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| 20 Lakes Loop - Uinta Wasatch Cache NF, UT | |
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| | 20 Lakes Loop - Uinta Wasatch Cache NF, UT | | | |
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20 Lakes Loop - Uinta Wasatch Cache NF, UT
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| Hiking | 7.60 Miles |
1,153 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.60 Miles | 4 Hrs 49 Mns | | 1.63 mph |
| 1,153 ft AEG | 10 Mns Break | 18 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Although not the longest or most AEG hike of our week in Utah, it definitely took the most out of me. Back up at 10K elevations I felt what I believe are the lingering effects from my Covid bout a few weeks back, a very faint 'brain fog' and slightly short of breath at times.
We headed North from the Crystal Lake Trailhead along Wall Lake Trail #229 until its end at Wall Lake. From there we followed Notch Mountain Trail #228 up to The Notch.
From The Notch we headed West along what I expected to be a reasonably reliable route, I didn't realize this part was NOT a designated trail, and as such it was quite hard to follow. With 'trails' seemingly going in may different directions, whether well-beaten by wildlife or humans, much of the time we couldn't tell. At times we'd find a cairn or two in a row, but then we'd find others seemingly leading into the middle of nowhere. It was only by chance of being well off my track that we encountered mountain goat remains... likely a mountain lion kill?
Being a relatively recent kill (not that I'm an expert) it brought to mind that until this point we had not even thought of what wild animals we may encounter other than squirrels and deer. Tracey may have lingered on that thought while taking a glance around, but I was more focused on getting back on track.
On this Off-Trail portion of the hike we passed John Lake, James Lake, Peter Lake. While the planned route was just another quarter-mile to reach Hidden Lake before taking an arc back to Clyde Lake, the last bit of rough terrain had me stepping gingerly due to random stabs from my hamstring. Scanning the terrain toward Hidden Lake did not give off good vibes, so we began heading in the direction of Clyde Lake, where I KNEW there was a designated trail back to the TH.
With a waypoint at Clyde Lake we had a good idea of the direction to go, but again, faced with numerous conflicting cairns and off-shoots, it became a game of what appears to be the best 'trail' as opposed to the 'shortest' trail. So we ended up winding around almost as much as the part from The Notch to Peter Lake.
Thankfully as we approached Divide #2 Lake we caught what I believe was a spur off-shoot of the Clyde Lake Trail (possibly locally named Three Divide Lakes trail?) and continued past Divide #1 Lake and finally Booker Lake before connecting with the main Clyde Lake Trail. Once on Clyde Lake Trail, closing in on 1 pm we would meet a ton of out-bound traffic including backpackers, day-hikers, day hikers with dogs and likely a number of 2-mile out-and-backers.
Upon reaching Cliff Lake it was hard to tell which way the trail went... seemingly not that traveled in either direction. Taking a look at my route it showed to continue around the Western side of the lake. BIG mistake!
I don't even remember where I got the that part of the track I was using, but I sure paid for it. There WAS NO specific trail, the remnants here and there required all kinds of contortions to go over, around or under deadfall, and of course with lower back issues, UNDER just does NOT work for me. A few times we were practically stepping into the lake to get around a bad spot, and others were climbing over boulders to avoid the water. The fifteen minutes over that measly quarter-mile played more havoc on my hamstring than all of the hike until now, but that meant the last half-mile of the hike felt went like a breeze.
Might be another day before I get the photos posted... at 110 photos I've got some weeding out to do.
With temps of 53-66° and abundant sunshine, at least the weather conditions were optimum.
This would be our last hike before heading home, but at least we will pick up a shorter hike near our overnight stay at Kanab, before the long drive back to Mesa. |
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