Chemists in the Uintas, 2008

This is the group from our 2008 trip to Dead Horse Lake. Tom with the two dogs (Cobalt and Jacque) in the front and (left to right) in the rear Matt, Chuck, Peg, Jack, Grant, Erin, Jon, Lee Ann, Heather, Mary Ann, Peter (Cindy must have been in the tent-sorry).

On Thursday, August 7, 2008, thirteen members of the Chemists in the Mountains group drove to the West Fork Black’s Fork trailhead in the Uinta Mountains to begin a four-day backpack trip. On the drive to the trailhead (20 miles of which was on the bumpy north-slope road), Lee Ann’s car had a flat tire. After, putting on the spare and leaving Lee Ann’s car off the main “road”, we arrived at the trailhead around 10:30 am.

Jack and Chuck making big plans to communicate by radio

Getting packed up and ready to hike.

This is the group just after crossing the river.

Peg hopping across one of the many streams we crossed on the hike in.

I have no idea how Peg got ahead of me, but she did.

A view of Mt. Beulah on the hike in.

Wading across the river soon after leaving the parked cars, we hiked through a lot of wet and muddy meadows, ate lunch, and hiked some more until around 2 pm when light rain began to fall. After putting on our rain gear and waiting out the rain under some tree shelter, it soon became clear that the rain would not abate. So, as a downpour hit us, we decided to set up our camp about 6 miles from the trailhead. The rain continued until around 7 pm, when it let up. We decided the weather outlook was not good enough to allow us to spend 1-2 hours to cook and eat dinner, so we decided to eat trail food for dinner and to make our wonderful Ms. Squire’s spaghetti for breakfast.

You can see the weather is getting a bit fogged in.

We sit around and hope the rain will stop so we can make it all the way to Dead Horse Lake.

Heather and Erin looking wet and cold.

Matt with the dampness all around him.

Unfortunately, the rain did not stop, so we camped about 6 miles from the trailhead and 4 miles from Dead Horse Lake. The next morning, we got another nice view of Mt. Beulah with some low-lying clouds hanging in the valley.

Chuck and Heather looking happier now that the rain stopped (for awhile).

The next morning, after the spaghetti breakfast, we made it all the way to Dead Horse Lake and this beautiful campsite. Here we are sitting around and resting.

Heather and Erin discussing what classes they’ll be taking next fall in college (yah, right!)

Heather and Cobalt by Dead Horse Lake.

Tom, Cobalt, and Jack looking stylish.

This is a view of the steep cliffs above Dead Horse Lake.

The next morning, we got up to nice weather at Dead Horse Lake (above) and set off on a hike to Red Knob Pass.

Tom, Chuck, Peter (ugly yellow hat), and others crossing meadow heading toward the pass.

We saw these horses on our hike to the pass.

Peter and Mary Ann hiking toward the pass and the Knob.

Peg and Jack crossing the meadow toward the pass.

This is Jon crossing the meadow hiking toward the pass. Jon is behind because he stopped to watch a large group of elk.

As we walked toward the pass, we look back to the west to the pass connecting to the next drainage to the west.

As we gain elevation and look back, we see Dead Horse Lake in the distance.

Finally, we make the pass. This is Peter, Matt, Mary Ann, Tom, and Grant looking to the southwest with Cleveland and Squaw Peaks in the distance.

Peter, Mary Ann, and Matt on the pass.

This is the view from the pass looking south.

Peg and I decided to get going back down off the pass as the others took a small (1/2 mile hike beyond).

We could see that the clouds were becoming thick and that bad weather might be coming soon.

The wildflowers were really beautiful. Peg and I stopped on our hike back to camp to appreciate them.

This is a view from the meadow below the pass up toward Red Knob pass. We had hiked to the low spot on the left and then up to the right to the “Knob”. However, the clouds are now looking bad as we are on our way back to camp.

We made it back to camp and had lots of good stories to tell. As we prepared to dinner, we had chores to do. However, we also did a lot of smiling. Here is Chuck proving he is having a good time as Mary Ann pumps water.

As we relaxed, some sat around and played games of chance (using candy as the currency).

Peg resting after the hike to the pass.

The next day (Sunday), we hiked out again crossing many streams and wet boggy areas until we finally reached the main river. After wading across it, we reached the cars and drove back to Evanston, Wyoming for a nice meal and to get Lee Ann’s tire fixed.

Mary Ann and Erin.

It sure was a pretty day.

A log bridge crossing on the hike out.

We encountered these sheep on the hike out (they were not rotated 90 degrees, though).

Not another stream crossing!

It sure was good to get back to the vehicles (and beer).

So, Jack, were are we going next year?