LazyJSkwires - Aug 11, 2019 4:02 am Date Climbed: Aug 10, 2019
Stormy
I had gone out the week before in the hopes of summitting. When I got to the pass a giant storm rolled in and chased me away. It didn't end there because it covered the entire basin and rained and hailed for 30 minutes creating a flash flood situation. The stream crossings went from ankle high water to mid thigh and were flowing way too fast for comfort. I stayed on the opposite side coming back before rejoining the main trail.
This week went a lot better and the storm that did roll in stayed mostly in the West Fork. The trail is probably the muddiest I've seen, it's mind blowing how much water sits in those valleys and seeps through the ground. The beetle kill epidemic is real noticeable here and it's depressing to see the number of trees being killed year after year
ZeeJay - Nov 20, 2016 7:07 pm Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2016
Lovenia
9/10/2016 via EFBF and NW ridge. All stream crossings easy this time of year.
8/18/2009 My last Utah 13000 footer! Headed to this one after climbing East Lovenia. Traversed the north side of the cliffs between the two. Day trip from the East Fork Blacks Fork TH.
seanpeckham - Aug 12, 2012 9:00 pm Date Climbed: Aug 7, 2012
Clockwise loop from East Lovenia
This was Day 2 of a 4 day solo trip in which I also bagged Wasatch and Tokewanna, all from base camps in the East Fork of Blacks Fork. This was the hardest of the 4 days. I camped near the trail at treeline, and climbed East Lovenia's northeast ridge (bypassing cliffs on the face when necessary), then was planning to traverse below the knife-edge ridge towards Lovenia as the David Rose book prescribes, but luckily I encountered a couple guys who tipped me off to a class 4 sneak move up a chimney and small pinnacle for staying on top of the ridge. This was my hardest day due to doing 2 peaks and getting stronger and more acclimated as the trip went on. I came down from Red Knob pass to my tent and popped vitamin I and slept 11 hours before getting after it again the next day.
Bagged as a side trip to a five day backpack on highline trail. Went up Northwest ridge. Occasional scrambling move. Learned that day never to mix altitude with a lung infection. Great views of Uintah's gently rising landscape.
Moogie737 - Sep 1, 2010 4:51 am Date Climbed: Aug 31, 2010
Lovenia Loop
Followed ZeeJay's advice: bag 'em both if you're in the neighborhood! The one-day trip from the East Fork Black Forks TH is nothing if not demanding. With Dave. Brent & JP did East Lovenia but not Mt. Lovenia. Grappeling with the first Uinta dusting of snow for the fall season made the treacherous boulder scrambling even more challenging than it normally is.
byates - Dec 7, 2008 11:00 pm Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2005
I climbed Lovenia and its eastern neighbor as a day hike in 2004. It was along day with lots of swampy ground (in July), and difficult creek crossings. It is quite beautiful in the remote basin below the peaks.
polarjud - Aug 7, 2007 12:38 am Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2007
Mt. Lovenia via EFBF & Red Knob Pass
I took the same route as Scott in 1988. There was no snow on the way. Clouds on top. I was the only person on the mountain that day. I am 51 now and when I looked up toward the summit from Red Knob Pass, I experienced a real moment of trepidation, but I had a strong compulsion to follow through on my plans. I had just attended the annual meeting of American statisticians, which happened to be in Salt Lake City in the summer of 2007. Too good of an opportunity to pass. I had tried to find a fellow statistician to be my climbing buddy but couldn't find anyone.
I followed some of the tips in the "Utah Thirteeners" guide by David Rose. Excellent preparation.
The biggest challenge was the crumbling cliffs just shortly past the pass. Once I climbed through one of the chimneys, I thought I could make it the rest of the way. To help me on the descent, I set extra waypoints in my Garman GPS on the way up. On the way down, the batteries ran down. I replaced them with a spare set, but one of the new batteries must have been bad in some way because the unit started reporting my position very erratically. It would constantly be shifting me vertically and horizontally in every direction hundreds of feet. It totally messed up my tracks which I had hoped to follow back down. I swapped in a second pair of backup batteries. What a relief to see my position reported stably! Since the tracks were totally confused, I was very glad to have set the extra waypoints.
I had my base camp in a meadow about 10,900 feet along the East Fork Blacks Fork Trail about 8.5 miles from the trailhead. Very nice place. Plenty of water, even in a very dry year. As I drove in to the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, there were lots of signs advertising extreme fire danger, but it was very wet above 9,300 feet. Marshes were very common on the trek from the trailhead.
Saw no one the first day. I had a late start driving up from the convention. I started walking about 5:30 in the afternoon, and had to walk in the dark the last hour or so. Saw some fresh-looking bear scat along the way. Started making noise as I walked.
Saw one cowboy with sheepskin chaps the second day leading a spare horse over Red Knob Pass. Not a talkative fellow. Barely said hello.
Third day, I bushwhacked over in the direction of Tokewanna to look at some lakes. Those were disappointing, but I found a low altitude patch of snow and had fun with it. After returning to my base camp and packing it up, I was overtaken by a real friendly nut. In practice for the Utah 100. Had already run 26 miles over the Squaw and Red Knob Passes, visiting Crater Lake in between. He was looking to do 35 by the end of the day. No safety margin that I could see. Alone without rain gear, shelter, water filter, or extra food. Nice guy though. He has young children. I asked how he convinced his wife to let him go so much. He replied that she understood this was his lifestyle.
Next, I saw a large group of teenagers being led by a young woman of perhaps 28 years. I suspect that they were substance abusers who had been sent by their parents or the courts for healing via fresh air, exercise, and solitude. Remarkable woman to lead a group of 12 or so by herself as far as I could see. Maybe though one of the males was also a leader whom I did not notice.
Altogether, a spectacular 3 days and 2 nights. I'll post some pictures, too.
Route Climbed: East Fork Blacks Fork/Red Knob Pass Date Climbed: July 1988
I first climbed the peak with my friend Chris, Father (Russell Patterson), and brother Mark Patterson, but only Chris and myself made the summit. My brother turned back at Red Knob Pass, and my father turned back about 200 feet from the summit. It was a three day trip over the 4th of July weekend in 1988.
On another trip I did most of the East Lovenia to Lovenia Ridge, but bypassed the summit of Lovenia because I had already climbed it before.
LazyJSkwires - Aug 11, 2019 4:02 am Date Climbed: Aug 10, 2019
StormyI had gone out the week before in the hopes of summitting. When I got to the pass a giant storm rolled in and chased me away. It didn't end there because it covered the entire basin and rained and hailed for 30 minutes creating a flash flood situation. The stream crossings went from ankle high water to mid thigh and were flowing way too fast for comfort. I stayed on the opposite side coming back before rejoining the main trail.
This week went a lot better and the storm that did roll in stayed mostly in the West Fork. The trail is probably the muddiest I've seen, it's mind blowing how much water sits in those valleys and seeps through the ground. The beetle kill epidemic is real noticeable here and it's depressing to see the number of trees being killed year after year
ZeeJay - Nov 20, 2016 7:07 pm Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2016
Lovenia9/10/2016 via EFBF and NW ridge. All stream crossings easy this time of year.
8/18/2009 My last Utah 13000 footer! Headed to this one after climbing East Lovenia. Traversed the north side of the cliffs between the two. Day trip from the East Fork Blacks Fork TH.
seanpeckham - Aug 12, 2012 9:00 pm Date Climbed: Aug 7, 2012
Clockwise loop from East LoveniaThis was Day 2 of a 4 day solo trip in which I also bagged Wasatch and Tokewanna, all from base camps in the East Fork of Blacks Fork. This was the hardest of the 4 days. I camped near the trail at treeline, and climbed East Lovenia's northeast ridge (bypassing cliffs on the face when necessary), then was planning to traverse below the knife-edge ridge towards Lovenia as the David Rose book prescribes, but luckily I encountered a couple guys who tipped me off to a class 4 sneak move up a chimney and small pinnacle for staying on top of the ridge. This was my hardest day due to doing 2 peaks and getting stronger and more acclimated as the trip went on. I came down from Red Knob pass to my tent and popped vitamin I and slept 11 hours before getting after it again the next day.
americanswiss - Feb 24, 2011 2:39 am
LoveniaBagged as a side trip to a five day backpack on highline trail. Went up Northwest ridge. Occasional scrambling move. Learned that day never to mix altitude with a lung infection. Great views of Uintah's gently rising landscape.
Moogie737 - Sep 1, 2010 4:51 am Date Climbed: Aug 31, 2010
Lovenia LoopFollowed ZeeJay's advice: bag 'em both if you're in the neighborhood! The one-day trip from the East Fork Black Forks TH is nothing if not demanding. With Dave. Brent & JP did East Lovenia but not Mt. Lovenia. Grappeling with the first Uinta dusting of snow for the fall season made the treacherous boulder scrambling even more challenging than it normally is.
byates - Dec 7, 2008 11:00 pm Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2005
a July 4th snows stormWith Janet Craig with flurries.
utclimber - Jan 13, 2008 11:43 pm
From East Fork Blacks ForkI climbed Lovenia and its eastern neighbor as a day hike in 2004. It was along day with lots of swampy ground (in July), and difficult creek crossings. It is quite beautiful in the remote basin below the peaks.
polarjud - Aug 7, 2007 12:38 am Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2007
Mt. Lovenia via EFBF & Red Knob PassI took the same route as Scott in 1988. There was no snow on the way. Clouds on top. I was the only person on the mountain that day. I am 51 now and when I looked up toward the summit from Red Knob Pass, I experienced a real moment of trepidation, but I had a strong compulsion to follow through on my plans. I had just attended the annual meeting of American statisticians, which happened to be in Salt Lake City in the summer of 2007. Too good of an opportunity to pass. I had tried to find a fellow statistician to be my climbing buddy but couldn't find anyone.
I followed some of the tips in the "Utah Thirteeners" guide by David Rose. Excellent preparation.
The biggest challenge was the crumbling cliffs just shortly past the pass. Once I climbed through one of the chimneys, I thought I could make it the rest of the way. To help me on the descent, I set extra waypoints in my Garman GPS on the way up. On the way down, the batteries ran down. I replaced them with a spare set, but one of the new batteries must have been bad in some way because the unit started reporting my position very erratically. It would constantly be shifting me vertically and horizontally in every direction hundreds of feet. It totally messed up my tracks which I had hoped to follow back down. I swapped in a second pair of backup batteries. What a relief to see my position reported stably! Since the tracks were totally confused, I was very glad to have set the extra waypoints.
I had my base camp in a meadow about 10,900 feet along the East Fork Blacks Fork Trail about 8.5 miles from the trailhead. Very nice place. Plenty of water, even in a very dry year. As I drove in to the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, there were lots of signs advertising extreme fire danger, but it was very wet above 9,300 feet. Marshes were very common on the trek from the trailhead.
Saw no one the first day. I had a late start driving up from the convention. I started walking about 5:30 in the afternoon, and had to walk in the dark the last hour or so. Saw some fresh-looking bear scat along the way. Started making noise as I walked.
Saw one cowboy with sheepskin chaps the second day leading a spare horse over Red Knob Pass. Not a talkative fellow. Barely said hello.
Third day, I bushwhacked over in the direction of Tokewanna to look at some lakes. Those were disappointing, but I found a low altitude patch of snow and had fun with it. After returning to my base camp and packing it up, I was overtaken by a real friendly nut. In practice for the Utah 100. Had already run 26 miles over the Squaw and Red Knob Passes, visiting Crater Lake in between. He was looking to do 35 by the end of the day. No safety margin that I could see. Alone without rain gear, shelter, water filter, or extra food. Nice guy though. He has young children. I asked how he convinced his wife to let him go so much. He replied that she understood this was his lifestyle.
Next, I saw a large group of teenagers being led by a young woman of perhaps 28 years. I suspect that they were substance abusers who had been sent by their parents or the courts for healing via fresh air, exercise, and solitude. Remarkable woman to lead a group of 12 or so by herself as far as I could see. Maybe though one of the males was also a leader whom I did not notice.
Altogether, a spectacular 3 days and 2 nights. I'll post some pictures, too.
Scott - Dec 18, 2005 10:37 pm
Route Climbed: East Fork Blacks Fork/Red Knob Pass Date Climbed: July 1988I first climbed the peak with my friend Chris, Father (Russell Patterson), and brother Mark Patterson, but only Chris and myself made the summit. My brother turned back at Red Knob Pass, and my father turned back about 200 feet from the summit. It was a three day trip over the 4th of July weekend in 1988.
On another trip I did most of the East Lovenia to Lovenia Ridge, but bypassed the summit of Lovenia because I had already climbed it before.