An off-trail epic through the heart of Capitol Reef's Waterpocket Fold
Backpacking Halls Creek Narrows in Capitol Reef National Park
When good things go wrong, then great again
A daddy-daughter adventure with Willow
A tour of the Southwestern Uintas with some great guys
2018's Summer Vacation with the family
Another overnight adventure in Capitol Reef National Park
Another short hike I'd yet to do off of the popular Mirror Lake Highway that cuts through the western end of the Uinta Range is a trail that wraps around Bald Mountain instead of up Bald Mountain. This trail takes you by a number of other nice lakes, namely Clegg, Notch and Bench Lakes. I opted to make it another overnight trip. I had actually intended to hike the full length of this trail the prior year, but was stopped short by a wildfire I was uncertain of out beyond.
One of my first experiences with the Uintas involved hiking up to the well-known Notch over two decades ago when I was a teenager. I had hiked up it a few times since, but had not yet taken the time to hike down the other side of it and check out the trail all the way down to Ibantik Lake. Ibantik Lake in particular is a very popular lake I had been wanting to visit myself for a number of years now. I was finally able to make that happen as a spur hike while yet again, doing an overnight trip along the short but scenic Clyde Lake Loop.
After my first visit to Yellowstone National Park two years ago as a leader for our local scout trip, I couldn't wait to bring my family back. Rather than push for it the next year, we opted to wait an additional year, making it happen this year.
With all the visits I make down to Torrey, Utah, including several drives along Highway 12 over the big behemoth of a plateau called Boulder Mountain, I've often gazed upon it wondering what it would be like to take a backpacking trip there, but then always put it off in exchange for trips down into neighboring Capitol Reef, or the Escalanate area, and so on.
This past winter and spring was good to the Wasatch Mountains, as well as much of the West, piling up the snow then bringing lots of rain which gave way to a lot of early summer greenery. This was experienced first hand when I was able to take my son Lennox out for a night to enjoy a slice of green mountain paradise right above our town of Provo.
Will lives at the footsteps of Utah's famed Wasatch Mountains. He enjoys hiking, camping, backpacking, sports, running, vegetable gardening, nature, food, photography, art, and spending time with his wife and kids.
