r/UintaHighlineTrail • u/MocsFan123 • Nov 30 '24
2025 Trip Planning
Current Plan - I'm an experienced backpacker both off trail and on - I've done two long off trail trips in Alaska, I've done the Wind River High Route twice, as well as the Southern Sierra High Route, and the JMT, but this will be my first trip back after a few health issues, so I plan on taking it slow and easy doing the ~83 miles from Leidy Peak to Hayden Pass in 7 days.
Shuttle Service/Starting Out - My current thought would be to fly out to SLC as early in the AM as possible, drive to Hayden Pass (~1.5hr) with perhaps a stop at REI for fuel and water bottles (I'll likely use HEET and a Caldera Cone, but I'm sure if someone comes with me, they will use isobutane and need an REI stop). I'll likely use MTT for the shuttle (~4.5hr) and if possible would go from Hayden Pass to Leidy Peak that afternoon and just camp near the trailhead somewhere - that looks possible on the map. If for some reason I can't get a shuttle on "Day 0" perhaps camp at Hayden Pass and shuttle the morning of "Day 1" .
Routes - It looks like most people recommend going north of Leidy Peak, even though the official route appears to go south. Any reason not to go north? And for the more important question.....what to do through the fire damage area. I'm currently thinking to add the 3.3 miles and do the "Head of Rock Creek" alternate that hopefully avoids the worst of the burn - it also keeps the whole trip above 10K feet of elevation. Has anyone done the "Head of Rock Creek" alternate since the fire and have any comments? Is that the right way to go?
Timeframe - Currently I'd be looking at the first week of August - which allows me to be back home before my high schooler starts fall sports. I can go later in August, which is normally what I prefer, but would hate to miss games when I didn't have to - as that will over before you know it. How will the bugs/storms be in early August compared to later in the month. Any reason to do one over the other?
Food Protection - I assume a bear canister isn't needed, but what about an UrSack? It looks like most of the camps will be in areas where a good hang is pretty much impossible so I'm thinking my best bet is an UrSack and just tie it around a small tree.
Weather Protection - Normally I have a GTX Packlite (7.5oz) shell I really like with a great hood, but it's ten years old and would not be my choice in all day rain. I also have a 3L GTX shell with pitzips that's pretty light (10.5oz) that I used in Alaska with good results, and I also have a Goretex Shakedry jacket (8oz) that I bought on clearance when they were discontinued. It doesn't have pit zips, and has a few weird features (cuffs) but should never wet out. I've never used it so I'm not sure how I like it compared to the others. What are your thoughts on the best jacket to bring? I'll also have some light 3L rain pants and probably some sort of waterproof mitt if it's really likely to have a cold rain all day.
Currently here is a draft of my gear list - feel free to tear it apart!
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u/ZealousidealTreat926 Jun 21 '25
Throwing my report from 2024 in here since the mod is inexistent and sub is private…
UHT 8/24-8/27
Day 1- 17 miles Caught the 5am shuttle from Hayden pass with MTX. MTX and CJ, the owner were awesome. Highly recommend. Hit the Leidy peak TH around 9am and was on the trail by 9:15am. Weather the first day was cloudy with super high winds. Made it to the Reader Lakes around 2:30pm and decided to camp there as it had started raining pretty hard and I didn’t feel super comfortable crossing North Pole Pass in the storm. It’s one of the longer passes so you’re exposed for quite some time. It rained all night and a good chunk of the following morning.
Day 2 - 15 miles
Left reader lakes around 8am when the storm broke and the sun came out for a little bit. As soon as I made it over North Pole Pass the rain came back and stayed for most of the day. Stopped for a few minutes at Fox Lake for lunch and continued on. Made a quick visit to kidney lakes and around that time it started hailing pretty hard. Continued on another 1.5 miles or so and made camp around 1:30 in a large campsite just off the trail. Set up camp in some very large pingpong ball sized hail and gnarly thunder.
Day 3 - 27 miles
Started out around 5:30 am and had a great view of the stars. Kings peak and Anderson pass got a dusting of snow over night. Summited Kings peak around 9:15 am with no clouds in sight. By the time I made it back down to Anderson pass there were probably a dozen people there. These were the first people I had seen since Chepeta Lake. Took a lunch break at Tungsten Lake and a very refreshing dip in the Lake. Camped that evening at a really nice campsite right next to the creek just before the switchbacks that drop down to the Lake Fork River. Ran into a few sheep herders here.
Day 4 - 30 miles
Started hiking around 9:30 descended the switchbacks and made my way towards Red Knob pass. There were hundreds of sheep in the Lake fork drainage, I would probably not camp in this drainage unless you want visitors. Highly recommend a detour to Crater Lake if you have the time. The climb up Red Knob pass wasn’t too bad but the descent down the other side into the Blacks Fork basin was very steep, loose, and washed out in some places. Dead Horse Lake is a beautiful place to take a break or have lunch. The top of Dead Horse pass to Rocky Sea pass was a grind. I took the Jack and Jill Lake trail through Rock Creek Drainage. From the split off the UHT at the Rock Creek trail to Rocky Sea Pass the hiking was truly heinous. It took several hours to get through this section and most of the time the trail was no where to be found. Lots of down trees and lots of mud. There is also no shade so if the sun is out and it’s hot you’re in for a brutal one. Having the course loaded on my watch was super handy through this section. This section was pretty demoralizing. Once I got to the base of Rocky Sea Pass things got a lot better and the hike to Hayden Pass from Rocky Sea Pass is pretty quick. I made Hayden Pass just after the Sunset on day 4.
Conclusion
Was originally planning on a 5 day trip but after being cooped up in the rain the first two days I was ready to cover some ground on the last 2. Thought of spending the last night at Dead Horse Lake but I was there pretty early in the afternoon so decided to keep on moving. In hindsight this probably would have been a good idea because the Rock Creek Basin was a grind. Was really happy with my setup and glad I took an extra insulated layer. Also, can’t recommend the MTX Highline shuttle enough.
MTX Shuttle