Uinta Mountains > Kings Peak > Climber's LogKings Peak Climber's Log
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[ Sign the Climber's Log ]
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| Garfimi | Henrys Fork Basin  | |
| Have summitted Kings multiple times. Climbed Kings Peak in a day. That was a riot. Got caught in a hail storm and had to spoon with my younger brother to keep warm. Never had been so cold in my life. One of my greatest natural highs when I first summitted Kings when I was a little Boy Scout. Great memories and stories. Still love going to Henrys Fork Basin even though it has become very popular. | |
| Posted Dec 31, 2007 12:28 am | ||
| Bassoon | Crazy Storm Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2007 | |
| Climbed this with my uncle. We made it to the top before the big crowds and turned right around when we saw the storm heading our way- it amazed me how many idiots passed us heading up as we worked our way down the boulder field, even with our warning. The t-storm pounded us for 2 hours of the descent, but cleared up beautifully later. A great, great climb. | |
| Posted Dec 16, 2007 9:53 pm | ||
| Lubos | great fun in winter Date Climbed: Mar 23, 2006 | |
| I did the WMC cross country trip but did not summit. I need skins next time. | |
| Posted Dec 8, 2007 7:22 pm | ||
| lcarreau | Kings Peak in 1981 Date Climbed: Jul 30, 1981 | |
| In 1981, I didn't know about any moose. I was camped west of Dollar Lake with my brother, and we heard a very strange noise in the middle of the night. It was a constant grunting sound. There wasn't any other camps or people around, so we concluded it was a bull moose. Higher up around Gunsight Pass, we saw a coyote chasing a deer. This is a very special place. I would recommend that people experience this wonderful & primative area. | |
| Posted Dec 8, 2007 2:47 pm | ||
| garrisd | August '04 Summit with My Son | |
| Hiked in from Henry's Fork, camped at Dollar Lake. Just about got trampled by stampeding moose through our campsight! Summit day avoided Painter Basin and Anderson Pass by going up and over talus field just past Gunsight. Traversed cirque to top of basin and then ascended King's from normal route. Descended down talus on face of King's ("toilet bowl")and back down the way we came. Wouldn't recommend the toilet bowl. Shaky rocks and much longer route than appearance would suggest make for a less-than-ideal descent. Fantastic trip! | |
| Posted Sep 8, 2007 8:08 pm | ||
| dr_gonz | Kings Peak | |
| We approached from the Red Castle area and camped under the SW face. Gorgeous area with plenty of solitute while we were there. Did it with my dad and brother. Good times, great company. | |
| Posted Sep 4, 2007 3:50 pm | ||
| edevart | From Flaming Gorge | |
| Climbed as part of The Everett Ruess Trail. Left Hwy 44 near Flaming Gorge Res and followed the Highline Trail to Mirror Lake Highway. Kings Peak was one summit along the way. The Uintas rock. | |
| Posted Aug 27, 2007 11:28 pm | ||
| dandrew | Great Luck with the Weather! Date Climbed: Aug 24, 2007 | |
| Not a cloud in the sky the whole day!!! We could see most of the Wasatch Range from the summit. Camped near Gunsight Pass, got an early start, and were back around noon. Went down the "toilet bowl"--don't think I'll do that again... | |
| Posted Aug 24, 2007 11:15 pm | ||
| lasvegaswraith | L-O-N-G Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2006 | |
| Dayhiked via the traditional Henry's Fork route. Made great time to the summit and kinda cheated by coming straight down the chute from Anderson pass to regain the trail. I didn't think the chute was nearly as bad as many climbers say - but I didn't have anyone bombing me either... As most people don't dayhike, it was pretty lonely from Dollar back to the trailhead, but very nice. Caught a quick view of some moose (moosen?!?) and succeeded in not getting trampled! | |
| Posted Aug 17, 2007 7:08 pm | ||
| shmyers21 | Kings Peak 2007 Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2007 | |
| My wife and I were looking forward to climbing this peak all year long. It was a great 3 day backpacking trip. We took the trail the whole way to the top. We were lucky because we made it to the summit for about 15 minutes, then we were caught in a rain shower, with lightning and all. But we made it. Kings peak was Highpoint #2 for us! | |
| Posted Aug 16, 2007 7:00 pm | ||
| mntmanmike | 1st highpoint Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2007 | |
| This is my first state highpoint but will not be the last. Had beautiful weather the entire trip and saw three moose. Did the hike with my 55 year old dad and we had no problems making it to the top. Camped at Grass Lake and surprisingly didnt see another soul except when on the trail. | |
| Posted Aug 1, 2007 12:06 am | ||
| Tracy | climbed from Sawmill Lake via Gunsight Pass (16th state HP) Date Climbed: Jul 23, 2007 | |
| I climbed this one with my brother Eric (with whom I had unsuccessfully attempted it 22 years earlier from the Timothy Lakes), my brother Guy, my bro-in-law Michael Eschenberg, and 3 of my nephews (Spencer and Matthew Foutz and Zachary Eschenberg). We descended via "the Chute". | |
| Posted Jul 27, 2007 1:08 pm | ||
| paclimber | Gunsight / Painter's Basin / Anderson Date Climbed: Jul 17, 2007 | |
| Scenic climb once above tree line. Trail was relatively crowded for a wilderness area. Many animals present (humans, horses, llamas, sheep). Drizzled on us on occaision. Otherwise, a fun climb. State Highpoint #47. | |
| Posted Jul 19, 2007 6:24 pm | ||
| vanman798 | Wow Altitude Date Climbed: Sep 4, 2011 | |
| Sept 4, 2011 - Left Elk Horn crossing at 5:15 am, which allowed me to beat the Labor Day weekend infestation of Kings Peak hikers, as I was the first on Kings that day (arriving at 9:30 am). Sat on top for an hour, and still had it to myself, then I headed over to South Kings, Peak 13,306 (2nd Gemini), and Peak 13,387 (1st Gemini aka "Painter Peak"). Back tracked to the saddle between 2nd Gemini and S. King, and desended into Painters Basin and would never make that mistake again! After 15 hours I was back at Elk Horn Crossing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ July 24 - 27, 2008 I did a solo trip to the Henry's Fork basin during which I climbed five peaks over 13,000 ft in 2 days. King's peak was the fifth of the five. I must admit to having summit fever as I climbed this peak during a classic High Uintas summer afternoon rain and lightening storm. I have never felt static in the air so strong, as it buzzed between my ski poles on my backpack. Near the peak the rain turned to grauple. When I lifted my camera to take a self-portrait the static nearly shocked me, and I thought for sure it had burned out my camera. Needless to say I was very much in fear! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First time was September 2, 2006.  What a beautiful area. I walked to the base of Gunsight pass, and camped next to a lake there. Was up early next day and on my way to the peak, and didn't see anyone else until I got over the pass and into the basin. I was on top before the crowds arrived. Read my trip report. | |
| Posted Jul 16, 2007 4:27 pm | ||
| osatrik | Dollar Lake / Gunsight Date Climbed: Jul 7, 2007 | |
| There are several nice camp sites along the trail between Dollar Lake and the turnoff to Henrys Fork Lake. We stay at one of them rather than among the plentiful sites around the lake -- a short hike to water from the upper reaches of Henrys Fork. Holed up in tent for nearly three hours due to thunderstorms, which were strong the previous day, too. So we started early from Dollar Lake on summit day, alas no rain this day! The scree slope return from Anderson Pass did not look that appealing, so we opted to return via the Gunsight Pass ascent route. I didn't find the scramble from Anderson to the summit nearly as entertaining as some evidently do -- just tedious. About 20 summited this day; we were unable to find a summit register. Number 43 of my 49 state high points, about #10 for companion Dan L and about #30 for Richard. The approach (and departure) are an endless 6+ miles of barely 200 ft/mile, but the upper Henrys Fork valley is undeniably scenic and the main trail offers numerous nice vantage points well above the valley floor. | |
| Posted Jul 16, 2007 3:26 pm | ||
| Dave K | Anderson Pass Date Climbed: Jun 17, 2007 | |
| Very fun and easy climb. We ditched our backpacks at the pass and 45 fun minutes later we were at the top. | |
| Posted Jun 20, 2007 3:53 am | ||
| LonePeakFreak | Great Mountain Date Climbed: May 25, 2007 | |
| Really enjoyed this mountain. Lots of water, mud, and snow in the basin this time of year. Incredible views from the summit and a nice glissade down the chute from Anderson Pass. Long trail but well worth the effort. | |
| Posted May 27, 2007 11:11 pm | ||
| boisedoc | crowded Date Climbed: Jul 2, 2004 | |
| Any thoughts of solitude were ruined by a huge group of boyscouts but still pretty nice. Overall, however, I was a bit disappointed with the Uintas in comparison to other western ranges | |
| Posted Apr 7, 2007 2:31 am | ||
| The edge | HP #44 Date Climbed: Aug 13, 2003 | |
| At the end of a solo raod trip with my Westfalia... Just because I received a call from Montreal that encouraged me to continue onwards and finish my set goals... Thank Tiger for the call... you don't even know how great that felt!!! Soloed it on a two days span... From Dollar Lake..to the top... very early just before lightening started coming... It was a good thing I was off the summit just 20 minutes later... bad weather came in...!! Six to go!! | |
| Posted Mar 14, 2007 4:14 pm | ||
| weeds19 | Wonderful Wilderness Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2002 | |
| We had a great time on our 3 day trip to Kings. The scenery is spectacular and the hiking isn't too strenuous. The High Uintas is my favorite spot in Northern Utah. | ||
| Posted Jan 27, 2007 5:09 am | ||
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