Amethyst- Middle- West Basins.

[ogg]

My usual stomping grounds in the summer tends to be the Eastern Sierra in California but this year will be embarking on what I like to think of as a brief sampler (about 2 1/2 weeks) of the Intermountain West, to include 3 nights solo backpacking in the Uintas. I'm thinking of camping at Amethyst Lake and Kermsuh lake with a layover day at whichever lake has better fishing, or spending one night near a lake in each of the three adjacent basins (i.e, Amethyst, then Ryder or McPheters, then Kermsuh, or the opposite order).

I'm wondering if anyone can offer insight as to general trail conditions, water crossings, fishing, quality of campsites, any preference of which lake to head to first or last. I'm intrigued by the idea of hiking up to the saddle between Middle and Naturalist basins as has been discussed here recently but wonder how this would be rated in terms of class and difficulty (class2, class 3?) I tend to shy away from appreciably more than Class 2 if I'm solo. Which isn't to say that I always do. Is there perhaps a decent cross country route between Middle and West basins? I'm pretty comfortable travelling cross country in the high Sierras, camping at higher altitudes, dealing with mountain weather, etc. I wonder what sort of adjustments I might need to make going from the drier Sierras to what seems to me should be more wetter Uintas? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JoshuaDyal]

It's somewhat steep and has lots of loose rock, but most of the slopes (and most of the peaks even, for that matter) throughout the Uintas are rated class 2 or 2+. Very little in the Uintas, unless you deliberately seek out more difficult routes because you enjoy them, are class 3 or more.

The boulders are fairly tedious, though. It takes time and care to navigate them.

 

[Nick]

Which isn't to say that I always do. Is there perhaps a decent cross country route between Middle and West basins?

I don't think so. Lots of cliffs on that ridge dividing them. I think you'd need to go down and around. You can however get into West basin from the west from 150. Same for Middle.

I don't have personal experience with the crossing between Middle and Naturalist. I find picking through the rocks to be very unpredictable. Sometimes it's fine and you just have to take your time. But sometimes they get big and tippy and it can get quite scary in a hurry. I'm not a fan, and it sucks for dogs, so I try to steer clear of that stuff.

 

[DrNed]

x2 on what Nick said. For me it's very tedious, especially if I've got my pack on, and loses it appeal fast. Having said that my son loves that kinda thing so your experience may vary.

 

[Nick]

Also, I think reading the Mike Turner story is a must if you plan to travel solo across rock fields (or even not solo). He got pinned between two after one tipped on him.

http://www.backpacker.com/trips/wyoming/trapped-the-mike-turner-story/

 

[ogg]

Also, I think reading the Mike Turner story is a must if you plan to travel solo across rock fields (or even not solo). He got pinned between two after one tipped on him.

http://www.backpacker.com/trips/wyoming/trapped-the-mike-turner-story/

I remember reading that story a few years back. It was sobering, following a sobering experience in the Sierras not long before that. On a solo 5 day backpack through Humphrey's Basin and French Canyon in the Eastern Sierra outside of Bishop, I descended the North side of Puppet Pass enroute to one of the French Canyon lakes. Puppet Pass is customarily considered a fairly undemanding walk-down. I had chosen the wrong route, too far to the west, it was anything but a walk-down. Interminable hand-over-ankle boulder hopping, sliding, hugging, with a large multiday pack, I was so exhausted when I reached bottom, I could barely stand. The following day across French Canyon at Muriel Lake I met two young, very fit, impressive fellows traveling very lightly and covering big miles who were doing Roper's Sierra High Route (a mostly off-trail and above timberline alternative to the John Muir Trail). As we compared notes, they marveled a bit at me since I was the first person they'd seen off-trail since they began. My crusty middle-agedness armed with old school external frame pack etc made for an interesting contrast to their athletic, ascetic efficiency. Apparently they too had made the same blunder at Puppet Pass; one of the young ubermen was a bit banged up after taking a spill from hopping onto a large teetering rock. Had the same thing happened to me, at my less supple age and level of physical conditioning, with the larger and heavier pack, perhaps the outcome could have been more dire than some scrapes and a sore shoulder.

 

[ogg]

Of the three basins, which approach has the most difficult water crossings? Possibly mud, or wet meadows to cross? I'll be there mid July, should I assume conditions could still pretty wet?

 

[Nick]

Only minor water crossings in all three. They can be questionable during high run off but you'll be fine by mid July.