Deeps
09-17-2009, 11:50 AM
After many camping trips to Ruth Lake my son Leif and I decided to check out the Notch Mountain Trail in the Uintas for something different. We have three kids, and with the stress of the economy and some health issues I'm finding one-on-one time is more important than ever right now. Leif needed some attention away from the house and siblings.
We chose Notch Lake as our destination. After seeing the photos Shaggy posted HERE (http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18012) my son needed no convincing. We packed for a four day trip, hoping to see climbers on the face. Leif has been obsessed with the idea of climbing mountains this summer, and has been checking books out from the library about Everest. I know, I know...
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-1.jpg
Packing up. Even Harriet the dog gets in on the action.
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-2.jpg
Obligatory "last seen wearing" photo taken by my wife in the event we go missing...
We arrived at the trailhead around one (late start) and started the trail. Because of the picnic area the trail can be a little weird at first. We quickly came to the fork and a sign indicating the summit route to the right and our trail to the left. Every time I've gone into the Uintas my approach has been uphill. This trail is downhill to Notch Lake, following the shoulder of Bald Mountain around and then down further into a wide valley of lakes. The trail is well established, and easy to follow. Typical packed earth with occasional rocky bits, and small lakes along the way. Clegg and Dean lakes were full, and Clegg had a DNR bubble on it even though I had heard it was a salamander lake?
About a quarter mile into the trail I was trying Leif's shoe when I noticed the dog was no longer wearing her pack. She had run ahead and ditched it somewhere. We moved on, sure we would easily find it further down the trail. After a mile we agreed we had missed the pack, and that we should cache our packs and backtrack for the dog's. It had all of her food and sleeping blanket in it, and we couldn't risk feeding the dog our food for four days and have her go all diarrheaville in the tent. We walked back to where we tied Leif's shoe. Nothing. We went a little further. Nada. We walked back to our bags, checking on and off the trail the entire way. No bag. It wasn't the end of the world. We could toss the Harriet a hot dog for dinner and hike out with her the next day to get food or leave her back at home. Not ideal, but doable.
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-12.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-9.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-8.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-13.jpg
We arrived at the lake and found it very low. We scouted the south end toward the cliff face we recognized from Shaggy's pictures. The trail was a mud sucker. We found another campsite and went further west to the tall pines. Great site, lots of available firewood around. Bugs were around but not awful. We discovered that Harriet's lost pack also contained the bug spray. It could be a long four days. Don't put anything essential in your dog's pack. Ever. Leif made friends with a family fishing by the rockslide, and I went to pull water from the outlet on the other side of the lake. As I was coming back, more people were backpacking into the area, looking to meet up with the family camped near us. I asked if they had seen a pack along the trail, and they had! They said it was in a weird spot, and they wondered why anyone would ditch a bag there. It was barely off the trail, 1/8 of a mile from the trailhead. We hadn't gone back far enough when we were looking for it.
Leif and I decided to go for the bag immediately. It was almost 8 and we had an hour plus of light left. The family offered to let Leif hang with them, and I was torn. I agreed. I could make better time alone and not death marching Leif that distance. There were four adults and four kids (including Leif) there and Leif had enjoyed playing with them that afternoon. I still don't know if I did the right thing even though it worked out fine. Maybe it's the paranoia of modern society, but I'm overly concerned of losing a kid in the wilderness. I took the dog and made it back to the pack without problem. I went the rest of the way back to the car to get the Sweet Water drops that had been left there. The dog, who I had brought along to carry the pack back to camp, would not walk with it on. In protest, she would lay down in the trail despite my sweet talking and encouragement. I put her lead on and attempted to pull her along, but that did not convince her either. I carried the dog pack all the way back to Notch Lake. Along the way, I noticed her limping and biting at her pad. She had a torn blister that kept getting small sand in it, which I was able to clean and tape with a bit of duct tape. Don't ask. I'm not one of those guys that carries duct tape everywhere. I just happened to have a little with me. It had been dark for about 20 minutes when I got back. Leif was fine, enjoying watching the bats dive bombing the field in front of the neighboring camp. He had declined the dinner they offered because he was waiting for our hot dogs. We made a quick fire, ate, and then fell into our bags exhausted.
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-7.jpg
We woke up the next morning and started getting breakfast ready. While the water was warming to boil, I left the tree line to check out the lake. I was shocked to see thirteen mountain goats within thirty feet from our camp. They were grazing in our direction. I quickly put the dog in the tent and went to get Leif's friends to show them the goats. We all stayed still and quiet, and the goats took little notice of us. Even when the younger kids would get excited and bounce or shriek, the goats would pause and look our direction without bolting.
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-3.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-4.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-5.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-6.jpg
Later in the morning I worked on convincing Leif to go explore the trail northward, but he was resistant. He had bought a Star Wars action figure on the way up and wanted nothing more than to sit in the tent and play. I made some time for that and later we decided to walk around the lake. As we walked the family was packing up to leave their camp, and Leif asked if we could take their spot because it had better bat watching. So we did. We moved cam the easy way, bit by bit and didn't even strike the tent
We chose Notch Lake as our destination. After seeing the photos Shaggy posted HERE (http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18012) my son needed no convincing. We packed for a four day trip, hoping to see climbers on the face. Leif has been obsessed with the idea of climbing mountains this summer, and has been checking books out from the library about Everest. I know, I know...
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-1.jpg
Packing up. Even Harriet the dog gets in on the action.
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-2.jpg
Obligatory "last seen wearing" photo taken by my wife in the event we go missing...
We arrived at the trailhead around one (late start) and started the trail. Because of the picnic area the trail can be a little weird at first. We quickly came to the fork and a sign indicating the summit route to the right and our trail to the left. Every time I've gone into the Uintas my approach has been uphill. This trail is downhill to Notch Lake, following the shoulder of Bald Mountain around and then down further into a wide valley of lakes. The trail is well established, and easy to follow. Typical packed earth with occasional rocky bits, and small lakes along the way. Clegg and Dean lakes were full, and Clegg had a DNR bubble on it even though I had heard it was a salamander lake?
About a quarter mile into the trail I was trying Leif's shoe when I noticed the dog was no longer wearing her pack. She had run ahead and ditched it somewhere. We moved on, sure we would easily find it further down the trail. After a mile we agreed we had missed the pack, and that we should cache our packs and backtrack for the dog's. It had all of her food and sleeping blanket in it, and we couldn't risk feeding the dog our food for four days and have her go all diarrheaville in the tent. We walked back to where we tied Leif's shoe. Nothing. We went a little further. Nada. We walked back to our bags, checking on and off the trail the entire way. No bag. It wasn't the end of the world. We could toss the Harriet a hot dog for dinner and hike out with her the next day to get food or leave her back at home. Not ideal, but doable.
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-12.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-9.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-8.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-13.jpg
We arrived at the lake and found it very low. We scouted the south end toward the cliff face we recognized from Shaggy's pictures. The trail was a mud sucker. We found another campsite and went further west to the tall pines. Great site, lots of available firewood around. Bugs were around but not awful. We discovered that Harriet's lost pack also contained the bug spray. It could be a long four days. Don't put anything essential in your dog's pack. Ever. Leif made friends with a family fishing by the rockslide, and I went to pull water from the outlet on the other side of the lake. As I was coming back, more people were backpacking into the area, looking to meet up with the family camped near us. I asked if they had seen a pack along the trail, and they had! They said it was in a weird spot, and they wondered why anyone would ditch a bag there. It was barely off the trail, 1/8 of a mile from the trailhead. We hadn't gone back far enough when we were looking for it.
Leif and I decided to go for the bag immediately. It was almost 8 and we had an hour plus of light left. The family offered to let Leif hang with them, and I was torn. I agreed. I could make better time alone and not death marching Leif that distance. There were four adults and four kids (including Leif) there and Leif had enjoyed playing with them that afternoon. I still don't know if I did the right thing even though it worked out fine. Maybe it's the paranoia of modern society, but I'm overly concerned of losing a kid in the wilderness. I took the dog and made it back to the pack without problem. I went the rest of the way back to the car to get the Sweet Water drops that had been left there. The dog, who I had brought along to carry the pack back to camp, would not walk with it on. In protest, she would lay down in the trail despite my sweet talking and encouragement. I put her lead on and attempted to pull her along, but that did not convince her either. I carried the dog pack all the way back to Notch Lake. Along the way, I noticed her limping and biting at her pad. She had a torn blister that kept getting small sand in it, which I was able to clean and tape with a bit of duct tape. Don't ask. I'm not one of those guys that carries duct tape everywhere. I just happened to have a little with me. It had been dark for about 20 minutes when I got back. Leif was fine, enjoying watching the bats dive bombing the field in front of the neighboring camp. He had declined the dinner they offered because he was waiting for our hot dogs. We made a quick fire, ate, and then fell into our bags exhausted.
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-7.jpg
We woke up the next morning and started getting breakfast ready. While the water was warming to boil, I left the tree line to check out the lake. I was shocked to see thirteen mountain goats within thirty feet from our camp. They were grazing in our direction. I quickly put the dog in the tent and went to get Leif's friends to show them the goats. We all stayed still and quiet, and the goats took little notice of us. Even when the younger kids would get excited and bounce or shriek, the goats would pause and look our direction without bolting.
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-3.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-4.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-5.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/deanpaulrussell/Notch_Mountain_Trail_08_2009/pictures/picture-6.jpg
Later in the morning I worked on convincing Leif to go explore the trail northward, but he was resistant. He had bought a Star Wars action figure on the way up and wanted nothing more than to sit in the tent and play. I made some time for that and later we decided to walk around the lake. As we walked the family was packing up to leave their camp, and Leif asked if we could take their spot because it had better bat watching. So we did. We moved cam the easy way, bit by bit and didn't even strike the tent