Red Castle - Day 2

Red Castle Peak as seen from the bridge near the trail Junction.

Look to the upper right for a Topo Map of the trip.

	Black line was the actual path taken.
	Black dotted line is the trail we shortcut
	Blue Circles are actual campsites

-----> Itinerary / Plan <-----

	Click here for an elevation graph and summary table for selected landmarks.
	To the left is a map of the exact course we took.
	Click here for an aerial photo of the greater Red Castle area.

Day Two

All Topographic maps on this page are:

Red Castle Peak and Lower Red Castle Lake

	The morning began in a rather ominous tone, with dark clouds swirling over the high peaks and thick fog surrounding the basin, each one taking turns. At about 8:30am it all burned off leaving us with perfect weather - sunny with a few clouds and about 50 degrees. We ate, packed up, and continued back down the trail (north) about 15 minutes to the East Fork Smiths Fork Trail Junction where we made a right, walked over a solid bridge (one of the few you will see in the wilderness area), and continued south and south-east. The view south into the upper reaches of the drainage is impressive, with a large stream-fed meadow as the foreground. Very pretty.
	The trail continues through intermittent forest and small meadows, generally climbing gradually for about 90 minutes. The maps over which I had scoured indicate a trail junction below Mount Powell right in the main part of this drainage - the trail in question apparently comes from the north as a shortcut from the East Fork Smiths Fork Trailhead. I saw none although Tim thinks he did.
	From the east now, Red Castle looks massive but less imposing than from the north and west. East Red Castle Lake is nestled right below the eastern talus slope of Red Castle. This lake is about a 10 minute walk west from the point at which treeline is reached. The trees begin to show signs of distress, stunted and gnarled at this 11,300 foot elevation. We did not see that lake but continued for about another 10 minutes to Smiths Fork Lake.

Northern view of the East Fork Smiths Fork Drainage at 6:45am.

Sunburst over Lower Red Castle Lake and Mt. Powell.

Red Castle Peak in early morning.

Red Castle Peak as seen from the bridge at the trail junction.

Smiths Fork Lake/Pass & Yellowstone Basin

The below southwest-facing panorama shows Smiths Fork Pass at the left, Smiths Fork Lake in the middle, and the east face of Red Castle Peak at the right.

The terrain from here on up is quite rough with rocks strewn about everywhere. The wind had picked up and now was blowing hard, maybe gusting to 30-35 mph. Thankfully it was still sunny. We snacked above the lake and continued on, pushing to crest 11,900 foot Smiths Fork Pass. On the way up I took two very good pics of Tim hiking below me. He was feeling like I felt the previous day - tired.

The pass, located on the Uinta crest which stretches 150 miles east-to-west, is smooth and large. It looks like a small sub-division could be built on it if it were not for the fact that the nearest road is about 13 miles away. The Uintas are the only east-west arranged mountains in the continental US. In fact, the only other east-west range in North America is the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. So, this pass led us to, what else, beautiful views of the north and south slopes, with East Fork Smiths Fork to the north and the upper reaches of the Yellowstone Drainage to the south. The east side of Wilson Peak is visible to the west.

From the pass we headed south into the Upper Yellowstone Basin, connecting with the Highline Trail in about three miles. Half-way down the gentle slope (if going up this may not seem too gentle in some spots) Kings Peak and South Kings Peak make their appearance to the east. The 2,500 foot slopes riddled with huuuuuuge cliffs end on the relatively flat basin floor - this makes for an impressive vista. Our trail continues west (right) on the Highline Trail while the trail we were just on continues down into the Yellowstone Drainage for about another 13 or so miles until A trailhead. Our objective is North Star Lake, high in Garfield Basin to the west. So, after filling up at the stream near the junction, we head west to Tungsten Pass.

It takes about an hour to reach Tungsten Pass. On the way we encountered a very wet area on the shelf just below the pass. This was September so in mid-summer this place must be very hard to get through without getting wet. Not to mention the swarming with mosquitoes...

Tim, hoofing it up to Smiths Fork Lake.

Tim, hiking above Smiths Fork Lake. Red Castle Peak is on the left while Bald Mountain is along the middle horizon.

Tim, trudging up to Smiths Fork Pass with Mt Powell looming in the distance.

From left to right along the far ridgeline, Kings Peak and South Kings Peak.

South Kings Peak, Yellowstone Basin.

Upper Garfield Basin, Tungsten Lake & Pass, and North Star Lake

	Tungsten Pass, as compared to other passes in the Uinta's, would be considered to be among the "minor" variety. While there exists no steep ascent or descent to the 11,500 foot pass, the views are still A-1, albeit different than others. What we saw when looking into Upper Garfield Basin was extreme desolation - no trees, no bushes, just short grass and rocks. Lots of rocks. The peaks surrounding this basin rise no more than 900 feet from the two main lakes that exist here - Tungsten Lake and North Star Lake. This pass cuts through a minor ridge that begins at Wilson Peak, travels south through Tungsten Pass and up to Yellow Peak. As such, I believe Upper Yellowstone Basin and Garfield Basin are both part of the Yellowstone Drainage.
	Ten minutes below the pass lies another trail junction, that of the Highline Trail which we were on, and the Garfield Basin Trail, arriving out of, where else, the lower reaches of Garfield Basin. There is a weathered sign here, propped up several rocks. It is 2:45pm so we decide to push on to North Star Lake, just another 45 minutes west.
	By now the wind was really blowing and must have been gusting up through 40 mph. Our thought was to find a place out of the wind. The problem was, there was no place out of the wind. Without a tree for several square miles, there was nothing to block it. We walked up to North Star Lake and happened upon a table built of rocks about 20 feet from the shore. If it had not been windy we would have stopped as it looked comfortable. We pressed on to the south western shore where there was about a 10-12 high 200 foot long foot moraine surrounding it. We set up camp below that moraine and near the shore. Thanks to Tim, we tied down the tent and hoped for the best.

Tim, descending Tungsten Pass, with Tungsten Lake below. North Star Lake, the geographic center of the Uintas, lies 45 minutes above Tungsten Lake. 12,300 foot Porcupine Pass is visible just left of center along the horizon.

Campsite on Day Two. The shore was encrusted in ice the next morning due to the near hard freeze and blustery conditions. It may look tranquil, but it was cold and very windy.

Lower Garfield Basin. Five Points Lake lies to the right and out of the shot.

Another view of Lower Garfield Basin.

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