high uintas camping, pt. 2

Mirror Lake Hwy from top of Bald Mtn

The mornings up at 8,000 feet in the Uintas are chilly!  We dressed in our fleeces and inhaled the scrambled eggs as soon as H made them so they wouldn't get cold; I learned from last year's miserable attempt at instant camp coffee and switched to Cafe Vienna (which really isn't coffee but is at least drinkable).  Once the sun peeked over the mountains, however, it warmed up quickly and after a few casts in his favorite new fishin' spot, we headed out for a hike: Bald Mountain, trail head at mile marker 29, trail head elevation around 10,700 feet.

Heading up Bald Mtn.

Bald Mountain is a very popular, heavily used trail.  It's short (just under 3 miles RT) but climbs 1,220 feet in that 1.5 miles to 11,943 feet with spectacular 360-degree views of the four Uinta Basin drainages.  The trail is completely exposed, with switch-backs and a walk along a fairly precipitous ridge, so this is not a hike you want to do in any kind of weather.  We were having spectacular weather though so no worries.  There were lots of folks hiking up and down, and loitering at the top, and lots of friendly dogs making the rounds.  Off in the distance to the west we could see the wildfire smoke hovering around Mt. Timpanogos, although it was clear where we were.

Peering over the edge at Mirror Lake

After our hike we went back to camp to clean up (I got this very good new biodegradable shampoo from REI: it doesn't have that delicious peppermint scent that Dr. Bronner's has, but your hair feels much cleaner), then headed back towards Samak for a beer and quite possibly the best chicken quesadilla ever at the Notch Pub.  Not too many people were there - apparently there was a local girl's wedding going on and that's where all the townsfolk were - but the bartender was friendly, the building big, bright and log-cabin rustic, and it had a nice little patio out back.  We then got some more firewood at the general store and returned to camp for an afternoon of fishing and reading.  Dinner was slightly less highbrow than the night before (bratwursts and beans over the campfire).  Afterwards, we again enjoyed the fire and a few beers as we watched the stars wink into view.

Dinner is nearly served

The next morning we enjoyed french toast next to one more campfire, then packed away camp; although the campsite was technically ours until 1 p.m., we decided to head home to liberate B from the kennel (plus some opportunistic newcomers noticed us packing up and decided to sit in their car and wait, staring at us, until we left so they could take the site).  When we got home, we unpacked everything, making a note of the additional items we needed for the camp kitchen, and got cleaned up - everything smelled like old campfire smoke.  B was glad to be home while we were glad to have gone camping, and are trying to find another time when we can go again.