Naturalist or Middle Basin?

Skiwi

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Oct 5, 2014
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If the weather behaves we are planning to head up into the Uintas for a quick backpack around June 20 (2 nights). I have hiked and backpacked on the western side of the highway but not the east yet. I am thinking of Naturalist or Middle Basins.

My questions are (which I hope you can help answer):
- Is one superior to the other? Both look great from what I have seen. Any particular recommendations of where to head to?
- From my topo map it looks like both of these areas are around the 10,000 feet. Should we be considering somewhere lower at this time of the year (question below is related)? We don't have many opportunities to get up there this summer so I want to make the most of those we do.
- How do you think snow will be up there? We are not adverse to dealing with some snow and wet patches but don't really want to be postholing much.
- I assume that bugs, in particular mosquitos, are likely to be an issue at this time of the year?
- Any wildflowers likely to be out?

If you think we should be considering somewhere else, I am open to ideas.

Thanks
 
If the weather behaves we are planning to head up into the Uintas for a quick backpack around June 20 (2 nights). I have hiked and backpacked on the western side of the highway but not the east yet. I am thinking of Naturalist or Middle Basins.

My questions are (which I hope you can help answer):
- Is one superior to the other? Both look great from what I have seen. Any particular recommendations of where to head to?
- From my topo map it looks like both of these areas are around the 10,000 feet. Should we be considering somewhere lower at this time of the year (question below is related)? We don't have many opportunities to get up there this summer so I want to make the most of those we do.
- How do you think snow will be up there? We are not adverse to dealing with some snow and wet patches but don't really want to be postholing much.
- I assume that bugs, in particular mosquitos, are likely to be an issue at this time of the year?
- Any wildflowers likely to be out?

If you think we should be considering somewhere else, I am open to ideas.

Thanks
I did Middle Basin in September and the trail was wet and mucky then. The other concern I would have is the river crossing just past the Amythest fork. From what I understand it's a user maintained "bridge" so your ability to cross there could be affected, but I LOVED Middle Basin once we got to the top. No experience with Naturalist. Hope that helps.
 
I haven't done Naturalist. With that said, it's a much shorter hike and seems to get more traffic. As Ned said, river crossings could be interesting that early in the season. Probably too early for many wildflowers.
 
Haven't done Naturalist yet either, but plan to in the next month. Middle Basin, being on the north side, could have a bit more snow to melt and thawing out to do.
 
I think middle basin is prettier. Longer hike, will probably be muddier. I think you will have more solitude and better scenery though. Possibly more snow. I think the lakes should be thawed by then.... Maybe. I'm headed to Red Castle that same weekend and am not sure what to expect at this point.
 
And I've been to Naturalist and not Middle! If you go that route, I suggest you don't camp at Jordan Lake, especially on a weekend, and instead get up on the bench and look for one of the campsites in the trees not far from Faxon Lake. You'll be near treeline, but there are spots still in the trees closer to the edge of the bench. Once you get closer to the lakes, it gets practically completely treeless. The bench up there is stunningly beautiful, and it tends to weed out much of the crowds, who don't go higher or further than Jordan sometimes. From the bench, if you're so inclined, you can summit Agassiz or Spread-Eagle, or at least climb to the top of the ridge between them and look into Middle. If its a really crowded weekend, you won't be completely alone, but it'll be a heckuva lot better than near Jordan Lake.

I'm also very curious about the snow situation; I'll be in the Uintas a little over a week later than your date. Everything I'm hearing is that with such low snowfall, we'll have conditions that are more normal for later in the summer, but it's obviously the time of year where it changes a lot, and it's too early to get good reports that will be relevant later in the month. Have you tried calling the ranger station? I've had good conversations with them the last couple of years about snow conditions.

From the bench, you can explore much of the Basin. Walk all the way to the edge on the southeast side, and you can have a fairly nice view of Rocky Sea pass in the distance, and from there, go around the edge of the basin walls all the way to Blue Lake and beyond.

It's a beautiful area. I highly recommend it. But I don't know that I can recommend it over Middle Basin, not having been there personally. Middle Basin isn't on my itinerary for this year, but it's still high priority on my list of locations for the range (along with Allsop and Amethyst.)
 
As an aside; I just called the ranger's office in Evanston. In spite of the low snow winter, it's not clearing all that much as of now; snowline is still below 11,000 feet, and with the recent wet weather, it's not melting much either. Without a week or two of relatively warm, dry weather there's going to be a lot of snow still, and frozen lakes by the time you're going, or even when I go the next week. I'm already whipping up a Plan B that doesn't have be going over high passes, just in case I need it. Sigh. Red Castle Lake was specifically referred to as still being frozen. @andyjaggy and @Skiwi

Now, if you're just going to hang out in the basins and not cross any high passes, and don't mind snow on the peaks above you, that's probably OK, although you'll have tons of mud and bogs and whatnot. Skeeters will probably be devastatingly fierce and ubiquitous.
 
Thank you for all the great advice - it's exactly what I was looking for. We have some visitors staying who we are planning to take for a scenic drive over the Mirror Lake Highway this Sunday so this might give us a bit more of an idea of conditions. If we get out there next weekend (which I suspect we will unless the pesky thunderstorms return) I will give an update.
 
I was hoping to still have snow on Red Castle. I was hoping to time it so there was still snow on the peaks, but the lakes were melted. Maybe I will get lucky and the lower lake will have thawed by this coming weekend.
 
That's the perfect window, isn't it? A bit tough to time, but makes for the best experience combined with the best pictures afterwards...
 
I just packed up. Looks like I'll be heading out to Naturalist Basin for the night tonight. Early Father's Day gift, I guess. :) I'll be sure to post a few pics when I get back tomorrow. If it gets too wet and muddy for my comfort before I get far I'll probably turn back and resort to somewhere up around Ruth and Jewel Lakes, but I'm thinking all will be well enough by now.
 
I just packed up. Looks like I'll be heading out to Naturalist Basin for the night tonight. Early Father's Day gift, I guess. :) I'll be sure to post a few pics when I get back tomorrow. If it gets too wet and muddy for my comfort before I get far I'll probably turn back and resort to somewhere up around Ruth and Jewel Lakes, but I'm thinking all will be well enough by now.
Very much looking forward to your report @WasatchWill
 
I've been to both Naturalist and Middle Basin, and you can't go wrong with either one. As @JoshuaDyal pointed out, you leave the crowds behind if you camp away from Jordan Lake. I had my chosen lake to myself for a whole weekend in August last summer. If you go to Naturalist the upper shelf is a must see. You're pretty much looking at the same scenario in Middle Basin. The crowds all camp at Ryder Lake. This early in the year that may not be an issue though. Have fun!

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I stayed the night at Naturalist (Morat Lake) last night and got up on the ridge between Agassiz and Spread Eagle this morning to have a look down into Middle Basin. All lakes in both basins are still frozen. I'll post a few pics here in a bit, soon as I get them all off my card and uploaded.
 
Nice. You should post that in the Uintas Conditions thread too since not as many people may be watching this one. Stoked for pics!
 
Ok, so I was wrong. There is one lake in Naturalist Basin that was fully free of ice: East Morat. All the rest were at least half frozen. The next closest to being ice free was Faxon Lake, which appeared to be about a 3rd frozen. The rest were all fully frozen, or at least 75% frozen.

So @Skiwi, here's a mini report with answers to some of your questions that may help you decide between Middle Basin, Naturalist Basin, or elsewhere for your trip this weekend...

The trail from Highline Trailhead to the final turn-off from the Highline trail is pretty good save a number of small stretches where it does get a bit wet and muddy, but there are plenty of rocks to step across and keep the bulk of your shoes dry. There are well over a dozen tree falls across the trail. A few were low enough to just step up and over. Most, however, required a good detour off trail to get around.

One of the many tree falls.
P1020801.jpg

There are lots of little wild flowers that have popped up along the lower trail.
P1020808.jpg

After the turn-off from the Highline trail, the trail really starts to get get wet, that is, it really starts to go underwater at some sections.P1020809.jpg
Somewhere under that water is the trail. Fortunately it can all be bypassed by going off trail.

Soon after these wet sections you reach the fork where you can left and on up to Morat Lakes and the western side of the basin, or take a right and head up for Jordan Lake and the eastern side of the basin. If you choose Jordan, you'll have to forward the creek right after the fork, and the creek is running pretty high from all the snowmelt right now.P1020816.jpg
You can see above that the trail runs right through the creek where the rocks are all lined up in a row. The water appeared to be at least knee high and possibly even waist high right in the middle.

After seeing that, I opted to go back and take the route up to Morat Lakes where I set up camp for the night.P1020867.jpg

Early in the morning, I made my way on up to the upper bench where Blue Lake lied. It was completely frozen over. I then worked my way up to the ridge that divides Naturalist from Middle Basin.P1020912.jpg

You can see there is still lots of snow in the upper edges of Middle Basin. Agassiz is on the left and Hayden Peak to the right.
P1020906.jpg

A zoom in on Ryder Lake (middle) and McPheters Lake (upper right). These two and their surrounding sibling lakes all still appear to be mostly frozen over.
P1020898.jpg

A look back down into Naturalist Basin from the ridge.P1020902.jpg
Still lots of snow across the upper benches. I post-holed through a great deal of it to make the rounds to each of the lakes after descending the ridge.

Zoom in of LeConte Lake (lower left) and Jordan Lake (middle-right).P1020913.jpg
The edges on each lake are just barely revealing liquid.

A close-up of Jordan.
P1020935.jpg

Making my way back down to Morat Lakes. The left one (eastern Morat) is the only lake in the basin that was without any ice.
P1020954.jpg

Mosquitos were not bothersome for me at all. I brought some repellant and a bug net for my head, just in case, but was never bothered enough to get out either.

All in all, Naturalist Basin is doable with no special gear, as I was able to do, but as you've now seen, conditions are still pretty wet and mushy up there with some significant snow drifts and what not still in process of melting out. I did take some spikes along which I used to help me up to the ridge. If you want to explore the upper bench, you'll be post holding. You'll also be getting your shoes and feet wet, no matter what. I lost the trail a few times on my way up to Morat Lakes due to snow and run-off, and had to pull out my map a couple times to find my way back to it.

So, you could still do Naturalist, but, depending on who you have in your group and what your objectives are, you may have a more enjoyable time somewhere a little lower. When I signed the register, there was only one other party signed in, and they had gone up to Four Lakes Basin. I did not see a soul on the trail going up last night, nor on the way back until I was about 1-2 miles shy of the Highline Trailhead again. At that point, another couple were on their way out to Four Lakes Basin. So, Four Lakes Basin seems to be a good destination of choice right now that you may want to consider instead for this time of year.
 
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