpanogos via

the fifteen-mile long Timpooneke trail. The plan was to hike up to a meadow near the top under

the full-moon (so that we wouldn’t need lights), sleep under the stars, wake up, finish the hike

up, get some pictures at the top, hike back down, and then go to Strawberry Reservoir to do some

boating.

Not taking the sheer length of the trail seriously, I decided to go paintballing the night

before. I woke up with bruises and pelts from my shins to my neck. Needless to say, it didn’t

help me that night. I prepared my bags that morning, one for the two-nights we would stay at

Strawberry and one for the hike itself. My hiking bag contained water, backpacking food, a

flashlight, a headlamp, a couple of knives, a change of warm clothes, and my sleeping bag. We

arrived at the trailhead around 4:00 that evening and began the climb.

About a quarter way up the trail, we stopped at a small waterfall. To call it a waterfall

would be an overstatement, it was more like a small water feature, similar to what you’d see in

an Asian restaurant. At the top of this “water feature” was a lone moose standing in the middle of

the trail. He looked as if he were coming down the trail before he ran into us. We were aware of

the danger moose can pose if agitated, so we decided to wait and let the moose wander back up

the trail. Once the moose turned around, one of the young men in our group decided to try to slap

the moose on the butt. When he, let’s call him Daniel, and his dad had gone hunting years ago;
 Groves 2

Daniel’s dad made a joke-bet that if he were able to slap a moose on the butt, he’d give Daniel

twenty dollars. So, thinking now was the time to cash in on that bet, Daniel ran ahead of the

group with the moose’s rump in his sights. But, as Daniel approached the moose’s rear, the

moose stopped, turned a full 180 degrees, and charged. Terrified, Daniel, and the rest of us

turned sprinted back down the trail. However, before we were able to get ten yards back,

Daniel’s dad came out from the back of the group, arms up, and screamed “HEY!” The moose,

no more than five yards from Daniel’s father’s face, stopped dead in its tracks and ran back up

the trail. I’m not sure if it was an act of God or just dumb luck that stopped the moose, either

way, I’m glad Daniel’s dad was with us that night.

The rest of the hike went much more smoothly. Other than a restless night because of a

curious bat, we weren’t subjected to much more hardship. I arrogantly thought I’d have enough

water to make the rest of the journey that morning, so I decided not to refill my water at the pond

before the latter portion of the hike. I ran out of water before we were halfway to the top from

the meadow and had to borrow a bottle from Daniel’s dad who foresaw my arrogance.

Once we reached the top, we noticed a small shack at the end of the trail. Upon

investigation, we found a list of names in the shack. We finished the hike by adding our names to

the list of all those who’ve made the journey to the top. After taking in the gorgeous views of the

Utah Valley to the West and the Wasatch mountains to the East, we began our descent. There

were some ham sandwiches, waters, and chairs waiting for us at the bottom. After a long lunch

and a short nap, we made our way to Strawberry.

Getting charged by a moose, running out of water, and hiking on bruised shins taught me a

valuable lesson that not everyone gets to learn: BE PREPARED. Each year, 120-150 people die

at national parks and the average person is, statistically, 6.4 times more likely to die from hiking
 Groves 3

than from skydiving. Why is this? Well, there are typically several factors that make up each

case. However, I’d argue that the leading factor is disregard for the more severe aspects of

nature. While its beauty is undeniable, it is very easy to forget that nature can be quite brutal.
 Groves 4

Sources

Salmon, Paul, and Miranda Cornelissen. Understanding Accidents in the Great Outdoors. 2 Nov.

2014, qorf.org.au/understanding-accidents-in-the-great-outdoors/.

Heron M. Deaths: Leading causes for 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 6.

Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019.