Sunset

For our final day in the Uintas we did a quick hike called "Sunset."  We figured this would be a hike to a nice viewpoint for seeing the sunset.  Instead it was a nice hike up an unmaintained and long-deserted logging road to a pond.  The Sunset trail was only on one of our three maps for the area, so it wasn't surprising that it was unmaintained and a bit deteriorated.  We had fun crossing over, under and around lots of fallen trees.  No one else was on the hidden trail.

Trailhead Elevation:  7,400 feet

Sunset Lake:  8,280 feet

Total Elevation:  880 feet

Total Miles:  4.6 miles

Total Time:  2 1/2 hours

Yellow Pine Creek - Partial

We did a great hike up Yellow Pine Creek in the Uintas.  There is a trailhead for Yellow Pine right off Mirror Lake Highway that we have passed many times.  This weekend we finally stopped and did it!  The trail starts right along Yellow Pine Creek and follows the creek up the canyon crossing it numerous times.  We hit snow at about 8,500 feet elevation.  We hiked through the snow as far as we could trying to follow the trail, but finally had to give up as we couldn't find the sharp left to the traverse.  It was a pretty nice hike with lots of elevation gain. 

Trailhead Elevation:  7,040 feet

High Point:  9,000 feet (when we turned around)

Total Elevation:  2,000 (approximate)

Total Miles:  8 miles

Total Time:  5  hours

North Fork

We went camping in the Uintas this weekend for the first time this season.  Since the snowpack is still pretty high, we selected some lower trails for the weekend.  This is a photo of the Provo River at the crossing along the North Fork trail.  Usually this trail is done as a loop.  Given the massive snowmelt flow in the river, we had to turn around at this point.  This is a nice hike to do after work or on a short day.  Very little elevation gain, but a pretty little hike.

Trailhead Elevation:  7,560 ft

High Point Elevation:  7,710 ft

Total Elevation:  150 ft

Total Miles:  3.6 miles

Total Time:  2 hours



Thaynes Canyon

We did a great hike up Thaynes Canyon in Millcreek Canyon.  It was Father's Day weekend and the canyon was crazy busy.  Instead of doing our usual hike up Desolation Trail, we decided to head up Thaynes Canyon.  The route up Thaynes is much steeper than Desolation, but it provides a bit of a break from the crowds.  We hiked up the narrow drainage for about 2 miles to the junction with Desolation Trail.  At the junction, we turned right and went about a 1.5 miles on a traverse route that eventually meets up with the Overlook.  From the Overlook, it was another 2.5 miles down to the car.  There was still quite a bit of snow near the top of Thaynes Canyon and across the traverse.  We had to do some route finding through the snow and quite a bit of bushwacking through fallen trees across the trail.  But overall, it was a great day of adventure and solitude off the beaten track of  the Desolation Trail.

Trailhead Elevation:  5,856 ft
Highest Point:  7,635 ft
Total Elevation Gain:  1,779 ft
Total Distance:  6 miles
Total Time:  3.5 hours

The Antennas

One of our early season hikes this year has been the the Antennas.  It is called the Antennas because it follows a dirt maintenance road used to get up to the radio towers installed at the top of the foothills overlooking Salt Lake City.  A portion of the hike actually connects with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail system.  I like this hike because not very many people use this area and it has some great views of the valley and the snow-capped Wasatch Mountains.  On our hike today we saw our first snake of the season.  Mary almost stepped on it because I was telling her to "look up at the beautiful mountains" just before I screamed "snake."  It was a pretty good sized one.  It wasn't a rattlesnake, but looked similar to one. 

Trailhead Elevation:  4,920 ft
City Creek Overlook Elevation: 
Total Elevation Gain:  900 ft
Total Distance:  6 miles
Total Time:  3 hours

Frying Pan and Cohab Canyon - Partial

We were down in Torrey, Utah, this weekend looking at real estate with some friends.  We managed to get in a great hike on Sunday in Capitol Reef National Park.  We did a portion of the Frying Pan Trail and Cohab Canyon.  The trail starts in the Fruita area of the park and climbs to a great viewpoint of the valley and surrounding mesas.  We hiked up Cohab Canyon and then hiked in on the Frying Pan Trail for about 1/2 mile.  We ran out of time to do more exploring, but we will definitely come back to do this one again.  It was a great way to spend the day with friends.

Trailhead Elevation:  5,436 ft
Overlook Elevation:  5,836 ft
Total Elevation Gain:  1,000 ft
Total Distance:  4 miles
Total Time:  2.5 hours

Grandeur Peak

We made it to the top of Grandeur Peak today.  It was the first nice weekend of the spring/summer and we made the best of it.  Lots of people were out enjoying the trails.  There was still quite a bit of snow on the trail at the top for the final ascent, but we made it.  We did the hike with our friend Leslie who made sure we got to the top.  It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to the top and total time was about 4 1/2 hours.  Thanks for a great day on the trail.




Trailhead Elevation:  5,960 ft
Peak Elevation:  8,299 ft
Total Elevation Gain:  2,340 ft
Total Distance:  7 miles
Total Time:  4.5 hours