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| Uinta River Route   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Utah, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 40.75320°N / 110.3592°W Route Type: LONG hike/scramble Time Required: A few days Difficulty: Up to Class 3+, but most of th e ridge is Class 2+
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| Page By: Scott Created/Edited: Sep 20, 2005 / Mar 7, 2006 Object ID: 166830 Hits: 646 Loading... Page Score: 86.25% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
ApproachFirst drive to the town of Roosevelt, which is along US Highway 40. From Roosevelt, turn north on State Highway 121. Follow State Highway 121 north to the small town of Neola. From Neola follow the road due north and eventually it curves into the Uinta River Canyon at a power plant. Continue along the main road while following the river all the way past the U-Bar Ranch and to the trailhead at the end of the road.
 
Route DescriptionBreifly put: From the trailhead (7800 feet elevation), follow the trail north along the Uinta River. After about 3 miles, you will reach a junction. You will turn left here, crossing Sheep Bridge and onto the Chain Lakes Trail. Follow the trail, steep in places to the Chain Lakes Basin. Lower Chain Lake is about 7.6 miles from the trailhead and at 10,580 feet elevation. 4th Chain Lake is two miles beyond and at 10,900 feet elevation. Any of these lakes make a fine campsite.
From 4th Chain Lake, take the trail over Roberts Pass to the Lake Atwood Basin, and then over Trailrider Pass to Painter Basin. You could follow the trail all the way to Anderson Pass, but the shortest way is to climb the SE face of Kings directly. There is much boulder-hopping, but no major problems. From Kings Peak, continue south along the ridge to South Kings Peak.
From South Kings, you continue following the main ridge south to Mount Emmons, passing over Peak 13,306; Peak 13,387 (“Painter Peak”); Peak 13,247 (“Trail Rider Peak”); Peak 13,287 (“Roberts Peak”), and Peak 13,068 (“North Emmons”). It is a long traverse and you must do it in good weather. Most of the ridge is class 2+, but there are a few short class 3 and class 3+ sections.
There are several possibilities for descending Mount Emmons, but his is probably the easiest. Descend the east slopes of Mount Emmons to a minor spur south of Oke Doke Lake. Continue on the ridge until the slopes aren’t very steep to the north. From here, you can drop north just to the east of two ponds. From there you can more-or-less follow the creek down to the area around 4th Chain Lake. All that is left is reversing the ascent route to 4th Chain Lakes and back to the trailhead.
   
   
Time Needed For ClimbMost climbers will need 4-5 days to complete the route.
Essential GearThis ridge is very long, and completely above timberline. The weather is the number one concern. Thunderstorms and even summer snowstorms are very common. Bring a good pair of boots, and a pair that won't wear out after many miles of off-trail hiking/climbing. Since this is a multi-day trip, bring full camping gear.
Proper gear?
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Uinta Mountains
