JULY 2008
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| POND NEAR SPREAD EAGLE PEAK |
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| MEADOW BETWEEN BLACK LAKE AND LIGHTNING LAKE |
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| HELEN LAKE FROM ABOVE |
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| ROSALIE LAKE |
Rock Creek Basin takes a bit of effort to reach, but it is definitely worth it. It is one of my favorite places I have ever visited, and I would love explore it further some time. I began my hike at the Highline Trailhead located along the Mirror Lake Highway, and hiked approximately seven miles before camping the first night in a meadow near Olga Lake. As I was hiking in July, the mosquitoes were horrible. While everything is greener in July, I have since decided to avoid backpacking the Uintas until late August to avoid the mosquitoes. I decided to camp near Olga Lake so that I could enter Rock Creek Basin the next day for a day hike without my backpack. I decided to hike the Lightning Lake loop trail and was blown away by the scenery. After descending Rocky Sea Pass, the trail will take you through a meadow and then slowly fade. You will need to follow some cairns before getting back on the trail which then remains strong the rest of the way to Lightning Lake.
This is a very pretty trail which begins by following a creek through the thick forest. You will pass by several picturesque ponds before and after reaching Brinkley Lake. In order to reach the next lake, Black Lake, you will need to take a marked trail about a quarter-mile off the main trail. This minor detour is worth your time. Just past Black Lake the trail will fork and you will need to decide whether to stay left and head for Gladys Lake or to stay right and head to Lightning Lake (among other destinations). The trail loops, so it doesn't really matter which way you take.
I chose to turn right and head to Lightning. This was a very pleasant trail which passed by some beautiful meadows and through thick forest. The trail then climbs steeply just before reaching Lightning Lake. This is a beautiful lake which gives you a pretty good view of the entire basin. Just above Lightning Lake is Helen Lake. From Lightning Lake the trail climbs steeply up to a long meadow above the timber line against the side of mountain. From here the view is incredible. It is now an easy walk over to Gladys Lake. When I got to Rosalie Lake there was a large moose feeding near the shore. From Rosalie it wasn't far to Marjorie Lake and Uintah Lake. This was a very beautiful area. These lakes are all located in the corner of the Rock Creek Basin and had snow melting into them from the surrounding mountain sides.
It was at Uinta Lake that I saw the only people I would see in the Rock Creek Basin that day. There were three brothers headed to Marjorie Lake with their backpacks planning to spend a couple days. They said that the Marjorie/Rosalie/Uintah Lake area was their favorite part in all the Uinta Mountain Range. They also made me aware of a primitive trail leading straight from Uintah Lake to Rocky Sea Pass, marked fairly regularly with cairns, that saved me a lot of time.