Mirror Lake Scenic Byway
Personal Notes:
Bald Mountain Trip
This page presents our personal notes on camping and hiking during our Bald Mountain trip along the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway in the Uinta Mountains in northern Utah and southwestern Wyoming.
|
|
Friday, August 16, 2002
Stillwater Campground
This was our first stay in this campground, and Anne had made reservations for us through the ReserveUSA system. We got Site 5, and it was very nice. Water was available near Site 23 and between Sites 2, 3, and 4. The vault toilets were also across the road from Site 23. The vault toilets are unisex and very clean.
We had to pay the $6.00 weekly use fee for entering the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway. The reservation fee for the campsite was $9.00. There was a $10.00 per night camping fee. Check in time is 2:00 p.m. and check out time is 1:00 p.m.
The campground is flat and mostly shady, being on the flood plain of the stream. There are lots of pine trees and some tall bushes and shrubs around. There are a lot of sites in the campground, but many are spread out and somewhat private compared to some campgrounds. There is a gravel road through the campground with some tight spots that would make it difficult for some large RVs to maneuver. There are only a few pull-through sites and it might be difficult for the big rigs and longer trailers to back in due to the narrow roads through the campground and the amount of brush along the roads. On the other hand, there is plenty of room for even large tents.
Because of the extreme fire danger out in the West this year, there are no campfires nor charcoal fires allowed. Having a little campfire at night, and having our clothes smelling like a campfire, is something we miss, to some degree.
We brought the Coleman pop-up trailer on this trip, and set up the solar panel. But we must have a short in the electrical system. By Saturday morning the battery was completely drained. So we had no power to run the water pump and for lighting in the evening. And, of course, this was the one trip that I forgot to bring the two flashlights that we usually take along when we camp.
Fortunately, we did have our little flashlights that we keep in our day packs. They worked just fine. We also have a flashlight that is part of our solar radio, so, even though it is not a bright light, it did create enough light for us to see while we brushed our teeth and got ready for bed.
Friday night was very cold. The high during the day was probably in the 80s. The overnight low, in the trailer, by our thermometer, was 37 degrees. A might chilly.
We set up the canopy and put the bug screen up on it, anticipating lots of flies and mosquitoes because of the lakes and streams. But so far we haven't seen a single mosquito, and other than a few flies and moths, we haven't been bothered by any bugs at all. A pleasant surprise.
Saturday, August 17, 2002
Stillwater Campground
The campground has been fairly quiet. There are some kids who occasionally make noise, but they haven't been too bad. There are some babies that cry now and then, but they are in the main or central part of the campground, closer to the restrooms. The worst noise has come from the dogs. There are a good number in the campground.
There is some occasional noise from the highway, but not constant enough to be a bother. We did hear some ATVs across the road in the evening, but they haven't been too bad on this trip.
Bald Mountain Trail
On Saturday we drove the 16 miles from the Stillwater Campground to Bald Mountain. We hiked the Bald Mountain Trail to the top, a 4 mile round trip hike, with an 1,183 foot elevation change. The elevation at the trailhead is 10,760 feet and at the top it is 11,943 feet. There is a large parking lot at the trailhead and every time we have been there it has been very full. At least on weekends. There are several other trails that head from there as well.
The trail begins to climb almost immediately and it switchbacks up the side of the exposed slope to the south. It is very rocky and difficult to find footing in some places. There is some climbing over large rocks and some "steps" to get over. It was a cool, windy day, so being exposed to the Sun for the entire hike did not bother us. But if it were a really warm or hot day, the hike could be quite hot.
There are some low scrubby pines at the top of the first ascent, where the trail levels off for just a bit, relative to the previous and later climbs. This is a really exposed stretch through a boulder filed. However, there are great views of the surrounding landscape, including other peaks, lakes, roads, forest, etc. In fact, even a short hike up from the trailhead provides spectacular views of much of the surrounding area.
After crossing the "flat" boulder field you come to another set of much tighter switchbacks along the eastern face. Here you will be climbing up a steep cliff face that provides some great setting for the views of the lakes below.
I had a little difficulty breathing and catching my breath on the way up. Since I had twisted my ankle and damaged my knee on a 15 mile hike about six weeks earlier, and foolishly damaged it more a week later on a 10 mile hike in Canyonlands, I have not been on a trail. And even when we hike every weekend we seldom begin a hike at anything over 9,000 feet. Excuses ... excuses.
The final ascent isn't too bad. The trail passes through tumbled rocks and across a rocky bridge (ridge) and up a set of placed rocks acting as steps. At the top of the steps you're there. It took Anne about 45 minutes to make the top, and it took me about 50 minutes to climb to the top.
The top is wide open with panoramic views of the surrounding Uintas. It's very rocky and tumbled and difficult to walk on without care. There is a rock monument with a military ammunition canister containing several notebooks and a pen. Anne added our names to the list of those who had made it to the top.
We walked around a bit, looked around and explored the rough rock to the west, and then headed down. It wasn't as windy on the top as it was crossing the flat boulder field below.
The trip down wasn't as bad on my knees as I had feared. I always use a walking stick, so that helps. I also wore a knee brace on my left knee. The only problem we had coming down were the numbers of people heading up. We believe that those coming up have the right of way. So we had to stop quite a bit.
Critters
The one thing we have noticed here is the absence of birds. I did see a robin on Saturday morning, interacting with a ground squirrel, and we have seen several humming birds, but there is not the usual morning and day time chatter that we would expect in a forested area. Perhaps the earlier forest fire in this region has driven them into other areas.
We saw a female Moose on Saturday evening across the Bear River from our campsite. She was very large, and a very dark chocolate brown color. She was eating vegetation from along the banks of a side stream, standing down in the stream herself. We tried taking pictures, but it was to dark to get an image.
Anne saw a pika (Rock Coney) scamper across the Bald Mountain Trail on the way up, and I spotted a small one on the way down.
There were a lot of people on the trails this day, and quite a few brought their dogs. Most were leashed, as required, but some were running free.
Bear River
Bear River at this point is about 20 to 30 feet wide, very shallow, and filled with baseball to football sized water washed rocks. The water is shallow in most places, but there are pools here and there. The stream makes pleasant background sounds as the water tumbles around and over the rocks.
Saturday night wasn't as cold, although Sunday morning felt pretty brisk. The days have been pleasant and breezy. Occasionally the wind picks up and blows through, but passes quickly.
