by Paty | Sep 12, 2020 | Gear, Rockies, Uinta Highline Trail
The Unita Highline Trail was the last of my summer thru-hikes for 2020. I’d already thru-hiked the Tahoe Rim Trail and North Umpqua Trail, so I pretty much had my gear dialed in for this adventure. Nonetheless, I did make some major additions and changes to the...
by Paty | Sep 10, 2020 | Rockies, Trail Journals, Uinta Highline Trail
Sunday – September 8, 2020 Start Point: Tungsten Lake (Mile 70.6)End Point: Tungsten Lake (Mile 70.6)Distance Hiked: 0 miles When I left off last time, I was staring at my bright orange Garmin inReach Mini and contemplating whether to press the SOS button...
by Paty | Sep 9, 2020 | Rockies, Trail Journals, Uinta Highline Trail
Sunday – September 8, 2020 Start Point: Yellowstone Creek (Mile 68.1)End Point: Tungsten Lake (Mile 70.6)Distance Hiked: 2.5 miles When I set up my tent near Yellowstone Creek last night, the sky was cornflower blue with a handful of fluffy white clouds...
by Paty | Sep 8, 2020 | Rockies, Trail Journals, Uinta Highline Trail
Sunday – September 7, 2020 Start Point: Fox Lake (Mile 48)End Point: Yellowstone Creek (Mile 68.1)Distance Hiked: 20.1 miles The past two days have really beat my body up. I tried my best to stretch out my tired leg muscles in my tent last night, but...
by Paty | Sep 7, 2020 | Rockies, Trail Journals, Uinta Highline Trail
Sunday – September 6, 2020 Start Point: Hacking Lake ( Mile 24.7)End Point: Fox Lake (Mile 48)Distance Hiked: 23.3 miles The nearly full moon last night was like a persistent night light shining through my tent. I wasn’t expecting that. This was the first...
by Paty | Sep 6, 2020 | Rockies, Trail Journals, Uinta Highline Trail
Saturday – September 5, 2020 Start Point: McKee Draw Trailhead (Mile 0)End Point: Hacking Lake (Mile 24.7)Distance Hiked: 24.7 miles Let me tell you, I’ve been looking forward to the Uinta Highline Trail (or UHT) ever since I got off the North Umpqua Trail...
by Paty | Aug 31, 2020 | Midwest, US High Points
Order of Visit: High Point #22 Date Visited: September 3, 2020 Route Taken: Short walk from parking area to the monument Type of Terrain: Flat pasture and grazing land Elevation: 5,424 feet Ancestral Lands: Arapaho, Cheyenne, Sioux What’s in a name? With...
by Paty | Aug 31, 2020 | Midwest, US High Points
Order of Visit: High Point #21 Date Visited: August 30, 2020 Route Taken: Black Elk Peak Trail #9 from parking area at Sylvan Lake – 6.4 miles (round-trip) Type of Terrain: Well-graded, wide dirt trail with some larger rocks near the summit....
by Paty | Aug 27, 2020 | Day Hikes, Midwest
We’re never doing THAT again!! The three of us were in resounding agreement with that sentiment when we collapsed into the car at 11 pm. We were famished from hiking through dinner and barely taking a single break over the past 18 miles. But, I’m getting...
by Paty | Aug 25, 2020 | Midwest, US High Points
Order of Visit: High Point #20 Date Visited: August 24, 2020 Route Taken: Fence line trail (along private property owned by the Dennis Family) – 3.3 miles round-trip Type of Terrain: Easy two-track road across a field for one mile, then steeper climbing up a sandy...