Planning a Uinta Highline Trail Trip

[WasatchWill]

I wish I could join up for this. Definitely agree with camping close to the big passes as much as possible.

 

[Parma]

Hiking with other similarly skilled backpackers as yourself instead of with scouts is a world of difference!
The miles are much easier and more enjoyable too.
So doing long days wouldn't be too bad.

 

[Parma]

but a shorter first day is still great advice...long days on days 2-5 would be easier and lighter as you eat your food.

 

[Blake Merrell]

Lovin' the advise guys. Thanks for your help!

 

[Artemus]

Hey Art,
I am totally cool with you adding your camp waypoints to my map. To edit my map go to this link: http://caltopo.com/m/654A
the password to edit it is: bcp
Thanks!!

I should be able to remember that password I'll try and add my camps this weekend. Will be cool. Your trip will be cool. Do you have a ton of Uintas experience? My trip was planned around me seeing new places and having seen many of the outlier areas. The east end of the route was a total surprise as to its beauty and strangeness to me. Course that is because alpine tundra is my special love.... and because I visit Hayden pass on the MLH 15 times/year.

 

[Artemus]

but a shorter first day is still great advice...long days on days 2-5 would be easier and lighter as you eat your food.

Of course you could go for the record and then you are doing it in about a day with some goo, a water bottle and a rain jacket. Just sayin'.... Light makes Right!

...see Davy Crockett http://www.crockettclan.org/blog/?p=7 and others....

 

[Artemus]

I was flown in to Lambert meadows to look for the missing Aussie two days after my crossing and met a guy doing the whole thing in three days if memory serves.

 

[WasatchWill]

Of course you could go for the record and then you are doing it in about a day with some goo, a water bottle and a rain jacket. Just sayin'....
see Davey Crockett and others....

Once upon a time, I thought I would become an ultra-runner after getting hooked on cross country in high school and running a couple marathons thereafter. But then I figured, why rush the trails? Stay awhile, enjoy the scenery, spend a night...or more. I do enjoy running still, just not in the scenic high country. I need more time to soak that stuff in.

 

[Artemus]

Navigation is a bit of a challenge. The trail signage and condition is atrocious. As Nick said point to point or "macro" navigation is great when you are up in the tundra and there is no forest or fog and you have the ability to triangulate on a map. The biggest problem is the absence of the real trail in the high alpine meadows due to it being obliterated and confused by thousands! yes, that many, sheep making hundreds of sheep trails.

 

[Artemus]

Once upon a time, I thought I would become an ultra-runner after getting hooked on cross country in high school and running a couple marathons thereafter. But then I figured, why rush the trails? Stay awhile, enjoy the scenery, spend a night...or more. I do enjoy running still, just not in the scenic high country. I need more time to soak that stuff in.

I am with ya there, brother. Davy's approach is just to run it over and over and over and he gets the same number of trail hours

 

[Blake Merrell]

I should be able to remember that password I'll try and add my camps this weekend. Will be cool. Your trip will be cool. Do you have a ton of Uintas experience? My trip was planned around me seeing new places and having seen many of the outlier areas. The east end of the route was a total surprise as to its beauty and strangeness to me. Course that is because alpine tundra is my special love.... and because I visit Hayden pass on the MLH 15 times/year.

I don't have a ton of Uinta Experience. When I was younger I spent a week in the Chepeta Lake area, and my trip last year from WFBF to Hayden Pass was my first time in that country (not counting camping at mirror lake a few times). I also did an Amethyst Lake trip last Fall (Amazing!)

Anyway... I have yet to really see the Uintas. im hoping that this highline trail trip will help me do some of that

 

[Artemus]

Anyway... I have yet to really see the Uintas. im hoping that this highline trail trip will help me do some of that

Great. So MOST of the trail will be new country. What a treat! It will mean you will want to concentrate on your navigation and navigation contingency planning.

 

[Blake Merrell]

Great. So MOST of the trail will be new country. What a treat! It will mean you will want to concentrate on your navigation and navigation contingency planning.

YES! 2/3 of that trip will be new to me! I am also thrilled that my first summit of Kings will be on this trip. Cant. Hardly. Wait!

 

[JoshuaDyal]

I thought the route from Leidy to Chepeta was easy in regard to navigation and route finding. Granted, the trails aren't all that defined through some of it, but if you stick pretty close to your plotted route, you'll be good to go. You can pretty much always see miles ahead and behind so just going from point-to-point is really easy. We went around the south side of Leidy but I'd probably go with the north if I was doing it again.

I wondered. Maybe he just got really hung up on sticking to the actual trail instead of making the actual destinations? Talking about spending an hour or two trying to find a cairn when you can see the pass you need to cross later in the day clearly does seem a little odd. But like I said, I've never been that far east in the Uintas, so it wasn't clear to me that you could see ahead so easily.

 

[JoshuaDyal]

I was flown in to Lambert meadows to look for the missing Aussie two days after my crossing and met a guy doing the whole thing in three days if memory serves.

Did anyone ever find out what happened to him, or is he still missing?

 

[Nick]

Did anyone ever find out what happened to him, or is he still missing?

Still missing, last seen around the west side of Bluebell Pass quite a way off course. Have you heard anything since then @langutah?

 

[Artemus]

Last report was a scout master saw him there and he seemed happy and healthy albeit a little location confused. He was apparently heading north to get back on the Highline.

 

[Artemus]

OK Blake, I doctored up your map. I hope it is not TMI. Let me know and I will remove some detail. Turns out we did the route in 7 days six camps. In general are early days were shorter than yours and then we surpassed your later days in distance. wOOt!

 

[Blake Merrell]

OK Blake, I doctored up your map. I hope it is not TMI. Let me know and I will remove some detail. Turns out we did the route in 7 days six camps. In general are early days were shorter than yours and then we surpassed your later days in distance. wOOt!

WOAH! Love the detail!!!

I will have to agree with your comments about WFBF and bypassing the "real highline trail" On my last trip we stayed high through the rock creek basin and that whole sections ended up being my favorite part of our "little" 50 miler.

 

[Artemus]

WOAH! Love the detail!!!

I will have to agree with your comments about WFBF and bypassing the "real highline trail" On my last trip we stayed high through the rock creek basin and that whole sections ended up being my favorite part of our "little" 50 miler.

I think you mean upper Rock Creek not WFBF, no? How many people do you have going?
It was fun to mark up your map. Brings back memories and spurs me on to return to some spots - like the Upper Yellowstone. I really love Lambert Meadows too but it was so badly sheep damaged. I came back and complained to the forest service about eco-abuse, again.