Uintas Mid-June

[Thomas Rasmuson]

Hey guys, so I have been trying to plan a mid June uinta trip but obviously there is no way to know the conditions up there until the time comes. I have been looking at some trip reports from previous years. The areas I am planning on doing is either the North Fork Provo River http://backcountrypost.com/forum/threads/uintas-north-fork-trail.822/ or
Shingle Creek http://backcountrypost.com/forum/threads/uintas-north-fork-trail.822/. I understand Nick has done both of them in early-mid June so maybe he will have some input. My question is, do you think either one of these will be doable the weekend of the 13th of June? And if so, which one would be better/which one is better?

 

[Nick]

They'll both be doable, the question is how far up will you be able to go. Shingle Creek picks up elevation faster and heads into deep forest has more potential to hold snow if things don't melt off fast. If I were you, I'd shoot for North Fork. It's a surprisingly nice hike and you could follow it all the way to the Duck Lake area which I would think would be wide open by mid-June this year, especially since it's lower in elevation. There's also a good possibility you can just go straight to the higher elevation stuff along the Mirror Lake Highway if things warm up and melt out in decent time, which I think it will.

 

[Thomas Rasmuson]

They'll both be doable, the question is how far up will you be able to go. Shingle Creek picks up elevation faster and heads into deep forest has more potential to hold snow if things don't melt off fast. If I were you, I'd shoot for North Fork. It's a surprisingly nice hike and you could follow it all the way to the Duck Lake area which I would think would be wide open by mid-June this year, especially since it's lower in elevation. There's also a good possibility you can just go straight to the higher elevation stuff along the Mirror Lake Highway if things warm up and melt out in decent time, which I think it will.

Thanks for the reply. I am open to either one like I said, and you're probably right about the higher elevation trails being open by then too. If we do decide to do North Fork, what trailhead is it, and do you have directions to get there?