Friends, John & Mary, texted us from Big John Flat on Tuesday night . . . they were trying to entice us to come up and camp with them. They said the temperatures were lovely and they even had a cooling rain shower or two. After seriously mulling it over for an evening, we decided it probably wasn't worth it to load everything up for one night . . . in retrospect, we wished we had! Instead, we decided to drive up for a day and return home that evening. Not that this was a bad thing . . . but camping in the low 50° temperatures has a certain kind of appeal . . . especially when you step out of your truck, at home, and it's 105°!
 |
| We were treated to a beautiful sunrise as we headed up I-15 . . . it does pay to get up early! |
 |
As we headed north, towards Beaver, we kept an eye on the clouds . . .
Could this be the first signs of monsoonal moisture for southern Utah? |
 |
Heading into the Tushars . . .
One of the many does we saw in the high country meadows |
 |
After visiting with John & Mary, at their camp, we loaded into their ATV and headed for Twin Lakes
Along the way, we crossed Merchant Creek . . . as pretty a creek as you'll ever see!
(Kent tried fishing here, but to his amazement didn't even get a bite) |
 |
| Parry's Primrose . . . is usually found growing along streams |
 |
Shortly after crossing Merchant Creek, we parked the ATV, and began our trek to Twin Lakes
There are no trails into the Lakes, but we made good time on the ascent when we came upon an old road |
 |
What a pretty spot!
This is the first lake . . . Mt. Holly can be seen off to the East |
 |
Here's a panoramic shot of both lakes
(Click on the picture to get an enlarged format) |
 |
We often come across wildlife cameras on our hikes . . . but have never seen anything like this!
The DWR prohibits trail cams on public lands from July 31 to Dec. 31 . . . their reasoning is
this helps to level the "playing field" for big game animals during the hunting seasons
This camera was seized by The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources on November 23rd |
 |
| Kent fished both of the Twin Lakes . . . there were no signs of fish |
 |
| Colorful rock near the lake |
 |
After enjoying the Lakes, it was time to head back to the ATV . . .
It was refreshing to be in the mountains with temperatures in the 60's |
 |
Almost back to John and Mary's ATV . . .
It was so nice of them to transport us around the on mountain roads |
 |
We enjoyed a lunch break back at Big John Flat . . .
Keeping our eyes to the sky, as the clouds begin to build |
 |
After lunch we began our hike to the West Fork of Merchant Creek . . .
It was thundering, off to our east, as we headed down the trail |
 |
Kent is showing Mary the Bosman Trail System map . . .
Yep, it's looking like monsoonal moisture is going to get us! |
 |
After a short hike, we came to a beautiful meadow that is bisected by West Merchant Creek
John and Mary are anxious to see Kent hook a trout |
 |
| It didn't take long for Kent to feel a tug on his line |
 |
Brook trout
Small, but still fun to catch! |
 |
John and Mary . . .
We sure have enjoyed some good outings with them over the years! |
 |
Kent was really surprised to pull a Bonneville Cutthroat trout out of the creek
(One of his most favorite fish to catch!) |
 |
The sky was rumbling on our hike out and we got pelted with hail . . .
After dodging storms all day, one finally caught us . . . thankfully, it didn't last long |
 |
Shelly Baldy Peak
Is it any wonder that the Tushars are one of our favorite mountain ranges?
|
What a great outing! The hike into Twin Lakes was about three miles (r/t) with only a little over 200 ft of elevation gain. The trail to West Merchant Creek was about half a mile (one-way) with just about 300 ft of elevation loss . . . that's right you have to climb back up, out of the valley, to get back to the trailhead! (John & Mary enjoyed this stream so much, that they headed down with their fishing poles the next morning.) Don't miss out on getting into the Tushars this summer!
