Nestled in the Eastern end of the Uintah Mountains is the shared county high point for Daggett and Uintah counties, Eccentric Peak. Interestingly enough, Eccentric is considered a benchmark rather than a peak by the US Forest Service. I don't know the definitional difference, but it is very flat on top and not pointy like the peaks you may imagine, so it may have something to do with that. Never fear, however, the benchmark lies at 12,276', so it is plenty high and the hike there was still a great adventure.
Our campsite at Spirit Lake. Very beautiful and very full of mosquitoes. It's only been open for less than a week because there is so much snow up there and the road was still covered.
Autumn in a beautiful meadow at dusk. Not en route to Eccentric peak.
I have no idea why I promised Autumn I would not bring my fishing gear. I was kicking myself the whole time I was there...
Eccentric Peak in the background. View from Daggett Peak, which we had to cross over to get there.
On top of Eccentric Peak. A little wind shelter someone built to stay warm. It was pretty nice when we were there. Maybe high 50's or low 60's.
Nap time!!
Tired hikers. The route was 7 miles long and probably took us around 5.5 hours to complete. Unfortunately, there was not a trail along any of the route, so we spent a lot of time climbing on rocks and avoiding the swarming mosquitoes in the trees. We were so glad to get above treeline to get away from them! We had on tons of bug repellent, but it was a claustrophobic feeling to have no place to go where they would not buzz you and land on your clothes. I think we got away with reasonably few bites.It was a fine adventure and the 2,000' of elevation we gained was a little more difficult due to the lack of a trail and the higher elevation. We liked it a lot and had a good time. Three more peaks left and I'll have summitted all of the county high points in the state! I'm excited to get my goal done when we return from the East Coast in the middle of July. Autumn is going to finish them with me, so I'll have a great hiking companion.
3 comments:
That's a great goal you are accomplishing! I am glad Autumn can finish them out with you.
I'm so glad Autumn is up for all your adventures! That will be a huge accomplishment to get done--well done.
Good work, lad. And Autumn is a great hiking buddy. Where's the tongue-print document? I think I know, but it might be at my parents' home in Utah. Yeah, I defaulted on that in 2005. Blah. Now, I keep a journal that I started on my mission and it has goals with deadlines. Like in 2003, my deadline for a VFR was 12/06. I got it 4/04. These blogs are also a great way to see how you're progressing.
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