Unwinding At Grandaddy

Jayce — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:47:27 +0000

I live in Utah. I love camping. With that said, some people find it strange that until this weekend, I’d never been to the Uintahs. Of course, I didn’t grow up here, and just now have had the chance to really get out a bit more. So this weekend my neighbor and I headed out to the Uintah mountains to the Grandaddy Basin.

The hike out, over Hades Pass, was 4 miles, and I had been told quite difficult. Well, not really. Was a lot easier than expected, which let us spend a bit of extra time finding a great camping spot. We had heard the area was a popular spot, so we were a bit worried about seeing too many people, especially on a holiday weekend. Instead we were pleased to have only about 4 groups total in the area, which led to an overall very private weekend.

The Grandaddy basin is quite a nice area. After leaving the oppressive Utah summer heat it felt great to be surrounded by trees, and numerous lakes and ponds. Spending time wandering in the forests I couldn’t help but keep finding nice water pools and meadows. Nights were brisk, another enjoyable thing, but the fishing was extremely slow for various reasons.

As a geek, it’s extremely nice to be able to completely just get away, to spend a weekend scrounging around in the dirt, and just having fun. I’ll definitely be heading back to this area, and hopefully bringing my family as the kids get a little older. There are lots of fish (normally biting), lots of big and tiny lakes, short hikes, easy distance. It’s just a great location.

Grandaddy Lake Photos
Grandaddy Lake Picasa Gallery

A Jaunt up Timp

Jayce — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 04:41:21 +0000

So last week I got a call asking for some help with our scouts. Apparently the adults talked the older boys into hiking up Timp. Not being one to turn down an opportunity to camp, I jumped on the chance.

True to form the kids wound up deciding not to camp as my neighbor and I were ready to go. But that wouldn’t stop us. So Jamison and I headed up AF canyon and just kept driving until we found a spot to pitch our tents and sack out for the night. A few minutes of scrounging turned up plenty of firewood, and we had quite the enjoyable evening.

The next morning we quickly packed up, and headed to the Timpooneke trailhead. Following the example from the day before, what was supposed to be a large group that they needed help with turned out to be only 2 kids, which left us oh so dissapointed .

For anybody who hasn’t hiked the Timpooneke, It’s quite a bear. At
a little over 6 miles, with some amazing elevation, it is not a simple
hike. Add to that the remnants of our late snowstorms, and it was a
very strenuous journey. But the views were to die for, and the water
was running over the various falls at full height.

The sad thing is, after reaching the top, and looking out towards my house, we saw the large fire out at Cedar Fort (the town just past us). Then after getting back, we learned of an 11-year old boy who was killed that night on the same trail, by a black bear. For us however, the day was fun, and a great workout. The views were excellent, and it was fun to be the ‘old guy’ dragging a couple of priest-aged kids up the mountain.

Pictures are available via my Timp Hike Gallery or by clicking on the embedded picasaweb slideshow (only has highlights)

The Hall Family » Camping

Unwinding At Grandaddy

A Jaunt up Timp