Uinta National Forest - Lone Peak Wilderness - July 2, 2010 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Uinta National Forest - Lone Peak Wilderness |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Utah |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | July 2, 2010 |
| Duration: | 2 days |
| Trail Conditions: | Excellent |
| Trail Traffic: | Light |
| Trip Weather: | Sunny |
| Trip Winds: | Moderate |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 81-90, Low: 31-40 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | Carena and I decided to do this trek to break in to our new equipment. The decision to do it counterclockwise rather than our original plan to do it clockwise was made late, only hours before hitting the trail. That decision was based on the weather -- we had temperatures in the 90s forecast for afternoon and to go clockwise is to put us in more open country at the heat of the day. However, the trade-off was that the climb is steeper going counterclockwise. We did not get started until mid-afternoon, given that I had to work half a day first. Although the heat of the day was upon us about the time we got to the trailhead, we felt fine as the trail is well shaded at first. We were grateful for the HikerPro water filter that we recently acquired, however, as we both consumed much of our water before we had gone halfway. The water in our hydration bladders -- room temperature to start with -- became actually hot enough to bathe in. Obviously, then, we stopped at the stream halfway up and replenished our water supply with fresh cold water. Carena set a rapid pace for the uphill, maybe a little too fast. I had the 40-pound pack on, and it had been many years since I had shouldered a pack that heavy. Her pack was lighter, but it was also new to her. We had to make a couple of equipment adjustments along the trail. Thank goodness for these modern packs with the adjustable frames. With our equipment adjusted to optimal comfort, we pushed on and up -- ever upward! This trail (Deer Creek Trail) was a merciless uphill -- at least for a couple of people not used to heavy backpacks. With about a mile to go to the divide, we both began scouting for campsites, but there were no suitable places to pitch a tent. Carena began to feel a great deal of pain in her hamstrings before we got to the top, so we had to make a lot of stops. We had been on the trail just shy of 4 hours when we arrived at the meadow on the divide. It looked just like the meadow in 'Sound of Music" where Fraulein Maria (Julie Andrews) sings the song "the hills are alive with the sound of music..." We picked out a campsite along the east rim of the divide at the edge of the trees and managed to get the tent up between gusts of wind. As often happens at high elevation, the little stove just couldn't quite get the water to boil, so we had a freeze-dried dinner with slightly crispy noodles (al dente, I guess you could say). It was dark by time we ate and enjoyed a wonderful mug of hot chocolate. By that time, we were joined in the meadow by two women on horseback. They set up their tent adjacent to a snowbank in the trees at the south end of the meadow, about 100 yards from us. The wind gusted much of the night and the temperature dropped into the 30s but we were very comfortable in our sleeping bags inside the tent. Just before sunrise, Carena awoke feeling unwell. We decided to abort the hike around Box Elder Peak today and return the way we had come -- the shortest way back to the car. When you are sick -- there's no place like home. We had breakfast and broke camp after the sunrise warmed the meadow a bit. Carena was able to carry her backpack, but I took out whatever I could cram into mine to make her load lighter. We were able to make it back to the car in a just little over 2 hours, after numerous stops on the way down. In spite of the illness, we had a great trip. My only disappointment was that after the grueling work of the first day, the second day promised to be mostly a fun day, and easy by comparison. But we will have to do that another time. |
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