My dad and I head out for a trip each year, just the two of us.  The past couple years we’ve planned to head into the Uintas but make last minute re-routes when the forecast inevitably begins projecting two feet of wet snow.  So, we’ve ended up walking desert canyons the past couple years, chewing carefully to keep the sand-crunching to a minimum.  If there’s a breeze in the Utah desert it’s pretty much impossible to keep sand out of whatever’s cooking.

This week the forecast called only for a little shot of cold-n-wet and so we decided to pack for 15-degree nights and finally go for a walk together in the Uintas.  Allison and her dog Rudy hiked with us for the weekend then headed back to the M-F grind while we trucked on.  With the exception of a couple snow/rain/hail squalls, the weather was awesome with sunny 50 degree days that gave to clear frosty nights.

The literal high point was a walk up snow-dusted King’s Peak.  At 13,528′ it’s the highest choss pile in the state.

As always, it was great to catch up with my dad and also to spend a week on the loose in the wilderness without passing even one other group.  As we drove away from the trailhead, dark clouds began to circle in from the west as the first big snowstorm of the season approached.  Perfect timing.