Some of the best hikes happen by invitation only. During a trip to the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City, I got word that I had been asked to join what was described as a super-secret, invite-only sunset hike organized by the #HikerChat community. You do not turn down an invitation like that.
The Secret Sunset Hike Above Salt Lake City
The details were appropriately mysterious. We met at an undisclosed parking lot in downtown Salt Lake City, a few blocks from the convention center, at a time that left just enough daylight to make it interesting. I recognized several faces from the outdoor industry community, which helped with the whole undisclosed-location energy. Our guide for the evening, a person I will refer to only as Mr. Swedish Fish, loaded everyone into vehicles and we headed up into the mountains above the city.
Upon arrival we were promptly instructed to switch our phones to airplane mode. No live updates, no real-time posting, no exceptions. For a group of people who spend a meaningful portion of their lives connected to outdoor communities online, this was a refreshingly analog way to spend an evening.
The Hike
The route was a roughly six-mile round trip with close to 2,000 feet of elevation gain. For a group of outdoor industry people fresh off a day of walking a convention center floor in dress shoes, it was a welcome shift. The trail climbed steadily above the valley and the city dropped away below us as we moved up into the kind of terrain that reminds you why you got into all of this in the first place.
The views on the way up were good. The views at the top, as the sun dropped toward the horizon and the light went golden across the valley, were something else entirely. Salt Lake City spread out below in that particular end-of-day light that makes everything look a little more deliberate than it probably is. The kind of view that makes a long climb feel like a reasonable trade.
The group was a good one. A mix of outdoor industry folks, bloggers, and people who just genuinely love being outside, brought together by a shared hashtag and the good sense to say yes when someone invites you on a secret hike. Conversations on trail are different from conversations at a trade show booth. Better, usually.
About HikerChat
The hike was put together with support from Teton Sports and American Backcountry, and was part of the broader #HikerChat community. If you were never part of it, HikerChat was a weekly gathering of hikers, backpackers, and outdoor enthusiasts who connected every Friday at noon EST on Twitter around a shared love of trails and the outdoors. Events like this sunset hike were part of what made that community feel like more than just an online conversation.
A big thank you to Teton Sports and American Backcountry for putting on a great evening. It is the kind of spontaneous, phones-off, just-go-outside experience that sticks with you long after the trade show badges have been recycled and the convention center floors have been vacuumed. If a secret hiking invitation ever lands in your inbox, say yes. The mountains above Salt Lake City will not disappoint.
If you are looking for more hiking stories and trail adventures, check out the adventures archive or take a look at the thoughts on hiking solo for a different kind of trail experience.
There are more adventures and trip reports in the Adventures section if you want to keep reading. If you are looking for places to get out on the trail yourself, the Places section has trip reports from ghost towns, national parks, state parks, and roadside stops across the US.
The newsletter is where I share the extra stuff: finds, trip notes, and places that do not always make it to the blog. Subscribe on Substack if you want to follow along.
