Uinta's in late sept

[gloo]

So I'm finally seeing some light in my schedule to get my uinta backpacking fix. the last two weekends of this month are looking pretty clear. Yay. I've been looking at doing ibantik one weekend and perhaps duck another. shorter, quicker and easier trips. any other lower elevation trips that aren't named long lake (or as busy.. haha) that I should consider?

My question for you guys is - what kind of weather should i (generally) expect in later sept up there? ibantik is around 10000 so its pretty high up. low 20's at night a good bed?

 

[Dan]

yeah, 20 is a safe bet, but it will be widely variable, could snow, could be nice. there's also massive micro-climates depending on where you pitch camp. remember, hot air rises, cold sinks... so try not to pitch camp in a depression, or where cold air from lakes and rivers can get trapped, etc. pitch under a tree for help with condensation. but yeah, an insulated ground pad will go a long way in that situation too.

ibantik is a good choice. there's not tons of options in the 3-5 mile range outside of the crystal lakes/pass lake area.

 

[Nick]

Agreed. I've experienced beautiful weather well into October in the Uintas. But I've also come seriously close to disaster from insane, wintery weather in September. The monsoons will be gone though so much easier to predict by keeping an eye on the forecasts.

Another option is the Clyde Lake Loop out of the Crystal Lake trailhead head up either through Wall or Watson Lakes, loop up over Clyde and Three Divide, maybe side trip it down to Hidden. Good loop.

If you have two cars, the Ibantik point-to-point is awesome. Start at Bald Mountain Pass, go past Notch & Bench then down and around to Ibantik. The next day cross over the pass and choose which side of the Clyde Loop to go down.

 

[Deadeye008]

The Fish Lake area is short(4.5 miles to Fish Lake) and it's a nice area. Fishing is great also. Late September you should see a lot less people. I'd suggest going to W-57 if you like to fish and want a small lake all to yourself. It's just past Fish Lake. Probably 5 miles from the Dry Fork TH. I posted a trip report on the area a few weeks back.