Mount Aire (via Burch Hollow)

Mount Aire (8,621 feet) offers up two miles of STEEP hiking and exquisite views into Millcreek Canyon to the south and Parley’s/Lamb’s Canyon(s) to the north. It is a hike I have done several times and its sheer verticality never fails to impress (and exhaust). This particular trip was the first time I completed it in winter, after the gate to the upper Millcreek Canyon is closed to traffic for the season.

Reina and I actually intended to do a completely different hike. Setting out on the Burch Hollow trail, we had designs on summiting Church Fork Peak, which lies between Grandeur Peak on Mount Aire on the same ridgeline. However, when we reached our turnoff to begin heading up toward that summit winter clouds had set in. We decided that it would be wiser to continue east along the Burch Hollow trail until it reached its terminus at Elbow Fork.

Arriving at Elbow Fork (and the trailhead for Mount Aire) the clouds had somewhat broken and a light snow was falling. Since Mount Aire was something of a known quantity we decided to go for it. This ended up being a wise decision as we had terrific views on the summit, and were able to toast Reina’s birthday with some savory bourbon from Eight Settlers. We hiked the Millcreek Canyon road back to the Burch Hollow trailhead, giving us a grand total of 8.6 miles, and 2500 feet of elevation gain for the day!