# It's Not a Good Idea



## wyogoob

Some of the finest fishing in the Uintas is in the upper reaches of Middle Basin of the Bear River. Much of it is above treeline making fly casting easy. Big brookies rest in small streams between nameless lakes full of native cutthroat. The fish are so dumb they take mail order flies....even flies that I tied with cheap hackle on hooks that were probably made in the 70s.

To get there, go out of Christmas Meadows and walk....and climb....and hike for what seems like forever. Or you can just go over Hayden Peak from the Mirror Lake Highway:









The larger lake in the trees on the right is Mirror, the mountain above it is Baldy.

It's not a good idea to go that way. If you do, take about 30 foot of climbing rope, a couple carabiners and a friend with plenty of first aid training.


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## Finnegan

What's the name of that lake in the bottom photo?


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## wyogoob

McPheter's


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## campfire

Finnegan said:


> What's the name of that lake in the bottom photo?


I can tell you that. It is McPheder Lake and these pics bring back plenty of memories. One of my favorite places on earth. Hayden Peak is surely rougher and you shouldn't do it alone but it is a FAR PIECE to hike all the way from Christmas Meadows. I have allways gone "over the top". Thanks, Goob!


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## wyogoob

Good for you. It can be a knee-knocker, especially if it's windy.

Yeah, just kiddin about the carabiners, but I do take a rope to pull my pack up the top ledge.


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## campfire

There have only been a couple of times I have been really concerned...... One was when My son and I came down in a driving rain storm and all the rocks were wet and slippery. Fortunately it was not a thunderstorm with lightning......aaaaaaaa...........that was the other time. It is not a good place to be in a thunderstorm. When the hair on my arms stands straight up I get a little nervous. -)O(-


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## wyogoob

Ouch....lightning likes me; got me 3 times, and has kept me from becoming a Rhodes Scholar.

If you look behind me in the first picture that white stuff over by Ruth Lake is snow on the rocks. It snowed that day, July 12th, about 6 inches on the west side of Hayden Peak.


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## campfire

wyogoob said:


> Ouch....lightning likes me; got me 3 times, and has kept me from becoming a Rhodes Scholar.
> 
> If you look behind me in the first picture that white stuff over by Ruth Lake is snow on the rocks. It snowed that day, July 12th, about 6 inches on the west side of Hayden Peak.


THREE TIMES ?!?!?! _(O)_ _(O)_ _(O)_ Holy Cow, Goob! You have got to stop taking that iron suplement. It could be bad for your health. You are either REALLY LUCKY or REALLY UNLUCKY. Maybe both.


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## wyogoob

campfire said:


> wyogoob said:
> 
> 
> 
> Ouch....lightning likes me; got me 3 times, and has kept me from becoming a Rhodes Scholar.
> 
> If you look behind me in the first picture that white stuff over by Ruth Lake is snow on the rocks. It snowed that day, July 12th, about 6 inches on the west side of Hayden Peak.
> 
> 
> 
> THREE TIMES ?!?!?! _(O)_ _(O)_ _(O)_ Holy Cow, Goob! You have got to stop taking that iron suplement. It could be bad for your health. You are either REALLY LUCKY or REALLY UNLUCKY. Maybe both.
Click to expand...

Yes, 3 times, all great stories. The company I used to work for had about 1500 employees in the field. We had electrical safety traing every year. They would take everyones resistance readings. I had the lowest resistance of all, could get shocked changing flashlight batteries.

I have trouble....an effect...on electronic equipment and at many plants I work I am forbidden to use the owner's fax machines, printers, computers, digital remote cameras, etc.


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## BugBuilder

I went for that same little hike this last saturday. We have always gone over this short cut. This year we had the bright idea of going over for a day trip and packing our float tubes in. We caught a ton of fish. The tigers are getting bigger on McPheter's, but we didn't catch as many of the bigger cutt's. 

BugBuilder


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## wyogoob

BugBuilder said:


> I went for that same little hike this last saturday. We have always gone over this short cut. This year we had the bright idea of going over for a day trip and packing our float tubes in. We caught a ton of fish. The tigers are getting bigger on McPheter's, but we didn't catch as many of the bigger cutt's.
> 
> BugBuilder


Cool, any pics?


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## BugBuilder

Three of us went in for the day. One packed his tube full with pockets carrying his stuff. I opted for the pack with everthing broke down tight and compact. It was a fun trip.


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## wyogoob

Hee Haw!!!!!! The tigers are getting big. 
Now were talkin'. Man you guys got cahoonies; draggin' a float tube over Hayden.
It's a wonder the wind didn't blow ya to Duchesne. 
Man I'd love to get over and fish the "hanging gardens" on the northwest side.

Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

BugBuilder for Secretary of Interior!


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## BugBuilder

Ya, it seemed like a good idea at the time! It was a long day crossing it twice. We caught all our fish along the cliff side. My intent was to dredge the bottom with sinking line to see how big the cutt's really are, but I couldn't get away from the cliff side with the catching going so well. In the afternoon we walked over and fished Ryder. We just walked the shore sight fishing for Brookies. The bummer of the whole trip was Wendy's in Park City being horribly slow for 10 pm and then sitting in Parley's in a traffic jam. We only made it down to the East Canyon exit and then got off and went around and down city creek canyon. It turned out to be about a 22 hour day by time I got home. 

Good times!

BugBuilder


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## wyogoob

Yeh, yeh, it's no fun at all, nothing but hard, scary, flipping work. An inflated float tube over Hayden; you're all goofy. Glad you had nice weather.

Did you see boot prints? I always see boot prints, but never run into anyone. 

Call me the next time, I'll carry something....snowboard or a BBQ grill....maybe an igloo cooler. 

Sorry about all the blue jean trash I left on the slide through the years. Came off the seat of my pants.

Geezus....a float tube.....


Good job.....there is hope.


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## BugBuilder

A good pair of gloves is a must on the slide. I came down pretty fast this time. I have bad knee's and it hurt more to step down slowly. I would "surf" the loose rocks and dirt down. In the picture looking back up the slide you can see my two buddies, one in orange and farther up the hill one in black who is just a speck. They asked why I went so fast and I replied truthfully I could not stop!
We were standing on the top of the slide when we did run into somebody. He was solo and meeting some buddies at Ryder. He was surprized to see us as well. Last year we were going over and had another solo guy hook up with us. He was crossing for the first time and was going off of word of mouth directions. It started to storm and get nasty, so he was glad to cross with us.


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## Chaser

Any ptarmigan in them thar hills?


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## wyogoob

ChaserOfAllBirds said:


> Any ptarmigan in them thar hills?


Not to my knowledge.


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## wyogoob

Nice pictures. When you look at the slide from the highway, it looks pretty formidable.

No, no, the highway side is the "UgottaBkiddinme" side, that last 100 yards on the top. The lake side is easy once your past the boulder field on top. 

No gloves for me, lose one of them in the first 20 minutes.


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## Packfish

Ok- so the goats wouldn't have been an option here----- trained condors ?


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## flyguy7

Great pictures Wyo and Bug!


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## BugBuilder

ChaserOfAllBirds said:


> Any ptarmigan in them thar hills?


I have never seen any. There are a ton of Rock Chucks though.



Packfish said:


> Ok- so the goats wouldn't have been an option here----- trained condors ?


No, unless they are trained to "rock hop" there is a lot of boulder scrambling on the top coming and going. There is also a small cliff area where you have to pass your packs up. Which is done best with 3 people. One on the bottom, one in the middle and one on top.

BugBuilder


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## Jesse Higgins

Great photos & guys. Goob now please stand over there - a little farther away from me... -)O(- 

Wow, 3 times. :shock:


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## campfire

Nice job guys! And "goob" is right, you do have cahoonies to pack float tubes over there. But now I AM curious. When did tigers get stocked in Macpheders? And how many other "stock by air " lakes have been stocked with tigers? Maybe I will start another thread and see what information there is out there.


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## wyogoob

There are other "short cuts" tougher than this one. I need to dig up some old photos and scan some more pictures from when I was younger. Start some more threads; you know, keep me from riding my bike a mile to the Bear River and fish.

Float tube over Hayden, good grief that's cool. 


I got a story about draggin a canoe to an Ontario walleye lake I gotta share.

.


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## americanforkdude

Goob, nice report. I like the pictures. Gotta watch out for that lightning. Thanks for sharing the report. It has got to be one of the best I've seen. Wish there were more like it.


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## wyogoob

americanforkdude said:


> Goob, nice report. I like the pictures. Gotta watch out for that lightning. Thanks for sharing the report. It has got to be one of the best I've seen. Wish there were more like it.


ah, shucks

thanks....go take a hike....with yer float tube


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## wyogoob

I was asked to put some pics up for this old thread. The original thread pics were deleted somehow.

Arrow points to the "shortcut" to get into the Middle Basin of the Bear River from the Mirror Lake Highway. Pic taken from pass at Lofty Lake :


Pic taken from Mirror Lake Highway:


snowing July 12, 1997:




Looking back over Mirror Lake at Bald Mountain:


Middle Basin and McPheters from Hayden Peak:


McPheters like glass:


Mt Aggasiz above camp:


that's enough for now


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## wyogoob

It's a tough climb with a full pack. I'm not sure if I could make it over the top these days; besides, they sell fish at the grocery store for crying out loud. 

Hey, here's looking over Mirror Lake at Hayden Peak from Bald Mountain:
 :grin:


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## gdog

wyogoob said:


> I was asked to put some pics up for this old thread. The original thread pics were deleted somehow.


Thank you!


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## wyogoob

Park at the Highline Trailhead and then work your way east thru the trees and meadows to the base of the mountain. Pick your way up thru the scattered boulders and fir trees until you come upon a boulder field. Be careful going over the boulder field, many of the boulders, even the Voltswagon-sized ones, are loose. You will cliff out below, and to the south of, the pass. Heading in a northernly direction scratch and claw your way along the cliff. uh....don't look down at this point. Plan on taking your pack off and tying it to a rope to make it easier to scramble. Take your time. Eventually you will come out to a small talus slope below the ledge that is the crest of the pass. Pick your way along the edge of it without your pack on. The last 30 feet, the top ledge, is the toughest part, so be careful, take your time. These little passes on the north-south mountain ridges can be very windy so hang on when you get on top. It's about 11,700 feet elevation.

From the pass you can see the tops of the Weber, Bear, Provo and the Duchesne river drainages. Enjoy the view of Middle Basin and then walk the boulder field down to McPheters...then thru the tundra down to Ryder and all the numbered lakes nearby. BR18 is the biggest, BR17 has the best fishing IMO. The interconnecting streams are fun to fish too. The flowers are out of this world and you are surrounded by some of the coolest-looking peaks in the High Uintas; Agassiz, Hayden, A-1, Ostler and Spread Eagle.



When I walk back out I tie my pack to the rope and slide down the face of the mountain on my butt....boy, don't let the pack get behind you. :?

Make sure you leave a detailed itinerary with the family before you go. And go on a weekday; life flight helicopters are cheaper then.

.


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## gdog

.....the 8.5 mile hike in from Christmas Meadows might be the "easier" route.


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## wyogoob

gdog said:


> .....the 8.5 mile hike in from Christmas Meadows might be the "easier" route.


Yes, a lot easier. The shortcut turns an over-nighter into a day hike.

There are much easier ways to access many of the drainages in the Uintas than the traditional method of starting at point A walking to point B and then retracing your same route on the return trip back to the car. When I was lake-bagging the Uintas I seldom came out the way I went in. I would make a loop hike, many times having a friend or relative move my vehicle to another trailhead.

I always wanted to go into Naturalist Basin, fish some, and then go over the top above LeConte into Middle Basin, fish the basin and come out at Christmas Meadows. It would be less elevation gain, quicker, and you would hit more lakes versus the Christmas Meadows round trip thing. Never did it because I'd been in those basins numerous times and there were plenty of lakes I hadn't been to yet, lakes I needed to "bag".

Here's Catherder and I up at LeConte. That's Mt Agassiz far right in the picture. There's a nice saddle northwest of LeConte that goes right down into Middle Basin above BR-19.



So the heck with staying on the trails above treeline, just pick you own way from one drainage to another.

.


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## wyogoob

Geezus, that Catherder is one fishin' SOB. 

.


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## wyogoob

Hey, here's A-1 Peak. I'm sneaking around trying to find a quick way into Kermsuh....uh, my story anyway.



Kermsuh is part of Middle Basin and it's a tough, steep, hike up to it out of Christmas Meadows. Well worth it though.

.


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## Catherder

wyogoob said:


> Geezus, that Catherder is one **** SOB.
> 
> .


There, fixed it for ya. ;-)

I remember when we were at Leconte and you showed me that pass. It still looked like a pretty steep hike to me. Maybe the fishing in Naturalist basin was so good that I couldn't imagine the fishing in the BR basin would be worth the burn of that hike. (Or maybe I'm too lazy and out-of-shape)

BTW, my office manager and her husband went to Naturalist basin this weekend. They were essentially rained out once they got there. Mushrooms probably aren't far behind up there.


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## wyogoob

Catherder said:


> There, fixed it for ya. ;-)
> 
> I remember when we were at Leconte and you showed me that pass. It still looked like a pretty steep hike to me. Maybe the fishing in Naturalist basin was so good that I couldn't imagine the fishing in the BR basin would be worth the burn of that hike. (Or maybe I'm too lazy and out-of-shape)
> 
> BTW, my office manager and her husband went to Naturalist basin this weekend. They were essentially rained out once they got there. Mushrooms probably aren't far behind up there.


Yeah, I can see the afternoon thunderstorms up there from Evanston. There's been some good ones this past week. :sad:

.


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## wyogoob

Middle Basin is as far away as you can get on the Bear River from the Great Salt Lake.

The upper reaches of the Stillwater Fork of the Bear River offer excellent fly fishing in a wide-open and uncrowded setting.



The red arrow points to the pass above LeConte Lake in Naturalist Basin.


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## Catherder

What is the most remote basin you've been to in the Uintas? That middle basin of the Bear looks like it doesn't get visited very often, but I suppose there are more difficult areas yet. 

Is that where you go for the ptarmigan?


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## wyogoob

Catherder said:


> What is the most remote basin you've been to in the Uintas? That middle basin of the Bear looks like it doesn't get visited very often, but I suppose there are more difficult areas yet.
> 
> Is that where you go for the ptarmigan?


what's a ptarmigan?

.


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## Kwalk3

wyogoob said:


> what's a ptarmigan?
> 
> .


I think it's a kind of wolf indigenous to Utah. It's very photo shy though so not many people know about them.;-)

Top of the Page!


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## wyogoob

Catherder said:


> What is the most remote basin you've been to in the Uintas? I'd say Ashley Creek on the South Slope and then just over the mountain from Ashley, Carter Creek, on the North Slope. And not too many people get up to the top of Lake Fork either. That middle basin of the Bear looks like it doesn't get visited very often, but I suppose there are more difficult areas yet. It is a long way back to Middle Basin but it is surprisingly popular.
> 
> Is that where you go for the ptarmigan? What is a ptarmigan?


see red


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## wyogoob

Catherder said:


> What is the most remote basin you've been to in the Uintas? .........................................


The 60s lakes in the Little East Fork of the Blacks Fork are probably the least visited. I forgot about that area.

There's others, single lakes mostly, but I forgot the names of them ;-).

.


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## GaryFish

Thanks for nuthin' Goob. All these pictures and half the dang Wahhsatchhhe front gonna be up there thanks to yu dang hotspottin'! Sheesh Man!.


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## wyogoob

GaryFish said:


> Thanks for nuthin' Goob. All these pictures and half the dang Wahhsatchhhe front gonna be up there thanks to yu dang hotspottin'! Sheesh Man!.


20 years ago, maybe....today; it's too far to walk.

Besides, half of da Wasatch front is in Wyoming all summer.

.


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## wyogoob

Hey, do ya thin it was OK to put the semi-colon after "today" in my last post?


For Kriste's sake, my "k" key is broke.

.


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## wyogoob

GaryFish said:


> Thanks for nuthin' Goob. All these pictures and half the dang Wahhsatchhhe front gonna be up there thanks to yu dang hotspottin'! Sheesh Man!.


If I was hotspotting I wouldn't have this thread in Fly Fishing....uh, why is this thread in Fly Fishing?

.


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