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!