BEAUTIFUL DISCOVERY:
A Solo Hike in the Uinta Wilderness of Utah
Part 1 of 2

One day in 1997, while driving Highway 150 between Evanston, Wyoming and Kamas, Utah, I got my first glimpse of the beautiful Uinta Mountains of Northern Utah. I saw alpine lakes, pristine forests and granite peaks of over 13,000 feet.
Having just returned from eight years of living in Europe where I spent as much time as possible hiking, climbing and skiing the Alps, I was looking forward to finding solitude in the wild places of the United States.

Nothing is really remote in central Europe. There is almost always a town or village at the bottom of the valley or drainage. Many of its most spectacular mountains are served by lifts, and a large network of manned huts are in place to make things convenient for the throngs of hikers and skiers. The mountains there are very civilized. (At least from my experience in Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria and Italy.) I was looking for something different.

Ken, one of my non-ham friends, liked to fish the many streams and lakes in the Uintas and I accompanied him on several occasions. We caught scores of beautiful trout and camped and hiked some of the trails. He and I started to talk of a multi-day hike with fly-fishing in mind to some of the more remote areas, but it never came to pass. I was in the United States Air Force at the time and my workload just didn't allow our schedules to coincide. The AF then sent me to South Korea for a year. Upon returning, other things had a way of taking priority. The Uintas were put on the back burner, but still lurked in the back of my mind like an itch that couldn't be scratched.

After 21 years in the service, my time there was coming to a close. I had some vacation saved and had a chance to do some of the things I always wanted to do. Since Ken couldn't make the trip and neither could my wife Steph, I decided to do a solo 3 to 4-day hike. After searching maps, guidebooks and the Internet for a suitable place, I settled on the East Fork trail beginning at the East Fork/Blacks Fork drainage on the North slope of the mountains.

I had just finished building an SW-30 from Small Wonder Labs in a "trail friendly" configuration and was eager to try it in the field. Since I hadn't even had a QSO with the radio yet, I called Ken Wilson, N7OG, for an on-the-air test. The rig worked fine and he agreed to listen for my signal while I was in the mountains. Dave Fischer, W7FB, also agreed to listen between nets from the KD7AEE club station in Ogden. Looked like all was set. Just pack and I would be off.

Almost. I still had to build an antenna. See http://www.natworld.com/ars/pages/back_issues/2002_text/0702_text/trail_dipole.html. After getting a bit of sleep and doing some chores around the house I was off. The weather was perfect and the weatherman said it would stay that way for the next few days. Mid-week in August is a great time for this. Almost nobody else was there when I pulled into the ranger station on highway 150. After getting some information from the ranger, I drove several miles on a dirt road and was finally at the East Fork trailhead. There was no wilderness permit required and no fee. There was however a sign-in book at the trailhead.

The first few miles of the trail wind up and down through the forest with no real elevation gain, then it opens up to the first East Fork River crossing. In August, the river isn't very high and can be waded. Thereís an old wagon bridge to the West that has fallen in, but a better way to get across without getting the feet wet is a fallen tree a couple hundred yards upriver. Here it opens up to grassy marshland and the trail meanders between grassy marsh and forest. Most of the marsh is dry this time of year. It wouldn't be a very good hike in early to mid summer, as one would be post-holing through mud. Most users rely on pack animals during the early season. Elevation gain is not very apparent at this point, but since the trail follows the river upstream, altitude is gained.

Eventually I had a choice of either the East or the West fork of the drainage. I took the right-hand fork toward Red Knob Pass. After hiking for a while I got my first glimpse of Mount Lovenia and Tokewanna Peak, both over 13,000 feet.
The first large animal I saw was a bull moose. It's amazing how effortlessly these animals can gallop through the extremely rough terrain - as if riding on air. I then saw a herd of about eight domestic variety sheep. It looked as though they had been surviving in the wild for some time, as their coats had not been sheared. They looked wild and independent. A couple of abandoned log cabins from the 19th century popped up - roofs long gone and almost reclaimed by nature. The letters, "US" were stamped in the ends of the logs - the government probably operated them at one time.
A few hours of alternating grassy marsh and forest soon turned into dense forest as I started to climb the West fork drainage toward Red Knob Pass.

An increasing number of fallen trees blocked the trail and slowed progress. Here I called it a night in a small meadow among some nice antenna supports. While dinner was heating, I threw the ends of the dipole in the trees and attached a short length of coax. Soon after eating my re-hydrated meal, the station was on the air.

Almost immediately I worked Russ, N9IV in Indianapolis, IN. Then, alternately calling and surfing for CQ's I worked VE6TK - Gordon in Calgary, K8JWR - Dave, W7RFE - Rich, then KD6LME - Don. Not bad considering the low antenna, 2 watts and just a couple hours of operating time. By the time I was done chatting with Don it was growing cold. My fingers were getting to the point where I could barely feel the paddles. Since the path was too short between the Uinta Mountains and Ogden, Utah, I was not able to work Ken - N7OG directly. Ken heard Don and tried a relay, but the band changed and it wasn't meant to be.

The morning dawned clear and crisp. It looked like my goal of climbing to the top of Red Knob Pass would become reality. Following a couple cups of coffee and oatmeal bars, I was ready to go. And after getting the morning stiffness and kinks out, I was soon in stride. (I have some heel spurs and hardware in my leg that can give me problems.) Today was to be a climbing day.

The trees were getting smaller and more scarce as altitude was gained. Finally, as I climbed through about 10,000 feet, grass, flowers and small bushes replaced the trees. From here I could clearly see the trail as it switched up toward Red Knob Pass, between Red Knob and Mount Lovenia. Here I sighted two eagles soaring the thermals. Rock soon replaced grass and a few hours later I straddled the pass.

Red Knob pass is at about 12,000 feet and gives a view of both the North and South slopes of the Uintas. I was contemplating making a loop into the South slope, but didn't relish the idea of descending, then climbing 2,000 additional feet over Squaw Pass on the other side of Mt. Lovenia. I was too tired and a bit out of shape. After a short rest and taking in the magnificent view, I started back down. Down is always faster than up - especially with trekking poles. What a great invention.

About an hour before sunset, I found a small spring amongst trees and decided to sleep there. Since the sky was clear I didn't pitch the tent. I slept under a wonderful canopy of stars that contrasted the pitch-black silhouettes of the trees.
The only signs of civilization during the trip were airliners flying overhead and the dits and dahs coming through the earphones. I didn't see one other human being the entire time. Solitude.

I worked a few stations that night and with the help of Pat, W0OPW in Minnesota, I was able to pass a message to Dave, W7FB to let my wife Steph know that I would be a day early. Dave heard Pat working me and broke in. Dave is a first-class CW operator with many years of contesting and traffic handling experience. I'm always learning something from him. A good friend.

Going back down the next morning was uneventful and I was soon back at the trailhead. The truck started fine and I was soon back to civilization. The Uinta Mountains are in the very northern part of Utah, just south of the Wyoming border and are one of the only mountain ranges in the United States that stretches East to West. The range is about 100 miles long and Kings Peak; the highest point in Utah at 13,528, feet is located there. For more information you can explore the "Go-Utah" web site at http://go-utah.com/uinta_mountains.

Since the trip, I retired from the Air Force and we are now happily living in Southern Oregon. Utah was a great experience for us and is almost unparalleled for its natural beauty. It wasn't really the place for us in the long term, but we were lucky to experience it during the years we were there. I'm now looking forward to exploring the Cascades, the coastal ranges and Northern California.
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Marco Wikstrom, W7WIK, is a QRPer and expert outdoorsman living in Medford, OR.