The Western End of the Highline Trail in the High Uintas Wilderness
Friday & Saturday, August 8-9, 2025
After driving up to Salt Lake City on Thursday morning to see a concert, I spent the night in town and then drove up into the Uinta Mountains on Friday morning to meet up with Jared so we could go on backpacking trip along the western end of the Highline Trail from Hayden Pass to Dead Horse Lake. After meeting up with Jared at the Highline Trailhead on Hayden Pass we continued following the Mirror Lake Highway north to the North Slope Road so we could leave a vehicle where we planned to end our hike at the West Fork Blacks Fork Trailhead. Just after turning right onto the North Slope Road we were stopped by a caravan of at least twenty fire vehicles that had turned right in front of us and were headed east. There was a Summit County Sheriff’s vehicle parked near the intersection, so we stopped to ask what was going on. That’s when we learned about the Beulah Fire which had started the previous evening and blew up to 1,400 acres overnight, which also closed the road to the trailhead that we were trying to get to, so our plans were going to have to change. We didn’t have any backup plans, so we decided to return to Hayden Pass and follow the Highline Trail over Rocky Sea Pass and then return the same way.
On my way to meet up with Jared on Friday morning I stopped at the Bald Mountain Overlook along the Mirror Lake Highway shortly after sunrise.
Driving below Bald Mountain on my way to Hayden Pass.
After entering the High Uintas Wilderness on the Highline Trail, we found ourselves hiking past Scudder Lake through the burn scar of the 2018 Murdock Fire. We would hike through a lot of burned areas along this end of the Highline Trail.
There were limited views along the first few miles of the trail but there were a couple open areas with views toward Mount Agassiz.
Once we passed Pigeon Milk Spring the trail started to get steeper and rockier as it climbed up to Rocky Sea Pass.
The views finally started getting better as we climbed up to the pass.
Jared following the trail to Rocky Sea Pass.
Rocky Sea Pass
Even though it was very cloudy out for most of the day there were no thunderstorms predicted today.
Following the trail down from the pass into Rock Creek Basin.
Yard Peak
Rock Creek Basin
The trail was steeper on the east side of the pass, but the views were better!
We stopped at this large unnamed tarn below the pass to rest and then considered stopping to camp near here.
While we were resting and deciding if we wanted to camp around here, we ran into this family that was evacuating from Dead Horse Lake because of the Beulah Fire. We informed them of the mileages we had just hiked from the Highline Trailhead and wished them luck on their unplanned journey.
After some consideration we decided to continue along the trail to find a campsite lower down in the trees. It had been very windy all day and there wasn’t too much protection up near the tarn.
All day we got to watch the water scooper planes fly back and forth overhead as they helped battle the Beulah Fire on the other side of the ridge.
Once we were back down in the trees we found ourselves hiking through the 2020 East Fork Fire burn scar. There were quite a few trees down across the trail in this area that we continually had to hike over and around, making the progress slow.
Eventually the trail passed by Brinkley Lake and we decided to stop and camp here.
Brinkley Lake Campsite
Brinkley Lake
We could see the smoke from the Beulah Fire rising from the other side of the ridge.
Shortly before sunset we started seeing a pair of these yellow planes headed to the fire.
I didn’t get much sleep on Thursday night after the concert and we had a long day today, so I was pretty exhausted this evening and tried to get to sleep shortly before sunset. While I was laying in my sleeping bag I looked out the door of my tent and saw the smoke from the fire light up at sunset through the trees.
We were hoping that the windy conditions would die down after sunset, but once the sun was down the wind picked up significantly and would remain that way until after midnight sometime. Although our tents were pretty well protected from the wind, it was very loud and prevented me from getting to sleep until sometime after midnight.
Even after a miserable night trying to sleep I still got up at dawn to take a few photos around Brinkley Lake.
Watching the first light of the day strike the surrounding peaks.
At least the wind was gone and it was a very calm morning which made for some nice reflections on the lake.
It was turning out to be a lovely morning at Brinkley Lake.
Before packing up camp we decided to hike about a mile further down the trail to Black Lake. Along the way we passed by this unnamed lake with a view of Spread Eagle Peak.
The trail down to Black Lake was obliterated and after working our way down a little ways we gave up and returned to camp. At this point with the change of plans because of the wildfire, not getting enough sleep the past two nights, and hiking through the burn scars with limited views, I was ready to call it a trip and hike back out today. Jared was feeling the same way, so that’s what we decided to do. We packed up camp and then headed back over Rocky Sea Pass to Hayden Pass. I only took a few photos on the way back since the sky was overcast and the views were limited. We continued to watch the planes fly back and forth overhead all day as they fought the nearby fire.
Jared hikes ahead of me through the burn scar as we made our way back to Rocky Sea Pass.
Taking our time hiking up to the pass.
Rocky Sea Pass
Starting the descent on the other side of the pass.
Following the trail back down to Pigeon Milk Spring.
Leaving the High Uintas Wilderness
