Ruth Lake Trail- Uintas- Aug 2010

[Dr. Nebz]

Me and my wife have not been backpacking since our daughter was born- like 3 years ago. I miss my buddy out there, she is so rad, and fun to hang out with. We used to go all the time, Southern Utah, Uintas ect. Needless to say we finally got the chance thanks to Grandma watching our little one for us for a couple of days. I did not want to kill my wife first trip back, so I figured since the Ruth Lake area is a place I had not been yet, and there were a ton of options with out the gnarly distance and elevation gain, that this was a good option. We started in and right away, incredible wildflowers everywhere. As we hiked on, it just kept getting better. Ruth Lake was awesome to see. After a short pit stop for pictures, we pushed on. We accidentally started climbing for Lofty Lake because we got confused at what trail we were on. I figured it out quickly and started a b-line down and in the direction of Hayden Lake. Hayden Lake is incredible, and our campsite was sick. After looking around, we decided that Hayden was gonna be our place. It was cozy, and we had the place all to ourselves. We pitched our spot and got settled in and did some exploring. After a good meal and a drink, and a great show from the meteor shower and the Big Dipper, we decided to go to sleep. Dawn woke me and I got some great early morning shots. I then got to try out the Via from Starbucks that we hauled in with us. Light weight, very very packable, and tastes pretty good too. After breakfast, we decided to go for a stroll. Big clouds were heading in all day on us with strong microburst winds. After 2 ponds and a huge moraine, we reached Jewel Lake. The fishing here was not bad, just some picky fish. We explored down there for quite a while. We decided to after hours of exploring to head back up to Hayden and get settled in for the evening. Another wonderful night with the Big Dipper and more meteors. Thursday we got up, ate breakfast, broke camp and headed out in search of some Uinta Drive Thru. We hit the trail in the after noon, stopping along the way for photo ops every chance we got. Great to be out there with my wife again, and nice to be in the mountains as it always is.

[blueeyes]

Nice report.

[Cirrus2000]

Excellent stuff, Doc! Great that you were able to get out with your backpacking buddy!

I always get a little jealous when I read trips like this. My wife and I had been married for, like, 8 or 9 years before I even became the slightest bit interested in doing anything outdoors. She's never been bitten by that particular bug, and we've never done any backpacking together. She'll do short, easy hikes, and we've car camped once or twice, but she's just not "outdoorsy". So I go off and I do my trips - hikes, scrambles, canyons, backpacks, etc. but it would be nice to share them with her sometimes, not just the photos... Don't get me wrong - we're coming up on our 24th anniversary, and I can't imagine my life without her, but reports like this are just a little bittersweet for me. Enjoy! Savor it!

[Dr. Nebz]

Excellent stuff, Doc! Great that you were able to get out with your backpacking buddy!

I always get a little jealous when I read trips like this. My wife and I had been married for, like, 8 or 9 years before I even became the slightest bit interested in doing anything outdoors. She's never been bitten by that particular bug, and we've never done any backpacking together. She'll do short, easy hikes, and we've car camped once or twice, but she's just not "outdoorsy". So I go off and I do my trips - hikes, scrambles, canyons, backpacks, etc. but it would be nice to share them with her sometimes, not just the photos... Don't get me wrong - we're coming up on our 24th anniversary, and I can't imagine my life without her, but reports like this are just a little bittersweet for me. Enjoy! Savor it!

I absolutely do! My wife knew that I was a wilderness nut when she met me. She met me about 3 days after I had returned from a whole summer working in Denali. So she knew what I was all about from the get go. I was just damn lucky she was into the outdoors herself, so it was fun for us to get out there and explore. I am sure she would trade in the backpack for some sun, sand and a surfboard any day of the week. She is for sure more of a beach girl than a mountain girl. But she makes the best of it and we had a really great time. It is the one thing I wanted this summer was to get out there with her, and my wish came true.

Some people just don't understand the reconnecting with nature thing. I think a lot of people just get so wrapped up in this artificial world we have created that they have no way to relate to how it really was before man made all these burbs, cities, and in doing so destroyed the wilderness we all love. I think it is absolutely important that I have the ability to just put life in this plastic world up on a shelf for a few days and just get out there and get back to basics. Without the self induced stress, distraction and otherwise negative monotone that the media feeds us everyday, life is quite pleasant and enjoyable. Getting out there keeps this in perspective for me, and to be honest, it cheaper than a head shrink.

Thanks for the comment. I never take anytime that me and my wife have together for granted. It is precious, and I consider myself damn lucky.

[ibenick]

Nice one Nebz!

It's funny, you haven't been backpacking with your wife and I've done nothing but until this year. Don't get me wrong, I like backpacking with her but its also nice to get back to basics... just me and a dog.

[Dr. Nebz]

Nice one Nebz!

It's funny, you haven't been backpacking with your wife and I've done nothing but until this year. Don't get me wrong, I like backpacking with her but its also nice to get back to basics... just me and a dog.

Yeah, we used to go all the time together. We have been all over with the packs on exploring. But since our daughter was born, she has just been incredibly busy with being a Mom, and her professional career.

Me working and being a full time student, our schedules just have not jived to go together because being a parent is a huge responsibility. One we are happy to have.

But I agree time away is good too.

[accadacca]

Rokkin' dood. Great stuff!

[kd7kmp]

It's amazing how much is available with a few miles of Hwy 150. Great TR.

Kevin

[treponema]

Awesome report and pics. I had my scout troop up to Ruth in August as well. You got the great weekend, we got the rain. I've never camped in such a downpour since I was in a hurricane back in '85. Lightning all around. Pretty exciting stuff. We typically go to Ruth lake (actually camp above at Naomi) every year. It's not too hard for the beginners, but a good trip nonetheless.

[americanhero]

what an awesome report and great pics. I would love to do that trip.