Grand Daddy Basin- Uintas- Ashley National Forest- July 2010

[Dr. Nebz]

I visited this place last year and landed a trophy size brookie that fed four people and a dog. So I was excited to get back there and do some more exploring and fishing. This time armed with my D90, I was sure to get some sick landscapes. We hit the trail on Friday a little after 6 pm. Boy, I tell you, the skeeters were motivation enough that you wanted to keep going and not stop. We pushed for the pass, and it was still daylight. So we took a quick breather, and then continued into the basin. People were exodusing out of there in rapid fashion because of the skeeter factor. We did not care, we were in for the long haul. After 3+ hours on the trail we finally landed ourselves at the inlet at Mohawk Lake. We made camp, and the other half of our company showed up right at pitch. We got a small fire going and made a quick meal. I think after a long day, we all were ready for sleep. The next morning the skeeters were out like mad. The dogs looked like they were getting swarmed. I imagine that anything that bleeds was suffering out there. We decided to head for the ridge and explore the basin to the north because we were over the skeeters. We traversed the basin, and found some unnamed lakes, one with huge salamanders in it. Another lake we found was just pristine with a scenic view from up top the cliffs. We finally made it to Fish Hatchery Lake, and we finally caught dinner. This place is beautiful, and had a nice breeze to keep the skeeters at bay. A 2+ mile hike back to Mohawk for dinner, where we had a fish cookout. A great night, stars were out and the bugs seemed to disappear for the evening to everyone's delight. The next day we decided that Uinta Drive Thru sounded great and we decided to pack it out. A great time, not that great of fishing this year, but still nice to return to the Daddy.

[ibenick]

Awesome trip report, thanks for posting!

[Scott Card]

Sweet. I love that area. I have stayed at Betsy lake many times.

[accadacca]

Very green and looks like a great place for backpacking, camping and fishing. SO jealous!

[UintaSolitude]

Wow! Is Mohawk really that big? That D90 sure gives it some added dimension. I've been there many times and your camera really does add 20lbs Nice TR!