Uintas - Notch Mountain Area

Udink

Still right here.
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
1,691
The last weekend in May proved to not be a good time for me to try backpacking in the Uintas. Fast-forward four weeks and conditions were wonderful. I planned out a loop in the vicinity of Notch Mountain with a little peak bagging thrown in the mix. Chris couldn't join me until late Friday night, so I started hiking solo (well, me and Torrey) from the car-packed Crystal Lake trailhead just after 6PM and shortly thereafter took the turn at the signed junction toward Cliff Lake. The trail was relatively easy as I strolled past Cliff, Petit, and Watson lakes. All my other Uinta backpacking trips consisted of sustained steep climbs but the elevation gain here was small and gradual. Mosquitoes were numerous at the lower lakes but not bothersome as long as I was moving. I somehow lost the trail at Watson Lake. I followed the inlet stream for a short distance without seeing any signs of a trail, so I cut cross-country to the east where I knew I'd run into it eventually--and I did.

Signed junction to Cliff Lake
IMG_5479.JPG


Climbing up to Cliff Lake
IMG_5486.JPG


Cliff Lake and Mt. Watson
IMG_5492.JPG


Cliff Lake
IMG_5503.JPG


Mosquitoes over Petit Lake
IMG_5505.JPG


Petit Lake reflection
IMG_5507.JPG


Watson Lake
IMG_5510.JPG


As I approached Clyde Lake the views became more grand as the sun sunk low in the sky. I almost set up camp on the shore of Clyde but the "No Camping" signs scared me off. Instead I pitched the tent in a small meadow next to a tiny stream between Clyde Lake and Twin Lakes. I was a third of a mile from where I'd told Chris to look for me. Cell service was flaky and I wasn't sure the text with my new coordinates had gotten out to him but I hoped he'd find me. If not, I was sure we'd meet up in the morning. Despite not having eaten since lunch eight hours earlier, I wasn't hungry. I still forced myself to boil some water and eat some rehydrated chili-mac which I shared with Torrey. The sunset was more delicious than dinner, with some beautiful low-angle light striking East Notch Mountain and cotton-candy pinks and purples in the clouds. I hit the sack at 10:30 and was awakened only an hour later by Chris. I crawled out of bed to greet him and chat while he set up camp, then we both got some sleep.

Pond below Clyde Lake, with East Notch Mountain, Reid's Peak, and Bald Mountain in the background
IMG_5518.JPG


Clyde Lake and East Notch Mountain
IMG_5523.JPG


Glacier-honed rock at Clyde Lake
IMG_5529.JPG


Pink clouds
IMG_5533.JPG


Sunset on East Notch Mountain
IMG_5534.JPG


Sunset from camp
IMG_5537.JPG


My tent in a meadow between Clyde Lake and Twin Lakes
IMG_5541.JPG


With an easy schedule for the day we were in no hurry to get moving on Saturday morning. We'd packed up camp and stashed our backpacks in some thick trees and hit the trail at 9:40. I purchased a lightweight day pack specifically to use on this trip since we'd be summiting two mountain peaks, and it proved to be invaluable. I threw two 1-L Nalgenes, some snacks, extra batteries, and some ibuprofen in the pack and clipped my GPS and camera to the sternum and waist straps. It sure beat carrying a water bottle and a granola bar! On the approach to Watson we scouted and planned a route up the northeast ridge and it worked out perfectly. We first hiked up a well-consolidated but steep, rocky slope to the ridge, kicking through a small snow drift just before reaching the top of the ridge. From then on it was a boulder hop to the summit with a couple of snow crossings. Chris, as usual, was well ahead of me for most of the hike. Torrey and I reached the summit and Chris was nowhere to be found. I approached the small summit shelter and found him nodding off comfortably in the pile of rocks.

Starting our dayhike to the summit of Mt. Watson
IMG_5542.JPG


Approaching the base of Mt. Watson
IMG_5548.JPG


Two backpackers at the pond below Clyde Lake
IMG_5554.JPG


Torrey almost to the ridge
IMG_5564.JPG


On the northeast ridge of Mt. Watson
IMG_5566.JPG


View from the ridge toward Clyde Lake
IMG_5567.JPG


View down the northeast ridge of Mt. Watson
IMG_5575.JPG


Pretty purple flowers
IMG_5579.JPG


Torrey getting a drink
IMG_5580.JPG


The view from the top--THE VIEW!--was incredible. We could see deep blue lakes in almost every direction, plus many other high Uinta peaks to the east. We spent some time searching for a summit register or survey marker but found neither. Chris wanted to glissade down the snow field but I was hesitant to follow him. Never having done it before, I wasn't certain I'd be able to stop myself upon reaching the rocks at the bottom. After watching Chris slide down uneventfully, I went for it. It was a lot of fun and even Torrey tried joining in by running alongside me playfully. After picking up our packs we hiked cross-country until we picked up the trail just south of the Notch. After a couple of switchbacks and crossing a short run of snow we were at the summit of the Notch, which divides Notch Mountain in two. @Nick had told me to watch out for mountain goats there, and without even looking I spotted some movement in the cliffs above and east of the Notch. The goats were bedded down high up and far away so I couldn't get a decent photo. After the trail began its descent north of the Notch we were treated to a nice view of Lovenia Lake and another unnamed lake below it.

Chris enjoying the view from Mt. Watson summit
IMG_5585.JPG


Rock recliner
IMG_5589.JPG


Lamotte, Hayden, and Ostler peaks all visible in the distance to the east
IMG_5595.JPG


Chris glissading down the ridge
IMG_5600.JPG


Chris glissading down the ridge
IMG_5603.JPG


Marsh north of Mt. Watson
IMG_5610.JPG


The northernmost of Twin Lakes
IMG_5619.JPG


Climbing up to the Notch
IMG_5629.JPG


Summit of the Notch
IMG_5634.JPG


Mountain goat on the cliffs east of the Notch
IMG_5640.JPG


Lovenia Lake
IMG_5643.JPG


Unnamed lake below Lovenia
IMG_5654.JPG


Our planned camp spot for the second night was at Ibantik Lake. The trail loses 500' of elevation in less than three-quarters of a mile between the Notch and Ibantik. It had me worried that our hike back out in the morning would be rough, but the descent was gradual enough that my worries were allayed as we hiked through mostly gentle terrain and a few switchbacks. There was one so-so camp spot immediately upon reaching Ibantik Lake, but after a circuit across the dam to the other side of the lake, we found all the good sites occupied. Discouraged to find so many people in the area, we found a place to camp away from the lake. It was grassy, flat, and sheltered by trees, but the view left much to be desired. The big plus was the snow drift remaining nearby where Chris and I each stashed a flask of liquor to chill. We lounged around a while, not wanting to set up camp too early. I walked away a short distance to relieve myself and noticed the group at one of the best sites on the lake leaving! Had I not had to go right then we'd have never known that a great spot to camp just opened up. We grabbed our packs and moved into the new digs, then returned to grab our flasks and a jacket full of snow to take to the new camp.

Walking the plank
IMG_5656.JPG


On the spillway at Ibantik Lake
IMG_5668.JPG


Flasks chilling in a pile of snow we carried to our camp
IMG_5682.JPG


Setting up camp near Ibantik Lake
IMG_5683.JPG


Chris is sad that one flask per person wasn't enough
IMG_5686.JPG


Ibantik Lake
IMG_5691.JPG


We set up camp while several groups passed through also looking for a place to camp. We selfishly tried to appear unwelcoming hoping to deter new neighbors from setting up in the spot 50' from us, but a couple and their two children did just that--we were nice after it was clear they were staying, though. :) We had a fire and a drink, ate dinner, and went to bed relatively early once we were out of booze. Despite not overdoing it that evening, we slept in quite late on Sunday morning. It felt great. We packed up and hit the trail after 10:30, playing leapfrog with two other groups who were also hiking toward the Notch. Less than an hour after leaving camp we'd reached the saddle of the Notch, stashed our packs in the trees, and started the ugly boulder hop up East Notch Mountain.

Tent and campfire
IMG_5696.JPG


Ibantik Lake
IMG_5697.JPG


Ibantik Lake reflection at sunset
IMG_5698.JPG


Chris and Torrey on the trail up to the Notch
IMG_5712.JPG


The start of the ugly boulder ascent from the Notch to East Notch Mountain
IMG_5713.JPG


We skirted around the base of the cliffs on the southwest side of the mountain while looking for a break in the rock that would allow us to reach the more level ground above. The weakness in the cliffs that we found was difficult to scramble up. We briefly fought with loose soil and small, loose boulders until reaching safer ground. Above the cliffs we had fairly straightforward boulder hopping the rest of the way to the summit. The views were great but not quite comparable to those from Mt. Watson. We found the geocache at the summit and signed in, then attempted some Facebooking on our phones but despite a good signal we could barely send/receive any data. The descent went quickly, and surprisingly the steepest part seemed easier going down than it had going up.

Trial Lake and Wall Lake viewed from East Notch Mountain
IMG_5719.JPG


Steep, loose route through the cliffs to the ridge of East Notch Mountain
IMG_5720.JPG


More boulder hopping
IMG_5724.JPG


Panorama from East Notch Mountain
IMG_5740_stitch.jpg


Approaching the saddle on East Notch Mountain
IMG_5744.JPG


View northeast from East Notch Mountain saddle
IMG_5748_stitch.jpg


Fractured cliffs
IMG_5755.JPG


Ibantik Lake from East Notch Mountain
IMG_5759.JPG


Chris signing the geocache log
IMG_5763.JPG


As we were retrieving our packs at the Notch we spotted the mountain goats again, this time just a short distance from the trail. There was a fair amount of traffic on the trail and soon there were almost a dozen onlookers. After taking a few photos, Chris and I were ready to start the hike back to the trailhead. We took a different route back than I'd taken in on Friday, and it was less scenic and more heavily-traveled. We passed several day-hikers, many of them with dogs, and saw a lot of people hanging out around Wall Lake. It took only 1.5 hours to get from the Notch to our vehicles--a seemingly short amount of time considering we'd been out for a couple of days and it felt to me like we were farther away from civilization. The mosquitoes at the trailhead were worse than they'd been at any other time during the trip. Chris and I visited a bit longer there before getting in our vehicles and parting ways.

Mountain goats at the Notch
IMG_5771.JPG


Mountain goat at the Notch
IMG_5778.JPG


Mountain goat at the Notch
IMG_5781.JPG


Boardwalk at Hope Lake
IMG_5787.JPG


Hope Lake
IMG_5789.JPG


Lily Lake
IMG_5798.JPG


GPS stats back at the trailhead. Disappointed that I only got up to 7.2 mph on the glissade!
IMG_5800.JPG


During the drive down the Mirror Lake Highway I saw a lot of cyclists hauling ass down the road--I find them kind of annoying but I'm fully accepting of their right to be there. However, one cyclist evoked quite a bit of joy when I saw him riding. Car traffic was slowing for an older gentleman riding a penny-farthing. Seriously! I threw him the shaka and he nodded back, as if to say, "I know." Yeah, he was a cool dude alright. Back at home that night as I was just falling asleep in bed, I was startled awake a couple of times by dreams of hopping on boulders that shifted under my weight. I'm sure that says something about my state of mind during the peak bagging portions of the trip, but the overarching thought in my head during the entire trip was that I need to take my family to this area and share it with them someday soon.


Full photo gallery:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Dennis.Udink/UintasNotchMountainArea

Featured image for home page:
slide.jpg
 
Uinta classic, nicely done. I've eyeballed Watson a few times but never committed to making the climb.

Ibantik looks a lot better than it did last fall. I wonder how long until the drought draws down the levels again this year.
 
Sweet trip report, Dennis! I was so tempted to come hook up with you guys for this but duty called on the home front. Really impressed that you knocked out the peaks. That's one thing that I haven't really gotten into through my Uintas explorations. I think I've only been on a couple Uinta peaks despite covering most of the basins and trails that I'm interested in. One hell of a view up there!

Also cool to see the Clyde loop again. I did it as one of my first Uinta trips many years ago in late September (maybe early October). It was nice the first night at Twin Lakes but then we woke up to a downpour on day 2. We day hiked over to Hidden Lake in the intermittent heavy rain and by the time we got back, we were all borderline hypothermic. We eventually went into survival mode in our tents. Nikita was shaking so hard that I had to take the only dry clothes I had left (my extra boxer shorts) and dry her off the best I could and shove her in the foot box of my sleeping bag to warm up. Finally, after probably 18+ hours of near solid rain, I woke up around 2am to a bright light outside my tent. It was the moon and the sky was clear. I got out of my tent to an amazing scene - a solid sheet of ice coating everything in the forest. The full moon lit it up and reflected it around like a pair of headlights, it was insane. We all got up, thrilled that we could actually warm up to a fire and finally cook some food. I'll never forget that trip even though I don't have any photos from it. Thanks for taking me back.

Excellent report! I'm totally jealous that you saw mountain goats. Despite the fact that I've been visiting the
mountains since I could crawl, I've still never seen one.


If you want a nearly sure thing - cross over the Notch. If they're not there when you cross, hang out for a while or catch them on the way back. They were up on the ridge away from me when I crossed it but their wool was all over in the trees on the pass. The Allsop Lake cirque is also quite full of goats.
 
If you want a nearly sure thing - cross over the Notch. If they're not there when you cross, hang out for a while or catch them on the way back. They were up on the ridge away from me when I crossed it but their wool was all over in the trees on the pass. The Allsop Lake cirque is also quite full of goats.


Awesome, thanks for the tip! I've been up to the Notch from the Crystal Lake side a couple times, but wasn't looking for goats while I was up there. Next time I will keep my eyes peeled. I'm hoping I'll get my goat redemption next month when I go to Glacier NP.
 
I'm going to Ibantik on Monday! Which side of the lake had the best spots? Sorry to hear there were so many people there - I was under the impression that few people actually camped there. Great photos too!
 
There are a couple of nice spots on the west side of the lake--that's where we stayed. A lot of traffic passed nearby from people looking for a place to camp, but you probably won't have that problem on a Monday. If you did want more seclusion there are some good spots on the southeast corner of the lake. That area is pretty much a dead-end unless you want to cross the scree field at the head of the lake, so I'm sure there's a lot less traffic through that corner.
 
You can also get to that SE side by crossing the dam. Only one good site and a couple mediocre ones on the east side. Views are best from the northwest side but as Dennis says, traffic is much higher.
 
I love the "the sunset was more delicious than the food." Awesome. Great Trip Report. Thanks for sharing. The beauty of backpacking, trails, views, summits and friends. It's hard to beat. Thanks again.

salud, amigo!
 
Thanks for the info on Ibantik campsites! If you happened to notice Ibantik was highlighted in Backpacker mag in the recent edition.
 
...superb TR and pictures, Dennis.
This landscape is outstanding.

Gesendet von meinem ViperXed HOX+ mit Tapatalk 2
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
DrNed East Notch Mountain - Uintas Trip Planning 2
B Uintas - Wall Lake to The Notch Trip Planning 4
Illuminations2k Uintas - Twin Lakes and the Notch - July 27-28, 2015 Backpacking 3
Tarp Boy Looking for Shuttle service for Uintas Granddaddy basin trip Trip Planning 0
2eez4life Suggestions: Uintas Backpacking with some rock climbing routes Trip Planning 0
regehr (Uintas) Lake Fork Fun Backpacking 8
scatman Reid's Peak - Uintas - July 22, 2023 Hiking & Camping 6
Upgrayedd Uintas Conditions 2023 Trip Planning 39
NorthwestWanderer First time in the High Uintas | Red Castle SNEAK Loop | I give these mountains 5 out of 5 stars Backpacking 7
2eez4life Uintas Conditions 2022 Trip Planning 18
regehr Uintas this weekend? Trip Planning 4
2eez4life 4 days 3 nights in the Uintas Trip Planning 9
6 Uintas Trip Planning Trip Planning 5
Perry Sunrise/Sunset Uintas Marriage Proposal Location Suggestions Trip Planning 25
N Gilbert Meadows- High Uintas Trip Planning 0
Upgrayedd Uintas Conditions 2021 Trip Planning 9
WasatchWill The High Uintas 4-4-4: Four Basins, Four Passes, Four Days Backpacking 20
C High Uintas Wilderness - Last minute plans Trip Planning 4
Mountain Wanderer High Uintas Wilderness - Granddaddy Basin Backpacking 4
scatman Bourbon Lake, Uintas - July 11, 2020 Hiking & Camping 4
ridings82 Uintas Backpacking Loop Trip Reports 12
Upgrayedd Uintas Conditions 2020 Trip Planning 69
B Uintas question Hiking & Camping 3
Tarp Boy Uintas in late June? Trip Planning 10
Born to Hike Mountain Solitude: Reconnaissance Lake, High Uintas, early Sept 2019 Backpacking 9
Ehouston24 Uintas Loop (Red Castle/Kings Peak) Trip Planning 14
DrNed Plan B to High Uintas Backpacking Trip Planning 20
J Uintas Conditions 2019 Trip Planning 209
DrNed Recommendation for 35-45 Mile Route in the Uintas Trip Planning 7
Yvonne A weekend in the Uintas Hiking & Camping 10
WasatchWill 5 Guys on a Trail: A Tour of the Southwestern Uintas Backpacking 12
wabenho Rainbow Lake, Uintas - September 2018 Backpacking 6
DesertRatShorty Solitude in the Uintas -- Gilbert Lake Loop Backpacking 14
jdfut66 Uintas - Priord Lake to Deadhorse Lake Loop Backpacking 6
Born to Hike Clements Lake and East Basin in the High Uintas, mid-July 2018 Backpacking 6
TrektheWorld Need help with Uintas trip - camping Trip Planning 8
Perry Missing hiker in Uintas - Ray Humpherys General Discussion 104
Mike K Uintas Three Nighter Backpacking 13
LarryBoy In Which I Forget Sunscreen (Uintas 2015) Backpacking 11
Brian Handsaker Uintas Backpacking (or Montana) Trip Planning 9
Dave Uintas Conditions 2018 General Discussion 210
Uncle_Dim October in the Uintas Trip Planning 2
Perry Late Season Uintas Day Hike Ideas. Bear River to WFBF and Back? Trip Planning 13
r3biker Backpacking trip to Clyde lake in Uintas Backpacking 8
WasatchWill An Intro to the Uintas Hiking & Camping 2
TClark Uintas - Erickson Basin Aug. 3-5 2017 Backpacking 4
Nick 3 Children Struck by Lightning in Uintas General Discussion 0
mathew Uintas this weekend Trip Planning 0
westy High Uintas - West Basin Backpacking 0
George_Washington_Hayduke High Uintas: Allen Lake and Thunderstorms Backpacking 0

Similar threads

Back
Top