August 29, 2017
Daily Distance: 14.06 miles (including roundtrip to Kings Peak)
Cumulative Distance: 69.5 miles
Passes: Anderson Pass
Campsite at Bowden Lake
We got an earlier start than normal as we still had about 10 miles to Kings Peak.
It was a nice section of trail through the forest.
It was a beautiful day.
There was a nice reflection in a pond near the trail.
Looking to Gilbert Creek Basin (I believe)
As the trail turned to descend to Painter Basin, I noticed a rocky outcropping and we decided to go explore.
There was a nice view of the mountains in the distance and we still weren't sure which one was Kings Peak. We stopped to take a break.
I think the peak to the right is South Kings Peak which is 16 feet lower than Kings Peak, the highest peak in Utah 13,528.
I noticed some deer staring at me.
We made it to Painter Basin, one of the areas I had been looking forward to as I researched the trail.
Painter Basin
Kings Peak is the peak to the far right.
There were some dark clouds over the colorful cliffs of Painter Basin.
We crossed one of the streams that enters into the Uinta River.
We reached a trail junction for a trail that would go over to Atwood Basin.
Gunsight Pass is the pass to the right. We could see a lone hiker ahead of us.
We reached the last trail junction before Anderson Pass at the junction that goes to Gunsight Pass as well.
Andrew stopped to take a scenic break to filter some water.
The scenery quite dramatic as we climbed up the trail. There were times I was so excited that I started to run!
Looking back down Painter Basin.
Dark clouds were coming in and I questioned whether or not we should summit Kings Peak.
We caught up to the other hiker and talked briefly and stopped to take a break from the climb and to enjoy the view. We could see other hikers up on Kings Peak.
The weather started to worsen and it began to rain and then hail/sleet. It was fairly cold. We could hear thunder overhead, but didn't see lightning. We passed several hikers coming down from Kings Peak who said it was spectacular.
We were getting closer to the top of Anderson Pass. Looking back to Andrew. The terrain was quite rocky but the trail was easy to follow.
Looking up to Kings Peak
I made it to the top of Anderson Pass and there was a great view from the other side.
The weather didn't seem too bad so we decided to try for the summit of Kings Peak. We left our backpacks at the pass.
The route up the peak starts as a trail but becomes a class 2 scramble.
Painter Basin
The weather looked a little iffy but it wasn't raining. We decided to continue on.
A large airplane flew over gunsight pass.
We reached the summit of Kings Peak!
Summit of Kings Peak
We didn't stay on the summit long and began our descent.
The weather started to improve on the way down.
Such a great view!
The rocks made our progress slow and tedious. I think it took us 1.5 hours roundtrip from Anderson Pass to the summit and back to Anderson Pass.
We made it back to Anderson Pass and had only a few miles to our desired campsite for the night.
Andrew on Anderson Pass
Panorama from Anderson Pass
The other side of Kings Peak
We made it down to the next basin.
Kings Peak
Looking back to Anderson Pass
The trail went down into the forest and we passed a couple others who had set up camp for the night.
I had heard Yellowstone Creek was a great location so we decided to go a little further. The mountains came back into view over the trees and we could see Anderson Pass and Kings Peak.
Yellowstone Creek
We found a great campsite by the creek and there was nice evening light on the mountains.
This day was probably my favorite on the Highline Trail. The scenery was exceptional, we were able to summit Kings Peak and our campsite was one of the most scenic that I can remember.
Continue to Day 6
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