Red Castle Lakes

I love having a list of places I want to visit. The list is pretty long but I don't feel pressure to cross stuff off fast. The cool thing is that I live in Utah and there are so many amazing things to do right here. I love it! Last year when I was googling places to hike in the Uintas I came across pictures of Red Castle Lake and knew I had to put it on my list. This year for Labor Day weekend I was able to make it happen. I started the weekend by biking 51 miles on Saturday. That wiped me out for the rest of the day. Then I went to church Sunday morning and then left and headed to The China Meadows trailhead. It is a little over three hours from my house. Once we hit the dirt road I rolled down the windows and let Moki do her dog thing:)

Moki and I needed to backpack in 10 miles to Red Castle Lake for the night. It is a pretty gradual trail, you only gain 1400 ft in 10 miles. We were able to hike quite fast. Despite the heat it was very enjoyable. This was also my first ever solo backpacking trip. I knew the trail was well used so I didn't worry too much. I felt safe the entire time. It is so popular I honestly never even felt alone.

Selfie at the start of the hike.

I kept Moki on the leash because I knew it would be crowded. I am glad I did. There were tons of dogs and horses. So many dogs though. Almost everyone hiking had one. That is awesome but also a little crazy.

The views were pleasant and we made great time on the way into Red Castle Lake. We stopped a couple times so I could get water and snack but that was it. I would occasionally let Moki off to run down to the river and get a drink. There was water the entire hike which was great!

One of our breaks was at mile 8 right before the switchbacks. It was a beautiful evening. So I took some pictures.

 My new backpacking philosophy: wear a bear shirt so you won't see any bears. Worked great this trip!

After the switchbacks we started to get views of Red Castle. The sun was also starting to set so it was a gorgeous evening.

There were only a couple of signs the entire trip.

Moki and I found a nice place in the trees to camp. I forgot how cold it can get at night. i was so sweaty when I got to camp that I started to cool off really fast. I should have changed out of my sweaty clothes ASAP but I didn't. OOPS! I threw on a jacket, set up my tent, and ate. I was starving.

You can see the sun glowing on Red Castle in the background.

I was pretty tired and cold so after dinner I brushed my teeth and put away my food and headed to the tent. It was also getting dark. Moki always thinks she gets my bed, she never learns . . .

I forgot to bring a beenie. I tried to use my Buff but it wasn't really effective once I was in my sleeping bag.

I started the night off so cold but after a couple hours in my sleeping bag my body temperature rose and I was actually warm. Then I suffered through the most miserable night camping ever. Around 11pm Moki needed to go out of the tent. She had slept as soon as we got in so I figured she just needed to pee. Oh no she was sick. She had diarrhea and throwing up all night. I think at some point she ate some human feces . . . . . sickest thing ever, but it is a thing she does. It always makes her sick but she can't resist. How do I know it was human feces you ask, oh because she was throwing up poop. Yes that is a real thing. Soooooo I kept the leash on her and every 30 minutes she wanted out to try to poop. It was the LONGEST night ever. I seriously wanted to kill her, even though it wasn't really her fault. Also during the night when she was out I noticed she had some hair missing on her underarm. Her little pack had been rubbing while we hiked and she had a pretty good size bald spot. Luckily it didn't break the skin, but seriously I felt awful. Finally around 4am she started to sleep uninterrupted and so did I. In the morning when she wanted out I tied her to a tree. She sat on guard protecting me from squirrels:)

 Originally I had hoped to hike up to Red Castle Lake in the morning. We were camping at the lower lake. In the end I decided not to. I slept longer than normal because of the rough night and I wanted to make sure I was hiking out with people in case I injured myself. My legs and hips were also pretty sore. This was my first backpacking trip of the year. So we ate breakfast, packed up camp, and headed back to the car.

It was a beautiful morning!

 It was another very hot day and I was feeling very slow on the trail. The first two miles were painful. Mainly because I was sore and tired. Finally I found my rhythm and was able to speed up and hike at a better pace.

 Since Moki had a sore on her arm guess who carried out her pack . . . . yup, me!

 In he end my hiking time was the same for both days, however I took two more breaks on the way out. I decided mentally it is more tough to backpack on your own. It is easier when you are with someone who is pushing you, especially when you are feeling a little pain. Overall it was a great trip. I am really glad I did it. If I ever do it again I want to take two nights so that I can explore the area more. I think I would also camp at mile 8. It is just less time with a heavy pack and then on your rest day you can do the steep part of the hike without all the gear. I always learn things when I adventure. I wanted to kill my dog on this trip but I still love her. She really has been the best hiking companion!