Blind Lake

Utah is certainly a diverse state!  One moment you're being "wowed" by the unique red and white sandstone features of Capitol Reef and in the next you can be hiking on the golden aspen clad Boulder Mountain.  After spending the night, near Singletree Falls, in a campground of a similar name, we are off to explore some mountain lakes and see if we can entice some trout to take our bait.  What better way to spend a beautiful Fall day!  We've been looking forward to this hike and are excited to hit the trail!

The aspens are glowing . . . and we're just starting down the trail!

The trail (at times) appeared to be an old road . . . 
Possibly the one they used to construct the dam, for Blind Lake, in the early 1900's

It took us about 30 minutes to reach Blind Lake (10,240 ft) . . . it's stunning!

We spotted this Osprey high up on a snag . . .
It wasn't until we downloaded this picture that we saw he was snacking on his prize fish . . .
Possibly the one Kent was trying to catch! Ha!

We were really surprised to see Kokanee salmon . . .
They change from silver to red before spawning

The perfect Christmas tree surrounded by a hillside of orange glowing aspens . . .
After spending some time fishing and soaking in the beauty of Blind Lake,
it was time to continue on down the trail to some other mountain lakes

The trail skirted by Pear Lake . . . we didn't stop to fish
(We had read that this was a shallow "dead lake" that occasionally goes dry)

The "road" became more of a trail after Blind Lake

After another mile hike we came to pretty Beaver Dam Reservoir . . .
If you want to test your vehicle's 4WD capability you can drive (crawl) here from the Fish Creek Trailhead . . .
There were a few people fishing and seeming to have good luck on this small lake

We continued on down the road for a quarter mile heading for Fish Creek Lake

Fish Creek Lake was our turnaround point . . .
After making a few attempts to lure in some nice brookies, we decided to head back for 
the solitude of Blind Lake and then head for Fish Creek later in the afternoon

Here's the size of trout you can expect to find in these pretty lakes . . .
Although, we've heard many fishermen tell us there are Arctic Grayling in the waters of Blind Lake

Back to the tranquil water of Blind Lake . . . we had it all to ourselves!

The Osprey was still sitting high on the snag . . . the fish was no more!

Kent tried a few more casts . . . no fish . . . he'll settle for some great memories

The leaves were fluttering to the ground as we passed by . . .
A gentle breeze sets the leaves in motion and the sound can be described as whispering, rustling or rain 

Looking east toward the Henry Mountains (11,522 ft) . . . Capitol Reef NP lies between us and them . . .
We hiked Mt. Ellen & Ellen Peak in 2015

This engraving caught Allison's eye . . . we better stop and see if it's true!

Kent is giving Fish Creek a try . . .
It flows out of Fish Creek Lake and Beaver Dam Reservoir a few miles upstream
(We both caught lots of small brookies, but most were only in the 6-inch range)

As we came down off Boulder Mountain we were treated to a beautiful view of
Thousand Lake Mountain (11,300 ft) . . . we really need to do this one sometime!

After a good night's rest, at Singletree Campground, we arose to this beautiful sunrise
(That's Ellen Peak - 11,520 ft - blocking the sun from coming up)

Here's an aerial view of our route, starting from the Blind Lake Trailhead (lower right of picture) . . .
From the trailhead to Blind Lake was a little over a mile with about 450 ft of elevation gain . . .
Blind Lake was the highest point along the trail at an elevation of 10,240 ft.
(Click on the picture for an enlarged view)

What a great day!  The weather was perfect and the aspens were in their prime . . . what more could you ask for?  Okay, maybe that the trout were a little more hungry!  If you're interested in doing this hike it's about 6.5 miles r/t (closer to 7 miles if you hike around Blind Lake).  Road Trip Ryan has provided directions, GPS tracks and coordinates, along with a map.  You can click here for a link to his excellent website (it's free!).

Singletree Falls

We had planned on being in Oregon this week to do some hiking around the Prineville area, but due to the many forest fires and heavy smoke, we decided to cancel our trip.  Okay, so now what were we suppose to do?  Kent quickly went to the Utah map and started looking for places that we could go for an extended weekend.  After searching, for awhile, he finally settled on the east side of Boulder Mountain . . . an area we hadn't visited in close to twenty years!  It ended up being a great choice as we were able to escape to higher/cooler ground as summer sent one more blast of heat to southern Utah . . . And the fall colors weren't too bad, either!

Is there a more beautiful road in America than Highway 12?
(This picture was taken, at an overlook, just east of Escalante and is looking towards the Henry Mountains)

 We recently purchased this oil painting from a lady who commissioned an artist to paint it from a
photograph she had taken several years ago.  She told us the old gas station was located in Boulder, Utah.
Since we are going through Boulder, we're going to try and find it!

We found the gas station!
 Today is our 37th Anniversary, we are celebrating with a camping & hiking trip

The aspens are changing . . . what a treat!

To our amazement Singletree campground was basically empty . . . 
Most sites are first come first served . . . we chose #10

Singletree Creek was flowing behind our campsite

After setting up camp, we took a drive to check out some creeks and trailheads . . .
 Kent noticed this aspen and ponderosa pine, we've never seem anything like this before! 

Hwy 12 is spectacular in itself, but the fall colors really added to the experience

Colorful aspen leaf

Pleasant Creek was fun to fish
(The Brookies we caught weren't big, but they were hungry!)

We had nice views of the Henry Mountains and Ellen Peak . . .
We hiked the Henry's many falls ago for our 28th anniversary!

Before dinner we took a hike to Singletree Falls . . . the trail starts in the campground

Singletree Creek is a pretty small stream . . . we were wondering how "good" the Falls were going to be!

Below the stream crossing, the trail quickly headed downhill

To our surprise, Singletree Falls, ended up being quite a nice cascade!

Tomorrow we will continue our Fall outing with a hike to Blind Lake.  If today is any indication, then we should be in for a real treat with the aspens showcasing all their glorious golden color!  If you're interested in knowing more about Singletree Falls, you can click here for a link to Road Trip Ryan's post.  He does a fantastic job with his website (directions, printable map and GPS tracks)

 . . . and best of all he provides it for free!

Wizard Island

Wizard Island (actually peak 9938) has been on Kent’s mind ever since we failed three weeks ago to reach this isolated cinder cone.  He has been planning different routes, putting waypoints in his GPS and having fun assembling a summit register.  He didn’t think there would be very many people (if any) who had made this hike and he wanted to make sure those few who did could log their successful trek.

So, on the last day of summer, with a 50/50 chance of thunderstorms in the area, but feeling fairly optimistic about our chances of making it to the top, we set out.  A big “thanks” to Tom who made good on his promise to help us complete the hike. What a friend . . . we can’t think of another person we’d rather have along with us!

There it is . . . Wizard Island!
Will today be the day we make it to the top??

Kent decided we should take a summit register with us, just in case we are the first ones to reach the top              We had fun shopping at Deseret Industries for suitable containers that would withstand the elements
Tom & Kent are voting for their favorite . . . we brought both along and will decide on top!

  

After battling the deadfall through the first section of forest, Wizard Island comes into view

Turkey Tail mushrooms growing on a decaying tree

Let the fun begin!
(Looking back over the chunky field of lava to the aspens we just passed through)

This is our second attempt . . .
Kent studied Google Earth and noticed a slight rift with grassy areas and decided this would be our route

Believe it or not, the lava wasn't as bad as it looks . . . yes, it was tiring,
 but when you put one foot in front of the other and keep going you'll get there!
(As Tom said, "You can actually get a rhythm going and pick a path through this stuff ")

Can you see Kent working his way through the furthest grassy area?
(Click on the picture for an enlarged view)

A columbine, growing in a pocket, out in the lava field

We are nearing the "shore" of Wizard Island!

Looking back toward Hancock Peak and the aspens where we began our hike
(It was about .6 of a mile to cross the lava field and took us about an hour)

A fire pit . . .  someone has been here fairly recently! You've got to be kidding!

The forest was littered with deadfall 

Aah . . .  the summit is up ahead! 

We are on top!
Looking south, in the general direction of Navajo Lake

Even though we came across the fire pit, it was still hard to believe that someone left a geocache on the summit!
We added our blog card to the register, hoping others might contact us and let us know of their success
(Only about five people have been here since 2020)

ShackTi1 you beat us to the top! Nice job on the geocache

He included a map that shows why we chose to call this cinder cone Wizard Island . . . 
It reminds us of Wizard Island at Crater Lake NP . . . only rather than being surrounded by water it's lava

We headed back on the east side trying to circle the entire island's rim

This arborglyph appears to be from 1905 or 1965, most likely from Peruvian sheep herders

We were totally surprised when we came across deer tracks and a scrub . . . 
How on earth did those mule deer get out here?!

A colorful Turkey Tail mushroom

Time to do some more "walking on water" as we head back into "lake" portion of the lava field
(Kind of sad knowing we'll probably never be back to this magical place)

Rain water from last nights storm

Back on terra firma . . . but this last half mile is almost as tough as the lava field
The deadfall was dreadful at times . . . it was like getting on a horse over and over

The end is in sight . . . the road is just inside the aspen tree line
(We finally cut back to the lava field and boulder hopped the last quarter mile to our truck)

Here's our route to Wizard Island . . . we overlaid our GPS tracks onto Google Earth
Pretty cool, huh!
(Click on the picture for an enlarged view)

For us, this was one of those hikes, that as you reflect back on the day, you just feel good about!  It’s encouraging to know that we can still do physically challenging hikes like this.  Time is quickly creeping up on us and we know our days are limited for adventures such as this one (all of us are in our mid-60’s).  We were certainly tired and worn out when we got back to our truck, but we wouldn’t have traded the experience for the world.

This hike was about four-miles round trip and took us approximately five hours.  Total elevation gain was only about 600 feet, but as you can imagine it was slow going over the lava and deadfall.  If you’re interested in making this trek, yourself, you can find a GPS track and topo map of our hike, by clicking here.  Thanks to Tom and his Peakbagger.com post for making this available.