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| Backpack | 15.90 Miles |
3,200 AEG |
| | Backpack | 15.90 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 3,200 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This spur of the moment trip was put together soon after I got off the Colorado Trail. I had about a week and a half to kill before returning to trail, so I called up a few of my buddies from Cache Valley, Utah (where I had lived for ~10 years) and put something simple together. The route was White Pine Lake via Tony Grove Trailhead, camp, then back track to the Mt Naomi Trail, summit Naomi, the tallest peak in the Bear River Range, then descend back into Cache Valley via the south fork of High Creek.
Day 1
We started off at the Tony Grove parking lot around 4:30 PM. The goal for the first night was simple, just make it 3.5 miles to White Pine Lake and camp for the night. The nicely graded trail into White Pine Lake was a great contrast to the steep stuff I had been trudging through in Colorado. We strolled effortlessly (ok, maybe I huffed and puffed a little...) along the trail and enjoyed the abundant amount of wild flowers which surrounded us along the trail.
About an hour and a half later we reached the lake, it was gorgeous! There were a couple of other groups around, but it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it would be. We were worried it would be packed considering this is an easy spot to get to.
We found a nice looking camp spot near a spring which fed into White Pine Lake, gathered some wood, lit a fire, and enjoyed each others company for a few hours before climbing into our tents.
Day 2
We woke up and got out of our tents around 7:00 AM, eat some breakfast, and slowly broke camp over the next hour. Around 8:10 AM, we were back on trail. Today was going to be a fun one.
We back tracked along the trail we came in the night before. We passed a couple of big groups along the trail on their way to the lake for a nice day hike. After a few miles of backtracking, we reached the junction with the trail we would use to connect up with Naomi Peak Trail. This small 0.3 mile trail was a little over grown in some places.
We connected up with Naomi Peak trail and began the ascent to the ridge. The grades again were pretty gradual, up until the last half mile or so before reaching the top of the ridge, but the challenge was welcoming. The lush green meadows below transitioned into rocky landscapes as we reached the top of the ridge.
Before doing the last 1/5th of a mile to summit Naomi, we waited for one of the crew to catch up. After waiting a while (longer than it should have been for him to catch up), we heard the faint cries of our friend below the ridge saying he had somehow gotten off trail. A quick game of Marco Pollo then ensued, and the situation was solved quickly and effectively.
We reached the summit of Naomi Peak and enjoyed the views of Cache Valley and the Bear River Range which surrounded the peak. After soaking in the views, we returned to the saddle, entered Mt. Naomi Wilderness, and began the long 4,000 ft descent down to the High Creek Trailhead.
Spectacular views were to be had of Cherry Creek and Cache Valley was we made our way down off the ridge to High Creek Lake. Once at the lake, we stopped to eat lunch and enjoy the beautiful views this lake had to offer.
We continued the very steep descent and entered a series of meadows which seemed to be in full force bloom for the season. The landscape was extremely colorful; florecent green grasses, dashed with whites, yellows, and purples from wild flowers, all against a bright blue sky.
The steep descent eventually gives way the last 2 miles of the trail and flattens out. Along this stretch we crossed the south fork of High Creek 4 or so times. This is also where the cow pies begin. We picked up about half a dozen or so hiking partners as a group of cattle decided to consistently get in the way until we made it down to the gate near the parking lot. We slipped through the gate, happy that our unexpected hiking partners would no longer be a nuisance, and finished this baby off. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
LOTS of wildflowers around the area right now, most dense near White Pine Lake and along High Creek. |
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