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......