Hiking the "Y"

Why the "Y"? There's a Wikipedia article that explains a little bit of the history of the Y on Y mountain. The BYU class of 1907 attempted to graffiti the mountain with their class year. However, the class of 1906, the graduating class at the time was quite upset. Eventually, the perpetrators of the 1907 class were caught and disciplined. Not wanting to destroy their spirits, the president of BYU, George Brimhall, decided to allow the letters BYU be placed on the mountain. The land was surveyed and plans to construct the letters went into action. In 1906, men of the 1906 and 1907 graduating classes, lined up a trail, every 8 feet, to pass lime, salt, and rocks up the mountain. Thinking the job would only take a couple of hours, they hadn't planned for the day, and by 4 o'clock when the Y was finished, many of the young men had fainted in the heat for lack of water and food! That's probably why they decided to just leave the Y on the mountain and not bother with the other two letters! The Y is whitewashed every 2-5 years to keep it shining and bright.

Here I am at the trail head. (that's me in the middle of that gate!)


I didn't thing the hike would be too bad. Here's a picture of Heather and me (don't worry. We remembered our sunscreen!)

But by the end of the hike, I was tuckered out! It was only a mile hike, but it was a HIKE!
But the view was worth it!

Here's Heather and I pointing to her house in Provo.

Here we are next to the Y. It was huge!

And here I am on the "Y"

Getting back down from the mountain took about half as long as it did going up (and I'm glad, too!)! The Y on Y mountain is the largest collegiate letter in the world!

The Y is not the only letter on the mountains in Utah, there are 50 letters on mountains in Utah! In Salt Lake City, there is a "U" for the University of Utah. Cities have their own letters, too, such as a "G", which Heather says if for Pleasant Grove. I think it ought to be for Gnorm.

-Gnorm