We'd be going as high as 10,770ft. All in all the trail wasn't super steep which is always a good thing when you're carrying backpacks.
We stupidly did not think to A) check the weather, B) leave early in the morning, or C) consider that late summer in the high mountains was inevitably filled with afternoon rains. We got dumped on, including some hail. Luckily we had ponchos but it was still a pretty miserable hour and we briefly considered turning back.
We'd read other reviews of the trail/camping situation and knew that most people camped about a mile and a half from Amethyst Lake as there was better tree cover from the wind. We were pretty wet by the time we reached that area and decided to make camp. There were quite a few suitable sites to choose from although all were overrun with mosquitoes. Wisely we had brought plenty of OFF and I angrily murdered the ones that dared land on my beloved hound.
Brian set off to the creek to pump water for the family while Howie and I finished unpacking and I warmed my feet / dried my socks by the fire. Brian would later return and dry his socks by the fire and both pairs would end up melting into a hole filled mess. Thank god for spare socks!
These are part of my Laying On The Ground series.
Set up and with plenty of water to make it through the night we were good to have some drinks and wander around. Right next to our camp was a beautiful view of Ostler Peak and we struggled to take a decent pic.
Amazing.
There was an enormous field with a creek running through it that the trail cut through so we returned there to take some pictures with the mountain amphitheater. The look of the area was somewhat reminiscent of King's Peak (tallest mountain in Utah, part of the same mountain range & roughly 20 miles East as the crow flies).
It was a beautiful evening and we drank well and were in bed early.
The next morning we awoke looking beautiful and feeling good.
Our plan was to walk the remaining 1.5 miles to Amethyst Lake, return to camp and tear down, then walk the remaining 5.5 miles to the car. So all in all an 8.5 - 9 mile day. I said a prayer to the Knee God and we hit the trail.
It was unreal beautiful.
We had to make a couple other Peaceful Alpine Lake stops along the way.
The first view of the lake.
Hell yeah.
The water was understandably freezing. Howie ventured in a little and we honestly would have thrown ourselves in if we'd had swimsuits.
Brian climbed up a small hill for a different angle on the lake.
Family photos.
All too soon it was time to leave.
The hills are supposedly filled with mountain goats but we only saw this one.
There was some snow that we had to investigate and I'm not sure I've ever seen Howie happier.
Live for that scree.
We got back to camp and Brian pumped more water while I packed up. Howie zoomed around merrily like he still had all the energy in the world. Soon we were heading out.
We had much better weather on the way out. My knee was a champ for most of it but the last few miles it started giving me grief. I adopted a very strange walking strategy that worked wonders for knee pain but also caused crippling soreness in my left calf the next day. Worth it!
Obsessed with these yes.
And this.
We got back to the car where we had IN A STROKE OF GENIUS left ice cold beers in a cooler.
Howie was the most exhausted hound on the planet.
All in all the trip was one of the most fun (if not THE most fun) we've had in Utah. It was amazingly beautiful, good weather aside from The Hail Incident, and not too brutal a hike. The Uintas were already my favorite mountain range but this really cemented it. We can't wait to go back every damn year.
0 comments:
Post a Comment