camping in the uintas

I meant to get this up ages ago, at least before girls' weekend, but life got in the way and I didn't.  So it goes.  A couple of weeks ago, our friend R rode his motorcycle out to our house from California.  He and H went for an overnight camping trip to the Mirror Lake Highway region of the Uintas; I stayed home because we sort of had to cobble together enough camping equipment (we don't have much yet so they rented a tent and a propane stove from REI) and I wanted them to do a test run before I committed myself.

One of the lakes along their hike on Saturday

This area is national forest, in the Heber-Kamas Ranger District, which meant that our national park pass covered the entrance fee.  Even without reservations, the boys were able to score a tent site for Saturday night at the Shady Dell campground ($7.00): large, tree-filled sites along a stream with a picnic table and fire pit; a spigot for water and a vault toilet.  The campgrounds along Mirror Lake are popular and several of them were still closed as of two weeks ago, what with flooding from the above-average snowmelt.  H had hoped for a site along a lake but said that the Shady Dell campground was perfectly serviceable - they couldn't see or hear any other campers.

Itchy! (and limber, for such a big guy)

The hike they did Saturday was the first hike H and I had ever done in Utah, with Captain Mike way back in October 2009; please feel free to click through on the link and read about it.  That night, H rustled up some penne alfredo with chicken and broccoli for dinner and rumor has it that some beers got drunk too.  They had visitors as they broke camp Sunday morning: two young bull moose moseyed into the campground and laid claim to a clearing across from the boys' site, calm and unafraid of the campers taking photos of them.  After  the moose photo shoot, H and R did the Lofty Lakes hike that H and I had done last July.  There was still quite a lot of snow up there, whereas last summer I think we only found a small patch; many of the switchbacks were buried so the guys had to do a little bushwhacking.

H on the Lofty Lakes hike

They came back out of the Uintas, dirty and reeking of bug spray (the Uintas are known to have mosquitoes and they are late this year, due to the extra snow and water), and I met them at the Porcupine for dinner.  Seems it all went pretty well for as haphazardly equipped as we are - now it's time to buy our own tent so I can give it a shot.  Hope I remember how: I don't think I've been camping since I was about thirteen!