Lost Creek Canyon and the South Ridge Route





Lost Creek Canyon is one of my favorites to hike. It involves very steep hiking and minimal free climbing up dry falls (at least in the summer). You probably will only want to do this route in the summer or fall, when there is no snow. This is a very steep-walled canyon, so it doesn't get much sun to melt the snowpack.
To get to the canyon, drive up Provo Canyon to the turnoff for Nunns Park. Park in the parking lot on the south side of the river. Lost Creek Canyon is the large canyon on the north, across from Bridal Veil Falls. You will have to walk along the highway until you see a good place to start hiking up towards the canyon. There is one jeep road that goes steeply up towards the canyon, and you need to follow that. When you get to a stream (dry in summer) follow it up. You will climb two or three dry falls, which are very easy. One dry fall is too hard to climb, so skirt around on the banks of the stream. If you find yourself in a dangerous situation trying to climb one of the dry falls, that's probably the one you want to skirt around. Once you get up the canyon a ways, it will fork. The right fork dead-ends at a bunch of cliffs. You can take the left fork, but it involves very steep shale climbing. Be careful! There is supposedly a pine tree you can climb to get to the top of the ridge, but I didn't find it.
A variation on this route is to climb up the ridge on the left or west side of Lost Creek Canyon. If you can find a way up without bushwhacking, so much the better. When I did this route, there were a lot of scrub oak that I had to fight my way through, especially towards the bottom. Once you get on the ridgetop, it's pretty nice. You have to skirt around a couple of cliffs, but other than that it's pretty fun. The good thing about this route is that if you want to, you can follow this ridge all the way to the top of Mt. Timpanogos. Just make sure you stay to the left or west the entire time. It is a very long hike. Some people prefer to hike it in the winter when there is snowpack. This ridge gets lots of sun so the snow is hard and easy to walk on. Crampons and an ice ax or two are recommended.

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