Duck Lake, Lakes Country Trail, Uinta Mountains- September 2018

It has been a great year in the high country! Some big adventures and some revisiting favorite places I have previously been. I had the chance to get out with my long time friend Jared over the weekend. We have been friends for over two decades, as well have adventured in Denali and all over Utah together. So when I invited him and he accepted, I was really stoked! He has not been out on trail in nearly two years, so I did not want to push him too hard. I decided Duck Lake would be a decent one to get him back out on. I have not been to Duck Lake in over three years. It is usually my season opener, but I wanted to see some new places, so I took a break from Duck. Coming back after a few years was pretty nice. People have done a good job keeping it clean for all the traffic it sees.

We arrived at the trail head Friday afternoon, loaded up the packs, and headed on in. Both of us probably had too much weight in the packs, but we wanted to have a good weekend out there so we packed accordingly. We made our way up the pass, then descended towards Long Lake. Did I mention the fire smoke? It was pretty thick and looked very apocalyptic while hiking. It was not pleasant on the lungs and I put a buff over my face to cut down on what I was breathing. Long Lake looked so gloom and doom with all that smoke. The sun was glowing orange and it was raining ash with no wind. I was happy to move into the forest and out of the open air. The further we descended into the basin, the less the smoke was a problem. Once we arrived at Duck Lake, it was just grey from the fire smoke.

We made our way to camp and got things set up quick as it was late in the day and the sun sets earlier these days. Plus the temps from no sun in there were chilly to say the least. We got a small fire going and made dinner. I walked the shore and there was no one camped here. We had Duck Lake all to ourselves! The sun set and the stars started popping out. I ran an image trying something new out. Not what I was expecting but it turned out pretty cool. The time lapse I shot turned out nice though. We stayed up pretty late catching up. It was hard to not want to be awake. The night sky was pretty awesome! Eventually we coaled out the fire and headed for our tents. It was so quiet and dark when we turned in. You could hear a leaf drop.

Dawn brought clear skies and warm temps. I got up and made coffee and sat in the sun. It was chilly overnight and the wind was blowing and it was a cool wind from the south. After breakfast we set out fishing. I wasn't having any luck till I put on the ugliest, most thrashed and gnawed on caddis fly I had in my box. They just stared slamming it, including one Brookie that doubled over my 9' 6wt rod. It was a fight, which I have not had all summer. Catching that fish is forever etched into my memory. Afternoon came and so did the return of the fire smoke. I guess while we were in there two new fires started in the Uintas. We for sure had a plan to evacuate just in case, but the fires were miles from us. We both kind of got sick of breathing the fire smoke and felt laying low would help reduce our exposure. We both took naps until about 6 PM when we woke to clearing skies and much better conditions.

Evening set in and we got settled into camp for the evening. I set out the camera again for a much longer star trail. Unfortunately there were some clouds and lingering fire smoke that hung around, so not what I was aiming for, but still got a fun night time time lapse. about just before ten a band of clouds came over and even put off some rain drops for about 2 minutes. Then the skies went clear. I think both of us were tired so once my camera was done, we wrapped it up for the night.

Sunday morning brought really strong winds. I slept in, as did Jared. When we got up the wind was howling. It was hard enough just to flash boil a meal, let a lone to try to make coffee. We both packed it up and headed out around noon. Our hike out was very nice. A lot of fall colors and the lakes on the way out were awesome to see. This was a great trip with my good friend. We need to get out more. Once you adventure together with friends, you become family for life. I hope to get one more trip out to the Uintas this year backpacking before the snow flies. Fingers crossed! Enjoy the pics and time lapses! More adventures to come......

Cutthroat Lake, Uinta Mountains- September 2018

Fall backpacking in the Uintas is so much fun. Gone are the crowds and bugs. At peak season, you have to go pretty deep in the range to find that solitude we all seek backpacking. But in the fall, you literally can walk a few miles from the road and have a lake pretty much all to yourself. I had a later than expected departure on Friday and had to decide quick where I was going to go for the weekend. It gets darker earlier now and the temps are much cooler than they were just a couple of weeks ago. There were some big thunderstorms pushing into the range and I made the last minute decision to head to Cutthroat Lake for the weekend. This may be one of the last new moon weekends of the year out there and I was not about to miss my chance to shoot some night photography of the stars in the Uintas. It was raining pretty hard on the way into the trailhead. When I arrived, it was really chilly and raining steadily with some occasional rumbles of thunder. I put on the rain jacket, and rain fly for the pack and camera bag, and made my way on trail in the pouring rain. By the time I got to the last pond before Ruth the rain let up and the clouds started to break up. I pushed a pretty good pace as I knew I only had less than two hours before sunset. After passing Hayden, Liberty, and Jewel lakes, I made the last push through the meadow and into camp. Just over an hour from the car and I was standing in my camp for the weekend.

Not knowing if the thunderstorms would return, I hurried and set up camp, got into dry clothes, and started to get my fire ready for the evening. As I was setting up camp, I met a new friend and his dog. Chris and his dog Targhee walked right by my camp. We exchanged pleasantries and he went to set up his tent in the meadow behind my camp. I invited him to camp for a fire and he accepted. We had a good night by the fire and Chris is a really nice guy. The clouds moved all the way out and the skies were clear. The stars were amazing and so bright! I set out my camera for a star trail, and huddled up to the fire and chatted with Chris. It was nice to have some company the first night. The temps for sure dropped because of the storms that day. I could see my breath at one point after dark. It was so quiet and peaceful there and I was really enjoying the view from the porch just outside of camp. Eventually I went to retrieve my camera. I coaled out the fire and turned in.

Saturday morning brought mostly clear skies and mild temps. When I got up Chris was up and we hung out and had some coffee. I put my rod together and headed out to do some fishing. The clouds really started building in around noon. But they never really got going while I was out fishing. I hooked into some really nice fish. I had one do the classic out of the water with the fly attack that was really a lot of fun. Eventually Chris had to wrap it up and head out and I returned to camp because the weather seemed to be getting worse. A rumble of thunder and some rain got me in the tent for about an hour long nap. I got up to broken clouds with the light playing on the peaks and the lake. I ran a time lapse as I watched the clouds float on by. They began to thin out in the evening as I made dinner and enjoyed the sunset. I was ready much earlier for shooting photography on the second night. But I had to wait for some stubborn clouds to move out of the area so I would have clear skies to shoot. They moved on about 9:30 PM and I put out my camera for my last star trail of the trip. It was a nice fire and the temps this evening were much warmer than the night before. Once the camera had shot the time lapse, I move around the lake to take a shot of the Milky Way and Cutthroat Lake in the pitch. It was mesmerizing to see the stars. After a while I got tired and coaled out my fire and turned in.

Sunday morning came and I actually slept in. It was about 9 AM when I rolled out of my tent. I made breakfast and then packed it up. I was on trail just before 11 AM. The hike out was very nice. It was much warmer than the previous two days and even felt hot in sections. I was moving pretty quick and was kind of in shock when I was standing at the overlook for Ruth Lake. The last section past Ruth Lake was busy with families and climbers. But the walk out of there with all the changing ground cover was pretty stopped see. I made it to the car in just over one hour. I got off the pack and put on the Teva's and hit the road. The drive out was beautiful as the display of fall colors was a sight to see. Another great adventure in the Uintas for the year. Soon, winter will return to the high terrain. So time is short in the Uintas. Just a few more weeks and this party will change from on trail to on the snow. Enjoy the pics and the time lapse. More adventures to come......

Dean Lake, Bald Mountain Trail, Uinta Mountains- September 2018

I feel like I have not been home on a weekend in over a month. I think it was Mid July the last time I stayed home on a weekend this summer. I've needed to catch up on somethings around the house so I had decided on Thursday that I would stay home this weekend and avoid the hordes of people bound to be out. Well to my surprise, I got a lot more done by Saturday than I anticipated and I really was itching to get outside. I decided since Monday was a holiday, I would do an overnighter in the Uintas. No way was I going anywhere near Crystal Lake or Ruth Lake. I knew they would be jammed packed. I thought about it and realized that Dean Lake was a good option. I did not care if I had to share it with a few other folks. I really just wanted to be in the mountains. I rolled up Hwy 150 and pulled in the Bald Mountain Trailhead. To my surprise, there was a spot waiting for me and my Jeep. It was half past noon and I put on the boots, loaded the pack, and hit the trail. There seemed to be a lot of people climbing Bald Mountain, so the trail was empty. I saw one family right before Clegg Lake, but after that there was nobody around. I thought this to be a bit peculiar, but was not complaining rest assured. I made my way to Clegg Lake, shot a few photos, then down the hill to my turn off to get to Dean Lake. After moving down a huge meadow, I found myself standing at the edge of Dean Lake.

2.3 miles in 57 minutes. Not too bad. I moved to my favorite spot and began to realize that no one was there. I would later walk around the entire lake confirming my suspicions, but was excited that I took a gamble on this spot and it looked to pay off! I settled into my spot and set up camp. Once that was done I moved out to the lake for some fishing. The wind was hit or miss, and I had a few strikes, but nothing was on the end when setting the hook. I fished for quite a few hours, even getting one on the line only to have it get off before landing it. I was actually laughing that the poor fishing luck might be the trade off for having a lake only two miles from the Mirror Lake Highway on a holiday weekend all to myself. I still had a great time, and what a beautiful day it was. I walked around the whole lake, and I was correct, no one was there. In fact, every fire ring looked as if it had not been used in a while. As I rounded the lake I saw three day hikers come in and fish for about an hour. They seemed to be having no luck like myself, so they moved on. I waved hello, not sure if they saw me. After shooting a time lapse, I made my way back to camp to put the finishing touches on things for the evening.

Returning to camp I put on the warm layers. The temps were dropping and the alpenglow was starting to light up the peaks. I took my camera out for a shot and boy was it a beautiful sight. I moved back up to camp and got my fire going. Dusk set in so I made Ramen with some Chili Citrus Jerky in it. It was like having Spicy Ramen with Beef. Pretty dang good, a meal I will for sure have again. Dessert consisted of a Twix which was delicious! It began to get dark, and I could hear some campers down at Notch Lake. I kind of laughed because they probably had no idea I was even up here. I got the lights on in camp and set out my camera for a star trail. I played some blues on my iPhone at a low volume and enjoyed the display that the universe was kind enough to give me. The Milky Way was right over head and the stars were so bright! You could even see the planet Mars just east of the Milky Way if you were looking south. It was a tug of war of wanting to be by the fire and wanting to walk just out of camp and look at the night sky. So I did both! Even took my chair out for a bit and enjoyed a beverage under the stars! Its times like there when you are alone out there that you really connect with the place you are in. This night was no exception! Eventually I coaled out my fire and turned in. I heard something with hooves walk through my camp just after laying down. I figure it was a deer, so I did not pay it much attention. Sometime in the middle of the night, the Coyotes were howling pretty close to camp. It woke me up for a second, but lulled me back to sleep because I love that sound!

It must have gotten cold overnight. There was frost on all the grasses in the meadow when I woke up. This new sleeping bag I got this year from Sierra Designs, The Cloud 800 20 degree down bag is just unbelievably warm and comfortable. I say it was was upper 30's overnight and I never felt cold once. I am very happy with my sleeping bag! I eventually got up, and had tea instead of coffee on this trip. Acai-Blueberry Green Tea is yummy! I packed in some hard boiled eggs, and dehydrated fruit, nuts, and grains for breakfast. I knew I only had 2.3 to the car, so I only needed a light breakfast to get out to the car. I gave fishing a try again, but about the same luck that I had the previous day. I did hook into something big, but unfortunately it got off. That's the price you pay for barbless fly fishing! I packed it up and headed out. The hike out was pretty quiet. A couple of day hikers on the way in as I was coming out, but I did not see the crowds till I got to the trail head. I took it easy in my chair at the Jeep, taking in the view of the building clouds coming north from the south. Just goes to show if you know your spots, and you take a gamble, a great time can be had! The drive out was pretty busy, probably the most humans I saw all weekend were on the road. A great little solo adventure and wonderful night skies! Fall is here, the colors are beginning to change. Get up and see them over the next few weeks before they are gone! Enjoy the pics and time lapse! More adventures to come!