In the off-season as we're all dreaming of snow-covered mountains, photos of mountains in any condition always seem to be a hit around here, so with that in mind here's a recap of last weekend's festivities.
Friend Todd was visiting from Florida, so we decided to backpack into the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah.
(Our route, with our campsite marked with a green tent)
En route we stopped by the Provo River Falls, a series of cascades just off the Mirror Lake Highway.
We then headed off down the trail leaving west from Bald Mountain Pass, el. 10,800 feet.
(Admin on the Notch Lake Trail)
En route we passed by Reid's Peak and Bald Mountain reflecting in the serene waters of Clegg Lake.
Our destination was originally Notch Lake, but finding the water level extraordinarily low...
... we continued on to Bench Lake against the cliffs of 11,029-foot Notch Mountain at 10,282 feet, 2.84 miles from the Bald Mountain trailhead at Bald Mountain Pass.
We set up camp in a high alpine meadow at the south end of the lake behind some towering pines to shelter us from a stiff northerly wind.
The meadow, albeit beautiful, was littered with bear and deer scat throughout. We spent Saturday evening fishing, and while the action was good (we caught five trout) none was large enough to keep.
We built a campfire to keep warm as temperatures dropped.
(Admin by the campfire)
Overnight lows were chilly in the tent, for a morning frost showed that the temperatures hung around freezing. On Sunday morning we fished a bit more...
(Todd fishing Bench Lake)
... before breaking camp and trekking back to the truck.
(Todd gets one last look at Bench Lake)
And Todd will soon be able to do this anytime he wants. He was out here for a job interview, and today got the job. He'll be a Utahan before the end of this month.
Friend Todd was visiting from Florida, so we decided to backpack into the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah.
(Our route, with our campsite marked with a green tent)
En route we stopped by the Provo River Falls, a series of cascades just off the Mirror Lake Highway.
We then headed off down the trail leaving west from Bald Mountain Pass, el. 10,800 feet.
(Admin on the Notch Lake Trail)
En route we passed by Reid's Peak and Bald Mountain reflecting in the serene waters of Clegg Lake.
Our destination was originally Notch Lake, but finding the water level extraordinarily low...
... we continued on to Bench Lake against the cliffs of 11,029-foot Notch Mountain at 10,282 feet, 2.84 miles from the Bald Mountain trailhead at Bald Mountain Pass.
We set up camp in a high alpine meadow at the south end of the lake behind some towering pines to shelter us from a stiff northerly wind.
The meadow, albeit beautiful, was littered with bear and deer scat throughout. We spent Saturday evening fishing, and while the action was good (we caught five trout) none was large enough to keep.
We built a campfire to keep warm as temperatures dropped.
(Admin by the campfire)
Overnight lows were chilly in the tent, for a morning frost showed that the temperatures hung around freezing. On Sunday morning we fished a bit more...
(Todd fishing Bench Lake)
... before breaking camp and trekking back to the truck.
(Todd gets one last look at Bench Lake)
And Todd will soon be able to do this anytime he wants. He was out here for a job interview, and today got the job. He'll be a Utahan before the end of this month.
