Labor Day Backpacking In The Uintas- September 2020

Summer in the high terrain has ended and September brings fall backpacking! Crowds start to thin out, bugs are gone, and you don't have to go too far to find a place all to yourself. Labor Day weekend is usually the last busy weekend in the Uintas. With that in mind, I did some research and found a spot off trail to go check out. The drive in to the range was traffic free and I was able to get a parking spot upon arriving at the trailhead. I put things together and headed on in. There were quite a few backpackers heading in to the main trail, and I was kind of keeping my distance. Once I passed the Cliff Lake Junction, I did not see them anymore. I made my way up to the pass in 36 minutes from Jeep to the Mt Watson sign. I then dropped over the other side to empty trails once more. I honestly could not believe how quiet it was for a holiday weekend. Down to the Long Lake Junction and then down to Long Lake. I saw one backpacker setting up a camp here. It was quiet and empty. After some photos of Long Lake I moved on. You drop some elevation from this point and come to the Junction to go up to Island Lake. It was nice and shady in this section and quite nice to be hiking in the shade. Up the switchbacks and I arrived at Island Lake.

I made my way up the trail and had to use my GPS to find a route off trail to my destination. It was steep, a lot of deadfalls to navigate, but I found a route through it all and made the climb. The terrain finally leveled off and I was at my destination I was shooting for. Nestled in a alpine cirque this place would be my home for the weekend. I found a very nice camp tucked away and set up shop for the weekend. Once I got things settled in camp I put together my fly rod, and brought my new 15 oz tripod that I bought a couple of weeks ago. I set up my camera and then started casting. I had a hit on my first cast but nothing was on. Next cast I landed a very nice 14" Brookie. I got the strike, set, and strip on camera, something I have never been able to do in two years of trying! After a great start for fishing for the weekend, dusk settled in and it was time to make some dinner. Delux Mac and Cheese with Buffalo Chicken in it! So delicious! I put on the night layers and settled in camp for the evening.

Darkness fell and I lit up the Luci Lamps and set out the camera for a Milky Way shot and time lapse. I was racing to do this because I had just a little over an our before the Moon came up. I was able to get a very nice image and time lapse. I then settled in for a beverage and some very low volume tunes and just stared up at the sky. The moon finally came up and lit up the entire cirque like daylight. I put my chair out in the meadow and just enjoyed the stars and having a place like this all to myself. Looking up at all those stars really solidifies that we are just a cosmic spec in the scheme of things. When you are solo in the wilderness at night it really has a therapeutic effect on your. All the distractions are gone. You are just in the moment. It's such a great feeling. While sitting out on the shore while my star trail was running, I witnessed several meteors, one was really big and did not stop glowing all the way to the horizon line. Finally after a great night capping off a great day I turned in for some much needed rest.

Morning came and I got up after 7 AM. I grabbed my rod and went out fishing. After about 30 minutes I got a 12" really fat Brooke trout. It was so fat its belly looked like that of a Bass not a Trout. Still a great strike, strip, and set! Nice way to kick off the say with a fish on! After some fun fishing, I then made coffee and just pulled up for some views while enjoying a warm beverage. The dew point just before dawn dropped the temps a bit but it was warming up quickly. After some coffee time I ate breakfast, then put it together for the day. I decided to make a loop up here to visit several lakes and to get out of camp for the day. I made my way down to the main trail then over to Island Lake. I fished off a point but got no bites. I then hit one of the bays and after a few casts Bam! I had a very strong hit and it was doubling over my rod and not in a good way. I stripped it in and my eyeballs about popped out of my head! This Tiger Trout was huge! 17" was the count and at least 2 possibly 3 lbs in weight. Biggest fish backpacking this year I have caught! I got his mug shot then put him back. I moved on because I wanted to head over to Fire Lake. The hike in there was pretty with all the ground cover changing to its fall colors. I arrived at Fire Lake to the fish just jumping. I had several hits right off the bat but nothing on. I made my way around to the west side of the lake and got another hit then again nothing was on. I went to the inlet and started fishing there. I finally hooked into a fish. It was doubling over my rod worse than the Tiger I landed at Island. I had it nearly stripped in when the line went flying out of the water. The fish had broke the hook off on my dry fly. This was a massive fish, most likely tiger and made me hungry to fish some more. But alas nothing after that. I moved up to Junior Lake. Its fall ground colors were beautiful! I fished it for about 30 minutes but I saw no fish or any signs of fish. I think it may have winter killed. After four hours hiking around fishing, shooting photos, I then made my way down to Island Lake then back up to my secret spot to settle into camp.

I took a quick nap after getting back to camp and having a snack and some water. It was nice to just lay down, tent in the shade and just let the silence put you at ease. After about an hour I got up and gave fishing a go, this time only a few hits but nothing on. Evening came and I put on the layers and made dinner. This time I was having fresh sliced baguette with Genoa Salami and a fresher sliced tomato from my garden. Put a little mustard on it and boom! It was so delicious. I have been trying out no cook meals and the last two have worked out brilliantly. Some sea salted dark chocolate caramels for desert and that made for a great meal! Dusk once again settled in and so did I! I was really excited that for a second night there were no clouds in the sky! Darkness fell and out went the camera. I chose a slightly different location for the camera this time and nabbed a nice Milky Way still and time lapse! The moon came up a bit later this night so I moved the camera so I could capture a star trail and get the moon painting all the trees and rocks with light! I used my red headlamp light so as to not let my night vision get messed with. It was a bit warmer this night. I didi not even have to zip up the down jacket. After a great time hanging out under the stars I rounded up my camera and hit the sleeping bag for a good nights sleep.

Sunday morning came and I was up at 7 AM. I did some pre packing the night before so I broke down camp and put on the boots and was on the way to the Jeep by 8 AM. The hike out was nice, and once again no people. On my way up to Island Lake I stopped and talked to a lady who had trail run to that area all the way from Bald Mountain. Then I made my way up and out and finally after a couple of hours arrived at the Jeep. A fantastic holiday weekend with solitude, great fishing, some great astrophotography, awesome hike in and out, and a camp that goes in my top three out there. It just goes to show if you want something a little research and effort and you may find yourself in a beautiful place all by yourself. Enjoy the photography and video! Fall is now here and the Uintas will get its first snow tonight as write this. Just a couple of more weeks in the high terrain and this party will change from dirt dances to snow dances. Thanks for taking the time to stop by! I hope you have enjoyed this trip report! More adventures to come!