Uintas Lakes

[JoshuaDyal]

I have an odd question. Where are the names of some of the lakes in the Uintas documented? I've looked at the USGS quads, and the Trails Illustrated map, and Google Earth and there are a lot of lakes that appear to be unnamed. But here and there, I'll see lakes, like BR-17 in the MIddle Basin. Who named it that, and what map shows that name?

Anyway, I'm also trawling for ideas. I'm going backpacking with my brother in very late June and early July. We'll meet at the Mirror Lake Highway on a Monday morning. We'll probably take it easy; his wife and kids (which are young) will probably be there for a few hours. We'll go 'round Ruth Lake, and maybe after the kids are gone, summit Bald Mountain, etc. Basically take an easy day to acclimate to the altitude before starting our REAL trip on Tuesday.

Bright and early on Tuesday, we'll drive out to East Fork Black's Fork, take the Bald Mountain trail up and over and go to the Red Castle area to spend the night. It should be a kind of strenuous day, but hopefully not too long, and hopefully we'll be sufficiently acclimated that we don't get altitude sickness too badly.

On Wednesday, we'll hop over the pass (what's the name of it; the one just north of Porcupine Pass that leads from Upper Red Castle Lake to the Oweep Basin?) and hike west. I think for our goal, we'll make for Crater Lake that evening. We're not in a rush, and we don't want to feel rushed, or like we're pushing it, so if the weather and everything else cooperates, that should be a decent day; good miles, but nothing too strenuous.

On Thursday, we'll go over Red Knob Pass and just explore that whole basin, climb up Dead Horse Pass to look over it into Rock Creek and get the beautiful vantage point, etc. But spend the night at Dead Horse Lake.

By now, we're basically getting into 4th of July weekend, though, so this is where my plans get a little fuzzy. Friday, we'll probably also not attempt to push it, and rather enjoy the area a bit. I'm thinking of MAYBE heading out West Fork Black's Fork Trail, but then going off trail at Buck Pasture over the ridge north of Tokewanna peak and seeing Bob's lake before gradually heading back out to East Fork Blacks Fork TH. This gets me off the trails and away from any crowds by Saturday, which is actually the 4th. But I dunno; maybe I'm imagining a zoo of crowds which isn't like to materialize anyway?

My brother has to be back at the car and back on the road by Saturday afternoon/evening, but I have until Monday at around mid-day or so. I'm thinking about doing, basically later Saturday through mid-day Monday, a shorter out and back to either Alsop, Priord, Amethyst or Middle Basins, or maybe Lake Ibantek. But, again, I'm also imagining in my head a zoo of hikers and campers over the 4th of July weekend, so I'm also considering ditching the mountains and the backpacking part of the trip altogether, and heading to Goblin Valley State park and the Little Wild Horse - Bell slot canyons loop, and then hitting Fantasy Canyon on my way back to Vernal where my sister-in-law lives with her family. Might have crowds still, but I likely won't care as much doing that, since I'm not out backpacking far away from them anymore.

Anyway, other than my lakes name question, I guess I'm also asking anyone who's familiar with conditions there, what the crowd situation is likely to be like? I know it depends on a number of things (like the weather, too) but I'm just trying to get a very rough gauge. While in the Uintas itself, minimizing crowd exposure is an important goal of mine.

 

[Nick]

I have an odd question. Where are the names of some of the lakes in the Uintas documented? I've looked at the USGS quads, and the Trails Illustrated map, and Google Earth and there are a lot of lakes that appear to be unnamed. But here and there, I'll see lakes, like BR-17 in the MIddle Basin. Who named it that, and what map shows that name?

I think the Forest Service named them that, although I suppose USGS may have played a role. It's just numbering based on their drainage. BR = Bear River, W = Weber and so on. The Probst book does a pretty good job with the numbers of all the lakes on their maps which covers much of the range. I haven't seen an official map but I did find a list of all of them a while back with depths, fish species, etc. Maybe I can dig that up...

Bright and early on Tuesday, we'll drive out to East Fork Black's Fork, take the Bald Mountain trail up and over and go to the Red Castle area to spend the night. It should be a kind of strenuous day, but hopefully not too long, and hopefully we'll be sufficiently acclimated that we don't get altitude sickness too badly.

I found it to be quite strenuous and long when I did it, but that's all relative to the person, I suppose. I was in pretty fine hiking condition that year, but it was still an ass kicker in my book. Definitely a lot more work than your average long day with most other basin approaches in the Uintas. And you definitely need a good weather outlook as you are high in the sky with no protection for much of the day. I recorded 10.25 miles to Lower Red Castle Lake and lots of elevation change. We kept going to just below tree line near Red Castle Lake that day.

On Wednesday, we'll hop over the pass (what's the name of it; the one just north of Porcupine Pass that leads from Upper Red Castle Lake to the Oweep Basin?) and hike west. I think for our goal, we'll make for Crater Lake that evening. We're not in a rush, and we don't want to feel rushed, or like we're pushing it, so if the weather and everything else cooperates, that should be a decent day; good miles, but nothing too strenuous.

Unofficially, it's called Wilson Pass. We went from our camp near Red Castle, over Wilson Pass, over Squaw Pass and then all the way back down to Little East Fork in the same day. It kicked my trash. The full loop was like 26 miles with 2 passes and 1 peak, all done in 33 hours.

This gets me off the trails and away from any crowds by Saturday, which is actually the 4th. But I dunno; maybe I'm imagining a zoo of crowds which isn't like to materialize anyway?

You won't have a zoo of crowds or anything close to it, I promise. Just stay off the Mirror Lake Highway and the immediate trails and you'll be just fine for your entire route. I think you're nuts to go off-trail for that short cut up to Bob's. I'd just go down to the 'other Highline' that traverses the north slope and cut up that way and avoid all the rock hopping, but again, I'm not really into that kind of punishment, it could be fun if you're into that. It also seems like you're packing a ton in and not leaving much wiggle room for anything to go wrong or slow. Maybe you're just super fast and strong, but for most, that's not leaving much room for error.

 

[JoshuaDyal]

What's the "other Highline" - 091?

In any case, I'm packing in tons of time to make this loop, regardless of exactly how I end it. But why do you think the ridge's up by Bob's are so rough? There's beta on summitpost.org that the eastern ridge coming up northward from Tokewanna peak is gentle alpine tundra, nearly as easy as walking on a trail.

http://www.summitpost.org/wasatch-nw-wasatch-and-tokewanna-in-a-day/537875

Granted; I'm fairly certain the author of that trip report is a stronger and more experienced hiker than I am, but still. I've got the better part of two days to get from Dead Horse Lake to East Fork Blacks Fork TH again; a bit of rambling off trail on the tundra shouldn't be so bad. The topo shows fairly gentle slopes if I pick my route OK. I'm sure it's rocky, but the images on that link above don't look anything like non-stop boulder hopping. And I do have a whole day to do it.

I've also seen some pictures by Cordell Anderson of the Bob's Lake area, and although it looks like he's using a camera from close to the invention of color photography, they still look pretty clearly like the slopes aren't that bad. Plus, that guy's nearly 80 years old.

I dunno; I might be underestimating it, but if so, I can easily just re-route and go up over "East Fork Pass" into the Lovenia area and come back to the TH on the east side of the Wasatch/Tokewanna ridge instead of the west side. It looks like the west side is considerably more scenic, though.

Is 10-11 miles a long day by your reckoning? That sounds about right to me. Granted, I'm no crazy PCT thru-hiker, logging 30+ mile days or anything like that, but anything under 15 with a whole day to do it sounds pretty doable to me. And most of the exertion's first thing in the morning getting up the switchbacks to Bald Mountain, from the look of it.

 

[Nick]

What's the "other Highline" - 091?

Yes. Also labeled as 'Bear River Smiths Fork Trail' on the topo. It's called the Highline on a lot of the signs for some strange reason. If you're doing Red Castle via Bald Mountain from EFBF, it's the same trail.

But why do you think the ridge's up by Bob's are so rough? There's beta on summitpost.org that the eastern ridge coming up northward from Tokewanna peak is gentle alpine tundra, nearly as easy as walking on a trail.

I've also heard the ridge walking is fine up from Bob's to Tokewanna. I don't know anything about the route you linked to, but that's not what I'm saying would suck. It's the part where you mentioned cutting off at Buck Pasture and going up the east side of WFBF and crossing the ridge north of Tokewanna.

I don't doubt the ridge walking once on top could be nice, but going up that east ridge of WFBF looks gnarly. Massive boulder hopping at the angle of repose is tricky business and that looks like a lot of it. That kind of adventure may be what you're looking for, but to me I would much rather take the trail around. That's all. I wouldn't confuse good ridge walking with good walking to the ridge though.

Is 10-11 miles a long day by your reckoning?

It depends on the terrain and what the other days are like. A 12 or 14 mile day is fine, but stack 'em up day after day and throw in a ton of elevation change and off trail route finding and it's a different story. It's also a tough pace to keep if you get hit with any complications, weather, etc. But there are plenty of fast/strong folks who would think nothing of that and put down much greater distances in a day, so for you it may be not a problem at all. From the sound of it you must be a freaking machine, so take my opinion for what it's worth.

 

[JoshuaDyal]

Heh. No, I'm no machine, but that's the only really long day in my itinerary. I think I can hack it once unless we get stuck waiting out a hailstorm or something.

Well, I dunno. Red Castle to Crater Lake might be nearly as long too, although much more flat.

That's good info on the slopes of Tokewanna. It's always a bit hard to tell just by looking at the topos if it's going to be really challenging steep scree slopes with rocks falling every other step, or a nice, grassy hill, sometimes. I don't want to get so far up that canyon that my only option is to go over, or to continue all the way to 091, and find that going over is more challenging and time consuming than I expected it to be. If that's likely to happen, I'd rather just go over "East Fork Pass" and head back on the east side of the Wasatch-Tokewanna ridge instead.

 

[Nick]

Yeah, Red Castle to Crater would not be an easy day. A 12k off-trail pass and at least 10+ miles with an annoying dip down into the drainage before coming up the other side. It's not as flat as it looks. And that right after an 11-12 mile day going over the top of Bald Mountain. And then if you went from Crater to Bob's the next day via the climb out of Buck Pasture, that's another day at least as long and difficult as the first two. Sounds tough. (EDIT: forgot you're spending a night at Dead Horse. That softens things up quite a bit.)

What else have you done in the Uintas? Are you planning on fishing or anything? Or just trying to rock as much of it as you can?

 

[Nick]

If you do try to cross the ridge between WFBF and Bob's, the pass north of Buck Pasture labeled 11,512 looks like your best bet. The elevation is a bit more tame and the trees might help with walkable terrain. But then again, sometimes the trees grow in the boulder patches and trick you into thinking there's actually something to walk on, when there is not. At least these were small boulders. But then again, at that point, you're pretty close to the actual trail to get there...

 

[Artemus]

If you do try to cross the ridge between WFBF and Bob's, the pass north of Buck Pasture labeled 11,512 looks like your best bet. The elevation is a bit more tame and the trees might help with walkable terrain. But then again, sometimes the trees grow in the boulder patches and trick you into thinking there's actually something to walk on, when there is not. At least these were small boulders. But then again, at that point, you're pretty close to the actual trail to get there...

View attachment 29010

Now that doesn't look like fun.

 

[Dave]

It's my experience topo maps almost always undersell the terrain in the Uintas.

As for the 4th of July weekend, I'd expect a crowd anywhere on the Mirror Lake Highway. A warm spring and a long holiday weekend will get a lot of people out and about. The basins will not be as bad.

 

[uintahiker]

The DWR printed a series of pamphlets for those interested in fishing the uintas. They are available at the bookstore on North Temple in Salt Lake, unless they've been discontinued.

One guy scanned them and has them posted on his site: http://redrockadventure.com/fishing/uintas/
It's sorted by drainage.

 

[andyjaggy]

The Forest Service map of the high uintas has most of the lakes labeled.

And I would error on the side of most hills/passes being rocky rather than grassy. Rocky talus slopes pretty much define the Uintas.

 

[JoshuaDyal]

No fishing. Just hiking and sightseeing.

Most of my Uintas trips have been farther west so far; Hell Hole Basin, Naturalist Basin, Four Lakes, etc. If I'm underestimating the distance and difficulty of my proposed route; well, that's part of what I'm hoping to suss out, so I can rethink, if necessary. I can stay in or near Lambert Meadows to cut day 2 down, and then see Crater Lake maybe on Day 3 (to keep that shorter), Dead Horse Lake on day 4. But that makes for a long Day 5 to get back to the car.

Maybe I can see Crater Lake fairly early in the morning after camping in Lambert Meadows and still spend that night at Dead Horse. But then that makes my day 3 a fair bit longer.

Then again, maybe I'm just trying to cram too much into too little time.

 

[JoshuaDyal]

The Forest Service map of the high uintas has most of the lakes labeled.

Which maps are those? When I was on the Forest Service web site, I didn't see much in the way of maps available.

 

[andyjaggy]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005N3AM7A/?tag=backcountrypo-20

This one. I bought mine at Cabellas.

 

[Dwm]

Utah Idaho supply store has a great custom map program available. You can pick whatever location you want and they can make a
map of that area to whatever resolution you want.

 

[Blake Merrell]

I love using CalTopo.com. Seem like one could easily print a great topo map from that site. And if you wanted it on waterproof paper, might check out http://www.waterproofpaper.com/inkjet-paper.shtml

 

[andyjaggy]

Utah Idaho supply store has a great custom map program available. You can pick whatever location you want and they can make a
map of that area to whatever resolution you want.

Dude, I drive by there all the time and always mean to stop in and take a look but never have. I am definitely going to have to go in now, that sounds really sweet.

 

[JoshuaDyal]

OK, things change. New itinerary in the works, since my brother had to bail on his plans to join me. Although I'm disappointed not to have him, it does afford me some more flexibility, since I won't have to interrupt my hiking to get him back to his car at an earlier date than my availability allows for. Here's my new plan, which I'm chewing on.

• Monday morning; drive from Vernal to Highway 150. Hang around the area getting acclimated to the altitude. Summit Bald Mountain via the trail. Camp at Bear River or one of the other places near the start of road 0058 to cut down at least a small amount on what I need to do in the morning.
• Tuesday morning; drive nice and early to EFBF. Go over the Bald Mountain ridge to Lower Red Castle Lake. Set up camp. If I have time and still feel like I'm not totally winded after that, I'll go check out Red Castle and Upper Red Castle (without my gear!) in the evening before going to bed. Again; I'm not fishing--I'm packing fast and light and just focused on hiking and site-seeing.
• Wednesday morning; I've got an easy and a hard option, depending on how I feel and what I did the day before. Easy option; go over Wilson Pass and hike along the Ashley Forest Trail until I get to a good stopping point. I imagine the farthest would be Lambert Meadow, but I could stop near any of the streams prior to that if I'm done for the day. The harder option involves going around the horn to the Smith's Fork Pass, past East Red Castle and Smiths' Fork Lake, over Smith's Fork Pass and around to Tungsten Pass, and camping somewhere there in the Garfield Basin. If I'm doing good on time and energy, I could even push it over Porcupine Pass and camp on the West side of that, but I wouldn't have to. I don't like the above treeline camping, but I can find as sheltered a spot as I can and suck it up for one night unless the weather looks really rough. If the weather looks really bad, I'll head south from Tungsten to the treeline to make camp. This makes for a long next day, since the easy option gets me potentially as far as Lambert Meadow, but I've got easier days on the schedule up ahead, so I'm OK with that.
• Thursday, from however far I got on Wednesday, get to near Red Knob Pass. Rather than go over it, turn south west of the treeline and east of the Explorer Peak ridge and head towards Crater Lake. Camp there.
• Friday, over Red Knob Pass, set up camp at Dead Horse Lake.
• Saturday--don't take down camp, but go over Dead Horse pass to see Reconnaissance Lake in the upper NE Rock Creek Basin. Just explore a bit here and then come back to camp for another night at Dead Horse.
• Sunday, back over Red Knob on the EFBF trail, but after passing Lovenia, I might go off trail and wander around in the "bight" of the Wasatch/Tokewanna ridge. In fact, the map shows a little lake there and a couple of small streams--anyone know if any of those areas would make a good spot to set up for one more night in the field? That's what I'm thinking now.
• Monday--lazy morning, get up whenever I get up, hike back to the car at EFBF, and then drive up through Mountain View back to Vernal, stopping to see Sheep Creek and maybe a few other areas on the way. Shower and clean up at my sister-in-laws in Vernal and have dinner at Cafe Rio before heading back home out east.

Any comments on that proposed itinerary? I know Tuesday and Wednesday might be fairly big days, and if I don't get as far Wednesday as I'd like, Thursday might be one too. But after that, the plan eases up considerably.