Bald Mountain Hike to Mirror Lake & Provo Falls
An epic day hike in a Sport Kilt – Borealis Black Hiking Kilt. Our group hiked to the top of Bald Mountain (11,894 ft), had lunch, hiked back down before the storm clouds rolled in, then drove to nearby Mirror Lake. Some people hiked around the lake, and afterwards we went to Provo Falls to take pictures.
About an hours drive east of Salt Lake City, into the Wasatch National Forest, is the Bald Mountain Trailhead where our group of 30 gathered to start the hike. The weather was a cool 48 degrees in the morning, but my Diamond Cuff kilt hose kept my legs plenty warm, and the Hiking Kilt with performance undershorts was surprisingly warm as well. The elevation at the trailhead is 10,745 ft, so even those that live at 5000-7000 ft elevation could already feel the altitude in our breathing when we started.
The hike started off flat, but quickly turned challenging when we were traversing slippery snow on a 45 degree angle. Some people put their microspikes over their boots for more traction.
We thought we’d lost the trail due to snow cover, but some in our group scouted ahead in different directions until the trail was found again. The views were already shaping up to be amazing!
We scrambled up the mountain on what we thought was our trail. 15 people turned back from our group of 30 at this point.Until we finally found it again in a clearing and took a second to regroup before the next challenge.
This was scrambling up a section of rock slide, off-trail, and above tree-line. After summiting the rockslide, we took one look back before the final ascent to the summit.
Finally, a look at the summit, and the narrow cornice-covered ridge to reach it put some of us outside of our comfort zone. We were warned by the hiking veterans to stay off the cornice snow as much as possible, as it could collapse, taking you with it.
On the summit we enjoyed our views, had lunch, took some selfies/group photos, and rested until it was time to head back down.
The hiking kilt performed amazingly well, keeping me warm enough in the low 50 degree weather, yet never overheating when hiking hard. When other hikers asked what it was like, I said it’s like hiking in your underwear, if you wear underwear. Joking aside, it performed really well. I had to scrape my butt over rocks to scramble down once or twice, and got some mud on it, but the stitching stayed intact, and absolutely no downsides I encountered, and quite a few benefits. The only gear change I would make is to wear some thin ankle socks inside the Diamond Cuff Kilt Hose. The warmth was outstanding, but it was a little abrasive on my heels, although that could be from fairly new hiking boots. Having a running sock on underneath would eliminate potential blister issues.
I will definitely be wearing a hiking kilt from now on. One older man on our hike mentioned that he never thought about wearing a kilt, but after seeing mine in action, and all the nice compliments I got, he’s contemplating getting one.
We hiked back down the same way we came up, looking for our trail sometimes covered in snow. Three hours later we were back at the trailhead. We hopped in our cars to go to Mirror Lake, where we could see the top of the mountain we just climbed.
Sport Kilt Gear
Borealis Black Hiking Kilt
Diamond Cuff Kilt Hose
Borealis Black Kilt Flashes
Performance Undershorts
