Wasatch Mountain State Park is literally right in our backyard. Since we moved to Midway in late-September we haven’t had a lot of opportunities to explore with the exception of the Dutch Hollow Trail System…it seems every time I plan or attend a hiking or snowshoeing event, it is there!
I started a private Facebook group for “Heber Valley Outdoor Families” and posted that the state park was hosting a Friday the 13th Full Moon Snowshoe event. We had a lot of interest and decided to just do our own thing to avoid paying the $7 and I’m so glad we did; the state park had more than 100 people RSVP. Welcome to mountain living!
Since I’m unfamiliar with the trail system here, I knew I wanted to go somewhere with great views so that led us to the Heber Valley Overlook Loop at (where else) Dutch Hollow. We had received more than two feet of fresh powder that week so conditions were optimal and a fun challenge for snowshoeing.
I made it a date night so it was fun to have The Husbands along with one exception: men are all about competition. Suddenly, our leisurely snowshoe hikes of yesteryear were gone and we were huffing and puffing our way to the top. But once was reached our two different summits, we chatted, laughed and played in the snow as we gazed down at the Heber Valley. Sadly, the full moon was ensconced in clouds but that didn’t make the evening any less gorgeous–there is something so surreal and raw about venturing into the backcountry at night.
Disclaimer: This selfie took almost as much time to take as the hike itself. But both were totally worth it!
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 