If you ever feel like getting your butt kicked, I mean really brutally kicked especially after not hiking for most of the summer, take yourself out into your wilderness areas. I made the mistake of answering the phone when my hiking buddy called and let myself be talked into another adventure that turned into a good old fashioned butt kicking session. Those mountains will have no mercy on your muscles and the altitude brings on altitude sickness if you go up and down to rapidly or stay up there to long. We went from 4600 ft where we live to anywhere between 11,500 to 13,500, boy I was nauseated and a huffing and a puffing. We were going to tackle 7 mountain passes at those heights and most times your following faint to no visible trails over boulder fields, loose shale rocks and such. I'm like hopping across a 1000 yards of varying sizes of boulders and with a pack it really worked you muscles. Jump down to a 3 ft boulder, hop back up to a 4ft one then down to smaller ones, all across the boulder field. I was one tired puppy when we exited it. Funny thing is now I know why few hikers actually chose to use the short cut through the boulder fields. We came out of it about 45 mins ahead of a Ranger and his group who wet down the trail in to the valley and skirted around the finger of the ridgeline and the boulder field, tired, did I mention how I was tired. I depleted any remaining reserve energy that I did have getting across those boulders. "Not to self: Next time skirt around the shortcut" All summer I only made it out twice and they were cheesy hikes, so I was not physically ready to be up in there.

So we went in at Henry's Fork trailhead at 9,400 ft and moved on to Gunsight pass at 13,200 and then on to Anderson Pass leading to Kings Peak, the highest point in Utah at 13,500. It is about a 32 mile trek and you sweating the whole dang way, I mean were hiking not just wandering along, trekking poles out and going for it. We camped at North Star Lake on the reverse side of Anderson and by then the monstrous magnificiently loud thunder claps were beginning to continue nearly non-stop. The winds were over 35 mph and were on exposed shoreline with only a stand of trees to get into to break the wind. Then comes the rain and hard which about 11pm gave way to sleet, hail and snow, coming in sideways. My tent was shredded in the am, I was lucky I had a Gortex bivy bag for my sleeping bag to get me through the night. With 5 mountain passes to go, each with their own difficulty levels and in my current state of exhaustion I pulled the plug and turned back. I could see me being in over my head and becoming a rescue, which I did not want to be. MY friend Trekked ahead and when I saw him next 3 days later he was hammered. He went through some crap situations, but by then he was to far into it to turn back, so he pushed on. So now I'm hiking for another 30 miles back, spent another night camping out in the bush and another night at the trailhead till I hitchhiked out with a couple hunters. Had my daughter pick me up in Evanston, Wyoming.

I just need to get my rear back into condition, seems like the work load becomes so much, I get in the truck sit on my butt, work all day installing tile, drive home, do a few mickey mouse things and then go to bed. "Getting softer, getting weaker, every minute Charlie squats in the bush he grows stronger. I wanted a mission, and for my sins they gave me one, it was a real choice mission and when it was over I'd never want another...) (Apocalypse Now Martin Sheen: Cpt. Willard) So I need to step up my fitness game a few notches. I had been up there twice before in the Uinta's, and the last trip Aug. 2013 we did 83 miles, 7 mountain passes (The highest in the state again) from 0710 am Fri. morning at the White Rocks trailhead and finished 3 days later Sun at 2130 hrs at the Mirror Lake trailhead parking lot where our truck was parked. That was my friends fastest time ever and he had been there 7 times before that, one time with a UVU college team baseball player. SO I just need to get over being soft. LOL, I'm my own worst critic.

But it is really very beautiful up there, ruggedly beautiful, makes you feel like a small time traveler who is soon forgotten as the mountains will stand there like that for another million years, and a million after that. Going back again next year. It is pretty much closed as the weather is turning and they are expecting more snow up there tonight and tomorrow. A horseback rider got separated from his group and had been missing for 4 nights and 3 days was just found up there today, spotted by helicopter.

Note the chart I attached, notice the difficulty level the assign to this trek... And it is every bit of that.

Length: 32.00 miles
Difficulty: Extreme
Estimated Hike Time: 3 days
Trail Type: Out and Back
Elevation Low: 9,427 feet
Elevation High: 13,528 feet
Total Elevation Gain: 4,101 feet
Optimal Season: Early Summer to Mid Fall
Best Access Point: Mountain View, WY













Typical stream we pull water for our canteens from


This is how we purify the water we pull from the streams, great easy filter to use. Submerge the bag till filled with water, reattach the nozzle end with the filter and drink away...



Trail to Gunsight Pass, look way back, in the saddle , you can see a triangular mound, that is that Carin marker marking that you have arrived at the pass. Those Carins can be 10 ft in height, made by the forest service to serve as markers for us to dead reckon to when trail are scarce.



The snow across the valley shows how cold it still gets up here at night, and this is in Sept, it survived all summer.



Just a whole mountain side of loose boulders and shale. Bet that's easily 1500 ft to the top and the bottom not seen in the picture.



Storm clouds starting to form

 

Wow! What an adventure!
I couldn't come close to doing that my knees would be all gone.
Sometimes they go just climbing stairs in the Hotels.
Did a few Hike's back in 99-2000 with my son when he was in the Boy Scouts in Wyoming but it was still light weight stuff.
Good you are safe and made it back with no injuries. Great photo's!

 

Awesome pics Greg!!

 

Nice Greg! That was quite an adventure. I used to do a lot of hiking and hunting in the Appalachian Mountains of VA, There is some steep and rugged parts but nothing like the elevation yall have out west. The last time I tackled terrain like that I was in the Army.


Glad to see people enjoying the outdoors Dude!