The Uintas are right out my front door and have provided us with years of easy access to mountainous adventures of all kinds. But I hadn't been up there all summer, and a quick retreat to Utah's largest wilderness seemed long overdue. Four days should do it. You could traverse the entire range from west to east in 4 days if you wanted, but that doesn't leave a whole lot of time for fishing. My summer itineraries are usually based around fishing, so I thought about a loop out of the Highline trailhead that would take us through some new terrain, over a few mountain passes, down and up a river valley, with plenty of scheduled stops to wet a line.
Kalen and I took the highline trail about 17 miles east on the first day before we setup camp. We wanted to make it to a secluded basin on the far side of upper Rock Creek drainage where a fantastic scene awaited us. Halfway there, the weather changed and set the tone for the rest of the trip.
We came across these goats on Rocky Sea pass and I thought, "I should have a goat".
The hike went by quickly, and before I knew it we were in the basin, in the alpine. The joy of reaching such a spectacular place after a long day of hiking was short lived. Before we had a chance to set up camp, thunder claps and cloud to ground lightning strikes had us running for lower ground. A few hours later the storm pushed on, as they usually do, we built camp, and I raced with my fly rod to the upper lakes to get a few casts in before dark.
Reconnaissance Lake is an alpine jewell that I was very happy to finally see for myself.
The second day we came over dead horse pass which is where our hike officially turned into a loop. Crossing from the upper rock creek drainage to the headwaters of the west fork Blacks fork river, and then over another un-named pass into the Bear river was our plan for the day.
We decided to camp at dead horse lake. Getting caught in the lightning storm the day before scared us enough that we didn't want to cross another high mountain pass in the afternoon when the storms roll in
There are many things that make the Uinta mountains unique. All of the headwater systems provide refuge for two of Utah's native trout, the Colorado river cutthroat and the Bonneville cutthroat. You can fish for them both in a single day, separated only by a few mountain passes and a mile or so as the raven flies. This fish above lives at the source of the Colorado in a small lake at 11,000', feeding on anything thats been blown in by the wind.
Continuing our loop, we made our 3rd camp along the banks of the east fork of the Bear river. This drainage is home to the Bonneville cutthroat and the headwaters of the largest terminal river in the western hemisphere. Our last day of hiking would have been a big one. My feet were cursed with blisters from not wearing shoes for a month, and the weather kept us from our intended pace. After a little debate, we hiked to the Christmas meadows road and down to the mirror lake highway where we hitched a ride from a friendly old couple back to the truck. We didn't make the full loop and the weather was kind of shitty, but it was still one of my favorite treks through the Uintas to date.
Sometimes it can be difficult to get back into the mountains. The business has to come first, or else there can be no play. I feel blessed to spend a lot of time in the places that I love, but it seems as though I could never get enough. The idea of not being able to do these things is always driving me hard to make the most out of every trip, however long or short.
My brother Neil and I had a break in between jobs, giving us one night and 48 hours to get back into the mountains. We're lucky to live at the western entrance to the Uintas, a vast wilderness to explore, and also where we got our start in fly-fishing. I've become so familiar with the land, that if feels like my home. Yet its impossible to see it all. Using the maps to find a new place with a squiggly blue line that leads to some small blue dots is where it all starts. Its what we're all about.
We thought we'd explore a bit of the North Slope of the Uintas. The one billion year old wrinkled core of the range runs west to east for 150 miles, with long glacially carved river valleys running north and south from the crest the entire way. This anomalous feature is the largest east/west oriented mountain range outside of Alaska. Once we made it to the north slope road, we headed east up and over the great basin divide and into the headwaters of the green river.
^ we turned off the main north slope road and began driving up a valley to a trailhead along the west fork blacks fork. One river crossing which was perfectly handled with Neil's land rover. His rig is necessary for accessing some of the hard to reach trailheads that encompass the Uintas.
^the first few miles of trail brought us through a sad forest of dead, bark beetle infested conifers. This is a characteristic that has become widespread throughout the Uintas and a majority of vast timbered lands all the way to canada. Its primed for a massive fire, and only a matter of time before the Boy Scouts of America set it ablaze, again. Once we reached the first meadow we encountered a heard of sheep and their shit. Not very pleasant but its the land of many uses so you just have to avoid the loud, smelly bastards. After we passed the sheep, the long meadow began to open up, along with the river and the views
^ We rigged up our rods with some bushy dry flies and began leap frogging our way up the river, hitting every choice hole along the way.
^ I fully lost track of how many fish we caught on our way up the river to camp. Most of the fish were small and feisty brook trout which at times seemed like that was all that existed. However I knew that this drainage harbored some native trout. As a naturalist, I lose my shit when a beautiful native cutthroat trout comes to hand amidst a sea of invasive brook trout. This colorado river cutthroat has evolved over thousands of years to live in this stream, evident by his vibrant camouflage to match his environment.
^ with no real destination in mind other than a camp with a view, our plan was to hike along the river and fish until we found what we were looking for. The numbers were adding up both in terms of miles and fish caught. It was time for a break.
^ click image to view larger version.
After about 5 miles, we found a sick camp spot in one of the upper meadows with some beautiful water running through it. Once the sun dropped behind the massive valley walls, the fishing was elevated to another level. I kid you not we were catching fish every cast. we fished for one hour before dinner and probably had over one hundred fish between the two of us.
^ Flash 360 Panorama. Use the controls or click within the image and drag it around.
^ another colorado river cutthroat that fits in my hand. Most of the fish were small but had lots of character and vibrant colors. Most importantly, the trout were not afraid to eat my fly as it floated through a corner pocket again and again, each time finding itself lodged in the mouth of the next eager fish.
A good camp trip to the uintas is not complete without a fast moving storm cell. We retreated to the tent just in time to get pounded with rain for about 20 minutes. Eventually the massive thunderhead moved to the next valley as it glowed with the last rays of sun.
The next morning we ate a large bowl of jah's oats before our ambitious trek into the alpine. We had 17 miles to cover before we could begin the drive back home. My plan was to hike to a particular ridge line to shoot a 360 panorama, and fish a little blue dot on the map that I suspected may hold some native cutthroat trout.
^ we cracked through the treeline and made out way on to the alpine tundra. The wild flowers were just starting to come into bloom across the high terrain. Its a harsh life for them this summer with only a few months to grow between snowflakes.
^click image to view larger version
I had scoped out a spot on the map where I would be able to shoot a 360 Panorama. This ridgeline acts as a divide between two great river systems. Neil sits on the left in the Great Basin at the headwaters of the largest river in the country to never reach the ocean, the Bear. And I sit on the right of the image in the headwaters of the green river and colorado river drainage, one of the american west's iconic bodies of water.
^ flash 360 panorama. Use the controls or click inside the image and drag it around.
^ On our way down from the pass, we would stop at this beautiful alpine pond that sits above all else at the head of the valley. I made a quick stop to photograph these paintbrush flowers. While I was fussing with lenses and getting raped by mosquitos, Neil was down at the pond tied into his second fish. He's on the left shore but he's hard to spot within the carpet of flower buds. Before I headed down, I tied on a little black flying ant that I had crafted the day before at my tying bench at home. Soon after his first flight, he was firmly tucked away in the corner of a cutthroat trouts mouth at 11,200 feet.
Being at elevation and exposed to the wind, lots of terrestrial insects are blown into the pond. A fish would swim from 20 feet away as soon as the ant hit the water and slowly gulp the insect as if he knew what he was looking for.
^ Native fish on ants above treeline is what we're all about.
^ At 4:30pm I caught the last fish of the trip which marked the beginning of our long trek home. We still had to pack up our camp and hike 10 miles back to the car. Its a great feeling of accomplishment when you have a successful trip to an area that you've never seen before. After exploring one long, blue squiggly line and a blue dot, its time to move on to the next.
Summer might be coming to a close, but there's always time to squeeze in a camping trip or two. My brother's legs have been feeling good since recovering from his accident in the spring, so we decided to go for a little mission in the Uintas. He did well on the 14 mile trek through the alpine. Our goal was to explore a string of lakes off the beaten path, and hopefully find some native cutthroat.
^The big dip
^for full effect, click on the image for larger version. This was the 180 degree view when you tilted your head up towards the sky. The milky way was extra milked up.
^We camped near a small pond at treeline. I set up a time lapse on the shore to capture the stars reflection in the water as they panned across the sky. It was a pretty cool scene.
^After a few miles of hiking through the woods, we came across this zone that overlooked our objectives.
^I can't imagine someone positioned that rock there, must have been a glacier.
^All we had to do was scramble through the rock field before we could see if these high country gems were holding what we were looking for.
^As it turned out, the crystal clear emerald water was holding some fine trout.
^We spent the day cruising the shores looking for fish, casting beetles and ants. The fishing was great, and we caught a couple dozen of these beauty's. It was amazing to watch the fish come from 20 feet down and delicately sip the small black beetle off the surface of the water with no hesitation. It was alpine dry fly fishing at its best.
^Our buddy Zack, who just purchased his first fly-rod, came along for the mission. Here he is on his way to hooking his first native trout on a dry-fly. It's always a good time exploring new areas in the mountains with your buddies.
I love summer time. Its ironic because Im currently in a place where its below freezing, howling winds, and snowing heavily. Im in Chile for 4 weeks with the hopes of skiing some deep powder. While im really looking forward to this trip, I must say, I was really enjoying the beautiful summer in Utah! I wanted to share some pictures from the last few weeks leading up to my departure. You see, I knew I was heading to the cold wintery environment of the Andes mountains so I had to seize every opportunity to get out and fish/camp/hike/climb/bike/etc....
^ Biking the Crest trail in the early morning hours with my brother. I haven't biked much in the last 5 years but thats all about to change.
^ The Crest trail follows the park city ridgeline with epic views of the central Wasatch.
^ The wildflowers were just starting to go OFF!!! Indian Paintbrush
^ Fishing the green drake hatch this summer yielded some outrageously epic days. For me, the pinnacle moment in fly fishing is casting big dry-flies to even bigger trout and thats exactly what the green drake hatch can provide.
^ This mayfly avoided the gaping mouths of the trout on the middle provo river to dry his wings on the grassy banks
^ The day before I left for south america, we made one last float down the green river.
^ A colorful Bonneville Cutthroat from the High Uinta mountains
^ Shooting time lapses of the milky way in the uintas. It was a magical evening to say the least.
^ I love how this photo turned out. Whats going on with my net?!?! (no photoshop)
In northern Utah, the late spring blizzards have finally ended, giving way to the classic summer weather we all love. For me, there's no better way to celebrate the arrival of summer than a camping trip. My pop and I packed our bags and headed to a remote creek that was sure to offer up some good fishing and nice scenery...
^ Whats a good camping trip without an insect infestation or two?
^ After a long day of fishing, I was relaxing back at camp when the sky erupted with color
^ Nothing like enjoying a nice sunset by the fire, cold beer in hand.
^ while most rivers around the state gushing with snow melt, this one was perfect.
^ This creek is a refuge for utah's native Bonneville cutthroat, my favorite species of trout.
^ Joyful times exploring unknown creeks in search for big cutthroat trout
