Fall in the Uintas

Fall in the Uintas

Took a weekend and did some deer hunting close to home this fall with Seamus.  Saw some beautiful country.

An unusually warm day in November made for some great mountain biking.  Dodge got to run off the leash for the first time.  He did great!

Found a cool trail along a pipeline.  Has potential.

Off leash... being obedient.

The view from one of my Saturday morning runs  (2 mile/ 1100 for climb to get. there).

Deer hunter.

Dad and Chris came up for some November cow elk hunting.  Good times!  No elk though.

Deer hunter

Tired deer hunter.

Mandys New Bike

Thompson Peak Run

"Hole in the Rock" 

      I had to do a 20 mile run on Sunday, July 31st, 2016... so I headed up to Lonetree, Wyoming to explore some country up in Uintas near Lonetree.  I passed the Hole in the Rock on my way up to the Hoop Lake trail head.

   Once I got to Hoop Lake I decided to take the Burnt Ridge trail up towards Island lake, go over Thompson Pass and take a stab at Thompson Peak.  There were clouds already at 9AM... so I was skeptical as to how the weather might cooperate.  The first 1.5 miles of trail up to the Wilderness Boundary was pretty good... after that it got kind of less used and tricky to follow in lots of places (mainly grassy meadows and bogs).  I had to take my time navigating.  It definitely didn't see the traffic that the King's Peak route does.  In fact... during the 7 hours and 20 miles I ran, I never saw a sole... nobody at all the whole day.




      I made it to this trail junction okay... but it took a while to figure out the trails from here.  Eventually I headed up towards Beaver Lake and Thompson peak.




Another meadow- just after the sign.  Clouds were building.  Distant thunder cracking already.

    The trail I found ended up heading straight up towards Thompson Peak.  I took it.  I was hit with rain and hail a few times.  About two or three hundred feet short of the 11, 500 some feet peak lightning and thunder became and issue and I had to retreat.

The view looking back down towards Lonetree and Wyoming from near the top of Thompson Peak.

Back down in the meadow country, I decided to take a different trail that looped towards Island lake and Kabell lakes... and came back out at the Hoop Lake TH.   It was tricky to follow too... all in the trees though out of the rain and lightning... well kind of.  The rain still drenched me.

     Fourteen or fifteen miles now and several hours... the Hoop lake trail head area finally comes into view again.

Feeling a bit tired now... but back at Hoop lake.

Hoop Lake

To get my full 20 miles in I actually had to run back up to the wilderness boundary and back.  The loop I did was more like 16 miles.  The up and back added the four I needed for 20.  It ended up taking me 7-8 hours I think.  Slow going really because the trail is not used much.  Probably better for hiking then running.  It's always nice to be in the Wilderness though.  And... I never saw a sole... notta one.  I can't remember the last time a covered 20 miles and/or a day in Wilderness and never saw anyone.  Pretty cool.  No grizzlies in this country yet either!

Kings Peak in Ten Hours

       We recently moved to Mountain View, Wyoming after spending the last thirteen years in Lander, Wyoming.  I love Lander and the Wind River valley, it's where I'm from, I spent a good portion of my life stomping around that country and I intend to spend some more there.  However, I am really looking forward to seeing some new country.  Mountain View is very close the to Uinta mountain range.  After getting the whole moving thing done this last week or so I've finally had some time to get out and see some of the country around Mountain View.  Saturday I did a long bike ride and scoped out some nearby trail heads.  I quickly learned that Utah's highest peak (and most prominent from Mt. View) is Kings Peak and the trail that most folks use to access and climb it was right out of Mt. View.  After getting a map or two and doing some quick research I figured maybe I could try to get the peak done in a day.  My training plan called for a 20 mile run, so I thought a few extra miles would hurt to much.  Before it was over I ended up with 28 miles, 5,403 feet of climbing (elevation gain) over ten hours.

 

I left the Henrys Fork Trail Head around 8:30am.

You enter the Wilderness almost immediately... just a few hundred yards from where the trail starts.

Henrys Fork River, a mile or so up the trail.

A little over five miles in I come to my first trail junction (Elkhorn crossing) and the start of a gorgeous meadow that would open up and go for another five miles.  It was really nice running through here.

Interesting little bridge for the crossing.

My first view of Kings Peak.  It stares at you the whole time you're running up the meadow.

Approaching Gunsight Pass.

      The approach to Kings Peak (the one I took anyways) was to go up and over Gunsight Pass and down into Painter Basin on the other side then back up to another pass, Anderson Pass at which point you can start to ascend Kings Peak.

Closing on Gunsight Pass

Looking down on the Henrys Fork drainage near Gunsight Pass

Looking back as I'm headed up the pass.  Actual running slowed to hiking quite a bit a this point.

I had some company on the pass.

Pretty cool.

On top of Gunsight pass about ten miles in.  Only another four miles or so to go.  Four miles, a few thousand vertical, another pass and a peak to... that is.

Painter Basin from Gunsight Pass

Painter Basin even higher up, on my to Anderson Pass

Approaching Kings Peak headed up towards Anderson Pass.

The route up Kings Peak (click on the photo to enlarge).

Looking up the ascent route of Kings Peak.

(Running was done at this point)

Looking down at some folks behind me after clearing the first boulder field.

Lots more boulders and rocks to go!

About two thirds of the way up.

Views of Garfield Basin on the other side of Kings Peak about two thirds of the way up.

The summit is finally in sight.

Almost there!

The last little up was steep.  

Made it!  The summit of Kings Peak (click to enlarge and read plaque).

King me!

Now the hard part... going down.  

One look back at Kings peak before heading back over to Gunsight Pass for the run home.

Looking over towards Gunsight pass as I descend Anderson Pass

Headed back up Gunsight Pass.

Whew!  Made up back up another pass.

All down hill from here... ten miles... but all pretty much running terrain again.

The views running down through the Henrys Fork draining and meadows from Gunsight pass were awesome.  That four to five mile section was really awesome.  Almost enough to take away the pain.

Back to the bridge.  Only five or so miles to go.

   I ended up back at the truck and trail head around 6:30pm.  Ten hours total.  28 miles.  5,403 vertical feet.  Made it home before dark.  This was my first trip into the Uinta Wilderness.  Wow.  I'm looking forward to seeing much more it now.