My birthday trip is always an excellent one. Last year I solo'ed Ibantik Lake, and this year I thought, because of some scheduling problems and things happening, that I was going solo once more. I was packing the car to drive off when my friend, and fellow photographer Michael Klippert shot me a text asking if I wanted to go backpacking. I swung by and grabbed him and his rad K-9 companion Cruiser and we headed for the Uintas. After learning that Crystal Lake trail head was packed with cars, we decided to head to another spot that I love to visit- Cutthroat Lake. We arrived at the Ruth Lake trail head and got on the packs and headed in. I love this part of the Uintas, it is a photographers dream. So many great views on the way in. We made a pretty good push to Ruth Lake, then headed up to the ridge to drop down to Hayden Lake. We crossed the inlet and headed down to Jewel Lake. Once at Jewel, we wandered over a hill into a large meadow. As we entered the meadow, we saw a Bull and Cow Moose right in our path. We made our way through the trees around them and headed up to Cutthroat Lake.
We grabbed my favorite camp spot and we got shop pitched and things ready for the weekend. I fished until dusk, then got a nice fire going, and put out the camera for the night sky. I have been using cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly to get my fires going. It has worked every time! After unwinding with a nice meal and a beverage, I turned in. I awoke to the sounds of fish jumping and got up and headed down to the lake. I had a nice Tiger Trout on in just a couple of casts. I then not more than 10 casts later landed a nice Brookie. Great fishing in the AM. Mike was still sleeping, so I wrapped up the rod and crawled back in my tent for a nap. We got up about an hour later and made breakfast. We then packed it up and wandered towards Teal Lake. We arrived at Teal to the wind howling. We made a loop around the lake, but alas, no fishing, too windy. We just hung out, enjoying the time there. We eventually made our way back to Cutthroat Lake. I had just got up to where my fish was on the stringer when the fish got crazy, and took off with my stringer! I was so mad at myself for not securing it better. The one that got away, I know, but Mike can vouch for the nice Tiger, but alas no fish dinner on this trip. Dusk crawled in and the sunset was amazing!
The clouds were no where in sight, except a small patch just hung over Christmas Meadows, so it was long exposure time! 1 AM came quick, and it was time to get some sleep. Sunday was go home day, which makes you want to stay a few more days. The hike out was fun, shooting random things on the way out, and a pit stop at Ruth Lake for some fishing on the south side. A great time once again which the Uintas always offers. Enjoy the slideshow below, more adventures to come!
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