Devo
Member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2014
- Messages
- 152
Last weekend my brother and I decided to make a short (I mean short!) overnighter up in the Uintas. I had some family obligations Saturday day so we knew time was going to be tight. The plan was to take off from the Crystal Lake TH and head to Duck Lake (neither of us had been there yet and lower elevation had it on our radar). Well we weren’t able to leave my brother’s house in Sandy until about 4:30. Once we pulled into the Trial Lake area the road to the Crystal Lake TH was closed. It was approaching 6:30 by the time we had packs on and were ready to go. We tossed around a change of plans given the time we settled on the short hike to Wall Lake instead. It ended up being a good decision, there were still a decent amount of snow drifts especially as we approached the lake and the 1 mile hike just to the lake took us nearly an hour. Trial Lake was completely free of ice on Saturday and I was expecting to see some ice on Wall but was surprised to see it still close to about 90% ice. (Disclosure all pics taken with an iPhone)
Snapped on the way up.
Arriving at mostly frozen Wall Lake.
The Notch
I had camped up on the wall at Wall Lake 10 years or so ago and I can still remember the incredible view of the sunrise over Bald Mtn. and Reids Peak. The scramble up was still covered in drifts and I could tell my brother was uncertain it would be worth the effort. We went for it anyway! Once up on top though the view rewarded us.
My bro enjoying the view.
Lots of ice.
We set up camp and enjoyed dinner next to a fire and a killer view from our camp spot.
It was a little more than a half moon that night and with the snow still scattered around, visibility was decent even close to midnight. It did make the stars less impressive though, I suppose that is the trade off.
We debated leaving the fly off the tent and sleeping under the stars but it was getting decently cold by the time we rolled into our bags around midnight. We opted for the warmth of the fly.
The night was pretty cold I am 5'11 and have a hard time justifying a "long" pad but sometimes I think even for my size it would be nice. My upper body was warm and even sweaty at times but my feet on the edge of my pad made it so they never quite felt warm. Around 4 am it was getting cold, it was the coldest I have been in the Uintas but I also haven't been backpacking this early in the year. I was happy to see the glow of morning on the tent when it came; however, to my disappointment the view I remember from 10 years prior was not going to happen this trip. The fly on my tent was damp with a light rain (glad we opted to put the fly on) and the sky was a mix of light and dark gray all around.
Bummer...
Camp that morning
The morning, with no direct sun didn't warm up very quick and we got a fire going and enjoyed a nice breakfast next to the warmth. We took our time packing up and were ready to head home a little before 10. Some blue skies started pushing the clouds out while we were packing up. After scrambling down the wall, the sky was mostly clear and the view was great! I wish it would have happened 4 hours prior!
Warming up, now that we are leaving!
The hike down we separated from the trail because of dodging snow drifts. We bushwhacked it down knowing we were going the right direction and eventually stumbled onto it.
I apologize for my lack of pictures hiking up and down, between snow drifts, lack of time and trekking poles I didn't capture any. I did snap one last shot of highway 150 on our way out though.
It was a quick trip but a very enjoyable one none the less. My brother and I had been dying to get up in the Uintas for months and it was great to be back. It went nothing like planned but sometimes that is what is great about trips, hardships and all it was a very nice quick and enjoyable trip.
Featured image for home page:
Snapped on the way up.
Arriving at mostly frozen Wall Lake.
The Notch
I had camped up on the wall at Wall Lake 10 years or so ago and I can still remember the incredible view of the sunrise over Bald Mtn. and Reids Peak. The scramble up was still covered in drifts and I could tell my brother was uncertain it would be worth the effort. We went for it anyway! Once up on top though the view rewarded us.
My bro enjoying the view.
Lots of ice.
We set up camp and enjoyed dinner next to a fire and a killer view from our camp spot.
It was a little more than a half moon that night and with the snow still scattered around, visibility was decent even close to midnight. It did make the stars less impressive though, I suppose that is the trade off.
We debated leaving the fly off the tent and sleeping under the stars but it was getting decently cold by the time we rolled into our bags around midnight. We opted for the warmth of the fly.
The night was pretty cold I am 5'11 and have a hard time justifying a "long" pad but sometimes I think even for my size it would be nice. My upper body was warm and even sweaty at times but my feet on the edge of my pad made it so they never quite felt warm. Around 4 am it was getting cold, it was the coldest I have been in the Uintas but I also haven't been backpacking this early in the year. I was happy to see the glow of morning on the tent when it came; however, to my disappointment the view I remember from 10 years prior was not going to happen this trip. The fly on my tent was damp with a light rain (glad we opted to put the fly on) and the sky was a mix of light and dark gray all around.
Bummer...
Camp that morning
The morning, with no direct sun didn't warm up very quick and we got a fire going and enjoyed a nice breakfast next to the warmth. We took our time packing up and were ready to head home a little before 10. Some blue skies started pushing the clouds out while we were packing up. After scrambling down the wall, the sky was mostly clear and the view was great! I wish it would have happened 4 hours prior!
Warming up, now that we are leaving!
The hike down we separated from the trail because of dodging snow drifts. We bushwhacked it down knowing we were going the right direction and eventually stumbled onto it.
I apologize for my lack of pictures hiking up and down, between snow drifts, lack of time and trekking poles I didn't capture any. I did snap one last shot of highway 150 on our way out though.
It was a quick trip but a very enjoyable one none the less. My brother and I had been dying to get up in the Uintas for months and it was great to be back. It went nothing like planned but sometimes that is what is great about trips, hardships and all it was a very nice quick and enjoyable trip.
Featured image for home page:
