Duchesne River Overlook and Big Elk Lake

September 1-2, 2019

After spending the first half of Labor Day weekend in the Henry Mountains, Chris and I headed into the Uintas for an easier, more relaxing trip. We left my house on Sunday morning with me in my Jeep and Chris following in his car, since we would be closer to SLC and he would have a much shorter drive home once we finished the trip. We left his car at the mouth of Rhoades Canyon where it joins Wolf Creek and he hopped in with me. Our initial plan was to beeline it up Rhoades Canyon toward Lightning Ridge, but on the way up Rhoades Canyon we began spotting some arborglyphs, or carvings in aspen trees, and spent a lot of time walking around just off the road and searching for interesting tree carvings.

This tree is the shit
This tree is the shit

Kokopelli
Kokopelli

Ken Moon, heardng cows, fall 2011
Ken Moon, heardng cows, fall 2011

1931 carving
1931 carving

Ernest Thomas, June 1901
Ernest Thomas, June 1901

Gus & Gene, looking for goeld
Gus & Gene, looking for goeld

We drove closer to where we’d planned to spend the night but it was too early to set up camp. Instead we drove a loop down into Soapstone Basin where we found more tree carvings, including one that said “Dennis + Traci” (it even had my wife’s name correctly!). After finding a couple of geocaches, we drove back up to the Duchesne River overlook. The views were wonderful, with huge cliffs directly below us and a drop of over 2,700′ to the river below. We set up our chairs right on the edge and watched the sun set, then started a campfire and enjoyed some beer and dinner before going to bed.

Enviormentalists are lower than child molesters
Enviormentalists are lower than child molesters

Dennis + Traci
Dennis + Traci

Nino’s rendering of Donald Trump?
Nino's rendering of Donald Trump?

Duchesne River overlook
Duchesne River overlook

Jeep parked at the Duchesne River overlook
Jeep parked at the Duchesne River overlook

High Uintas to the north
High Uintas to the north

My sunset spot
My sunset spot

Hayden Peak
Hayden Peak

Crescent moon at dusk
Crescent moon at dusk

Our plan for Labor Day was to drive to Norway Flat and hike to Big Elk Lake. The road across Norway Flat was kind of obnoxious. It was full of rocks and boulders and required 4-low the entire way. The drive was more tedious than driving into the Maze District of Canyonlands! We finally reached the trailhead and I was more than happy to get out of the Jeep and start hiking. The hike was short with little elevation gain except for the last climb up to the lake. The dam was quite impressive when viewed from below–I can’t imagine all the effort that went into moving all those rocks. Chris and I hiked along the dam and found a geocache, then walked around the east side of the lake to the far side and found another. There were raspberries growing all along the dam and we each ate several handfuls.

Sinkhole
Sinkhole

Big Elk Lake trailhead
Big Elk Lake trailhead

Meadow below Big Elk Lake
Meadow below Big Elk Lake

Big Elk Lake trail
Big Elk Lake trail

Massive rock dam at Big Elk Lake
Massive rock dam at Big Elk Lake

Steep climb up to Big Elk Lake
Steep climb up to Big Elk Lake

Big Elk Lake dam
Big Elk Lake dam

Raspberries!
Raspberries!

Big Elk Lake panorama
Big Elk Lake panorama

View south down the Boulder Creek drainage
View south down the Boulder Creek drainage

Cliffs below Big Elk Lake
Cliffs below Big Elk Lake

We debated whether to hike up into Erickson Basin but neither of us was really in the mood for more elevation gain. Instead we reversed course and returned to the trailhead, then drove down Mirror Lake Highway to Kamas and then back to Chris’ car where we parted ways and each headed home. I really enjoyed doing two overnight trips in different parts of the state during the same weekend, and I think I’ll try something similar next Labor Day weekend.

Heading back toward the dam
Heading back toward the dam

Trail through the forest
Trail through the forest

Old road near the trailhead
Old road near the trailhead


Photo Gallery: Duchesne River Overlook and Big Elk Lake
GPS Track: Google Earth KMZ

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