yellow pine lakes

Here's the thing about hiking in the Uintas: it tends to be cooler, because of the elevation, it's dog-friendly, since it isn't a watershed out there, and there is usually plenty of water for said dogs because of all the alpine lakes.  Here's the other thing about hiking in the Uintas: the trails are really, really, really rocky.  Within fifteen minutes of starting our Yellow Pine Lakes hike last Sunday, we were sliding around on the babyheads.  You can always tell when you're hiking in the Uintas.

A misty, arty shot on the first bridge

We ended up doing this trail - which is one of the first you come to on the Mirror Lake Scenic Highway - because we didn't want to have to be driving forever to get to the trailhead.  While many of the most popular trailheads are 20+ miles down the highway but the Yellow Lakes trail is just over six miles in.   This makes it a good trail in early season since the snow melts quicker; it's also groomed for cross-country skiing/snowshoeing in the winter.

Rosa rugosa (or similar)/wild rose

The trail description (link in first paragraph) described this hike as a backpacking trip but we did it as an out-and-back.  We saw just a handful of people - some backpackers heading out after their night(s) in the backcountry and a few of day hikers - but the parking lot was never full, either when we started or when we finished.  It was nice not to have to share the trail much, especially since many of the more well-known Uintas day hikes can get so busy.

Aspens, cliffs and blue sky

The trail is pretty straightforward.  It follows the Yellow Pine creek most of the time, with several crossings (three bridges plus some others), so there was plenty of water for Milton to drink and splash around in.  Because the trail goes up the drainage, it doesn't mess around much with switchbacks, instead climbing steadily.  There were a couple of steep grinds where it was also loose and rocky but mostly it was just steady.  It was also mostly shaded which was a treat.

For luck!

There are two lakes, lower and upper.  We got to the lower lake and judging from the shoreline, most backpackers choose to camp at the upper lake as it was pretty marshy here.  It was also pretty buggy - some mosquitoes but mostly annoying flies - so we didn't linger, just snapping a couple of photos, retreating to a sunny spot for quick snacks and then heading back the way we came.  It's too bad about the bugs because it would have been nice to sit for a bit and stare at the still water.

Lower Yellow Pine Lake

On the return trip, I didn't see H and Milton at all as they quickly outpaced me; H is much better navigating loose rock than I am.  So I missed it when they saw a snake (not a rattler), scared up a bunch of turkeys and when Milton threw up in the creek (too much excitement from the turkeys, I guess).  They got back to the car a full twelve minutes before I did, but kindly didn't drink all the beer without me.

Hike stats:  9.45 miles; moving 3:16 time/2.9 m.p.h.; overall 3:36/2.6 m.p.h.; 2,420' elevation