Camping in the Uintas

Being the last weekend before the kids go back to school, we decided to spend it camping. I haven't been up in the Uintas since I was a kid and Charisse has never been. Not sure what to expect in terms of campsites, we adventured off. The Mirror Lake highway, like the Alpine Loop, is a toll road. The ranger in the shack assured us that there would be lots of places to camp in the Mirror Lake area. It's a beautiful drive following the upper Provo River drainage.


Whitney's always a better passenger when she's got her headphones in.

There turned out to be many places to camp along the road. We decided to camp in a large piney flat just below the pass between Lily/Lost lakes and Mirror lake on the Lily/Lost lake side.

Charisse, Whitney and Kirby standing on an overlook into the area where we were camping.

Mirror lake with Hayden and Agassiz peaks behind.

Everyone at Mirror lake.

Charisse reading some drivel about vampires and werewolves and the girl who loves them. Apparently in this book the vampires can't turn into bats... stupid book. But if it entices her to snuggle a little more, then I won't object.

Oh yeah, that's frost. It was pretty cold once the sun went down. Charisse and Whitney thought it was cold all the time, but it really wasn't that bad during the day as long as the wind wasn't blowing (and it didn't blow too much). The great thing about the cold is that all the bugs were dead. No mosquitoes or biting flies! Tyler slept out on his cot both nights... now if we could just talk Whitney and Brenner into a tent :)

On Saturday, since Charisse and Brenner didn't get to hike Timp last week, we decided to hike up Bald Mountain. Bald (11,950 ft) is a little bit taller then Timp (11,750 ft) but the trail head starts much higher at around 10,500 ft making it a much easier hike. Still, it was a good workout for Charisse.

The hottie behind me...

and the noisemakers ahead.

The summit is just above those cliffs.

The summit... don't fall!

From the summit, looking down on Mirror lake.

Kirby had to get just a few inches higher then everyone else!

Looking to the west, Timpanogos and Cascade look very close! We were very surprised at how close the Uintas actually are to us. In the back of my mind I was thinking they were about 3 hrs drive, but in reality we were at our campsite in close to 1 hr 45 min. That's not too much longer than getting up Payson Canyon from Pleasant Grove.

I again flew one of my planes from the summit. I wanted to fly out over the cliff face, but there were too many people hanging around there so I just flew overhead. Just as I launched my plane, a couple F-16s came screaming right past the peak! I chased them away for a while, but just after I landed my plane they made another pass by.

Whitney proving she's not afraid of heights, much to her mother's horror.

We made it.

Brenner made it with nary a grumble. I think he might have been able to make the Timp hike. Although, he's got a kid's level of curiosity when it comes to cliffs... mixed with a kids level of dexterity. I don't think his mom will let him attempt Timp for a few more years.

Tyler making the last pitch to the summit. He went the hard way.

Smile!

Kirby looking down the face wondering what the hell her masters are doing in a place like this.

Whitney posing for Cabela's Monthly. Miss August.

The happy couple at one of the upper Provo River falls.

And their offspring at one of the other falls.

Once you get tired of sitting by the fire, you play games.

And finally, here's a bit of video from the weekend.

Camping in the Uintas from Jon Finch on Vimeo.

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We'll definitely make more trips up there in the future. Believe it or not, but we forgot our fishing poles *doh*. Next time we're hitting the lakes... Brook trout beware!