David Yue

In an effort to meet new people, I decided to organize a group hike at Mill Creek Canyon’s Pipeline Trail. The original plan was just with a few folks I met during the University of Utah Grad Visit Weekend, but the group quickly grew as friends invited more friends. By the time we hit the trail, there were eight of us—thankfully none of us became rattlesnake snacks, despite the warning signs at the trailhead.

We started hiking around 5:30 p.m. and reached the Pipeline Overlook just after 7:00. The timing couldn’t have been better—I managed to catch an incredible shot of the sun breaking through the clouds and spilling light across Salt Lake City.

The hike itself was manageable: 6.3 kilometers round trip with a 250-meter elevation gain. The trail was well maintained, with no difficult scrambles or steep climbs, though we did cross paths with a few mountain bikers. We made it back to the parking lot around 7:40, after the sun had set at 7:25. It was already getting dark by then, but the timing worked out just right.

I’m not what you’d call an avid hiker—I mostly went for the exercise—but the trail turned out to be more than just a workout. Long walks like this leave plenty of space for thinking, and I found myself reflecting on how I want to spend the next five years as a Ph.D. student here at the University of Utah. A more senior lab mate once told me: “You have to stimulate your brain in different ways, otherwise you’ll burn out.” The advice stuck with me, and the hike made it feel especially true.

Graduate school makes it easy to slip into an endless work cycle. Without a clear cutoff, I often find myself still working at 7, 8, even 9 p.m. It’s not something to brag about—it’s just that school blurs the boundaries between work and life. More hours don’t necessarily mean more success, and if you’re not careful, the days start to blur together into monotony. That’s not how I want to spend my time here.

This hike reminded me that Salt Lake City has so much more to offer than just campus life. I already have a few other trails on my list—Lake Blanche and Cecret Lake among them. Once my legs recover, I’ll be ready to lace up my boots again.