Maggie and I did not have to go far from our house in Salt Lake City to be in the wilderness. There were a lot of great trails just few blocks from our house. One of our favorite hiking routes was “antenna hike” shown on the image below. This route went from our house to an antenna which was on one of the smaller peaks (I never figured out what that thing was) and then back to the house. For me, the antenna represented a goal to achieve, something to aim for, to make sure I do not quit half way up. Maggie probably did not care about the antenna, but she was always happy to go anyway.

Getting there was quite a challenge. Round trip distance was only 4.1 miles, but it was very steep. We would usually go up to the letter “H”, and then continue up the ridge all the way to the antenna. From there, we would come down the other side of the mountain, circle around and take Wasatch Drive back to our street. This was a nice hike albeit a very strenuous one. The hills outside the city are very rocky with very few small trees (Utah is a desert after all). If you try it, take your time, and be very careful, especially going down. It is very easy to roll your ankle on one of the loose rocks.