Clyde Lake Loop w/ Ibantik - September 2018

[wabenho]

After an unsuccessful try at a multi-day trip earlier in the week (read about it here: https://backcountrypost.com/threads/rainbow-lake-uintas-september-2018.8031/#post-101371), I rested for a few days and decided to salvage a bit of my remaining time off by taking a day trip back to the mountains. Since I still wasn’t feeling 100% and I was going solo, I thought it might be good to stick to a well-traveled area. I had never hiked the Clyde Lake loop, so I figured now was the time to give it a try.

I arrived at the Crystal Lake TH around 9:00 AM. There were only a handful of cars, quiet by Crystal Lake standards. I threw on my pack and hit the trail.

I decided to do the loop in a counter-clockwise direction, so I started off towards Wall Lake. The hike to Wall is a nice stroll. The lake is big and beautiful. There were a couple of folks on the other side of the lake fishing, so I decided to give it a shot. A couple of casts with no luck so I decided to move on.

Wall Lake


From Wall Lake the trail climbs up to a bench overlooking the area. On this bench the trail forks: you can go over the Notch to the Weber River drainage or you can follow the bench along towards Twin Lakes. I had made good time to this point and wanted to at least make the Notch to have a look.

View from bench above Wall Lake


Marker at the junction of the Clyde Lake Loop trail and the Notch trail


From the trail junction to the Notch is a little steep, but not bad. It is well worth it as the view from the Notch is nice.

View from the Notch looking back towards Wall and Crystal Lakes


View from the Notch looking towards the Weber River drainage, Lake Lovenia in the foreground


After taking in the view for a bit, I decided to continue down the other side to check out Lake Lovenia and maybe Ibantik Lake. I was having a great time and soon found myself at Ibantik Lake. I had the place to myself and decided it would be a great place for lunch.

After a bite of lunch, I decided to try a little fishing. I tried a few casts with a couple of different spinners with no luck. I then tied on the ol’ fly and bubble rig with a Renegade and casted out. Sure enough, the first cast yielded a nice brook trout. I then continued to catch nice brookies on about every other cast for a couple of hours. It was great just sitting in a beautiful setting with no one around and great weather. This was a small recompense for crashing out on my multi-day adventure from earlier in the week.



After a couple hours, I decided to pack up and continue. I headed back up the trail towards the Notch. This side of the trail seems steeper than the other side, but still not too bad. A bit of a cardio workout though. I made the Notch and took in the views for a minute. It was starting to cloud up a little and look threatening. The Notch is not a great place to be in a thunderstorm, so I moved on to the bench above Wall Lake where the Clyde Lake trail junction resides.

The trail past Twin Lakes and Clyde Lake was very enjoyable. My original plan included the possibility of peeking over into Three Divide Lakes and maybe even Hidden Lake, but I had spent some extra time fishing at Ibantik and the weather was now turning to sprinkles, so I decided to round Clyde Lake and keep moving toward the car.

Clyde Lake with weather building. Mt. Watson on the right


Small crest between Clyde Lake and Watson Lake looking towards Wall Lake


This next section of trail is very beautiful. The view of Mt. Watson above Watson Lake is especially nice. Going counter-clockwise on this loop makes for a gentler climb, but the views along this section are much better looking uphill – good reason to make the loop clockwise.

Mt. Watson reflected in Watson Lake


The last lake along the route was Cliff Lake. When I was younger, I really enjoyed rock climbing and had spent some time climbing here in those days. I had one particularly memorable trip here and was surprised at the emotions that came back while looking up at the cliffs. Even though it was now a steady drizzle, I spent some time reminiscing. Just one of the many reasons I love the mountains and especially the Uintas. So many great memories.

Cliff Lake from above


After waxing nostalgic, I decided it was time to keep moving. The trail was now getting crowded as it was Friday afternoon and many weekend backpackers were working their way into this popular area. I made the final drop down to the trail head and found the main parking area almost full and several groups making final preparations for weekend adventures, despite the rain.

I changed into some flip-flops, grabbed a beverage from the cooler and pulled out onto MLH for the drive back home. The fall colors were beautiful on the drive down and the rain made for a very fresh cruise to Kamas. I continued on to Park City for some fish ‘n chips at Flanagan’s and then home. Overall a great day!

 

[Perry]

The loop that doesn't disappoint! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Deleted User]

I did that one as my season opener this year. We went in via Cliff Lake then camped in between Booker and Clyde, then hiked out via Twin Lakes and the Notch down to Wall Lake. That is a fun one. So is Ibantik. I love backpacking that lake. Meadow below Ibantik had some decent fish. Love the pics. Took me back to June. Thanks for sharing!

 

[WasatchWill]

Having hiked that loop a number of times now, I too have decided I prefer to do it clock-wise, but either way is great. I find it pretty neat to think that short hike over the Notch separates the head of the Provo and Weber rivers, but the whole Salt Lake Valley separates their tail ends as they outlet into Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake respectively. Fall is a great time for fishing the Uintas, that's for sure!

 

[wabenho]

I find it pretty neat to think that short hike over the Notch separates the head of the Provo and Weber rivers, but the whole Salt Lake Valley separates their tail ends as they outlet into Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake respectively.

I think about this stuff all the time! I live along the northern Wasatch and I think it's so interesting that the Weber and the Bear have origins very close to each other (Kamas/Cuberant Lakes draining to Weber and Ruth/Cutthroat/Teal draining to the Bear). The Bear then goes on a long journey north then west then south, through three States. The Weber takes a relatively direct route, and both end up in basically the same place on the northeast corner of the Great Salt Lake.

Even more incredible is the Thorofare where water from snow falling in the same area could eventually end up in the Columbia/Pacific or the Missouri/Mississippi/Gulf of Mexico, depending on which slope it lands. Throw in the area a few miles to the southeast and you find headwaters of the Green/Colorado system.

The same story is found all along the Continental Divide. I guess gravity makes the explanation pretty simple, but I still find it fascinating.

 

[WasatchWill]

I think about this stuff all the time! I live along the northern Wasatch and I think it's so interesting that the Weber and the Bear have origins very close to each other (Kamas/Cuberant Lakes draining to Weber and Ruth/Cutthroat/Teal draining to the Bear). The Bear then goes on a long journey north then west then south, through three States. The Weber takes a relatively direct route, and both end up in basically the same place on the northeast corner of the Great Salt Lake.

Even more incredible is the Thorofare where water from snow falling in the same area could eventually end up in the Columbia/Pacific or the Missouri/Mississippi/Gulf of Mexico, depending on which slope it lands. Throw in the area a few miles to the southeast and you find headwaters of the Green/Colorado system.

The same story is found all along the Continental Divide. I guess gravity makes the explanation pretty simple, but I still find it fascinating.

Agreed. Definitely fascinating how just a sliver of geology can dictate the course of a moisture by hundreds of miles.