wabenho
Member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2017
- Messages
- 138
I had a few days off work last week and decided I would take a trip up to the Uintas. My original plan was to explore the upper Rock Creek Drainage, but when the forecast looked bad for the end of the week I decided to shorten the trip and save Rock Creek for another time. Since I had some weekdays available and it was after Labor Day, I decided it would be a good time to visit Amethyst, with (hopefully) less crowds. This is my first TR, so please bear with my inexperience.
I started out at the Christmas Meadows/Stillwater trailhead at about 9:00 AM. It was a little cool, but a beautiful morning. The trail is mellow through the meadows and to the Ryder/McPheters junction. After the junction, the trail to Amethyst climbs along Ostler Creek and the steep terrain lends to some nice cascades.
Near the top of the climb, the terrain opens up a little and I could see the aspens changing to fall colors on the hillsides.
About 5 miles in, I came to a large meadow and got my first look at Ostler Peak...
... and the Amethyst Cirque.
This view was awesome and I was loving every bit of this. I had only seen a few groups headed out as I was hiking in. I decided to stop for lunch.
After lunch, I hiked a couple hundred yards up the trail and found myself at BR24 (I didn't realize I was so close). I had read in the Probst book that there was better camping here than at Amethyst, so I decided to set up. While looking for a site, I bumped into a guy who had just returned from summiting Ostler Peak and was packing up to head out. This would be the last person I would see for about 48 hours. I set up camp south of BR24, up the hill a ways. It was a great spot with a level patch for my tent and some rock "shelves" that worked nicely for cooking and seating.
After setting up camp, I hiked the mile or so up to Amethyst for some fishing. I fished along the west shore for a couple of hours and caught 8"-10" brookies on about every third cast or so. I took some pictures of the lake, but it was a little overcast and my amateur photo skills and mobile phone camera don't do the lake justice. The colors are beautiful and you can definitely see where the lake gets her name.
The clouds continued to build, so I decided to head back to camp. The hike between Amethyst and BR24 takes approx. 15-20 mins and is very pretty the entire way.
Back at camp, the weather didn't seem too threatening, so I decided to cook dinner. I was trying some new DIY backpacker meals from a website I found. They ended up being pretty good. More economical and better tasting than the popular brand name stuff, IMO. Plus you can add/subtract ingredients as you wish. They do take a little more time to put together at home though.
After dinner I did some more fishing at BR24. It wasn't as fast as Amethyst, but I caught a couple small cutthroat on several casts. What a great evening!
With it being mid-September and camping right at the base of Ostler to the west, it began getting dark fairly early. I returned to camp and decided to hit the bag. Since it was early, I got some nice headlamp reading in. My book choice turned out to be a good one for the setting.
After a good nights sleep, I arose for some more fishing at BR24 and some shots of the mountains in the morning light. According to my cheap keychain thermometer, it was about 35 degrees, but it didn't feel quite that cold. Not one of those "I can't wait for the sunshine" mornings.
After breakfast, I decided to head over to Ostler Lake. I didn't have much beta on this lake, but could see it was close on the map. I went back down to the meadow and looked for a trail. After not finding much, I decided to try a faint trail near where the main trail crosses the creek at the upper end of the meadow. This trail was kind of in and out for the .5 miles to Ostler Lake. It wasn't a bad hike, but more bushwhacking than I anticipated. Based on the popularity of this area, I imagine there is a better trail, I just didn't find it.
At Ostler, I had a great time relaxing, fishing, and eating some lunch. The fishing was slow, but it was a great way to spend a few hours. I didn't get any pictures of Ostler Lake.
After lunch, I decided to go back up to Amethyst where the fishing was faster. This time I fished the southwest corner where the water was deeper near shore. I was using spinners and noticed some interesting behavior. There were some passing clouds and when a cloud blocked the sun, the fishing went cold. When the sun reappeared, I would catch a little brookie on almost every cast. I guess this makes sense with a flashy spinner working better in the sunshine, but I have never noticed such a contrast.
While fishing I thought I heard someone test the acoustics of the cirque with a short, sharp shout. This was the only possible sign I had of another person since the day before at BR24 with the Ostler Peak-bagger.
After fishing for a couple of hours, I decided to return to camp. I had hooked one of the pan-sized brookies pretty bad, so I kept him to add to my dinner. Besides the fish, this evening was pretty much an exact repeat of the one before. Dinner, off to bed early, more headlamp reading.
The next morning, I awoke to clouds. This was consistent with the reports I had seen before I left civilization, and the reason I decided on a shorter trip. Because of the weather, I decided to pack up pretty quickly and head down the trail (I would later hear that the high country got a good snowstorm over the next couple of days).
The hike out was pretty uneventful and went quickly as it was all good trail and downhill (it is also nice to be a little lighter in food and fuel). I finally bumped into another person about a mile from the trailhead. This solo, day-hiker was the first person I had actually seen in about 48 hours. The solitude was great.
Just before arriving back at the trailhead, I spotted a large bull moose at the edge of the trees in Christmas Meadows. I took a few pics (none of them very good), but I can't seem to get them to upload. I also saw 3 sandhill cranes in the meadow. As I walked by they flew. I love the sound of their call. A great ending to a great trip!
I started out at the Christmas Meadows/Stillwater trailhead at about 9:00 AM. It was a little cool, but a beautiful morning. The trail is mellow through the meadows and to the Ryder/McPheters junction. After the junction, the trail to Amethyst climbs along Ostler Creek and the steep terrain lends to some nice cascades.
Near the top of the climb, the terrain opens up a little and I could see the aspens changing to fall colors on the hillsides.
About 5 miles in, I came to a large meadow and got my first look at Ostler Peak...
... and the Amethyst Cirque.
This view was awesome and I was loving every bit of this. I had only seen a few groups headed out as I was hiking in. I decided to stop for lunch.
After lunch, I hiked a couple hundred yards up the trail and found myself at BR24 (I didn't realize I was so close). I had read in the Probst book that there was better camping here than at Amethyst, so I decided to set up. While looking for a site, I bumped into a guy who had just returned from summiting Ostler Peak and was packing up to head out. This would be the last person I would see for about 48 hours. I set up camp south of BR24, up the hill a ways. It was a great spot with a level patch for my tent and some rock "shelves" that worked nicely for cooking and seating.
After setting up camp, I hiked the mile or so up to Amethyst for some fishing. I fished along the west shore for a couple of hours and caught 8"-10" brookies on about every third cast or so. I took some pictures of the lake, but it was a little overcast and my amateur photo skills and mobile phone camera don't do the lake justice. The colors are beautiful and you can definitely see where the lake gets her name.
The clouds continued to build, so I decided to head back to camp. The hike between Amethyst and BR24 takes approx. 15-20 mins and is very pretty the entire way.
Back at camp, the weather didn't seem too threatening, so I decided to cook dinner. I was trying some new DIY backpacker meals from a website I found. They ended up being pretty good. More economical and better tasting than the popular brand name stuff, IMO. Plus you can add/subtract ingredients as you wish. They do take a little more time to put together at home though.
After dinner I did some more fishing at BR24. It wasn't as fast as Amethyst, but I caught a couple small cutthroat on several casts. What a great evening!
With it being mid-September and camping right at the base of Ostler to the west, it began getting dark fairly early. I returned to camp and decided to hit the bag. Since it was early, I got some nice headlamp reading in. My book choice turned out to be a good one for the setting.
After a good nights sleep, I arose for some more fishing at BR24 and some shots of the mountains in the morning light. According to my cheap keychain thermometer, it was about 35 degrees, but it didn't feel quite that cold. Not one of those "I can't wait for the sunshine" mornings.
After breakfast, I decided to head over to Ostler Lake. I didn't have much beta on this lake, but could see it was close on the map. I went back down to the meadow and looked for a trail. After not finding much, I decided to try a faint trail near where the main trail crosses the creek at the upper end of the meadow. This trail was kind of in and out for the .5 miles to Ostler Lake. It wasn't a bad hike, but more bushwhacking than I anticipated. Based on the popularity of this area, I imagine there is a better trail, I just didn't find it.
At Ostler, I had a great time relaxing, fishing, and eating some lunch. The fishing was slow, but it was a great way to spend a few hours. I didn't get any pictures of Ostler Lake.
After lunch, I decided to go back up to Amethyst where the fishing was faster. This time I fished the southwest corner where the water was deeper near shore. I was using spinners and noticed some interesting behavior. There were some passing clouds and when a cloud blocked the sun, the fishing went cold. When the sun reappeared, I would catch a little brookie on almost every cast. I guess this makes sense with a flashy spinner working better in the sunshine, but I have never noticed such a contrast.
While fishing I thought I heard someone test the acoustics of the cirque with a short, sharp shout. This was the only possible sign I had of another person since the day before at BR24 with the Ostler Peak-bagger.
After fishing for a couple of hours, I decided to return to camp. I had hooked one of the pan-sized brookies pretty bad, so I kept him to add to my dinner. Besides the fish, this evening was pretty much an exact repeat of the one before. Dinner, off to bed early, more headlamp reading.
The next morning, I awoke to clouds. This was consistent with the reports I had seen before I left civilization, and the reason I decided on a shorter trip. Because of the weather, I decided to pack up pretty quickly and head down the trail (I would later hear that the high country got a good snowstorm over the next couple of days).
The hike out was pretty uneventful and went quickly as it was all good trail and downhill (it is also nice to be a little lighter in food and fuel). I finally bumped into another person about a mile from the trailhead. This solo, day-hiker was the first person I had actually seen in about 48 hours. The solitude was great.
Just before arriving back at the trailhead, I spotted a large bull moose at the edge of the trees in Christmas Meadows. I took a few pics (none of them very good), but I can't seem to get them to upload. I also saw 3 sandhill cranes in the meadow. As I walked by they flew. I love the sound of their call. A great ending to a great trip!
