On June 25, 2006, we hiked up to Swasey Lakes in the High Uintas Wilderness of Utah. This was the last trail we hiked in October before it got cold…actually, it had already gotten cold. But we only made it as far as the top of Long Park back in October, so I decided this could be our first hike of the summer season…but this time we would make it at least to Swasey Lakes. Well, we made it to Swasey Lakes, but, man, it took us forever to get there. We made the 5.75 mile hike in about 5 hours…I mean, that’s some good time! After we dropped down off the mountain, I swear that we walked into some Bermuda triangle. My GPS kept telling me we were .8 miles from the lake for a good 40 minutes. Every time I looked at the GPS we hadn’t budged an inch. I don’t know what happened. But we eventually made it to the lake after going cross country off the trail. We did find an informal trail the next day that followed the creek, and we took that back out. But the climb up the mountain the next day was a good hike. It didn’t gain a lot of elevation, but the gain was in a short distance, so it was really steep. But the hike was worth it. The top had great views above the treeline, and the lakes were surrounded by tall mountains. We didn’t see a single soul after the first mile, and the only car at the trailhead when we came back was a Forest Service truck. The only drawback: SERIOUS mosquitoes. I mean, Swasey Lake was horrible. Our 100% DEET was working overtime. Since this is our first summer in Utah, I really hope all of the Uintas aren’t this bad. But all in all, this was a good hike.
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