This was the third year my brother, Andrew, and I decided to go for an approximately week-long hike, the week before Labor Day Weekend.
After researching many options we decided that Uinta Highline Trail would be a great option.
We had read that the Uinta Mountains include some of the most contiguous above treeline terrain in the lower 48. We were able to find a few trip reports, but the trail appeared to be lightly traveled.
Here is a map with the gps track from our Inreach.
Here are helpful resources to help plan a hike on the Highline Trail:
PMags trip report and trail info
Trailgroove Article
Backpacker Magazine article
Youtube daily video series
Ultimate Uintas Traverse-ideas for alternate routes and a great caltopo map
The biggest logistical challenge is coordinating a ride from one end of the trail to the other. We used Wilkins Bus Lines.
One consideration with the Highline Trail is that most people don't understand the distance of the entire trail. Officially the entire trail is between Hayden Pass and Highway 191 (~105 miles). Many people aren't aware that the trail continues east of the Leidy Peak Trailhead. We decided to hike the entire trail with a few alternates from east to west. The eastern section wasn't as dramatic but still gave us a perspective of the Uintas and as we progressed west the dramatic scenery did as well. Now that I've finished the hike I wonder if possibly forming a large loop might be more scenic and easier logistically, but it was still worthwhile to hike the entire trail.
See below for daily trip reports:
Day One: Highway 191 to East Park Reservoir
Day Two: East Park Reservoir to Summit Park
Day Three: Summit Park to Chepeta Lake
Day Four: Chepeta Lake to Bowden Lake
Day Five: Bowden Lake to Yellowstone Creek
Day Six: Yellowstone Creek to Lake Fork River
Day Seven: Lake Fork River to Triangle Lake
Day Eight: Triangle Lake to Brooks Lake
Day Nine: Brooks Lake to Hayden Pass Trailhead
I love your information and trip reports. I'm also glad you love the Uintas. You might also like to join the High Uinta Lovers page at Facebook. If I can post a link here, here it is: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=high%20uinta%20lovers
ReplyDeleteLove the video! I'm planning to do most of this hike the first week of September 2018. I did the John Muir around the same time last year, but this is a totally different environment. How were the bugs? Was bug spray enough to keep them way or did you have to wear a bug net near the lakes? Also, I know the nighttime temps were related to your elevation, but about how cold was it each night? What is/was your bag rated and was it sufficient. Most importantly, how did you get to/from the trailheads? I'll be coming from South Carolina and have no idea what the shuttle situation is like out west. Sorry to pester you with questions, but there's not much information out there about this trail.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chad! It's a great trail. The trail stays high most of the time so there aren't as many big climbs as the JMT, but there more passes/mile. There were hardly any bugs when we went. I don't remember using bug spray. I don't think it was ever below freezing at night but there is the possibility. I was fine with a 30 degree bag with a liner. It seemed warmer than the JMT when I did it in Aug 2011, but weather is unpredictable. There was some hail when we were near King's Peak. We used Wilkins Bus lines for the shuttle (see link above). Rented a car and left it at the trailhead and had the shuttle driver pick us up from there and take us to our starting point. If you want to avoid having to take a shuttle, there are many options to create a large loop if you study a map. I think we found map suggestions from the PMags article linked above. Let me know if any questions. I found the Uintas to feel a lot less crowded than the JMT but still very scenic!
DeleteHi Eric,
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for your report! I just wanted to ask you a coulple of questions. I’m a european PhD student; I will come to Utah for a conference and, after that, I thought of hiking the Uinta highline. First question: it will probably be a solo adventure: do you think it’s too risky? Second, are there cougar and/or bears? If yes, do they tend to attack humans? and how should I behave if I meet one?
I’ve been doing mountaneering on the Alps, and there there are no big predators, hence I’m really unexperience with this type of wildlife! Sorry if my questions are silly :)!
Actually, here’s a third one, related to the first one: I guess there won’t be any mobile signal up there. Should I get a GPS phone?
Thanks again!
Best,
Michele
Thanks Michele! Utah has lots of possibilities! What you decide to do might depend on what time of year you are going. The Highline Trail is a beautiful trail, but can still be snowy depending on time of year. You may also want to consider exploring some of Utah's National Parks, which have very unique scenery. Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, etc. It does get hot in the summer and they can get quite crowded. I haven't had a chance to do much backpacking in these national parks but there are many options if you do some research. Day hiking is great as well. Gets hot in the summer! Would need to be careful not to run out of water.
DeleteYou shouldn't have issues with wildlife in Utah. You can probably just hang your food and be ok.
Some type of SOS device would be best as there typically isn't cell service and you're traveling solo.
Have a great adventure! Let me know if you have any other questions!
Eric
Hi Eric,
ReplyDeletethanks a lot for your advice! Really useful. Just one more question. Being from Europe, I don't have a health insurance. Do you know of any such insurance which covers things such as mountaineering?
Thanks!
Michele
Eric,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this amazing resource! What kind of protection did you use for your food while on the trail? Did you use a bear can? Ursak? Something else? Thank you!
Aaron
Hi Eric,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great report on what sounds like an even greater trail!
I was just wondering how secure you felt your hire car was parked at the trailhead? Did you worry about it at all during your trek?
I am planning on doing the trail in July 2019. I'll be coming over from Australia, so I have a lot to consider. The security of the hire car being of high concern.
Thanks
Jeremy
Thanks Jeremy. It's a great trail! We didn't think about the car. We didn't have much in it other than clean clothes. The trailhead is busy at least when we dropped the car off and when we finished the hike. It was our first time in the Uintas, but I had read online about others doing the same thing. Most credit card providers would cover cost of rental vehicle break-in I imagine or you could pay extra from the rental car company.
DeleteOr you could not rent a car at all: there are flights to Vernal from Salt Lake City that would get you pretty close to the eastern trailhead. If you finish on a busy day, you could probably find another hiker to give you a ride back to Salt Lake City.
Have a great adventure!
Hi Jeremy, what time in July are you planning on doing this hike? Me and my girlfriend are planning on starting out on roughly the 3rd/4th/5th and trying to figure out logistics seeing as Wilkins Bus are no longer doing shuttles. We were planning on Greyhound from SLC to Vernal then try to get a ride up to Leidy Peak TH and then hitch back to SLC at the end. I'm trying to find other hikers that are doing it the same time to maybe share a taxi cost shuttle or something like that?
DeleteAnyone heard of the HUT or High Uinta Traverse? It's all of the 13,000 foot peaks car-to-car. It's approximately 70 miles, with roughly 55,000 total vertical change. I know there's a couple guys who did it in approximately 33 hrs, and another couple guys in like 39. Anyone solo, which would be solo unsupported? I've asked around but not heard.
ReplyDelete