Lakeshore Basin

One son and his wife joined us on an overnight trip to the Leidy Peak area on the eastern end of the Uinta Range.  The above photo was taken from the southwest shoulder of Leidy Peak (12,028 ft), looking down Lakeshore Basin and southeast toward Marsh Peak (12,240 ft).

With three horses and 4 people, we took turns riding.  Daisy didn't get to ride, but she didn't mind. 

A series of lakes in Lakeshore Basin (10,800 ft)  provided photo ops and swimming ops for Daisy.

Rest breaks were scenic, too.

Our son, the early riser, captured the sunrise.  The rest of us had to wait for the photo download.

Toward Leidy Peak

We drove into Ashley National Forest along Ashley Creek, and toward Leidy Peak.  We were checking out the road to make sure the snow is gone before we try to get up there with a horse trailer. 
The last 10 miles of the road to Leidy Peak trailhead is still blocked off with an avalanche gate.  We parked and took a 6 mile walk along the creek. 

Daisy was there, on the lookout for elk.  We didn't see any,

but we saw and heard bluebirds.found a few early wildflowers,

such as violets

and Marsh marigolds. 

We made a litter survey along the road and found that beer cans outnumber soda cans 12:1.  Usually we travel on hiker or game trails, avoiding the leavings of careless litterbugs. 

Part of our walk was along the old Carter Military Road, traveled from 1881-1884.  The road was used to bring supplies between Fort Bridger in Wyoming, and Fort Thornburg near Vernal, Utah.  This was just after the Utes were moved to a reservation in the Vernal-Roosevelt area.  Settlers were concerned there might be an uprising such as the 1879 Meeker Massacre (11 men killed by Ute Indians) in Colorado.  Of course, the Meeker Massacre probably happened because the Utes feared their grasslands were going to be taken away from them by a huge influx of miners to the region, and they feared that U.S. soldiers moving into the area planned something similar to the Sand Creek Massacre, where 70-163 Indians, 2/3 of whom were women and children, were killed. 

On the old military road, you can still see the boulders that were moved out of the road bed and piled along the sides to make way for wagons.

High Country Critters

As we were hiking near Leidy Peak, we heard a loud, high-pitched "eek, eek" sound, and Daisy started barking.  We rushed to where the sounds were coming from and found

a sweet little elk calf, all alone, trying to hide.  He did not want to come out and play. 

We took a few photos and then left, assuming mama elk would return for him soon.
Butterflies and bees were out in force, flitting from bloom to bloom: 

Bumblebee

West Coast Lady

Western Tiger Swallowtail

The butterfly above seemed to prefer landing on rocks where he was well camouflaged. 

And of course our favorite critter was enjoying the day, too. Daisy likes nothing better than cooling her belly in an ice cold stream that flows straight out of a snowbank.

Pining for Alpine

Finally, the snow has melted (mostly) in the high country.  The panorama above shows Lakeshore Basin.

Today, we drove to the Leidy Peak trailhead (10,800 feet) and hiked to the top of Leidy at 12,000 feet.
On June 21, our last trip to the area, most of the mountain was still covered with snow. One month later, many wildflowers have already bloomed. 
Growing on the rocky slopes,we found:

Lewisia family (same as bitterroot)

bluebells and buttercups

Parry's primrose

Moss campion

Jacob's ladder (Polemonium)

 The moon smiled over the alpine setting.  Ah, there's nothing better than a summer day in the high country.

Leidy's Snow

Leidy Peak, 12,000 feet at the summit, still has a lot of snow. 

We drove up to the 11,000 foot Leidy trailhead without encountering much snow on the road.  Daisy found some in the shadows as soon as we started hiking.
Usually we follow a trail over the shoulder of the mountain to Lakeshore Basin, but this time most of that route was buried.  Snowfall this winter was about average, but an unusually cool spring delayed the melting.
We found marsh marigolds growing in and around icy puddles,
a few buttercups
tiny violets

 

and diminutive phlox.

Daisy enjoyed a dip in this rivulet that came straight out of a snowbank.

The views were nice, but we'll have to come back in a couple of weeks to get past all the snow.

Birds, Blue and Gray

Birds flit everywhere at 11,500 feet, on the slope of Leidy Peak. Perhaps they're enjoying the last days of summer. Steve managed to catch a few of them sitting still. Above is a White-Crowned Sparrow, identified by Sweetbay. Thanks for the help!
Bill S. at Wild in Idaho tells us the photo above is of an immature mountain bluebird, or perhaps a female. I have trouble identifying the little gray ones,

but even a half-blind birder could name the bright and lovely male Mountain Bluebird!

For more camera critters, click here.

View from Leidy's North Slope

On a second day's ride from the Lakeshore Basin trailhead, we rode up as high as we could toward Leidy Peak (the last 500 feet to the top is way too steep and rocky for horses), then traversed around Leidy's sloping shoulder.
By the time we'd gone 5 miles and a thousand feet to reach the north side, Mischief was feeling kinda tuckered. Mount Untermann is behind him.
To the northeast, we looked down on Flaming Gorge.
While we rested before turning back, Boss, Daisy and Steve enjoyed some camaraderie under a friendly blue sky.
To see more skies from all over the world, click here.

Lakeshore Basin

The trailhead to Lakeshore Basin begins at 11,000 feet with Leidy Peak (12,000 ft., 3700 m) rising above and to the southwest. Leidy Peak is located about 30 miles north of Vernal, Utah. (Note: The Uinta mountains are generally rounded on top because they are over 700 million years old and have experienced a lot of erosion.)
The path over the east shoulder of Leidy and into the basin is easily discernable most of the way, but here it's marked only by a large cairn.
The south fork of Ashley Creek runs through Lakeshore Basin,


and there are numerous small lakes. Marshy areas around the lakes and stream support good grass all summer. Many elk, deer, and moose live in the area.
We rode across the basin, and up the other side to an 11,800 ft. (3600 m) pass. It's a bit rocky. We put boots on the horses to protect their unshod hooves. Here I am, walking up the unstable rock. Mischief went ahead, following Boss and Steve. (Why is Steve always so much ahead of me? I'm slow, but I do get there.)
Okay, now I'm back in the saddle where I belong. Behind me is a view toward Red Belly Lake and Twin Lakes.
There was a sign in the pass, once planted in some piled rocks, but now fallen from its perch.
The Highline Trail, which traverses the High Uiintas, east to west, follows the ridge shown above. (I wouldn't want to be up there in a lightning storm!) Someday maybe we'll take that path. It doesn't look overly traveled, does it?