Uinta Highline Trail Day 7: Lake Fork River to Triangle Lake

August 31, 2017

Daily Distance: 11.3

Cumulative Distance: 95.08

Passes: Red Knob and Deadhorse

It rained throughout much of the night and it was still quite wet in the morning but not raining when we began to pack up camp.

Campsite by Lake Fork River

We started our way to Red Knob Pass.

We broke through the trees and it was still cloudy but not raining.

Looking to Red Knob Pass.

Looking back

As we neared the pass we could see a lake down below.

From the top of the pass, there was a great panoramic view.  We could see Deadhorse Lake and Deadhorse Pass to the left.

The trail contours over to another smaller unnamed pass. The peak to the left is Red Knob. If hiking eastbound, it might be possible to confuse this unnamed pass with Red Knob Pass

View from the unnamed pass

After descending from the pass it started to rain again.

The trail went down in the forest.

We made it to Deadhorse Lake and the scenery was stunning. The sun started to shine through the clouds on the cliffs.

We could see Deadhorse Pass and it looked quite steep.

Andrew filtering water at Deadhorse Lake

We started the climb up Deadhorse Pass. There was a skull beside the trail.

Wow!

The trail had many switchbacks and some were quite narrow so we were careful not to slide off.

Deadhorse Lake

We made it to the top of the pass and it was surprisingly easier than we had anticipated. Andrew went up a little higher to enjoy the view.

View from Deadhorse Pass

View south from Deadhorse Pass

Panorama from Deadhorse Pass

We began the descent from the pass.  The southern side wasn't as steep.

It started to rain again.  I think this is Lodge Lake.

The official Highline Trail is mainly forested to Rocky Sea Pass so we decided to take the Head of Rock Creek Trail instead to stay in the high country.

We decided to go off trail to find a place to camp.  I wanted to explore Reconnaissance Lake so we went up to Triangle Lake.

Triangle Lake

Triangle Lake was more of a stream but there was nice sheltered spot nearby to camp.

Campsite near Triangle Lake

From camp I decided to go explore Reconnaissance Lake as I had heard it was one of the most beautiful lakes in the Uintas.

It was an easy walk to the lake and the view was great!

Reconnaissance Lake 

It was a beautiful panorama.  I enjoyed the view as a storm blew by overhead.

On the way back to the campsite I took a photo of the other side of Triangle Lake.  From our campsite we could see mountains on almost every side.  The small snow patch on the ridge is Rocky Sea Pass, our goal for the next day.

Triangle Lake

There were some nice evening views.  Andrew cooked up a bunch of food with his stove.

It had been another spectacular day on the Uinta Highline Trail.

Continue to Day 8