Kings: Kings Peak, Painter Basin, and Henrys Fork

Ashley National Forest

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest

(blue line, map link)

DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4

My sunny third morning started off clear enough. Once the sun started hitting the wet valley, the clouds billowed upward and filled it.

The upper valley of Yellowstone Creek before the morning sun hit it.

View down the glacial valley of Yellowstone Creek before the clouds took over.

Kings Peak (high point of Utah) showing itself before the clouds fill in.

I dallied a bit in starting in hope it would clear again. That didn't include drying the tent. Some things take far too long. I had to shake a thick layer of ice of the rain fly to pack it.

Clouds filling in (and camera fogging up in solidarity) as the morning wears on.

I found little streams higher up. They weren't any closer than what I'd collected the evening before, but would have been less climbing with the weight. They came off small waterfalls further up.

The rocky edge of the glacial valley.

I can hear more than see the tiny waterfall in the wet spots on the rocks.

Well above those cliffs and looking back over Yellowstone Creek.

The peak was still shrouded in cloud when I got to Anderson Pass. There was a jacket half covered in snow but not looking like it had been there long. My solitude was gone again as there were folks coming up the other side and the first of the trail runners were already coming off the mountain. Me: in puffy pants. Them: in shorts. It was cold! and breezy! I like to make sure my working muscles are warm enough to work properly. It's no good missing a rock because your cold muscles twitch too slowly.

Over the top and looking to Gilbert Peak.

I stashed half my gear before turning and heading up toward Kings Peak. There was a very distinctive trail at first, but it vanished pretty quickly. I was stepping on thin snow a lot of the time.

The "trail" up Kings Peak. This is a scramble and there is not trail all the way. There are multiple routes marked by cairns.

Henry's Basin to the north.

Someone seemed to be messing with my stashed gear, which was... differently disturbing from finding snowed over gear at the pass. I decided not to worry about it and got back to deciding on a path through the rocks and thin snow and wet.

Painters Basin and the Uinta River and some of that snow on the rocks.

I had hoped to go after South Kings Peak, which was once considered the high point, but it took so much time to get up just to Kings Peak that I discarded that quickly. I found a geocache! First in that county for me.

South Kings Peak on down to Mount Emmons and Lake Atwood and its friends.

Then I collected some views in long form in two groups. (Click panoramas to see them bigger.)

West. Yellowstone Creek and a little bit of Henry's Basin.

East. Painters Basin and a little bit of Henry's Fork.

I pondered the places the Uinta Highline Trail travels, then started down. It wasn't nearly as terribly long to get back to Anderson Pass as getting up. My wet gear had been kindly placed in a second plastic bag so it wouldn't get any wetter if the rain came. I'd been hoping it would dry a bit while the rain didn't come. So it goes. I packed it up including the gifted bag and headed down to relative solitude since I stuck to the Uinta Highline Trail while most people were cutting across to Gunsight Pass on a high route. There was more snowed over gear along the trail. I'd been told that people were caught by surprise by the storm the day before. (That's the one I'd been expecting and dictated my direction on this loop.)

Water reaches the surface.

That initial flat is an interesting one. I could hear water gurgling away all over, but it was all down under a multitude of rocks. It eventually comes together into a creek and flows near and on the surface. The trail roughly follows it down into Painters Basin.

The elevation change people are avoiding by using the high shortcut.

My plan was to head on down to the official junction with the Gunsight Trail before turning up again. It was questionable if I had enough time to get up and over the pass if I did that. When I spotted the lower shortcut, I took that instead. I suspected it would be drier as well as shorter. There's a lot of random ponds out there.

Junction with some extra trail in Painters Basin. Left for the lower shortcut to Gunsight Pass.

The shortcut starts off on a steep drop, then hugs the edge of the steep slope. There were a couple well used camps along the way. If I hadn't been thinking the last day would be too long, I'd have used one of them.

The way to Gunsight Pass.

Painters Basin looks like a soggy place.

Ripples in the rocks were common.

I found myself on official trail again after a big step down and just before a large creek crossing. It's amazing how much water can be so high up. I followed rebuilt trail for a nice climb to the pass.

Last look over Painters Basin.

People have been going directly down from Gunsight Pass to Henry's Fork. I elected to keep to the trail. It was again a nice slope but it collected a stream early on. Besides that, there was a small pond right at the top. Water everywhere! Except where it isn't because if you don't pay attention, you can dry out.

Heading down Henry's Fork. I got distracted from getting a picture at the top.

Unnamed pond high on the pass above Henry's Fork.

Look hard enough and there are waterfalls here, too.

View out across Henry's Basin.

Henry's Basin

Looking back toward Gunsight Pass.

I'd been told a good place to camp, but it was past my junction with Henry's Basin Trail. I wasn't interested in following Henry's Fork down that far. I got creative instead and found a few potential places. There was a tent already in the general area I was really hoping for by some rocks. I found a spot by some trees instead. I finished the evening noting that there was now a pinhole in my shoes, by the right little toe. It took a lot longer for the King Mt 1.5 than the Lone Peaks, at least partly because they actually fit. They almost lasted an acceptable number of miles before that first hole. The soles were superior except that they were looking a bit worn and changing colors in some spots. I would consider getting more pairs. Great to know now that the 2.0 have come and gone and Altra have replaced them with nothing.

same trip, next day ⇒


*Wasatch 2022 photo album*




©2022 Valerie Norton
Written 25 Nov 2022