Wasatch Rebel
07-24-2011, 04:52 PM
As some of you know, we'd originally planned on Kings Peak as our destination, but due to the large amounts of snow and water still in the Uintas, our plans changed and we went to Boulder Mountain. The guy who prompted us to go there didn't like the suggestion of Deer Creek Lake or Chris Lake because on the map they looked too close to a main road, so we ended up on top, near Rim Lake and Spectacle Lake. The funny thing was, there were roads all over the place up there and our "backpacking" trip ended up being about 1/4 mile long to the far side of Rim Lake. Still we only saw one other vehicle in our 4 day/3 night trip.
The scenery was beautiful, but the fishing sucked, to put it mildly. At Rim Lake, where we camped, not a single fish ever hit the surface. There was an old bullet-hole ridden windmill on the shore and a sign that had fallen that said, "The windmill was installed to pump air into the lake so the fish don't die over the winter". It didn't look like it had been used in years and we tried to spin it and were able to with difficulty. I think it would have taken a wind of 60 to 70 mph to get it moving, and that's if the bullet holes weren't causing it to pressure like a sieve, which they would have been. We tried fishing at Spectacle Lake, but again, no fish hitting the surface. Our last night there, we saw a couple of rings on top, but I think most of the fish had died during the winter and they just hadn't restocked.
It rained hard our first three days as well.
We spent most of our time then, hiking around the mountain top, looking off the edge of the cliff, finding small lakes etc. It was very pretty, but not as nice as the Uintas. Of course, I knew that before we ever left and was always dismayed that we had decided not to at least go somewhere in the Uintas. Even the guy who wanted us to go there said that after going there "it was pretty, but not as pretty as the Uintas".
I think I'd go back, but not to this particular area, unless it was just to do some four-wheeling or something. I'd like to try the Deer Creek Lake area sometime for fishing. 46612 The lakes were quite photogenic at times.
46613 This fungus is and example of the varied colors in the forest.
46614 The wildflowers, like everywhere this year, were amazing.
46615 One evening, we planned on taking a bunch of sunset shots.We joked around about someone cutting down that tree in the middle.
46616 Rim Lake in the afternoon light.
46617 Spectacle Lake at dusk.
46618 I don't know why this picture is rotated like this. It's rotated correctly on my computer. Turn computer on its side for a better look.
46619
46620 My friend built this fireplace. Behind the fire at the domed end inside he created a ledge and used it as a reflector oven to bake cornbread and apple cake to perfection.46621 We waited for some nice sunrise shots as well, but they never really materialized. This was the best one I got.
46622 The rain showed up usually in the early afternoon. Since we didn't want to go back to camp every day at that time, sometimes we got caught out in it and hid under some overhanging rocks or clumps of trees.
46623 More cool flowers.
46624 We pretty much figured that underneath this rock was some kind of animal den. I told my friend to crawl back in there and I'd take his picture. He refused. I also told him not to remove that bent sapling or the rock would fall down.
46625 Steep precipices and cliffs line much of the top of Boulder Mountain. Here's one place you wouldn't want to lose your footing.
46626 There's that darned tree in the middle again.
46627 Behind us, when we took the sunset shots, the moon was putting off its own show.
46628
46629 In between rain storms, the weather would get completely calm and offer many opportunities to take reflection shots.
46630
The scenery was beautiful, but the fishing sucked, to put it mildly. At Rim Lake, where we camped, not a single fish ever hit the surface. There was an old bullet-hole ridden windmill on the shore and a sign that had fallen that said, "The windmill was installed to pump air into the lake so the fish don't die over the winter". It didn't look like it had been used in years and we tried to spin it and were able to with difficulty. I think it would have taken a wind of 60 to 70 mph to get it moving, and that's if the bullet holes weren't causing it to pressure like a sieve, which they would have been. We tried fishing at Spectacle Lake, but again, no fish hitting the surface. Our last night there, we saw a couple of rings on top, but I think most of the fish had died during the winter and they just hadn't restocked.
It rained hard our first three days as well.
We spent most of our time then, hiking around the mountain top, looking off the edge of the cliff, finding small lakes etc. It was very pretty, but not as nice as the Uintas. Of course, I knew that before we ever left and was always dismayed that we had decided not to at least go somewhere in the Uintas. Even the guy who wanted us to go there said that after going there "it was pretty, but not as pretty as the Uintas".
I think I'd go back, but not to this particular area, unless it was just to do some four-wheeling or something. I'd like to try the Deer Creek Lake area sometime for fishing. 46612 The lakes were quite photogenic at times.
46613 This fungus is and example of the varied colors in the forest.
46614 The wildflowers, like everywhere this year, were amazing.
46615 One evening, we planned on taking a bunch of sunset shots.We joked around about someone cutting down that tree in the middle.
46616 Rim Lake in the afternoon light.
46617 Spectacle Lake at dusk.
46618 I don't know why this picture is rotated like this. It's rotated correctly on my computer. Turn computer on its side for a better look.
46619
46620 My friend built this fireplace. Behind the fire at the domed end inside he created a ledge and used it as a reflector oven to bake cornbread and apple cake to perfection.46621 We waited for some nice sunrise shots as well, but they never really materialized. This was the best one I got.
46622 The rain showed up usually in the early afternoon. Since we didn't want to go back to camp every day at that time, sometimes we got caught out in it and hid under some overhanging rocks or clumps of trees.
46623 More cool flowers.
46624 We pretty much figured that underneath this rock was some kind of animal den. I told my friend to crawl back in there and I'd take his picture. He refused. I also told him not to remove that bent sapling or the rock would fall down.
46625 Steep precipices and cliffs line much of the top of Boulder Mountain. Here's one place you wouldn't want to lose your footing.
46626 There's that darned tree in the middle again.
46627 Behind us, when we took the sunset shots, the moon was putting off its own show.
46628
46629 In between rain storms, the weather would get completely calm and offer many opportunities to take reflection shots.
46630