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Tag: burn scar

Rocky Sea Pass: Hayden Pass to Brinkley Lake

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.

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Griffith Peak in the Spring Mountains

Saturday & Sunday, July 9-10, 2022

After spending Saturday morning hiking in the Tushar Mountains it was time to continue on the next leg of my journey to San Diego with a hike in the Spring Mountains just west of Las Vegas. I grabbed an early dinner in town and then drove up Kyle Canyon to the small mountain town of Mount Charleston to get a feel for the area and figure out the camping situation. I checked out the trailheads in the area so I knew where I’d be going early on Sunday morning in the dark and then drove further north on the Deer Creek Highway to hopefully find some dispersed camping since all the campgrounds near the trailhead were full, which was no surprise. Luckily, the first side road I headed down appeared to be a popular dispersed camping area and I found a nice site that was unoccupied. The campsite was located at about 7,600 feet and the temperature in the shade was very comfortable. I read a book and listened to podcasts for a while and then went to bed early so I could get an extra early start on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, since the area was obviously a popular camping area, there were a lot of loud people nearby late into the night, so I’m glad I had my earplugs with me…

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