Hike in the Uinta Mountains, Sept 8, 2015

I drove to the high Uintas on Tuesday, 9/8.  The weather was great and I hadn't been there for a few years.  Since it was just after Labor Day, the campsites were all closed and there were very few people there.  A few  at the trail head and some at Mirror Lake when I drove there later, but during my 3 or 4 hour hike ( with lunch and just enjoying the views) I never saw another person.  On the way up I stopped and took a picture of the upper Provo Falls, not too much water this time of year but they still looked great. I took many pictures and this is just a sampling.

Upper Provo Falls, North Fork of the Provo River

 All of the lakes are above ten-thousand feet in elevation but since the trail head is at 9700 feet, It was a relatively easy hike. I first went to Crystal Lake which is only about a quarter-mile from the trail head.

Crystal Lake

 My plan was to hike to Lake Marjorie only but the hiking was so easy, it was such a beautiful day and the temperature was perfect, in the low 60's (though it got up to about 85 in SLC) so I went to several of the lakes (there are about a dozen in the general area)

Crystal Lake from the trail on way to Lake Marjorie

 Then I hiked to Lake Marjorie, a little over 2 miles from Crystal Lake.

Lake Marjorie

 From there I went on to Long Lake since it was only about another half-mile (in a different direction)
As the name implies this lake is only a couple hundred yards wide but it is about a half-mile long or more.

Long Lake

 From there I hiked back to the trail head.  My Garmin Trail Master indicated that I walked a total of about 6.5 miles by the time I got back to the pick-up.  Since it was still pretty early in the day, I drove on up to Mirror Lake because it was just up the road (6 miles) and you can drive right to the shore line and campground.  Mirror Lake is really a beautiful mountain lake.  There were quite a few people there.  Some of you should have gotten an email and a google map showing my location from my satellite personal tracker (SPoT device) since I sent a signal from Crystal Lake, Lake Marjorie, and Mirror Lake.  There are certainly a lot of beautiful places to see in Utah.  Love it.

Mirror Lake

July 3, 2014 - Beautiful Country

I haven't posted in a very long time.  Thought I would share my recent hike with you.  BUT, blogspot was not getting along with my browser and this took me about TWO HOURS.  It may be a while before I post again!!

I went to Lake Blanche, Lake Florence and Lake Lillian on Thursday, July 3rd.  I think it has been a couple years since hiking there. I went with Bob Keeler from our ward.  It's about 4 miles up Mill B South Fork up Big Cottonwood Canyon and reminds me what beauty we have here in Utah.  I'm a little slower than I was when I started hiking to these beautiful mountain lakes about 10 years ago, but I still love it. You have seen my pictures from this same place before, but I thought it was especially spectacular this time.  It was like spring was just showing up in the mountains.  Everything was green and lovely, beautiful fields of flowers, and the lakes and streams were full and flowing.

 

Some of the views while hiking

Lakes are behind the ridge, Sundial Peak shows over the top and the water from the three Lakes (Blanche, Florence, and Lillian) is flowing down the canyon in center right of the picture.

A closer view of the stream flowing out of the lakes as you climb towards them.

Waterfall that is flowing down a rock slab and into a stream that flows into Lake Blanche.  Sundial Peak in the back.

Another view of the same falls

Stream below the falls flowing towards Lake Blanche

Lake Blanche looking west from just below the falls (and Bob Keeler, hiking partner, taking a picture

)

Lake Blanche from the northeast corner.  Dromedary peak in upper left.

Looking straight south across Lake Blanche.  A little snow in the background.

Looking southeast across the lake.  Sundial Peak behind, and (wait for it)

The best picture of the hike. Same view as above from a little farther back.  I love this photo.  Take a good look.  Is this beautiful country or what?

Lake Florence (close), Lake Lillian (behind).  The overflow from Lake Blanche flows into Lake Florence.  The overflow from Lake Florence flows into Lake Lillian. The overflow from Lake Lillian flows into the Mill B Fork Creek (you can see in the 3rd and 4th  photo from the start) and Mill B Fork Creek flows into Big Cottonwood Canyon Creek.

And finally, one of the wild roses that were growing all over the mountain side.  It was, indeed, a good day in the Mountains of Utah.

Draper, UT., Fourth Day of Spring, 2013?

 

 

Since I showed you the 2nd day of Spring, the 4th day of spring looks even better!  Although, I must admit, this time it also looks like a lot of work.  Since the 2nd day of Spring brought two inches of snow and the 4th day of Spring brought 6 - 8 inches of snow, I can hardly wait to see what the 6th and 8th days of Spring might bring us this year.  I might need a bigger snow blower.

Second Day of Spring, 2013, Draper, UT.

Just thought you might want to see what spring looks like in our backyard this morning. 

Beautiful!

Cascade Springs, October, 2012

Drove up to Cascade Springs today. It's up the Provo Canyon and beyond Sundance.  I discovered it when we first moved back to Utah and were living in Midway.  It is really a lovely place and I haven't been back there in a few years.

For those of you here in the Wasatch front, you should take your families up there this fall if the weather holds - it will be unaccessible as soon as we get any significant snow since the US Forest Service will close off the Alpine Loop.  You have to drive to the top of the Alpine Loop and then head east (the turn is well-marked).  It is all paved road.

I have posted pictures of this spot before (I think in 2007) so that was long enough ago that maybe you have forgotten :)  So here are some pictures I took today.


The place has been upgraded some
since  I was last there and I was surprised

at how many people were there - about 12 cars in the parking lot, mostly families.  I guess they were out enjoying the beautiful weather and lovely fall scenery.  They have raised boardwalks all around the falls and pools area where the water ends up after flowing from the springs a couple hundred yards up the hill.

 

 There are brown trout in all these pools (natural, not stocked) but no fishing is allowed in order to preserve them.

 As you make your way up the hill you see the stream that originates at the spring and feeds the many pools and falls at the bottom.

Then as you near the springs you can see where the stream originates.  The water flows out of the ground over about an acre or two and flows together into the stream.  It is a large stream of water.

Below is one of many signs posted around the springs.  As you note, the springs flow year around - at the same temperature and the same flow rate all year, every year.

Another couple views of the actual springs and the trail around the springs.  You can see it is paved and even your youngest  could make their way around these springs.










The area was burned over in a forest fire in late 2003, not long after we moved to Midway, but after I had discovered the place.  I was really disappointed at how it looked for a few years. You can see just a few of the smaller, dead, burned-out trees in this picture below, but it has mostly pretty much recovered.  The forest-service signs talk about how the fire (it was a prescribed burn that got out of control) covered a much larger area than they had planned, but that it was actually good for the area.

 

This area is near the bottom of the pools and falls that the springs create and you can see one of the (many) streams from those pools flowing down to a creek that then makes its way down to deer creek in Provo Canyon just below the Deer Creek Reservoir.

I stopped and took a few pictures on my way out, back up to the Alpine Loop - it was towards dusk and the pictures are a little dark - but I wanted you to get some idea of how lovely the drive is also.

I then drove on over the Alpine Loop through American Fork Canyon.  It was absolutely spectacular.  All the aspen were bright yellow; leaves covering the road and the ground and it was gorgeous.  I didn't stop and take pictures on the loop.  You really just have to see it yourself to know how beautiful everything was.  Perfect weather with temperatures in the 70's even at the high elevations.

I love Utah and the great outdoors!

Fall Hike to Red Pine Lake

It was a great day for a hike, the temperature in the upper 50's when I woke up and it looked like it would also be cool in the mountains (the KSL Vortex weather site said the wasatch high country was in the 40's)  So I decided to go back to Red Pine Lake since it is one of my very favorite places. 

The fall colors were on full display so it was a beautiful hike.  If you don't remember it's about 4 miles each way with about 2500 feet of elevations change - you go from 7200 feet at the trailhead to 9700 feet at the lake.  During most of the hike I think the temperature was in the upper 50's or low 60's.  Perfect hiking weather!

This is looking back down the trail about a 1/2 mile up the White Pine/Red Pine trail from the trailhead.

 The trail forks when you get to White Pine Creek (if you head up this canyon you go to White Pine Lake).  So you cross the stream and walk over to the next canyon to the west to go up to Red Pine Lake.

















As the trail starts up the canyon to Red Pine you have a great view of Little Cottonwood Canyon.  At the lower elevations some of the colors are fading but it still looks pretty nice!

And, at a little higher elevation you can see the Aspen are changing also.  That was not true just a couple weeks ago.

And finally as you get to the lake, much to my dismay, it was mostly empty.  I have been to this lake many times and I have never seen it not full. It has always been so beautiful. I was there in July and the lake was full.  I began to wonder if the water level was controlled by the forest service or the water conservation folks.  To see the contrast look at the July 26 post.

So, I ate my lunch here on the south side as usual, but it didn't have quite the same appeal as it has before.  When I was walking up the trail, the water in Red Pine Creek was flowing really well so I expected the lake to be full. So, before I left,  I walked all the way around the lake this time - I had not done that before.  Sure enough, on the southwest corner on a significant down slope below the lake there was a water flood-gate and it was wide open so they were obviously draining the lake. I expect that late in the year, if there is not enought water flowing down Little Cottonwood creek, they open up the gates at these upper lakes to provide the water they need in the valley.

The Wasatch Mountains are the primary water-shed for the wasatch front.  I did a quick estimate of the surface area and depth of the lake and estimated that about 500 million gallons of water had been drained from this one relatively small mountain lake - so during dry years, which this certainly was, this water is pretty important. 

The clouds had rolled in while I was at the lake and it started raining while I was there, but it was mostly just a light sprinkling that last about an hour or so.

This last picture was taken on the way back down.  So, all in all it was a great day.  I was just saddened that they had mostly drained "my lake".

Septermber 5th: Hike to Lake Blanche

On September 29, 2010, I hiked into Lake Blanche, Lake Lillian, and Lake Florence for the first time. Since it had been a couple years and it's a pretty nice spot, I decided to go see how it looked a couple years later. So last Wednesday (Sep 5) I hiked there again. The trail-head is on the south side of the road of Big Cottonwood Canyon right at the big "S" curve. That's the trail-head near "Hidden Falls" for those of you who have taken your children up there. It is one of the longer hikes so I don't take it too often. By the time you hike up and walk around all three lakes, it's about a 10 mile round trip. My gps measured it at 9.6 miles when I got back to my pickup.  The hike has a 2700 feet elevation change going from about 6200 feet to 8900 feet. Once again, I learned I really haven't done enough hiking this year to keep myself in "hiking condition".  And, it was a very warm day, even in the mountains.  I think it was around 80 degrees even at almost 9000 feet.  But with all that said - it was worth every second of it.  Utah mountains are truly beautiful.  I will still want to do this for a few more years!!

 

 

 

It was almost a month earlier than my hike two years ago but already some of the leaves on the trees are turning colors, probably because it has been a very dry year.  So that made for a pretty hike even though there were fewer mountain flowers.

Interesting rock off the side of the trail about 30 yards.  Looks like somebody tried to carve stairs into it.



A little higher up you get into the aspen and the trail is shaded so it makes it just a little cooler.  There was very little breeze until you got to the lakes.  Which took me about 2-1/2 hours.
 



First lake that you come to is Lake Blanche.  It is a beautiful setting with Sundial Peak behind it.  All the lakes were lower this year than they were two years ago which you can see if you look at the pictures from the October, 2010 blog.  This is looking southeast from the north side of the lake.

 

This is looking southwest from Lake Blanche and you can see Dromedary (camel) Peak in the background. Sundial and Dromedary are both over 11,000 feet (younger and more vigorous hikers would have also hiked to the top of those - I was perfectly content to look UP at the peaks, not DOWN from the peaks!

Lake Florence which is just west of Lake Blanche.  There was a little breeze so the lake was not as smooth as when I took pictures in 2010 so the reflections are not so spectacular.

 

Lake Florence with Lake Lillian behind (and slightly left) of it.

This is definitely God's country!

North end of Lake Blanche

Lake Lillian which is a little south and west of Lake Florence was almost nonexistent this year

 

I sat under this pine tree which was up on the (west)  hillside aways and ate my lunch (and sent most of you my SPoT signal to let you know where I was and that I was safe!) because you could see all three lakes from that vantage point.

 

 

 



Small stream flowing from lake Florence into Lake Lillian.  Lake Florence is about 50 feet below Lake Blanche and Lake Lillian is about 20 - 30 feet lower than Lake Florence.

 

 

 

 

 







So, it you want a guided tour some time.  I know the way.  Been there twice so I'm an old hand at this.  ;)