lofty lakes

The best way to beat the heat out here is to gain some altitude: the temperature drops approximately 3.5˚F for every 1,000 feet of elevation gain.  When you go out to the Uintas as we did recently, and spend the day above 10,000 feet, it's really quite pleasant, only getting up to about 70˚F in the heat of the day (as opposed to 96˚F back down at our house).

Reid's Peak (possibly)

We have been on a wildflower hunt of late since this is the time that they are purportedly peaking, although they may be a little late this year what with all the late snow we had.  We drove to the 32-mile marker on the Mirror Lake scenic byway in the Wasatch National Forest in the Uintas and parked at the Pass Lake trailhead.  We were doing the Lofty Lake Loop (because loops are always better) which is a 4.1 mile loop through forests and mountain meadows, along streams and several lakes.  It's a fairly moderate hike, only steep in a few short sections, but since we were up above 10,000', we were huffing and puffing pretty hard during those sections.

Mountain meadow - can't see the flowers, unfortunately

Here's where my dad will be SO proud of me: at 1.2 miles from the trailhead, we came to a junction where to the right was our planned loop, and to the left was the trail to Cuberant Lake, an out-and-back of 1.8 miles each way.  And I suggested to H that we take the trail to Cuberant Lake because I wanted to hike MORE.  I'm not sure that has ever happened in the history of my life, wanting to hike more.  It was lovely, passing along small ponds and skirting scree slopes, and ending at this small lake ringed by mountains.  Made me wish I'd brought my swim suit.

Kamas Lake

We retraced our steps and got back on the loop trail, gaining a little elevation until we got to Kamas Lake. Gorgeous, just gorgeous: crystal clear waters, trees and green slopes and mountains surrounding, nobody there but us and a fairly brave chipmunk.  We continued on, immediately ascending one of those short but steep sections, emerging in a high mountain meadow full of green grass and wildflowers: red (paintbrushes?), yellow (buttercups?), white, purple, pink and blue.  So beautiful under the cloudless sky and bright sun.

Snow at the end of July!

The next lake was Lofty Lake, nestled in a wide, grassy bowl and being fished by a couple of happy young anglers.  Then we climbed a little more and the terrain changed to rocks and rock slabs.  The views were spectacular, looking down at all sorts of jewel-like lakes, and we even found a small patch of snow - which made H very happy.  (He's already getting excited about next ski season, by the way.)  We finished the loop (plus our side trip) in about 4 hours.

Random notes:

• H had the clever idea to freeze a half full bladder from the hydration packs the night before and top them off with water in the morning: I remembered to do it (H forgot) and (a) the ice between my shoulder blades helped keep my core cool; and (b) it's awesome to have COLD water on a hike.
• Sadly, many of the mature lodgepole pine trees in the area are dead, killed by a devastating cyclical infestation of mountain pine beetles.  There's really nothing the Forest Service can do except try to manage the dead trees as best they can.
• We saw our first mosquitoes at the start of the hike - by a stream, in the shade - and I ended up putting a little repellant on, but they didn't bother H at all.
• We stopped at a scenic spot, the Provo River Falls, on our way out to have a snack and watch all the folks splashing around in the river.  It's like an easy access Step Brook Falls, for you Maine folks, and the water was way colder than the water in any of the high lakes we'd just been to.
• Starving after our hike, we went to the Spin Cafe in Heber City (recommended to us by Captain Mike) for a pulled pork sandwich (me) and a burger (H) - yum.  The sides were good too: fresh curly fries with house-made fry sauce and a tasty Mexican bean, avocado and tortilla soup.  The cafe has a full bar and makes their own gelati too.  It looked dee-licious but I was far too full to try.  Next time, for sure!