Uintas 2010

[paul4886]

The photo has a geo tag imbedded in the meta data. I have, by luck , a GPS unit on my Nikon D90. You can see the actual location on picasa. I was traveling back down the dirt road in my xterra when I spotted him crossing the road 30 yards infront of me. I slowed to get a picture of him and I swear he/she stopped to pose for me.

[paul4886]

Opps it appears I have been corrected. It is an actual Black Bear.
http://www.americanbear.org/FUR.htm

[asdf]

awesome photos!
thanks so much for posting!

[brookiekiller]

Those are cool photos. I went up Yellow Pine trail, and the snow shoes were needed at the 9000 ft. level, but that will be changing daily. I didn't snap any photos. That trail is a great early season trail, as I was able to go up 3 miles - it was cool hearing the big rocks tumbling down the raging river.

I ran into a ranger in the Yellowstone drainage SW of King's Peak last year who told me there was almost no chance of running into a bear above 9500' with the slight exception of the vicinity of roadside camp areas... I had never heard that before, still wondering how accurate it is.

That is correct as the bear habitat is very scarce that high. The DWR had a map out that had bear habitat in the uintas and a large percentage in the wilderness area was listed as "poor" - I guess that doesn't mean they are not there, and we should still practice proper bear camping technique, as the few bears that are around are not acclimatized to humans and are not a problem. I know that they have been having some issues on the lower campgrounds of the Mirror Lake Highway and bears.

[Scott Card]

Nice stuff Paul!

[Big Bone]

Thats one good reason to pick up a 44 Mag. Bears scare the crap out of me!

Awesome shot though.

BB

[paul4886]

It seems a natural reaction to be packing a fire arm in bear country but the need to do so and the real benifit of packing a side arm is such a myth. I backpacked for 6 days in Yosmeite the first week of September and encountered three different bears. Using practical measures such as bear vaults for food and staying in a group led to no real threat of ever being in danger of a bear being agressive to us. You have a greater chance of shooting yourself or others than protecting yourself from any bear's aggressive behavior.

[ibenick]

And bear spray is much lighter on the back... I'd hate to carry all that extra weight.

[zion6566]

I always carry bear spray myself...I've been fortunate in the Uintas and never have had a bear experience. I did see bear sign (scat and tracks) the other year on Fish Creek below Rainbow lake. I've had bear in my camp at night in the Wind Rivers and San Juans, but not in the Uintas. Just don't wear the clothes you cook in to bed and have no food in your tent and you won't have to worry about anything.

Back to the original post...On a "normal" year you should be able to go anywhere by July 4th.

[ibenick]

Back to the original post...On a "normal" year you should be able to go anywhere by July 4th.

I'm starting to wonder if there is such a thing as a 'normal' year for the Uintas... I heard it was snowing up there last night. Here's a fun pic of Anchor Lake, still mostly frozen over, July 5, 2005. Still able to go most anywhere except the passes though... I'm crossing my fingers for some rapid snow melt after this storm system passes through.

[Scott P]

I heard it was snowing up there last night.

Definately normal. Even Alta at 8500 feet averages 5 inches of snow in June. I doubt there has been a June in history where it didn't snow in the Uintas.

I'm crossing my fingers for some rapid snow melt after this storm system passes through.

As soon as it does melt, it will be mosquito heaven.

[Big Bone]

Man I wish the melt would just hurry the F up! I'm a total noob at this whole backpacking thing but my wife and I have been gathering gear for the past several months and are ready to start heading out. I've got the itch bad to get out in the Uintas but the snow doesn't seem to wana go away?

We've been total tailgate campers for years now but this year we've decided to take it up a notch and do the backpacking thing. We've gone on a whole bunch of day hikes to help condition ourselves and have done one small backpacking trip but I think the reality is that there is only a short window to hit the Uintas and I'm freakn' out having to wait so long for that window to start!

Which that brings me to a good questions- When is the best time to start heading up there and when is the season pretty much done?

With all my bitching and moaning though I am doing a survival hike with my brother this coming weekend up around Grandveiw. That should be way fun and help with the itch.


BB

[shaggy125]

Season starts when the snow melts... it's different every year. After the snow melts the trails are muddy, meadows are swampy, and the mosquitos are horrible. Wet winters make for more mosquitos (probably will be bad this year). Eventually the trails dry out and the meadows get less swampy and the mosquitos get better... then it starts snowing again. The Uinta's get 9 months of Winter, 1 1/2 months of Spring, and 1 1/2 months of fall. The lower elevation stuff is probably getting in season now, most of the wilderness area will probably be a couple weeks, the passes will take longer. The Uinta's are great but you should look into backpacking in the Wind Rivers in Wyoming as well. Really good stuff up there (and similar drive times from SLC as many parts of the Eastern parts of the Uintas)

[Wasatch Rebel]

I was up there this weekend. Here are some pictures of the thawing conditions on and off the road. BTW from all appearences, I swear the bear I encountered yesterday( see the last three pictures) is a brown bear. Is that even possible in Utah after being declared an extirpated species in Utah?

The bear is brown in color, but it's of the black bear species. Black bears come in a multitude of colors and are the only species that live in Utah. Here's a link for more info: http://www.wildernessutah.com/learn/blackbears.html

Awesome pics though!

[Wasatch Rebel]

Season starts when the snow melts... it's different every year. After the snow melts the trails are muddy, meadows are swampy, and the mosquitos are horrible. Wet winters make for more mosquitos (probably will be bad this year). Eventually the trails dry out and the meadows get less swampy and the mosquitos get better... then it starts snowing again. The Uinta's get 9 months of Winter, 1 1/2 months of Spring, and 1 1/2 months of fall. The lower elevation stuff is probably getting in season now, most of the wilderness area will probably be a couple weeks, the passes will take longer.

That's about the truth of it. For less mosquitoes, usually August to mid-September is best. But don't let the mosquitoes stop you. Take along enough DEET product, and maybe even a headnet for emergency escapes and you'll be fine. Just be prepared for all weather conditions as I've seen snow in August, and definitely September has a lot of snow potential--and it rains some almost every day most weeks late in the summer. Always have rain protection, and fire-making stuff and you should be fine.

[Big Bone]

I wonder if it would be pleasant (but cold) right as the ice is done melting on the lakes? I would imagine the fishing would be good and mosquitos few. Do you guys know of any good spots that would be nice little trip for later this month? I've really been eyeing Paul lake north of Paradise Reservoir. It's around 10'000 ft, think it would be ice free?


BB

[ibenick]

It does seem like the fish are very active once the ice opens up. In fact I've had great success fishing the lakes with some ice still on them. I like to cast a fly onto an ice sheet and then fling/pull it off the side and into the water, it makes for a good natural looking presentation. Or perhaps they are all just staring intently at that small patch of water between the ice... who knows but It's worked great for me.

[Spooky]

Holy crappola. That looks like a brown bear to me. I'm terrified of bears and you just ruined my Kings Peak via Painter's Basin plans.

Even black bears scare me. Hell, they EAT people.

[kniephof]

I'm excited to get out there like Big Bone is. We're thinking of heading up there this weekend or next weekend. So, if anyone has any recent updates, let us know! =)

It's so hard to gauge the snowmelt (trails and ice off of lakes). Shaggy125 is right...it's different every year. In June, I've found it is possible to hit the small window just after enough snow melts and before the mosquitoes get bad. To me, mosquitoes just about ruin a trip. Yeah, you can tolerate them, but it's so much nicer w/o them around like late August/September. But then you miss out on the beauty of the remaining snow, big waterfalls, greener vegetation, better fishing, etc.

FYI, here are some JUNE Uinta trips I've done in the past:

Red Castle - June 26-29, 2008
Trail 99% snow free, mosquitoes were getting bad at lower red castle lake (ice free), upper red castle lake was 90% iced over (no mosquitoes up there), we were able to summit Wilson.

Granddaddy Basin - June 30-July 2, 2006
Snow free, mosquitoes were quite bad, fair fishing

Naturalist Basin - June 13-15, 2003
Great trip. Still some snow on trail and around lakes. Very few mosqutioes (or none maybe). Lower lakes (Jordan, Morat) were ice free, some of the upper ones still had ice.

Grandaddy Basin - June 14-15, 2002
Mostly snow free, I don't remember mosquitoes being bad...

[shaggy125]

Ya, waterfalls... There are some really good ones if you can hit some of the basins just as the snow is about gone. Naturalist Basin has like 20+ falls early in the season. Many dry up after the snow is gone.