John Lake, Uinta Mountains- July 2020

This is a lake in the Uintas I like to visit because it often gets overlooked beacuse of all the other lakes in the area. The area itself can be quite crowded because of a popular loop that is nearby, But if you stick away from the main trail, There is plenty of solitude to be had! I made my way to the Crystal Lake Trailhead lot and grabbed one of the last spots in there. It was afternoon so I think everyone who was in there was already on trail. The lot was empty of people so I put it together and headed in. Half a mile to the junction, then you ascend a very pretty trail that passes several lakes along the way. Cliff Lake is a pretty setting, then you move up to Petite Lake, and this sits at the top of one of the first short steep sections. Then you make your way up to Watson Lake, which is where you ascend a really strange set of short swithcbacks. The view at the top of these is pretty sweet! Then you traverse a small ridge and that is when the Notch and Clyde Lake come into view. You make your way around Clyde Lake, then you have to route find your way into John Lake.

I made the 3 mile jaunt to camp in less than 1 1/2 hours. Arriving at John Lake I found it empty and no one around. I moved up to the camp I wanted and set up shop for the weekend. I had everything done pretty quickly so I put it together and headed out to fish and run a time lapse of the clouds drifting on by. I had several bites but missed them all on the first shot at fishing. I finished the timelapse and decided to walk to the other side of the lake. About my 5th cast in I had a really pretty Brookie on. The fishing was over all slow, but still fun to be fishing regardless. I collected my water and headed back to camp for the evening.

I made dinner then sat in my chair in the meadow and watched the sunset. I did head out to the lake to shoot a shot that turned out pretty nice as the day was fading away. It got dark at about 9 PM, so I got my fire going and settled in for the evening. I walked out the back of my camp and this tarn with the Milky Way over the top of it just looked great so I shot a still, then ran a short time lapse of it. Pretty sweet to be so close to camp and get such a good shot. I then put my camera out in the meadow to get a star trail. As that ran its course, I enjoyed my time by the fire. It was a beautiful night, warm, and the stars were so bright. After wrapping up my star trail I walked down to the lake to shoot the Milky Way over Mt Watson. This is the title shot of this post! A great first night for astrophotography! I wrapped it up, coaled out my fire, and turned in to the sound of the wind blowing through the trees.

I awoke the next morning and spent some time just lounging in my chair and drinking coffee. It was crystal clear and just a beautiful day! I made breakfast then packed it up and decided I was going to wander into the west side of the divides. I fished them all catching many pan fryer brookies. It was pretty fast action. I knew there was another spot that I fish that had big ones in it so I made the hike down there to see how my luck would pan out. This is a serious off trail hike, and without good navigation skill and a gps, I would not recommend attempting it. I have been here before so I knew the general route. I arrived to a blustery wind. I fished right at the first part of the shore I arrived at and nothing. In fact, I fished my way all around this lake with just about every fly in the box and not a bite. After a couple of hours and some lunch, I headed back towards camp. Thats how it goes sometimes with fishing. But still fun to be off trail hiking and enjoying the solitude!

Once arriving back in camp after a four mile loop, I decided to walk down to Twin Lakes and give it a shot. I got one small brookie in the North Twin, but the South Twin was packed with campers on paddle boards who must have hiked them in because there are no motor vehicles allowed in this area. I felt like I was at Club Med just witnessing this spectacle. I quickly retreated to the solitude of John Lake and parked it on my backporch for a nice view of the basin and all the lakes. It was fun to watch the clouds move across the range, and to just take some time to clear the mind and listen to the mountains. Evening set in and I again got my fire ready and made dinner. I got my fire going and decided to just shoot a few shots because I was tired from my hike that day, and I wanted to go to bed earlier than the night before. It was a really great night, another clear one, and just beautiful with all the stars. I eventually headed to bed to crash really hard after I turned out my head lamp.

I awoke about 7 AM, and I got up and started to break camp. I wanted to beat the afternoon thunderstorms that were expected and I knew that I had about 3 miles to get to the Jeep. By 8:30 AM camp was spotless and I was ready to go. The hike out was awesome light with wildflowers everywhere! They were really popping since I came in a Friday! Really quiet on trail this early in the morning which is exaclty what I had hoped for. I got to the Jeep about 10 AM and headed home. Another great weekend in the mountains, enjoying the stars, and enjoying our wild areas!

10 miles on trail over the weekend and just an all around great time! It was wonderful to be in the mountains once more! Enjoy the pics and time lapse! More adventures to come......

Granddaddy Basin, High Uintas Wilderness- July 2020

It has been six years since I have visited Granddaddy Basin. I honestly do not know why. I have been there half a dozen times, some of those trips I have written about on this very blog. The last time I was in there I did a massive loop off trail out there. I had plans to visit another area, but the day before some stuff changed and I was not able to leave till afternoon. I made the drive to the North Fork Of The Duchesne in pretty good time. There was virtually no traffic all the way. Its pretty this year on Hwy 35. The Grandview road that climbs out of the main road is not a smooth road, I've seen cars go up it, but that must be rough. It has big rocks in the road and big potholes too. Not to mention steep drop offs. Also, the road itself is only wide enough for one car in parts, so keep your eyes ahead on the road. There are pullouts wide enough for two vehicles, just hope that is where you are when oncoming traffic is coming the other way.

I arrived at the trailhead and got the very last parking spot. I was kind of thinking maybe this is going to be way to crazy and started making a back up plan incase my destination was crowded. I put on the boots and the pack and headed on in. This trail does a steep set of switchbacks for the first mile. Then it is a gradual climb till you reach Hades Pass. I took a 15 minute break here, rehydrated and had some trailmix and then threw the pack back on and headed in. You get your first view of the basin and the Granddaddy Lake, the namesake of this basin. You descend a rocky trail that eventually lays off the grade. The hike through the basin was amazing and really quiet and empty with so many vehicles in the lot. After a five mile hike, I arrived at my destination. After getting camp built, I was able to set out the camera for a time lapse. As the sunset lit up the sky like it was on fire, I was able to get the title shot to this blog post and only had minutes to do it. Score! I settled in by the fire and let my camera run a star trail, but the clouds had other plans. Oh well, turned out to be a fun time lapse. I eventually turned in for some much needed sleep.

I slept for what felt like a long time. The light from the sunrise woke me up and I opened the tent to crystal clear blue skies. There was a pretty good breeze keeping the mosquitoes at bay and I was grateful for that. I made some coffee and had breakfast. I decided I would put together my Osprey Ultralight Stuff Pack I brought with me for a day adventure off trail to one of my all time favorite fishing spots in the Uintas. This little pack stuffs down to nothing and holds a lot. Its a couple of miles through the woods and there is no trail. Once I had the pack situated I locked down camp and headed out. The hike was nice, saw lots of wildflowers and the area was so green this year. You really don't get to know an area for all its worth unless you head off trail. After a very nice adventure, and a bit of a climb I was at the spot! I threw a line in and almost instantly had one on. You'd toss two or three casts and boom! You'd have another one on. Big fat Brookies and Hefty Cutthroats. The weather was perfect, and I was on no schedule so I spent the better part of the day up there. I took a lunch break mid day, then went right back at it. I really can't remember a better day fishing as far as size of fish and the frequency of getting them on the line in years. It was heading into evening when I decided to head back. I knew I had a couple of miles to walk before I was back at camp so I said my goodbyes to the secret spot and made my way back to basecamp.

After returning to camp I took a hour nap in the tent because I was feeling like a snooze, and the skeeters were being kind of annoying. After a relaxing camp nap, I got up and made dinner. Nothing like cooking your meal in a skeeter net! After dinner I gave fishing at my spot a go, got a couple of bites, but didn't land anyting. That's ok, where I was at is not where I was expecting to catch any. I moved back up to camp at dusk to get my fire going and set up for what was going to be a good night! Skies were clear and it was really warm. I set out the camera for a star trail and settled in by the fire in my chair and stared up at the stars. It was a beautiful night and I certainly enjoyed my time. About midnight I coaled out my fire and headed for the tent fullfilled from two days of fun backpacking the Uintas.

I got up about 7 AM which is a long sleep for me. Once I got out of the tent I was greeted by the worst mosquitoes all weekend. I put on my bug spray and proceeded to break it down and pack it up. By the time I was finishing up the temps warmed up and the skeeters seemed to vanish. There wasn't any wind. Strange how that happened. Bonus for me! I was on the trail at 8:36 AM and made my way out. There was no one on trail, not at any of the lakes I passed, and none on trail. It was unbelievable to be in such a popular area and have no one on trail. I made Hades Pass in 1 hour and 10 minutes from camp. That was pretty fast for me. UL Backpacking has its benefits. I did not stop on the pass this time I decided to push to the Jeep and try to get out before all the traffic stacked up. A great last minute weekend plan change that turned into a great trip! Enjoy the pics and time lapse. More adventures to come!