Having been blessed with the opportunity to see many wonderful places in my long life, there has too often been one common problem with many of these experiences. Often enough, I have been alone and saddened by not being able to share them with those near and dear to me.
This story is about one such place, but with a happy ending. I led a "family expedition" back to experience it again!
Photo: Lower Rasmussen Lake on the West Fork of the Whiterocks River
- Note: An observant reader may note a similarity between this picture and my Steem profile ... š
Background Story and the Setting
In honoring the loss of my father a number of years ago, I had taken a memorable trip alone into the mountains sometime before this one. For years, I had considered a hike into a particular part of the West Fork of the Whiterocks River. When I finally had the opportunity to carry it out, it was an unforgettable experience.
The picture you see above is a result of that trip. I was very happy with it and, at a glance, the memories it brought back to me. It ended up as a 4-foot (122 cm) wide backlit LED picture on the back wall of my office!
In appreciation for the excellent work done to create this LED picture, I wrote one of my earliest Steem posts about its creator - Business Review: Great Maker of Backlit LED Pictures. In it, you will find more to the background story behind this picture.
The High Uintas are a mountain range on the border of Utah and Wyoming. They are the highest mountains in the state of Utah.
The Whiterocks River is one of the major drainages flowing south out of these mountains.
- Note: For fans of the old movie "Jeremiah Johnson," starring Robert Redford, the cabin scenes along the river were filmed on the banks of this same Whiterocks River much farther downstream from the pictures which follow.
Up into the High Country
Hearing from me how memorable my first trip had been, my son and daughter took time off of work to join me in reliving this special memory. That meant a lot to me.
As was the case with me and my father, some of their best memories of time with their Dad has been up in the mountains with me, away from it all. So no arm-twisting was involved. They were excited to do it!
To get to the area in these pictures involves driving up a fairly well maintained gravel road much of the way up into the upper reaches of the Whiterocks River. The final stretch though is 5 to 6 miles on rugged 4 X 4 road. Thankfully, my little Ford Ranger was up to the task.
This rugged road ends at a beautiful little stream flowing down out of the lakes in the basin above. Hiking up into these lakes was our objective.
Photo: Hiking begins cross-country to Cirque Lake
Hard to put into words the wonderfully peaceful and liberating feeling of setting off once again, after so much anticipation of getting to this point.
No trail to follow. We simply started up into the forest and made our way through it in whatever way seemed best.
We were soon up near the treeline at about 10,000 feet in elevation.
Photo: Hiking up near the treeline.
On up into the high country we go!
Hike to Cirque Lake
Cirque Lake sits high up in a little basin right at treeline. On the way there, we hiked up past the beautiful lower Rasmussen lake.
Photo: Lower Rasmussen Lake looking northeast.
When you are in the high country, you can never be sure of the weather. Rain or even snow (I've been snowed on in July ...) can come up in a hurry. At this point in our hike, we were a little leery of the sky, but thankfully the weather turned and we didn't have any rain.
There was a slight breeze. Just enough to keep the mosquitoes at bay and keep us pretty cool with the exertion of the climb. In many ways, it was perfect weather.
Photo: Up into the basin holding Cirque Lake
The "road less traveled" can often be challenging, as seen above. That really, though, is part of the magic. Climbing through rocks like this, you just need to take it slow and easy and enjoy it.
Our destination was up and to the left in the picture above, into the little basin holding Cirque Lake.
Photo: The old man leading the way
Once across the big rock slide, we still had a steep climb higher still. Definitely a test of conditioning!
Photo: We made it!
When you've never actually seen a place before, the reality can sometimes not live up to the expectations. In the case of reaching Cirque Lake, that was definitely not the case. It was very, very nice.
So peaceful there and not yet having seen anyone else, we enjoyed a great time there, eating our lunch and soaking it all in.
Photo: Looking Northwest across Cirque Lake
Once leaving Cirque Lake, the outlet is a picturesque little stream gurgling its way down the mountainside.
A short distance downstream from the lake, we were blessed to find a nice little waterfall. At the time of year we were there, the flow of water wasn't high, but it was still very nice nonetheless.
Photo: Standing at edge of falls downstream from Cirque Lake
Down below the falls, the stream meanders through a nice little meadow. We walked across a thick carpet of grass and moss matted together over the rocks below them. While the mat sagged under our weight, it never gave way. It was a special treat to walk on it.
The little meadow ended and, after a short distance back into the forest, emerged to flow into another little meadow, but with a small lake at the end of it.
Photo: Serene little unnamed lake downstream from Cirque Lake
Down below this little lake, we were finally seeing where the stream was going to flow into the Upper Rasmussen Lake.
A little upstream from it, though, we ran into a magnificent sight. When out in the mountains, it is always very nice to see big game in its natural habitat. In these mountains, there isn't anything bigger than a bull moose.
In the lead, I suddenly heard something across on the other side of the stream. I alerted the others to hold up and listen and look carefully. Wow! It turned out to be a bull moose!
Thankfully, it was far enough away to not be a real threat, as moose have no fear of humans. This one looked our way for a bit, but ended up wandering on up into the forest on the other side of the stream away from us.
Photo: A bull moose!
After waiting a bit to ensure the moose was gone, we continued on downstream, ending up at the inlet to the Upper Rasmussen Lake.
Photo: Inlet to Upper Rasmussen Lake
There is something so soothing to my soul to listen to the sounds of a gurgling, clear running mountain stream. There were a number of wildflowers all around us nearby, although fading. We knew from past experience the best of the high country flowering season was past.
Photo: Nearing outlet of Upper Rasmussen Lake
Wandering along the side of the lake, the water shimmered from the little breeze. It was crystal clear and, although it was the middle of the afternoon, we still saw a few swirls from fish hitting the surface for food.
Photo: Outlet of Lower Rasmussen Lake
At the outlet pictured above, we took a while at this final stopping point to soak it all in. We thanked our Lord for a very memorable day and were grateful we'd made it out without any significant safety issues.
It was a relatively short time to finish hiking on downstream from there and back to our truck.
Another great memory "in the bank!" š
Bonus: Hike on Lynn Creek
Since the previous day had gone so well, we elected to stay and return the next day to hike along a little tributary of the East fork of the Whiterocks River - Lynn Creek.
There is a trail which goes way out around the main canyon down through which this beautiful little stream flows. We elected, as the day before, to just follow the stream and not worry about any trail, but make our way as seemed best.
Photo: Lower elevation found this nice little clump of flowers
Enjoying ourself immensely rock hopping down the stream, we kind of got lost in family discussions and my photo taking dropped off. I did catch this little clump of flowers.
Then ... We found out why the trail went so far up and around this canyon. Most of the trails in the mountains are designed to be as easily traversed as manageable. Not just for humans. But, often also for horses.
No way horses were coming down through here ...
Photo: Rugged country the trail bypasses
Heading into this stretch, I told my children this was a likely place to see a waterfall. Waterfalls are amongst my favorite things.
Sure enough! Not a big one, but very nice nonetheless.
Photo: A pretty little falls on Lynn Creek
The trip ended with us well down below this falls, finally ending up along the shores of the East fork of the Whiterocks River, where Lynn Creek joined it.
We had lost track of time and it was getting late fast. Leading the way, I told them we needed to make our way back out to where the trail was and I would "march us up out of here." They smiled, as they thought the old man was just woofin' ... š
Two hours later, we were back at the car. Climbing up out of that canyon, I stopped twice and not for long. Made a special trip with them all the more memorable when they let me know "you still got it Dad!," as they assured me they thought I was in as good a shape as they were.
Not likely, but a nice ending to a great trip!
The High Uintas have been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. My father used to take us out into the mountains on the north side of the divide from where these pictures were taken, to fish on streams flowing down into Wyoming. Very remote. Remarkably beautiful.
Mountain experiences are special to many of us. Along the way, on my Steem "journey," I have "met" @georgipraskov, the "man from the mountains" in Bulgaria, who is very passionate about his country and his mountains. More recently, through @cicisaja, I have learned about the postings of @himalayanwomb. I suppose we can all guess which mountains are most dear to him! š
Both are doing great work in writing about "their" mountains. Here, in this post, you've been given a little glimpse into "my" mountains. š
Probably, as well as any statement I've read recently, my Steemian friend @delishtreats said it best in a recent post:
"I feel connected with nature and this is my āsafeā place. It doesnāt matter how many problems I have to resolve but as soon as Iām in the mountains I forget them all. I can just sit on a meadow for hours and enjoy the serenity of mountains. This is where I recharge my batteries and where I feel content. My happy placeā¦"
Well said. Thank you for that @delishtreats!
Closing
There is very little that brings more peace to me than being on "the road less traveled." There are so many interesting out-of-the-way places to see, when you leave the heavily traveled "highways and byways" in life and venture out on your own.
With my children, when taking these hikes, I would encourage them to let their imaginations run free over the possibility we were seeing something no one before us had ever seen. Okay, yes, highly unlikely, but when you are on "the road less traveled," you end up in places where it is not all that hard to imagine and fun to at least think about it!
I hope you've enjoyed "seeing" this very special place in my family's experience, through our eyes. Iād love to hear any feedback you may be inspired to provide.
Until "next time," all the best to you for a better tomorrow, as we all work together to build our Steem Community! š š
Respectfully,
Steemian @ roleerob
Posted using SteemPeak and āimmutably enshrined in the blockchainā on Saturday, 24 November 2018!
If you liked this post, you might enjoy others in my "Travelogue" series:
