After a 70 day lock down, Utah moved to a low risk or "Yellow" status as far as COVID-19 mitigation. I decided since I had done my lockdown with due diligence, that an overnighter trip was in order to shake out the cobwebs and to get this party started! This year I am carrying a rescueMe PLB1 personal locator beacon. It was good to get some practice on trail with it. I decieded since the high terrain was still snowed in, and this was going to be the earliest I have ever gone backpacking in the Uintas, that Shingle Creek would be my destination. It was a fairly traffic free ride into the Mirror Lake Highway. I arrived to a pretty full lot and got a spot. I put on the boots and pack and headed on in.
The hike in was very nice and things are starting the green up. Shingle Creek is running high from the snow melt. I made it across the bridge and headed up the trail. It was really nice to be out walking in the mountains. There were some really soppy spots, and a couple of piles of snow, but other than that the trail was snow free. I did not know where I was going to stay, and had been looking at Google Earth for a few spots, just in case the place I was shooting for was occupied. The higher in the drainage you went the cooler the temps were. After crossing the one water obstacle on the trail, I was standing over where I was planning on camping and sure enough, it was unoccupied!
I wandred into camp and went into work mode. Got my shelter and sleeping arangments settled. I was using my new Klymit, V Insulated Ultralight SL sleeping pad. 15 oz and packs a hair bigger than a beer can. I set a bear hang, then collected my fire wood. Once I had my acomodations set I decided to head up to the bridge and spend some time up there meditating and get my water for the trip. I literally think I took a sitting nap meditating. The peace and quiet with the only the sound of the rushing water was a place of calm and tranquility. After a nice visist I headed back to camp to put the finishing touches on camp. This was such a good moment of realization that I am alive, well, and in a beautiful place! Grateful would have been an understatement.
I got some dinner going and oh was that good! Tomato Garlic Basil with some Volanti Pasta and a Pepperoni Stick cut up to boot! Sunset turned the sky some amazing colors and I had to take a few shots before lighting my fire. A quick change into the night layers as the temps were dropping as fast as the daylight was and it was time to enjoy the night! There were some clouds in early at dark, so I spent some time working on my fire and enjoying the warm heat it provided. After an hour or so stars started to shine through the tree tops and I knew it was on! I went out to the meadow to shoot the Milky Way, but unfortunately, either I was behind a ridge where it was visible or just too early in the evening. No matter, I took some images of the aspens and the stars and got this one that turned out way better than I thought it would. I set up the camera for a star trail and then settled in as it ran its images. My fire was so warm and I had some mellow tunes playing on the phone. Eventually I gathered up my camera and packed it in for the night. I was so quiet minus the river which was such good white noise to fall asleep to!
Morning came and I got up and made tea and had breakfast. I then packed it up and was on trail by 9 AM. I took my time on the way out because the first wildflowers of the year were just starting to bloom. I really wasn't in a hurry and took my time to soak it all in. A great weekend to kick things off for the season. Enjoy the pics and videos! More adventures to come!
