OCTOBER 2008
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| GRANDADDY LAKE |
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| BETSY LAKE |
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| MOHAWK LAKE |
The Grandaddy Basin is a very large basin with many large lakes. It is a very flat area which makes for pleasant walking between the lakes. Reaching the Grandview Trailhead requires a six mile drive up a fairly steep dirt road, but I was easily able to make it in my Corolla. Once you arrive at the trailhead, you are nearly at 10,000 feet elevation, which makes makes hiking into the basin relatively easy.
A three to four mile walk through Hades Pass will take you to Grandaddy Lake (the largest natural lake in the Uintas). After reaching Grandaddy I traveled west to Betsy Lake and Mohawk Lake. I then continued down the trail to Fish Hatchery Lake, Pine Island Lake and Lily Lake. These are all beautiful lakes. Once at Pine Island, storm clouds began to fill the sky and I heard thunder in the distance. But I had my poncho, so I decided to run up to Governor Dern Lake and Pinto Lake before heading back.
It started to rain pretty hard on me at Governor Dern and Pinto, so I started walking quickly down to Rainbow Lake and Lost Lake. On the trail from Lost Lake to Betsy Lake I recommend you take a detour over to Shadow Lake. Shadow was one of my favorite lakes I saw that day. On my way back out through Hades Pass, the sky got really dark and I began to get hailed on. Not wanting to take my Corolla down a steep and muddy dirt road I decided to run the last three miles back to the Grandview Trailhead.
I visited Grandaddy Basin the first week of October. A snowstorm was forecast for the Uintas the day after I visited, so figured it wouldn't be very crowded. Mine was the only car at the trailhead, and I'm pretty sure I was the only one in the entire basin that day. The Grandaddy Basin is a popular place to backpack, and I can see why. It is an extremely flat basin, and there are many large lakes located within close proximity to each other. Because I was hiking so late in the year, I decided to day-hike it. I hit 12 lakes in 15 miles of walking. I was hurrying through the basin passing from lake to lake, but it would probably be better enjoyed if you could spend a couple nights in it relaxing and exploring the various lakes located off the main trail.