King's Peak
| Utah |
Elevation: 13,528'
Vertical Gain: 4,943'
Vertical Gain: 4,943'
Date: July 8, 2008
Time: 2:50 PM
Time: 2:50 PM
Weather: Stormy
Party: Bob, Kevin
Party: Bob, Kevin
On July 5th we headed out on a flight from Newark to Salt Lake City via Dallas for a three
mountain highpointing trip that would be our toughest yet. The flights were uneventful
although we had to leave our house at 2:30 in the morning in heavy rain and fog. In hot Salt
Lake City we stopped at an outdoor mall to pick up a fuel cannister at Dick's Sporting Goods
and had lunch at a Subway in the food court. We then drove our fuel efficient Kia Optima out to
Evanston, WY, where we stopped at a Wal-Mart for food. It was another two hours from there to
the Henry Fork Campground and trailhead, the last 20 or so miles on dirt roads.
Two of the three or so campsites were still open but they were not very appealing. The sun still
looked high in the sky and the mosquitos were bothersome so we organized our gear and
started up the trail at 7:00. The trail was nice and wooded with only a gradual uphill. At 8:30
after 4.5 miles we found a nice camp spot next to the Henry Fork Creek. There was enough
daylight left for wraps and bad mac and cheese for dinner.
After the long travel day with the time zone changes we allowed ourselves a little extra rest in
the morning, a decision that would nearly cost us the peak. We started out at 8:15 along
generally easy trail with occasional areas of mud and runoff to cross in the meadows. The
meadows opened up above Elkhorn Crossing where we got our first view of King's Peak and
the impressive Uintas. We never saw Dollar Lake or a turnoff to it so at the eight mile mark we
cached our unneeded gear in some bushes near a huge meadow with some awesome views
and continued on. The real climbing started at Gunsight Pass which at 11,800' is also where
the altitude starts to matter. Once over the pass we tried to contour to the right through the
boulder fields to avoid the descent into Painter Basin but the snowfields forced us up and
down which was probably harder. It was along this traverse that the first sign of bad weather
started looming. At the bottom of Anderson Pass we discussed the weather and some routes
with some young guys who were having some fun sliding down a snowfield. King's Peak
looked okay but we couldn't see what was kind of weather was coming in behind it. I chose a
pretty direct route up that looked as if it would offer some shelter among the boulders if
needed. It was a deceivingly long way up this rock pile! About 300 vertical feet from the top,
pea-sized hail started hitting us so we took cover under a small rock until it passed. At this
point, quitting was not an option (per Kevin) so we continued and tagged the summit at 2:50.
About an hour earlier we saw people heading down the ridge summit ridge in the distance but
we had the summit to ourselves. We stayed less than 10 minutes since other peaks were
clearly in storms and we were already getting tired.
The trip down was even harder now that the jagged rocks were wet and less stable than on
our ascent route. The fear of approaching storms kept us moving and we did get more hail. I
fell a few times - not a place to get hurt! The trek down to Painter Basin and back up to
Gunsight Pass was beautiful but exhausting! We reached a point of being totally spent so
despite some loss of appetite, we took a break to get some nourishment. There was no choice
but to continue and we felt much better when we got down below our magic 11,400' after
Gunsight Pass. There, we stopped to chat with another highpointer who was glad for some
tips. (He had done 43 since May!) We got back to our gear at 7:20, an 11 hour day, set up the
tent in that awesome setting, and crashed for an hour. This was a 15.2 mile day and we agreed
it was the toughest hiking day we've done. The legs were not as sore as after a marathon but I
was more tired than after any I have done. We got ourselves up long enough to have some
freeze dried Beef Stroganoff then it was back to bed. On this day, the fact that not all miles are
created equal was very evident.
There was some light rain during the night which was frozen on the tent in the morning. I got
up early for some pictures on a beautiful morning but decided to join Kevin back in the tent
until the sun hit which warmed it up nicely. We left this 10,550' camp at 9:00 and covered the
eight miles back by 12:20. Several groups with kids (probably scouts), including one with
llamas were headed up.
While driving out on the dirt roads we had to stop when a herd of mooing cattle surrounded us
until the cowboys moved them on. It was close to a six hour drive before we camped at the
very nice Three Island Crossing State Park at the Snake River crossing area of the Oregon
Trail. This run-down town of Glenn's Ferry didn't even have an appealing place to eat so we
bought fried chicken and salad at a market.
mountain highpointing trip that would be our toughest yet. The flights were uneventful
although we had to leave our house at 2:30 in the morning in heavy rain and fog. In hot Salt
Lake City we stopped at an outdoor mall to pick up a fuel cannister at Dick's Sporting Goods
and had lunch at a Subway in the food court. We then drove our fuel efficient Kia Optima out to
Evanston, WY, where we stopped at a Wal-Mart for food. It was another two hours from there to
the Henry Fork Campground and trailhead, the last 20 or so miles on dirt roads.
Two of the three or so campsites were still open but they were not very appealing. The sun still
looked high in the sky and the mosquitos were bothersome so we organized our gear and
started up the trail at 7:00. The trail was nice and wooded with only a gradual uphill. At 8:30
after 4.5 miles we found a nice camp spot next to the Henry Fork Creek. There was enough
daylight left for wraps and bad mac and cheese for dinner.
After the long travel day with the time zone changes we allowed ourselves a little extra rest in
the morning, a decision that would nearly cost us the peak. We started out at 8:15 along
generally easy trail with occasional areas of mud and runoff to cross in the meadows. The
meadows opened up above Elkhorn Crossing where we got our first view of King's Peak and
the impressive Uintas. We never saw Dollar Lake or a turnoff to it so at the eight mile mark we
cached our unneeded gear in some bushes near a huge meadow with some awesome views
and continued on. The real climbing started at Gunsight Pass which at 11,800' is also where
the altitude starts to matter. Once over the pass we tried to contour to the right through the
boulder fields to avoid the descent into Painter Basin but the snowfields forced us up and
down which was probably harder. It was along this traverse that the first sign of bad weather
started looming. At the bottom of Anderson Pass we discussed the weather and some routes
with some young guys who were having some fun sliding down a snowfield. King's Peak
looked okay but we couldn't see what was kind of weather was coming in behind it. I chose a
pretty direct route up that looked as if it would offer some shelter among the boulders if
needed. It was a deceivingly long way up this rock pile! About 300 vertical feet from the top,
pea-sized hail started hitting us so we took cover under a small rock until it passed. At this
point, quitting was not an option (per Kevin) so we continued and tagged the summit at 2:50.
About an hour earlier we saw people heading down the ridge summit ridge in the distance but
we had the summit to ourselves. We stayed less than 10 minutes since other peaks were
clearly in storms and we were already getting tired.
The trip down was even harder now that the jagged rocks were wet and less stable than on
our ascent route. The fear of approaching storms kept us moving and we did get more hail. I
fell a few times - not a place to get hurt! The trek down to Painter Basin and back up to
Gunsight Pass was beautiful but exhausting! We reached a point of being totally spent so
despite some loss of appetite, we took a break to get some nourishment. There was no choice
but to continue and we felt much better when we got down below our magic 11,400' after
Gunsight Pass. There, we stopped to chat with another highpointer who was glad for some
tips. (He had done 43 since May!) We got back to our gear at 7:20, an 11 hour day, set up the
tent in that awesome setting, and crashed for an hour. This was a 15.2 mile day and we agreed
it was the toughest hiking day we've done. The legs were not as sore as after a marathon but I
was more tired than after any I have done. We got ourselves up long enough to have some
freeze dried Beef Stroganoff then it was back to bed. On this day, the fact that not all miles are
created equal was very evident.
There was some light rain during the night which was frozen on the tent in the morning. I got
up early for some pictures on a beautiful morning but decided to join Kevin back in the tent
until the sun hit which warmed it up nicely. We left this 10,550' camp at 9:00 and covered the
eight miles back by 12:20. Several groups with kids (probably scouts), including one with
llamas were headed up.
While driving out on the dirt roads we had to stop when a herd of mooing cattle surrounded us
until the cowboys moved them on. It was close to a six hour drive before we camped at the
very nice Three Island Crossing State Park at the Snake River crossing area of the Oregon
Trail. This run-down town of Glenn's Ferry didn't even have an appealing place to eat so we
bought fried chicken and salad at a market.
The Footbridge at Elkhorn Crossing.
A nice morning for hiking.
A nice morning for hiking.
Heading up the valley.
Gunsight Pass is the low spot on the
left. King's Peak can be seen poking
up behind the notch on the right. We
stashed the overnight gear and are
packing lighter here.
left. King's Peak can be seen poking
up behind the notch on the right. We
stashed the overnight gear and are
packing lighter here.
Approaching Gunsight Pass.
On the traverse. The sky looks pretty
nasty looking back past Gunsight Pass.
nasty looking back past Gunsight Pass.
You can't see the hail in the photo but
Bob is doing his best to get some
shelter from it.
Bob is doing his best to get some
shelter from it.
Kevin is happy to bag this one.
How come Bob isn't as happy looking,
especially with those views?
especially with those views?
A 360 degree panorama of the rugged and remote Uintas, a possible home of Bigfoot.
Morning in paradise.
Looking out our "picture window".
Roadblock! We'll wait our turn.