[Trip Report] Paul Lake

[Big Bone]

June 17-19, 2013
My wife and I decided to make our first backpacking trip this season be up to Paul Lake above Paradise Park in the Uintas. Both of us are pretty out of shape (at least not as in shape as some of my fellow Bogley members) so a 3 mile hike seamed perfect. Also It was my dogs first backpacking trip as well.



it was a long drive from SLC to Paradise Park (about 4 hours) but once we got up there it didn't matter after getting a breath of the fresh mountain air. Paul lake is a small and rarely visited gem in the Uintas with a short but poorly marked trail. We started off by parking off an old logging road west of Paradise Reservoir. We followed the old logging road and then started running into some cairn marking the trail.



Once we started moving into the forest and away from the clear-cut, the trail was marked with notches in the pine trees. It was difficult to navigate between all the deadfall and keep an eye out for the next marker so if you do attempt this it would probably serve to bring a GPS (I did).



Just before Paul Lake we crossed this picturesque beauty called Little Elk Lake. We would of just camped here but there are 0 fish in this lake... what a shame.



About 1/4 mile north of Little Elk Lake is Paul Lake.



Fishing wasn't quite as good as I hopped but I managed for catch a couple for dinner. The brook trout tasted amazing. They apparently feed on freshwater shrimp making their flesh pink and the tast very similar to salmon.



The next day we decided to do some cross-country hiking to Blanchette Park (due east of Paul Lake). It was a rough time getting into the valley due to several large and steep bolder fields.



But once we got into the valley it was amazing.





After doing a bit of fishing (which was awesome in the stream) we decided rather then try and scramble up the boulder fields we would hike back into Paradise Reservoir then back up to Paul Lake (an additional 7 miles). Seemed like a good idea at the time but it was more difficult then I expected as we gained and lost about 700 ft of elevation. Once we got back to Paul Lake I was in rough shape due to some altitude sickness and some very beat up feet. A good nights sleep did we wonders and we packed back out the next day.

All in all it was a wonderful trip and the second day turned out to be quite the adventure.

And here is a pic of my awesome dog Strider at Paul Lake. He's such a little trooper and did exceptionally well with his new backpack.

[accadacca]

Awesome, tks for thanks trip report!