Big Cottonwood Canyon

Uh, not Oktoberfest, up at Brighton, is still going on as well on the weekends.

But that is gonna have an issue, 'cause there is a, uh, there's a half marathon up Big Cottonwood Canyon on Saturday.

Mm.

I'll tell you about that in a minute.

...

so that'll be, uh, great.

Saturday you've got Caroline Rhea again, uh, Camelfly over at Soundwell, then what I was saying, the Revel Big Cottonwood Canyon Marathon and Half Marathon is going on on Saturday.

Mm.

And this growth and this demand, for instance, are canyons.

One of my saddest things is the crowds that are up in the canyons, Big Cottonwood Canyon.

I grew up with a cabin in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

And I sold it the day that I went up there on a ski day and I couldn't even get to my cabin because of the lines and lines and lines of people trying to get up that canyon.

And yet, just not far away at all, we have other recreational opportunities that are just as vast and beautiful.

And those mysterious flickering lantern lights that people have been reported seeing outside of the building that hasn't had any electrical service for decades? I can explain that.

See, the mill sits on a sharp bend of Big Cottonwood Canyon Road.

As cars swing around the curve at night, their headlights sweep across the upper masonry.

The quartz in the temple granite is packed with reflective crystal facets.

under the city's historic preservation code, that community outcry triggered a mandatory one-year freeze, stalling any final demolition permits through early 2027 while officials look for potential grant money or private donors willing to fund a rescue.

So, the building waits, for now.

If you drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon Road after midnight, you'll see it loom out of the dark, a massive monolith of discarded temple granite wrapped in chain link and warning signs.

It survived the collapse of pioneer industry.

And we could do a better job as a state in dispersing this growth and this demand, for instance, our canyons.

One of my saddest things is the crowds that are up in the canyons, Big Cottonwood Canyon.

I grew up with a cabin in Big Cottonwood Canyon and I sold it the day that I went up there on a ski day and I couldn't even get to my cabin because of the lines and lines and lines of people trying to get up that canyon.

And yet, just not far away at all, we have other recreational opportunities that are just as vast and beautiful.

The Bonnevue Shoreline Trail is a really good example where we're trying to complete the Bonnevue Shoreline Trail, which gives people an opportunity to recreate without going up in the canyons.

up that canyon and then down another canyon.

Bundy drove up into Big Cottonwood Canyon just southeast of the

city.

At this point, he stopped talking to me.

Well, it's-

I, um, we go up through Big Cottonwood Canyon.

We get to, I forget what the name of the pass is, but Steve thinks he's gonna be smart and decides to climb to the top of the mountain at 10,500 feet.

So I'm like laying flat halfway up and I'm like, "All right, I've only got a little bit more."

And the cool thing there is, one, you get really good views.

You're essentially on the border between Alta and Big Cottonwood Canyon.

But there's also old mine shafts and mining equipment up there, which is cool to take a look at.

But the downside is, when I started the downhill, there was a piece of rusty sheet metal that was poking out of the trail, and I totally sliced the back tire.