Monday, August 29, 2016

Shadow Lake, Uinta Mountains- August 2016


This past weekend was all about turning a bad situation into a good one. I had planned on visiting a new area with my friends, but I did not like the river crossing they were taking in there. Putting a DSLR into the drink would not be a good thing. Most Importantly, I was pretty remote and my gas gauge said I was almost on empty. It showed 3/4 of a tank when we hit HWY 150 the night previous. We had a pretty nice dispersed spot to camp in. I decided to bail on the trip and head to Evanston to fill up so I would at least make it home. I am glad I did because I putted into the gas station, my car acting like it was going to die. I filled up, and headed back down HWY 150. There was no way I was going to find my friends now since it was nearly 2 PM. I was just going to go home. Driving back up Hwy 150 I decided, since my pack was ready to go, why not head into Shadow Lake for a solo over nighter?





I got the last parking spot at the Crystal Lake trail head, and got out the pack. I put on the boots, and started on down the trail. Once I got past Washington Lake on the trail, I did not see another human being. Tail Lake was quiet and no people. Looks a tad low this year. After a very nice two mile walk in the woods, I arrived at Shadow Lake. I had the place all to myself. I found my spot and set up shop. It was so quiet in there. Some birds or a squirrel every once in a while, but other than that just plain quiet. The "Symphony Of Silence" as I like to call it. Evening came with a really nice sunset. I ate some dinner, then got a fire going. The light faded to black and I put out my camera for a star trail. I captured some cool images and had a great night by the fire. It was time to turn in.





I awoke to clear skies and cool temps. The dew point was rolling like fog across the lake. The sun was peeping through the trees as I climbed out of my tent. I decided to do Tea instead of coffee. Not for any particular reason, just wanted to change it up. I ate a bit of food out of my food bag, then gradually started to pack it up. My hike out was quiet and peaceful and I did not see humans till I got to the dam at Washington Lake. The trail head was slammed with people who had all been in other trails in. Talking to a few other backpackers, they said it was busy everywhere in there this weekend. So happens I may have had the only lake in that area which had no other campers in there. Just goes to show you that sometimes things don't always go as planned, but you can still make it a good one if you choose to. Its all about your perspective. I had a great hike in, night by the fire, hike out, and my car made it home. I chose wisely as you can see. Enjoy the pics. We have entered the tail end of the season backpacking. Just another month or so, and the alpine will go to bed for winter. Get it while you can! More adventures to come!


Shadow Lake Timelapse from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

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