Backpacking to Red Castle

Another post where pictures pretty much say it all.

Backpacking.

Red Castle Lake in the High Uinta Mountains.

Jason, Eli, three teenage boys from the neighborhood, Talia, Zion and me.

Let me tell you, eight people plus eight large packs plus a mid-sized dog makes for one crowded car!

We left on our adventure two days after school started.  Our family has never been particularly committed to school attendance when high-quality education in the wider world is an option, but I felt pretty guilty taking three other kids out of school too.  Eli and Talia assured me that almost nothing happens during the first week of school.

But hey, lots happened for us!  One of the young men in our congregation (Tak) approached Jason earlier in the summer asking if Jason would take him backpacking to this place he had researched--Red Castle.  When Jason brought it up, I thought it was a great idea, assuming Talia and I could come along.  Thanks for the idea, Tak!  Sometimes a little outside encouragement makes it easier to muster the time and planning required to make a trip like this happen.  Plus, Jason really misses hanging out with the youth.

Personally, I was delighted to have this extra time with Talia before she headed off to BYU the following week.

While we provided a packing list, some of the guys brought some interesting extra items, like a beaver skin hat...

...and a toilet seat.  If you count both John and Zion, I suppose we had ten in our party.

Red Castle Lake was more than ten miles in from our starting point at China Meadows, making this the longest backpacking trip I've ever been on.  Everyone managed the trek well, but Tak was the speediest by far.  From left to right in this picture we have Magnus, Eli (hidden), Theo, and Tak.

A long journey, but totally worth it.

Zion couldn't have been happier.  He raced back and forth between everyone in our party, easily covering twice the distance.

You don't really see any large formations until you arrive when suddenly you understand where the name Red Castle comes from.  Stunning.

We found a great campsite at Lower Red Castle Lake and explored the Middle and Upper lakes the next day.

There was even a nearby stream for keeping our perishables cool.  Just don't ask Jason how the eggs turned out...

Three of the teens brought poles and were super excited about fishing.

Too bad a storm rolled in shortly after they started. 

Also, Talia might want to remove the tags from her sweatshirts.  Although, I'm pretty sure this one came from NomiAnn's closet in Omaha, meaning that the tag could have been there for decades.

Good thing I packed ponchos!

Magnus was prepared too.

Beautiful skies after.

The boys caught a fish that needed to be brought back to camp and safely stashed in the stream for safe keeping.  Having hiked so many miles the day before, Talia and I were plenty happy to turn back and relax while the gents carried on.  We named the fish Jerry.  By the time we got back, Jerry was kind of smelly.

We also saw a moose!  We spotted others in the distance near the lake as well, but this was the best photograph.

Meanwhile the boys hiked hard.

Everyone was hungry for dinner that evening.  Except for the fish--they'd lost their stomachs and their appetites.

Having added another 10 miles to our hiking tally, we all slept well that night.

A horseshoe for good luck on the trail home the next day.

Thank you Jason...

Thank you Talia...

Thank you Eli...

...and thank you Red Castle for sharing your beauty.  A couple days of school are easily forgotten, but this was an experience we'll remember forever.