85 miles on the Uinta Highline Trail including Crater Lake and a Dinosaur: July 26 - Aug 1, 2020

Janice said:
It must have been thrilling to see that fabulous dinosaur fossil - I love your photos of it! I wonder if other people have ever stopped long enough at that exact spot to see it and realize what it is. Thank you for including the picture of the assembled skeleton - that is really cool.
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It was a thrill for sure..by pure coincidence I was just standing there eating my freeze-dried dinner looking at the rock when I realized what it was.
 
Perry said:
What an amazing trip! I, too, have had a fascination with Crater Lake. I had been wondering if there was a reasonable route up from the lake to the saddle to make an attempt at summiting Explorer Peak. I’ve spent many hours on Google Earth investigating. With your excellent pictures it looks to be pretty much cliffed out. Would you agree?
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I'm sure it could be done - with a buddy and some technical climbing gear, AND experience with such climbs. I was really scoping out that entire side of the Basin looking for a doable route over to the other side into Rock Creek Basin and wisely decided against it being by myself with 2 dogs: it would be a very technical climb for sure.
 
Nick said:
Doesn't look like Tokewanna or Wasatch to me. Where exactly was that photo taken? If I had to take a guess, if that was really shot from the Oweep side, it looks more like this unnamed peak: 40.779852, -110.549259. GE flattens out the features of the peak a lot, but the foreground features line up perfectly.

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Hmm, the foreground peak/ridge is missing a few cliffs on the right side from the photo I took. Here is another close-up photo. This peak caught my interest because of how it loomed above and behind the ridge, peaking over the top like it was looking down at me.
I am not techie enough to give exact coordinates, but I do know it was in the upper Oweep basin as I headed West, after Squaw Pass and before you climb out of the basin towards Lambert Meadow. Looking at my topo and the angle of the view I saw it on the trail the only Peaks that are prominently higher than the forground ridge and adjacent peaks would be Wasatch or Tokevanna..but this area was new to me, and I was just a lonely backpacker out there enjoying the reveree.. :cool:
 

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Born to Hike said:
Hmm, the foreground peak/ridge is missing a few cliffs on the right side from the photo I took. Here is another close-up photo. This peak caught my interest because of how it loomed above and behind the ridge, peaking over the top like it was looking down at me.
I am not techie enough to give exact coordinates, but I do know it was in the upper Oweep basin as I headed West, after Squaw Pass and before you climb out of the basin towards Lambert Meadow. Looking at my topo and the angle of the view I saw it on the trail the only Peaks that are prominently higher than the forground ridge and adjacent peaks would be Wasatch or Tokevanna..but this area was new to me, and I was just a lonely backpacker out there enjoying the reveree.. :cool:
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I 100% guarantee it is exactly the peak I'm suggesting. No chance it's Toke or Wasatch from over there. The 3D version of a sat image loses TONS, especially vertical features like cliffs, but when you can line up so many perfect matches, there's just no way it's coincidence. I'd bet anything on this.

Also, it's Tokewanna with a W. No V.

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The Uintas keep getting bumped by the GYE, Winds, or shorter drives in CO for me, but I think I'm gonna need to change that soon. Great trip report.
 
Having experience with dogs on backpacking trips, I no longer do more than a day or two with mine. I've seen unintentional accidents and injuries to dogs and it can not only ruin your trip, but might put your dog in danger. We were just finishing up a three day trip with our dog in tow and we ran across some people on horseback with their two dogs. They had already done about 200 miles on the CDT and one of their horses stepped on one of the dogs and broke it's leg. They had no choice but to turn around and head back into the nearest town to get their dog taken care of. And God forbid, if your dog gets injured and you have to carry it for any length of time. Been there and done that as well.
 
Nick said:
I 100% guarantee it is exactly the peak I'm suggesting. No chance it's Toke or Wasatch from over there. The 3D version of a sat image loses TONS, especially vertical features like cliffs, but when you can line up so many perfect matches, there's just no way it's coincidence. I'd bet anything on this.

Also, it's Tokewanna with a W. No V.

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I better go back to have a closer look. :D
 
dalezjc said:
Having experience with dogs on backpacking trips, I no longer do more than a day or two with mine. I've seen unintentional accidents and injuries to dogs and it can not only ruin your trip, but might put your dog in danger. We were just finishing up a three day trip with our dog in tow and we ran across some people on horseback with their two dogs. They had already done about 200 miles on the CDT and one of their horses stepped on one of the dogs and broke it's leg. They had no choice but to turn around and head back into the nearest town to get their dog taken care of. And God forbid, if your dog gets injured and you have to carry it for any length of time. Been there and done that as well.
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I'm a country boy and live in an area close to a wilderness where Mountain Lions have been seen out my back door and where I have seen the largest Cat in my life 1/2 miles from my back yard while trail running. My dogs are for a purpose not just for pets but also for protection and companionship at home and in the Wilderness. They are well trained (they even go off the trail to poop :) ) and physically fit to handle extended back country trips. The black lab pictured here (a very laid-back gentle dog) stopped a charging moose in its tracks recently while hiking: while everyone scrambled to get out of the way he stoically stood on the trail facing the charging Moose: the lab did move a muscle, or bark or whine but his entire body language was "if your coming after my human friends, you have to come through me first" (I wish I had that incredible scene on camera). Those few moments allowed the rest of us to get out of the way and move to a safe distance, keeping us AND the moose safe.
These loyal dogs carry their own food plus extra supplies (sometimes luxury items) when needed and do extremely well, and are themselves happy as a kid in a candy store being out in an environment they naturally fit so well in. If they could talk I am sure they would tell us that they live to be outdoors with their human companions and in a heartbeat would risk injury of any kind, and if allowed would go out even with a broken leg in tow.
As for me the benefits far outweigh the risks having the dogs along..also I would not hesitate to empty my pack to carry out an injured dog. Fortunately, these days technology (the Garmin InReach) most likely would allow other rescue arraignments to be made.
 

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Wow! That is a trip of a lifetime. I appreciate your Crater Lake pics. They are awesome! I've been wanting to go there for a long time. But age and health issues will probably prevent me from going back in that far now to see it. But I can do the next best thing and experience it from your report and pics. Thanks.
 
Rockroller said:
Wow! That is a trip of a lifetime. I appreciate your Crater Lake pics. They are awesome! I've been wanting to go there for a long time. But age and health issues will probably prevent me from going back in that far now to see it. But I can do the next best thing and experience it from your report and pics. Thanks.
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@Rockroller I totally get it! Hope your health continues to improve. A horsepacking trip maybe?
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Great Trip Report and Photos!.
Always amazes me how a photo from a slightly different perspective provides unique details of the landscaoe. Just passed through Crater Lake and Lambert Park. Weather this year is much wetter than the last two years. Though the last time through Ledge Lake, August of '21 got a few inches of snow when completing the High Line Route. Very few make it to Divide Lake, though I have always seen many elk in this area.
Great Pictures of the dino fossil. Based on the geology, I would guess this would have been above Ledge Lake. Let me know my guess is correct as someday I would like to see this rare find. Thanks again for sharing.
 
That fossil is super awesome. Would love to find something like that. Guess I'd better keep looking!
 
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