Teal Lake, Uinta Mountains- August 2019

After a really nice trip to the Pacific Northwest, I returned to the Uintas over the weekend. The forecast was good and there was a place that I had in mind that my friend Jared had never been to. I decided to do Teal Lake, but unlike the usual walk up to Cutthroat Lake then descending to Teal, I decided to test my navigation skills and attempt a off trail route into Teal Lake. I was using AllTrails while recording to navigate my way. After passing Jewel Lake, from the meadow, I followed a topo line pretty much as I remembered coming out of here last year. I almost made one wrong turn, but I could tell the elevation loss wasn't worth having to gain it all back to get to the lake. I redirected and walked us right into Teal Lake.

Teal Lake is a gorgeous alpine lake set in a small basin. We made our way into the spot I wanted and found it unoccupied. We quickly dropped the packs and got busy getting camp set for the weekend. The wind had a bite to it so once we were settled we bundled up. We kind of just lounged around and gathered some fire wood Friday evening. We made dinner then settled in for a very nice fire. I was able to set out a star trail on Friday night because the moon came up too quick once twilight had faded to get a good shot of the Milky Way. The moon light painted the scene and I was able to nab a really nice image. After a long day we both turned in for a good nights rest.

We awoke a bit later than normal on Saturday and both of us were just tired. We sat around most of the morning having coffee and eating breakfast. The wind on Saturday was really chilly, but there were no bugs! I fished most of the early afternoon but only caught one small little brookie. I probably missed 15 strikes but at least I landed a fish while out. I think both of us were really happy to just be there in such a beautiful place we just wanted to stop for a day and enjoy it! We spent a little time collecting our firewood for the night. Evening set in and we got a fire going and worked on some dinner. Night set in and I had a narrow window to get a Milky Way shot before the moon would wash it out. While out shooting there must have been some leftover meteors from the Perseids Meteor Shower that peaked on Wednesday. I had two of them streak through the shot! After that I settled in by the fire and enjoyed the warmth on this cold night. We both turned in early to get a really nice long sleep.

I woke Sunday morning to a squirrel going nuts in the tree above my tent. I had slept eight hours so it was time to rise anyways. I got up, grabbed my rod, and went fishing to let Jared sleep in over in his tent. I spent about 15 minutes at the first spot and ended up landing a 12" brookie. This was a fun fish. Missed a few more and moved around the lake. The sun was about to peak over the ridge so I moved spots. At my second crack at it I hooked into a nice one which ended up being a 14" Cutthroat. I returned to camp and had tea and breakfast. Jared got up, then we packed it up. We took the Cutthroat Lake route out of Teal because Jared had never seen that area in this basin. The hike out was warmer than the previous two days. We eventually ended up at the car with a cold beverage and some camp chairs looking up at Hayden Peak. Very nice return to the Uintas for another amazing weekend of fun out there. Enjoy the pics and videos! More adventures to come!