Reid's Peak - Uintas - July 22, 2023

[scatman]

I've been heading up to the Uintas for a weekend over the summer for the past thirty three years. On these trips, I usually do a day hike on the Saturday, and quite frequently I have hiked to the top of Bald Mountain. While on top of Bald Mountain, I have always looked over to the northwest at Reid's Peak and wondered if anyone had climbed it. So two years ago, back in 2021, Sheila and I headed up Bald Mountain thinking that we might make our way over to Reid's. Once on top though, Sheila got cold feet looking down the slope of Bald towards the saddle between Bald and Reid's, so we instead returned to the trailhead.



Reid's Peak over my left shoulder, and to the right of Sheila, back in 2021

Then in 2022, it rained on the day I was doing my day hike, and I didn't feel confident enough to tackle Reid's, so I did a rainy, foggy Bald Mountain again instead.


A cloudy/foggy Bald Mountain in 2022

So maybe in 2023 the third time will be the charm?

We stayed at Sulphur Campground for the sixth year in a row. Before that, we tried to mix things up a bit and stay at different campgrounds, but for some reason we have stuck with Sulphur since 2017, and that year my family hiked to the summit of Bald Mountain (of course we did).


Check out this fine looking gentleman (aka @Jackson) that we met at the summit of Bald Mountain back in 2017. Man, how time
flies!


Pre-hike photos.

We drove up to Sulphur Campground Friday afternoon and the campground and vicinity were full of wildflowers that I'd like to share.


Hayden Peak, taken form the Hayden Peak overlook. The sun angle was just perfect for this shot


Hummingbird at camp


The Scat setup at site #19


A visitor on the periphery of the campground










Wildflowers around camp


Please do not eat the plants


This bad boy has been working for over 50 years.


Nice camouflage


Day of the hike shots:

In order to keep up with @TractorDoc's training routine, and I mean the guy is like a Navy Seal with his dedication, I had to attempt Reid's Peak. I couldn't get anyone else to join me, so I was on my own.


I had to unload the Subaru for those staying at camp. The important stuff is on the right side of the table.


Reid's Peak is on the right, with Bald Mountain on the left as I am driving to the trailhead


Overview map of my day hike

So I had planned to start form the Bald Mountain Trailhead and take the Notch Mountain Trail to head around Bald Mountain. At some point, I was then going to leave the trail and head off-trail and work my way up to the saddle between Bald Mountain and Reid's Peak. Once there, I would work my way up the ridgeline of Reid's toward the summit. I had taken a waypoint of where I thought that the best jump off point from the trail was, but of course Mr. Genius left the GPS unit back in the tent at the campground and I didn't realize it until I was almost at the trailhead. So I was on my own for figuring out when to head cross-country.

Okay, stop the presses! Before I go any further, I should probably tell everyone which cameras I took on this hike.



Now back to the story.


I left the trailhead just after 7:30 AM, and began working my way around Bald Mountain


Bluebells were abundant along my route


First look at Reid's Peak in the morning light as I am rounding Bald Mountain


A meadow corridor looking towards Haystack Mountain


Another view from the Notch Mountain Trail


Heading off trail towards the drainage that leads to the saddle


Passing by and unnamed pond. Mosquitoes were becoming quite a nuisance at this point.


View up to the saddle


Rock hopping now, and beginning to get some views to the west


Always love to run into columbine on my hikes


As I gain elevation, the views are getting better - Haystack Mountain on the left to Notch Mountain on the right, and Mount
Watson in between.


Still some snow on the west side of Bald Mountain


Making my way up to the saddle. There was a small cliff band in the trees that I found a chute that goats had used to scramble up
it.


Just before reaching the saddle, I saw these two goats on the slope of Bald Mountain. I almost thought I could see @Bob hanging
out with them up there.


View from the saddle


View from the saddle towards Hayden Peak


Looking up at the ridgeline of Reid's Peak from the saddle


Hugging a cliff band on Reid's, looking towards Haystack Mountain with some of the lakes below coming into view


I'm guessing that that is the summit above?


Still working my way up the ridge


A look back at Bald Mountain


A cairn ahead that I did not knock down.


I traversed beneath this cliff band until I reached the steep scree that I would head up
to get to the summit


Getting really steep at this point. I tried to choose the path of least resistance at this point. I'm not sure how successful I was.


Damn near straight up at this point, at least if felt that way


I took the chute on the far left to scramble to the summit


A chute to the summit

Views from the summit:


View to the southwest towards Haystack Mountain. Lakes in the shot include Reids Lake. Notch Lake, Dean Lake, Clegg Lake, Star
Lake, Wall Lake, Trail Lake, Washington Lake. I'm probably missing a few of them. @Ugly help!


View to the west towards Notch Mountain


View to the northwest and the Weber River Drainage


View to the northeast and Mount Marsell and Kamas Lake


View slightly northeast towards Hayden Peak. On the far right of this shot is the actual high point of Reid's Peak


The summit, just across the small snow field


Somebody hauled a mailbox all the way up here


I signed the register. I was the first person to summit in 2023, at least according to the register. And only a handful of people had
summited in 2022.


Summit shot


Tripod position


View of Bald Mountain from the summit of Reid's Peak


Another look at Mount Marsell and Unnamed Peak 11,113 along with Kamas Lake


Lost Lake below


The essential gear


Zoomed in on Mount Timpanogos


Zoomed in on the Lone Peak Wilderness


Zoomed in on the Twin Peaks Wilderness, with the Mount Olympus Wilderness in the distance on the far right of the image


Another shot of Hayden as the sun angle improves after my lunch


Down the chute as they say as I begin to head off the summit


Better sun angle on the west side of Bald Mountain too.


I started to traverse along this cliff band on my way down, but I realized it was the wrong band, so I had to backtrack and drop
down to the next band.


This is the right one.


Fleabane


Working my way back down the ridge towards the saddle


What the southeast ridge looks like, some scrambling required.


Back on the saddle and looking up at the Bald Mountain ridgeline. I gave some thought
to heading up it and taking the Bald Mountain Trail back to the trailhead, but I didn't
know how long it would take me to make the climb and I had to get back to camp to
start cooking, so I backtracked the way I had come instead.


This is the goat trail through the small cliff band that I spoke of earlier


Looking down the drainage I had come up earlier in the day


Looking back up the way I had come down from the saddle


Grateful to be off the rocks at last, looking up at the slope of Reid's Peak


Looking back at a better shot of the saddle on my way back to the trailhead


Zoomed in on the chutes that lead to the summit. Can you see the one I took?


A pond and Reid's


West side of Bald Mountain


Bye bye Reid's


Buttercups along the trail


Back at the trailhead.


After Hike Shots:

Of course these Uinta trips mean you have to cook, and that means cast iron.


In the 21 inch cast iron skillet, we have chicken thighs marinated in a Hawaiian BBQ sauce, along with red potatoes and fresh
pineapple. In the 12 inch Dutch oven, we have Santa Fe soup, and in the 14 inch Dutch oven, we have, back by popular demand,
Mac & Cheese. You needed to stop by on your way north @Rockskipper and get you a bite to eat. We had plenty.


Chef Scat on cooking duty, and apparently being photobombed in the process.


What it looks like all served up and it was delicious. Those are some jalapeno chips crushed up on the mac & cheese.


And to wash it all down I had a Founders Breakfast Stout


Homemade boat races down Hayden Fork were going to be on Sunday, and Lord Business was not going to be taking any prisoners.

And our friend showed up on the periphery of camp again so I took a few shots before he wandered off.










Well, a great trip and a wonderful hike. If you want some solitude from the crowds on Bald Mountain give the solitude of Reid's Peak a go.


The End.

 

[Jackson]

Awesome! I remember looking over at it and thinking it looked like a pretty tough (for me) summit. Looks about as challenging up close as it does from afar! Nice work! Love how expansive the views are.

That's pretty nuts it's been 6 years since we took that picture. Such a great chance encounter!

 

[Ugly]

I do not think you need my help for any of the lake names. I am sure that Cliff and Petit and a myriad of others are out there. That view looks amazing! That is a nice morning hike.
The steep scree looks like it made you work hard on the way up. Did you slip and slide much on the way down at the top section?
I also think that the saddle has a nice place to pitch a tent if one wanted to hang out with the goats.

Did Lord Business win the boat race? or some other wily character?

 

[TractorDoc]

Wow!

Very impressive Hugh. Reports like this put my turtle picture postings to shame.

I sense the butt-pucker factor may have been high on this one, likely keeping me on the sidelines. Looking at all those rocks makes my legs hurt.

You'll be bringing some of that cast iron down the Thorofare, right? I like my mac and cheese extra cheesy.

Well done indeed. After reading accomplishments like this I have no doubt that I'll be bringing up the rear on Mojo Pass.

 

[scatman]

Awesome! I remember looking over at it and thinking it looked like a pretty tough (for me) summit. Looks about as challenging up close as it does from afar! Nice work! Love how expansive the views are.

That's pretty nuts it's been 6 years since we took that picture. Such a great chance encounter!

You'd make the summit easily.

 

[scatman]

I do not think you need my help for any of the lake names. I am sure that Cliff and Petit and a myriad of others are out there. That view looks amazing! That is a nice morning hike.
The steep scree looks like it made you work hard on the way up. Did you slip and slide much on the way down at the top section?
I also think that the saddle has a nice place to pitch a tent if one wanted to hang out with the goats.

Did Lord Business win the boat race? or some other wily character?

Not too much slipping and sliding on the way down. There were numerous large rocks that were loose, and down stepping was a bit tricky for me, what with my 80 year old knees and my balance isn't quite what it used to be. I actually think going down is tougher now than heading up.

Can't wait for your tent site picture when you get up there.

Lord Business took second place, so as you can imagine, he wasn't a happy camper.

 

[scatman]

Wow!

Very impressive Hugh. Reports like this put my turtle picture postings to shame.

I sense the butt-pucker factor may have been high on this one, likely keeping me on the sidelines. Looking at all those rocks makes my legs hurt.

You'll be bringing some of that cast iron down the Thorofare, right? I like my mac and cheese extra cheesy.

Well done indeed. After reading accomplishments like this I have no doubt that I'll be bringing up the rear on Mojo Pass.

I'd trade one Reid's Peak for a snapper any day of the week my friend. I've only seen one snapping turtle in the wild in my lifetime, and that was back when I was six years old in North Carolina. The snapper is one of those few animals that I have a small bit of trepidation for. I'm still amazed that you keep seeing them. Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get a shot of an alligator snapper.

There were only two minor butt-pucker moments. One was due to a dead tree on the ridge that I had to contort around with some serious exposure off to my right side. The second was again off to my right heading up the ridge, but the footing was really good, but if you don't like heights then you might have broken out in a sweat. If you closed your eyes, you'd be just fine. Everything else was pretty straight forward.

Which piece of cast iron do you want me to bring? Be careful though because I may have to sneak it into your pack after a day or two. Maybe we can get @Rockskipper to haul in some with her mule?

I can guarantee you that I will be bringing up the rear on the way up to Majo Pass. You'll need a big chubby guy to catch you and @wsp_scott from rolling back down the hillside.