Uinta Highline Trail, Day 5 & 6, High Uintas Wilderness- August 2022

After a long day to get to Lambert Lake, we took it easy on the morning of Day 5. We made no rush to get up and hit the trail. I had packed my Tenkara rod, The Sierra from Tenkara Rod Co. and I decided to give it a whirl before coffee in the AM. I went lakeside and on my first cast I had a nice brookie on! It was such an organic fishing experience on the Tenkara rod! I quickly got that fish back in the water and not shortly after that I got a big brookie, twice the size of the first one! I took its picture and put it back! I then returned to camp for breakfast and coffee and packed it up while Jim went fishing! He also caught some fish on his Tenkara rod as well! We then threw on the packs and hit the trail for Lake Fork! The trail drops you all the way down to the Lake Fork River then you make a ascent of the head of Lake Fork. This section was so hot, we made a water stop at the last spot for water before we headed up Red Knob Pass.

If you were to ask me which pass was the hardest pass, I would for sure say Red Knob Pass. Now if it were just the switchbacks to the top not a big deal. I'll get to that in a moment. I moved slowly up the switchbacks trying to conserve my energy for the pass. Jim and Michael were ahead of me and made it first, followed by me just a few minutes later. The views from the to of Lake Fork, and West Fork Blacks Fork and Deadhorse Lake were unbelievable! I had to drop the pack and just take it all in. We spent some time up there, shooting photos, snacking, just enjoying the view. It never got old. there was so much amazing nature to witness up there it literally felt timeless. Eventually, we made our way to the part of this pass that I consider to make it the hardest on the trail. The descent to West Fork Blacks Fork was over two miles on top of cliffs with loose rock, scree for miles, and it never let up on the quads as you made your way down. I was never so happy to be on flat ground when we hit the basin. It dropped us into the trees and a short but steep up to Deadhorse Lake. We set up camp and then gave fishing a try. Jim landed a nice tiger and we ate it as a second dinner that night. I went to bed early because we had to climb Deadhorse Pass in the morning and I wanted my energy for that.

Morining came and we did breakfast and coffee and then put it together. Deadhorse Pass goes up through a steep and sketchy moraine where there are sections I call "No Fall Zones" but the actuall pass is .07 miles from Deadhorse Lake so it was nice to get our climb over right out of the gate so we had good energy to work with the rest of the day. The top of Deadhorse Pass is incredible! The views are spectacular! We took time to shoot photos and take it all in! We then descended to Rock Creek as we had only one pass left to climb, and that is Rocky Sea Pass!

We made our way into Rock Creek and had to navigate the burn scar. We stopped and took lunch at the Jack and Jill junction by a creek. I forgot I had packed a Apple Pie so that was a treat! We moved on to look for a camp at Jack and Jill Lakes. The camping was horrible if you had to stay there. Not many spots and trees are all potential widow makers. But we could see a ton of action on the lake so we dropped the packs and tossed a fly with the Tenkara rods! Jim struck first with a very nice, fat, colorful brookie! I shortly after got a nice 14" brookie which I cleaned up and had for dinner! We put the cleaned fish in a ziploc with some water and moved on down to the next lake. I am so glad we did! Ouray Lake would be our home for night six! We got shop set up, then Michael wanted a nap and Jim went down the river to bathe. I cleaned up a bit too, then went fishing for hours! All the tributaries and Ouray Lake itself held fish! I caught so many fish I lost count! See the YouTube video I post below for a great recap! Eventually dark set in, we had dinner, and cooked out fish and boy were those tasty! We all turned in with full bellies and were off to dream as the rain came in at bed time! If you are enjoying this post, look for Day 7 & 8 Uinta Highline Trail to read about the conclusion of this adventure! I have linked a YouTube video for this adventure below! Please like and subscribe! More adventures to come!

Uinta Highline Trail, Day 3 & 4, High Uintas Wilderness- August 2022

We awoke at Kidney Lakes to a very dramatic sunrise! We made coffee and then packed it up to hit the trail. We had partly cloudy skies which were on and off again sunny! This section was loaded with trails that went through boggy grassy sections, and you crossed three creeks including Gilbert Creek. We then climbed a very steep ridge, only to top and and drop all that elevation again as we entered the "Valley Of The Kings" which is named for Kings Peak which was just above Anderson Pass which is the destination we are shooting for this day. after winding our way through this valley, it put us up on a ridge and we came to a junction where we stopped for a water and snack break before pushing for the pass.

After filling up our water, and fueling up on lunch, we made out bid for Anderson Pass. We had done eight miles to this point and I am not going to lie I was not running on all cylinders. I made my way, slowly up the first switchbacks. It leveles out somewhat but then climbs again. It took me about an hour but I was standing on Anderson Pass our biggest pass of the Highline Trail! The views of both Painter Basin and Yellowstone Creek were amazing and we were able to get our wives via Facetime on Anderson Pass! There was full Cell Reception! After a quick chat and check in we descended into Yellowstone Creek to camp for the night! It was a long walk, passing a whole herd of sheep, and then dropping into a beautiful valley surrounded by peaks. We settled in after our 13 mile day and were in bed shortly after dark. I did manage to snap a Milky Way shot on my iPhone 13 Pro which was the first one I have ever tried. Its not my Nikon D810, but for a cell phone it was pretty sweet! After that it was to bed for much needed rest.

Day 4 came with a beautiful alpen glow on the peaks and mild temps to start the day. I few pesky skeeters were in camp, but not enough of them to warrant any bug juice. We had breakfast and coffee, and packed it up. We had originally planned to just move it up to Tungsten Lake, but as we found getting to Tungsten Pass was pretty easy and a very nice walk with a treat of views if you would just stop and turn around. When we got to the pass we had lunch, and we could see Porcupine Pass. We had clear skies and all felt good enough to go for it, so we pushed to Porcupine Pass! It was a steady climb, not to hard, as it weaved its way upward. The last few switchbacks were not too difficult, and we eventually topped out on the pass! What a view! You can see Tungsten Lake and Pass behind you, and all of Lambert Meadows in front of you! Mind blowing! We dropped the packs and just took it all in for a bit. I am not sure how long we were up there but we took out time! Eventually we made our way down the sketchy switchbacks that had a couple of spots where no fall was the rule. We bottomed out in Lambert Meadows and the longest meadow I have ever crossed was under my feet. We eventually came to a creek crossing and we stopped to fill up our water.

After our water break we dropped back into the forest which dropped into a valley that was so pretty! We thought about camping here but Lambert Lake was our destination and we pushed on because we wanted our start for Day 5 to begin there. We passed some beautiful scenery which kept us motivated after a monster 13.5 mile day. We evetually came to the turn off or Lambert Lake. There were a ton of deadfalls to navigate, but we made out way through them and found a nice camp. We set up shop and settled in for the evening. We had a nice fire, dinner, and shot some night photography before turning in. A great couple of days, 26.5 miles and three Mountain Passes! Check out the YouTube Video below, and look for my Day 5 & 6 blog entry for the continuation of this adventure!