A weekend in the High Uintas, June 2018

One of my best friends was getting married in the Uintas end of June and invited me to attend her wedding. So I decided to add a few extra days and do some day hikes while I was up there. It's been a while since I have hiked in the Uintas and I was pretty excited to be back again.
From Southern Utah, it is quite the drive to get there but I was in no hurry and enjoyed the drive up north.

I decided to do the hike up to Bald Mountain since it was still early in the afternoon. This would be a nice leg burner and I was excited about the views from the top. The trailhead parking was not super busy and I got my pack ready. The trail started at about 10,700ft and immediately started to climb upwards. After a while, I reached a plateau and views were great up from there.

Bald Mountain Pass and Murdock Mountain

There were a few wildflowers and I also saw a pika collecting them for food. Past the plateau, the trail started to climb up again. 

Reids Peak

There was a bit of boulder hopping involved at the very last part but it wasn't too bad. I soon reached the summit and enjoyed the views from more than 11,800ft. It was pretty windy and very hazy due to some wildfires but it was still a great view from top.

The hike back to the trailhead didn't last too long and I reached my reserved campsite at Stillwater campground before sunset where I set up camp. 

The next morning I decided to do the Lofty Lakes Loop. It was about 8 miles and had some nice elevation changes along the loop. I started pretty early and was the first car at the trailhead. The first part of the hike went through a forest of fir trees and spruces before the trail went to a meadow.

The meadow offered amazing views to Bald Mountain and Reads Peak with reflections in some small tarns. 

There were also a lot of wildflowers everywhere. I loved the view while I continued the trail. After about a quarter of a while the trail split and I took the detour to Cuberant Lake.  There was some elevation gain before the trail dropped down again and the views were really great.

Elephant Head

I reached the lake and enjoyed the solitude. 

Cuberant Lake

Back at the main trail, I continued to Kamas Lake where I had a little snack break.

After I left the lake, the trail gained elevation again. On top of the plateau, there were amazing views towards the Hayden Fork drainage and Bear River with all its lakes. Definitely worth the hike.

The trail continued from here to Lofty Lake.

Lofty Lake

I passed the lake and continued to descend down the rocky path towards Scout Lake and further to Picturesque Lake. I had to stop several times to delve into the mountain scenery. It was gorgeous. A lot of wildflowers everywhere and great spots for little breaks. This was definitely an enjoyable hike for sure.

From Picturesque Lake it was only about a mile back to the trailhead. 

Since it was still early in the day I decided to do the short hike to Ruth Lake, one of the most popular lakes. 

The little hike to the lake didn't take too long but the views along the way were so gorgeous I had to stop all the time.

I reached the lake and walked along its shore with meadows of wildflowers and beautiful views. This was a really great little hike and I enjoyed it a lot. 

This was definitely a great trip to the mountains and I was pretty sure that I wanted to go back very soon again.