Willow Heights- Big Cottonwood Canyon- August 2012

With a last minute change of plans, I made a quick over nighter up to Willow Heights. This is a very beautiful area, and a really nice place to see moose, deer, and a host of other wildlife in a pristine area in the Wasatch. I made my way up to the trail head Saturday afternoon, and got the pack on and headed in. Everything in this drainage this year is very lush. The trail makes a pretty steep jaunt straight up the hill for the first quarter mile, then winds its way through the trees. eventually it turns to a manageable grade and enters a very open meadow with good views down canyon. A few more paces and you find yourself at the lake. I walked over to the west side, and took a few photos east. After a bit I made my way through the aspens on the east side of the lake and found a very nice spot to set up shop. After getting shop set, I went to the outlet and filtered some water. After that I just pulled up a seat and watched the light play in the bowl surrounding the lake. Evening set in and I made a very good meal. As the sun started to set, I noticed some high clouds and the fire smoke turning that classic shade of pink that makes sunsets so much fun to shoot. On my way back to camp, I noticed a Cow Moose and Calf at the lake getting a drink. I had some worries for shooting later as I did not want to run into them in the dark. I found a spot, and let it rattle off some shots to get a star trail, as I had a beverage and watched a few meteors which I am sure were the beginning of the Persids meteor shower expected Sunday night. After a couple of hours, I rounded up my camera, took a few more shots and then went to bed. I slept so good, one of the best nights sleep because it was so quiet up there. I was awakened around seven AM to the sounds of Coyotes howling up on the ridge above me. I peeked out to see the Cow and Calf at the lake on full alert. They left with haste as the sound of the pack seemed to get closer. I finally pulled myself out of my sleeping bag, and made some coffee. I pulled up a seat as the light from the morning sun slowly painted the basin. All the flowers were glowing, and the air temps were a bit nippy in the shade. After some coffee, I packed up my bag, so I could wander around taking photos on the way out. As I descended, I noticed the ground cover had started to change color, first sign that fall is just around the corner. I also saw a wasp nest that was extremely large right next to the trail that I had not seen on the way in. After a while of wandering I made my way down the trail to my car. It was a great last minute adventure, and nice to be in the mountains once more. More adventures to come, enjoy the slideshow below.

Ibantik Lake, Uintas- August 2012

Ibantik Lake has been on my hit list for the last two seasons. It just seemed either something would come up and I would have to cancel that trip, or weather just kept us outta there. Not this time. It was my birthday weekend, and of course I am flying solo. I made a quick drive to the Crystal Lake trail head, then got the gear ready. No bugs at the trail head, and that made me very happy! Got my pack on and started the 4.5 miles to Ibantik to set up shop. The trail begins very easy passing Lilly Lakes on the way in, then it rounds a ridge and climbs up to Wall Lake. Then you cross the bridge and follow the east side of Wall Lake. This is a beautiful part of the trail, lots of little water and meadows everywhere. Then you start to climb some moderate switchbacks, then you flatten out at Hope Lake. This is pretty picturesque, worth a visit on the way in. Then you start what seems like a never ending, winding set of switchbacks, which finally have you standing on Notch Mountain Pass, looking both north and south in the Uintas.

I spent a bit on the pass, then headed north dropping off the pass. I did not realize the elevation loss on the other side you would do to get to Ibantik. Passing Lovenia Lake and a host of other run off ponds, and you start to drop into the tree line just as you arrive at Ibantik. This lake, and its surrounding peaks are just a masterpiece from mother nature. I dropped my pack at my camp spot and just went to check the view for like 10 minutes. I was happy to be there, and got camp set up in a hurry. Evening set in, and I did some fishing below the scree slope and landed quite a few 12" brookies which seemed to be feeding over there. Soon, dusk set in, and I got dinner going. After a good meal, got out the camera and started shooting some night photography. Which was great until the clouds came in. Still rattled out one star trail, I am happy about that. I turned in, some of the best sleep I have had in a few weeks. Morning came, and the group just above me had come over and introduced themselves and asked me if I wanted to go with them to hike down to Meadow Lake. Map was showing 2+ miles to Meadow, my GPS clocked it at 1.73 miles one way, so nearly 3.5 miles round trip. I jumped at it and followed their crew on the hike. And a beautiful hike it was! So lush and green in that area, even saw some aspens which is rare in the upper elevation in the Uintas.

We finally arrived at Meadow Lake, and wow! It is a huge body of water. I am not sure on depths, but It looks massive in area. Spent hours there fishing, and just soaking in the view. Back to camp, I made dinner and tried my hand at some more fishing, which yielded about three landed, and about 12 I missed. The sun eventually set, and I played with my camera a bit, getting some great shots as the night went on. Then I hit the bag and was out for the count. Woke up Sunday Morning and made coffee, sat lakeside then packed it up and headed out. The hike out was fun, a good workout, and was exactly what I wanted for my Birthday! Another great solo trip to a new area, good times! Enjoy the slideshow. More to come soon!

Red Pine, Little Cottonwood Canyon- July 2012

This is a trip that I usually do as a day hike, but this season I have been trying to knock off places that I have been hiking, but have wanted to stay longer than a few hours. I have been to Red Pine so many times, but I had never done it as a backpacking trip, so why not? I hit the trail just after 10 am, and proceeded to make a really fast jaunt to the trail junction for White Pine/Red Pine. Once there I started to get a sense of how explosive the wildflowers were this year. Some of the largest patches of Fireweed that I have seen since I was in Alaska. I crossed the bridge and made my way through the ferny section. Then the fun begins, the trail gets very steep from here. Something I never thought was a big deal with a day pack on. But with gear to stay over night, even though my bag was about 30 lbs with food and beverages, it was a good workout indeed. About two hours later, I found myself standing at the shore of Red Pine Lake. Did I mention the wildflowers? So much color up there this year. I made my way around the lake looking for a good spot to camp and I found one at the inlet. I pitched shop, filtered some water, then it was game on.

I landed a few as I made my way around the lake. After some Indian food and a curry soup, I settled in hoping that these clouds from the afternoon would clear out. They did clear, just not where I wanted to shoot from. Oh well, it is the life of a photographer, sometime you get the shot you want, sometimes you don't. I did manage to get some cool sunset shots, and a star shot with my tent. After that it was lights out. I slept rather well, and when I woke up, and it was coffee and fishing in order. I saw some Fireweed painted by the light rays first breaking the ridge top. I fished for quite some time, landing at least eight fish. After that, I made breakfast, then broke camp and decided to head out. The hike down is brutal for down climbing as it is really steep in some sections, and it is a staircase to climb down for miles before you get to any real flat trail. This was a workout of the best kind. Finally got to the car, exhausted, satisfied, and ready for another adventure. Enjoy the pic set below!

Cecret Lake, Little Cottonwood Canyon- July 2012

This was a hike we did on Pioneer Day here in Utah. I had gotten an insider tip that the wildflowers in the Albion Basin were on fire. It is rare that the family has a week day off to get out for a hike, so we decided this one would be fun for our daughter since there is a lot to see and play in up there for little ones. The temps were perfect that day. We had a very nice hike up to the lake, seeing lots of wild flowers. Indian Paintbrush, Lupines, and a host of other flowers littered the meadows adding such nice color to the already beautiful basin. We arrived at the lake, and it seems to have had some vegetation cut down, possibly for fire control. I took some photos at the lake, then we decided to hike around the lake. Be careful doing this, there are some drop offs that little ones would surely get hurt on if they took a fall. Our daughter did great, she was smart in approaching obstacles on the path. After some snacks and some more photos, it was time to head down, for the clouds were growing dark, and best to not be up there if a thunderstorm were to make its way in. Enjoy the slideshow!

Butterfly Lake and Fehr Lake Trail- July 2012

Well, we tried to go camping the weekend of my daughters birthday, but the weather was just not cooperating, so we moved it up one weekend. We stopped for fish tacos at Cafe Rio, then pushed on to HWY150. We headed out to Butterfly Lake to camp, and get up, have a pancake breakfast and then go on a hike. Our camp spot was pretty nice. We got shop set and then got a fire going. I had to work pretty hard to get it burning, the camp ground had been soaked from a thunderstorm just hours before we got there. My daughter got to have her first campfire S'more, I'd say she is hooked! After a long day, the ladies turned in. I stayed up for a while, hoping for a break in the clouds to do a star trail, but alas, it was not to be. I finally dozed off and slept pretty soundly all night. Morning came and pancake and bacon breakfast was in order. Som coffee, a quick change of clothes and I was off to give Butterfly Lake a whirl since I had brought my pole. Landed a pretty sweet Tiger, probably 15" range. Then it was back to camp, pack it all up, and head to the Fehr Lake trail for a stroll. My daughter loved this hike, she was naming all the flowers all the way there. I fished Fehr, just to see if I would have any luck, but alas not even a bite. After a while, the girls finished the loop around the lake and it was time to head out since the afternoon thunderstorms were pushing into the area. Great family fun, Milo is hooked on being out there, and we are gonna do another trip soon! Enjoy the slideshow below.

Cuberant Basin, Uintas- July 2012

I spent the weekend backpacking Cuberant Basin in the Uintas. I was able to get out with my friends Jeremy, Flor, and Jason. We started in on Friday, and it was raining hard. I was in full rain gear, and everyone else was as well. As we made our way into the meadow and up to the junction, the sun broke and we all had to shed gear. But the skeeters were out, so we all had to deet up too. We continued our climb, making our way through the woods and meadows till we reached the final climb to the pass. The view is awesome from up there. We made our way into Cuberant Basin, with a quick pit stop at Cuberant #2, and then to camp. It was nice weather for the most part, and we all got shop set up, and then I did a little fishing catching a nice brookie right off the bat.

After a while, it started heading for dark, but with the clouds set in, alas, no night photography Friday night. I have to say that was some of the best sleep I have had out there this year. Saturday morning we awoke to partly cloudy skies, and nice mild temps. We made breakfast, coffee, and then geared up to hike the basin. We made it up to the overlook for Cuberant #5, then made our way up to the Spooky Pond. It was at this point, the storms started building in, and the thunder and rain kept getting closer. We made a hastily decent back to camp, and that was a good call. As soon as we got to camp, it came in on us. Lightning, thunder and gropple, which is as close to snow as you would get with the temps being so high as of late. It rained and hailed for nearly 3 hours, at which point I decided to retire to my tent and take a thunderstorm nap. I awoke to cloudy skies, but the wind and weather very calm, and the fish were jumping.

I spent a few hours fishing, then the rest of the crew got up from their slumber, and we made dinner. As evening set in, the clouds pulled all the way out, making it a night photography adventure, complete with a star trail, and some nice camp shots I took with meteors in them. Finally it was time to turn in. Morning came early, and we wanted to get out of the basin before the thunderstorms rolled in. We made a very quick hike back to the car on Sunday, but it was an enjoyable walk in the woods. Once again the Uintas did not disappoint. Nice to be in cooler temps, and being in the mountains with good company. Enjoy the slide show below, more adventures coming soon!

Catherine Pass- Little Cottonwood Canyon- July 2012

I have to think this may be one of the earliest hikes to Catherine Pass I have ever done. I connected with my friend Dave to go up and get a hike in and do some fishing at Lake Catherine. The canyon is so green this year. And everywhere you looked, the wild flowers are starting to show. The hike up was very nice, way cooler than the valley, and just pleasant to be up here again. We climbed, and climbed some more, pushing to the pass. We arrive at the pass and we took a break. After a few snacks and some photos, we dropped into the basin. As we neared the bottom, some micro burst clouds came over the ridge, and had us worried for a minute because we felt a couple of rain drops. But then it just blew out, and the sun was out in full force again. We wandered around the basin, getting a good look at Lake Mary and Lake Martha, then we headed back up to Lake Catherine to fish. Second cast I had one on. Tough little brookies for sure. I did manage to land about a 12" brookie, but most of them were pretty small. After a while fishing, both of us got hungry, and it was time to go. The hike back to the pass was a good cardio workout, and we made good time back to the car. A great day to be in the mountains, can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday, hiking the Wasatch.