August 25, 2017
Daily distance: 4.4 miles
Cumulative distance: 4.4 miles
Our adventure began with respective flights to Salt Lake City. Andrew flew from Baltimore and I flew from Flint. Andrew arrived earlier than I did and had time to pick up the rental car which he discovered was significantly cheaper if not rented from the airport. We made a quick stop at Walmart for supplies and had a big meal before driving to the trailhead.
We drove the rental car to the Hayden Pass Trailhead. We had arranged a shuttle with Wilkins Bus Lines from here to the official eastern end of the Highline Trail at the trailhead off Highway 191. Just as we finished packing up, Clifton, our friendly shuttle driver arrived.
Andrew at Hayden Pass Trailhead
It was a pleasant three hour shuttle ride to the trailhead. We enjoyed talking with Clifton and eventually fell asleep as we were tired from our early morning flights. I was surprised to find an official Highline Trail sign at the trailhead and Clifton took a photo of us as we began our journey at ~6 pm.
Official Eastern Terminus of the Uinta Highline Trail
Few Highline Trail Hikers hike the section west of Chepeta Lake, but we decided to hike the entire trail as shuttle logistics were cheaper and easier starting at the eastern trailhead. This section doesn't include dramatic mountains but the scenery is still nice including "parks" and chances to see wildlife.
McKee Draw
Soon we began hiking upward from the lowest point on the trail.
There was a somewhat obscured distant view.
Some of the trail in this section is shared with ORVs.
As the sun was beginning to set, we reached Big Park.
We began to hear the mooing of cows and soon we saw our first wildlife of the hike.
We reached East Park Reservoir, our desired destination for the day. There were still many cows nearby as we identified a nice campsite.
Continue to Day 2
No comments:
Post a Comment