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.
That changed this summer when my friend Devin reached out wanting to do a early season trip up into the Uintas. The snowmelt and high run-off factor as a result of the big winter we had ultimately scared us off from that idea though and so he came up with an idea to go backpacking down on Boulder Mountain. And what an idea that turned out to be! We made it happen and I was utterly blown away with how how much more awesome that mountain was than I could have ever imagined. Devin's friend, Dane, would join up with us, and thus, plans were finalized.
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.
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.
