Trip Report: Hike - Ostler Peak (Uintas)
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Hike - Ostler Peak (Uintas) By Reid Gardner |
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| HIKE | 09/29/2024 | MSD |
| I had initially planned this as a day hike, but since it ended up being just the three of us, Jimmy suggested we backpack it over two days instead. We both wanted to get at least one more backpacking trip in before winter, and it made bagging Ostler much more enjoyable. We started at the Christmas Meadows trailhead early Saturday afternoon and hiked the ~6 miles to Ostler Lake. We set up camp near the lake and relaxed by the fire until it was time for bed. On Sunday morning, we started up the steep north ridge of Ostler. Loose rocky soil gave way to steep boulder fields as we worked our way up the ridge and stayed clear of the cliff bands. It was a long and tedious scramble, but we made quick work of it. Jimmy's dog, Willie, is very energetic and excellent at scrambling; we had to work hard to keep up with him! We made it from our camp at Ostler Lake to the summit in less than two hours. We enjoyed some time at the summit to get some photos and enjoy the view. The weather was excellent, but we saw smoke from what looked to be a sizeable forest fire in the distance. This ended up being the Yellow Lake fire, which had started at some point during our trip. We descended quickly, trying to keep up with Willie. An isolated cloud rained on us for a few minutes, and the sky cleared again. We ended up making it back to camp in about an hour. As we packed up camp and relaxed by Ostler Lake before starting our return to the trailhead, we turned around and saw smoke blowing in over Ostler Peak, giving the area a very ominous look. We made it back to the car a couple hours later, (keeping up with Willie is an excellent workout!) and headed to Kamas for a well-deserved meal at the Notch. The trip ended up being about 14 miles and 4500' of gain in total. |
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