Waynee-ack
Member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2012
- Messages
- 128
The planning for this trip began nearly a year ago. Even the best plans have room for the unexpected.
A couple of freinds and I from work thought it would be fun to plan a father son backpacking trip to Grandaddy Lake. Those who came along for the trip are myself and my oldest son Dylan, Tim and his son Josh, Devan and his son Brayden.
The plan was to meet at Sportsman's in Riverdale at 2:15 after work to pickup a few last minute supplies and head for the trailhead. It was 3:45 by the time everyone arrived and we were on the road.
On the drive up I got a flat tire on my truck in Peoa, took about a half hour to fix.
We stopped for dinner at Oakley Drive-in.
With the late arrivals, flat tire, and dinner it was 8:00 by the time we reached the Grandview Trailhead.
Our group at the Grandview Trailhead.
With the late start it was no surprise that we soon found ourselves on the trail in the dark. Even though it was extremely dark with no moon and a thick cloud cover we pushed on. Around 11:30 we arrived at Grandaddy Lake and quickly found a place to camp for the night. By the time we setup camp and pumped some water it was 2:00 am when my head hit the pillow.
Grandaddy Lake Friday morning.
On Friday morning we slowly woke up and started moving. We discovered that we were only about a 100 feet from the trail so we decided to move so we would be in compliance with the no camping within 200 feet of the trail rule.
Dylan pumping water.
Note: I have a Katadyn Hiker pump that I broke the inlet connector off of the body earlier this year. On Friday morning I ran into two other people that had the same problem with their pump. Customer service at Katadyn was very good about getting a replacement part for me for a fee. It now appears to me that they have a design/quality problem with this fitting.
Dylan and I near our camp at Grandaddy Lake.
After moving camp to a more appropriate location and taking care of all the other morning camp chores we packed up for a day of hiking and fishing.
Trail near Grandaddy Lake.
First stop for fishing was Betsy Lake.
Dylan fishing at Betsy Lake.
We spent the whole day fishing Betsy Lake, Mohawk Lake, and the little pond between the two Lakes. The fishing was good, the catching was not so good. We caught a total of two fish between the six of us. Both fish were caught in the little pond between Betsy and Mohawk Lakes. We made it back to camp around 8:00 pm and fixed some dinner. With the late night the night before everyone was tired and turned in early. I was so tired from the hike in the day before, no sleep, and a respiratory infection I was recovering from, that I slept great.
Saturday morning we woke up, broke camp and started for home.
On the trail out.
My son Dylan (11 years old) and Devan's son Brayden (10 years old) ended up being extreamely tired about a mile from the trailhead. After nearly 12 miles of hiking, most of it with heavy packs, in two days who can blame them.
On the ride down the dirt road from Grandview Trailhead I asked Dylan what he thought of our trip. His response was, "it was epic". I suppose that means he had a good time. I think this is a trip they will be talking about for a while.
The waterfall just down from the parking lot at Grandview.
I really wanted to get some good Milky Way pictures but we had heavy cloud cover both nights. I guess I'll have to plan another trip.
This was my longest backpacking trip yet and my first into the High Uintas Wilderness. I had a great time and I am looking forward to many more.
Featured image for home page:
A couple of freinds and I from work thought it would be fun to plan a father son backpacking trip to Grandaddy Lake. Those who came along for the trip are myself and my oldest son Dylan, Tim and his son Josh, Devan and his son Brayden.
The plan was to meet at Sportsman's in Riverdale at 2:15 after work to pickup a few last minute supplies and head for the trailhead. It was 3:45 by the time everyone arrived and we were on the road.
On the drive up I got a flat tire on my truck in Peoa, took about a half hour to fix.
We stopped for dinner at Oakley Drive-in.
With the late arrivals, flat tire, and dinner it was 8:00 by the time we reached the Grandview Trailhead.
Our group at the Grandview Trailhead.
With the late start it was no surprise that we soon found ourselves on the trail in the dark. Even though it was extremely dark with no moon and a thick cloud cover we pushed on. Around 11:30 we arrived at Grandaddy Lake and quickly found a place to camp for the night. By the time we setup camp and pumped some water it was 2:00 am when my head hit the pillow.
Grandaddy Lake Friday morning.
On Friday morning we slowly woke up and started moving. We discovered that we were only about a 100 feet from the trail so we decided to move so we would be in compliance with the no camping within 200 feet of the trail rule.
Dylan pumping water.
Note: I have a Katadyn Hiker pump that I broke the inlet connector off of the body earlier this year. On Friday morning I ran into two other people that had the same problem with their pump. Customer service at Katadyn was very good about getting a replacement part for me for a fee. It now appears to me that they have a design/quality problem with this fitting.
Dylan and I near our camp at Grandaddy Lake.
After moving camp to a more appropriate location and taking care of all the other morning camp chores we packed up for a day of hiking and fishing.
Trail near Grandaddy Lake.
First stop for fishing was Betsy Lake.
Dylan fishing at Betsy Lake.
We spent the whole day fishing Betsy Lake, Mohawk Lake, and the little pond between the two Lakes. The fishing was good, the catching was not so good. We caught a total of two fish between the six of us. Both fish were caught in the little pond between Betsy and Mohawk Lakes. We made it back to camp around 8:00 pm and fixed some dinner. With the late night the night before everyone was tired and turned in early. I was so tired from the hike in the day before, no sleep, and a respiratory infection I was recovering from, that I slept great.
Saturday morning we woke up, broke camp and started for home.
On the trail out.
My son Dylan (11 years old) and Devan's son Brayden (10 years old) ended up being extreamely tired about a mile from the trailhead. After nearly 12 miles of hiking, most of it with heavy packs, in two days who can blame them.
On the ride down the dirt road from Grandview Trailhead I asked Dylan what he thought of our trip. His response was, "it was epic". I suppose that means he had a good time. I think this is a trip they will be talking about for a while.
The waterfall just down from the parking lot at Grandview.
I really wanted to get some good Milky Way pictures but we had heavy cloud cover both nights. I guess I'll have to plan another trip.
This was my longest backpacking trip yet and my first into the High Uintas Wilderness. I had a great time and I am looking forward to many more.
Featured image for home page:
