9/1 - Day 1: McKee Draw to East Park Reservoir (4.48 miles, +1150' / -340')
9/2 - Day 2: East Park Reservoir to Manila Park (7.94 miles, +1385' / -539')
9/3 - Day 3: Manila Park to Leidy Peak TH (14.05 miles, +2420' / -1244')
9/4 - Day 4: Leidy Peak TH to Sharlee Lake (14.13 miles, +2122' / -2450')
9/5 - Day 5: Sharlee Lake to Painter Basin (19.2 miles, +3186' / -2775')
9/6 - Day 6: Painter Basin to Paradise Lake (17.65 miles, +3291' / -3285')
9/7 - Day 7: Paradise Lake to Ledge Lake (11.96 miles, +2804' / -3110')
9/8 - Day 8: Ledge Lake to Hayden Pass TH (14.49 miles, +2657' / -3138')
Day 0-1: SMF to DEN / Logistics & Travel
Travel logistics can be the hardest thing when planning a short point-to-point thruhike like the UHT, especially if you’re tackling it as a group. Luckily, with Cromwell in Salt Lake City and Julian in Denver, the trailhead situation worked itself out quite nicely.
On the east side, (1) Barney and I would fly into Denver, then (2) Julian would drive us to McKee Draw TH (trail start).
On the west side, (1) Cromwell would drive from SLC to Hayden Pass TH (terminus), then (2) take a shuttle to meet us at McKee.
Upon trail completion at Hayden Pass TH, we’d (1) take Julian back to McKee via Cromwell’s car, then (2) head back to Denver and Salt Lake City, respectively.
Pre-trail travel went as planned. Mountain Trails Transport based out of Vernal, were professional, very communicative, and punctual. For a relatively affordable $200, they shuttled Cromwell to McKee Draw by noon-ish, where he waited for me, Barney, and Julian to arrive.
Flying over the Sierra Nevada. Snow on the peaks still in September!
Food preparation on Julian’s kitchen counter.
The McKee Draw Trailhead has no water spigot or trash service, though there is a pit toilet. There were several RVs camped with their OHVs, but there was easily enough space to tent camp if needed. At the trailhead parking itself, there was one other car (per Cromwell’s shuttle driver, they were also on the UHT). Note, there was also a significant amount of broken car glass in the lot, and we did notice a vehicle on cinder blocks (stolen wheels) near the trailhead turnout, so beware. If you need water, there’s a stream (Cart Creek) about 1/4th mile on the UHT that had good flow. We hit the trail at about 4-5:00 PM.
Day 1: McKee Draw to East Park Reservoir
(4.48 miles, +1150' / -340')
The short hike to East Park Reservoir was a great warmup after long airport queues and longer car rides. This section is best described as cows, cows, and cows. Cow pies were everywhere, and distant 4x4 engines (ATVs, trucks) could be heard & seen across the water. Be sure to filter properly.
With the wind picking up and gusting 20-30mph, we decided to camp in the treeline.
Looking south to East Park Reservoir.
Cromwell’s budget Naturehike Taga 2, setup among tree blow down. The treeline would provide great cover for the intense wind gusts that night.
Day 2: East Park Reservoir to Manila Park
(7.94 miles, +1385' / -539')
Barney crossing Lonesome Meadow.
Though this first section from McKee to Leidy Peak is typically described as a dry section, I saw dozens of sources saying that Manila Park reliably has water. The shuttle driver also confirmed this, and gave us the exact coordinates of the stream (40.80710, -109.63172). Once you hit Manila Park, following the treeline south and you’ll eventually hit it.
Stream at Manila Park.
With two of us coming from sea level, and me being sensitive to elevation, we intentionally planned for an easy first 3 days in order to acclimate. I hike in the Sierra often and I know that I need 3 days @ 9,000’ - 10,000’ in order to start tackling 12,000’ passes. Manila Park is located perfectly for this and it breaks up a potential large water carry.
Sunset over Manila Park.
Day 3: Manila Park to Leidy Peak/Highline TH
(14.05 miles, +2420' / -1244')
Another very easy day, with very gradual and steady climbs. The trail was relatively well marked and we did lose it several times, but never by much. The weather was foggy with occasional light drizzle, so I wore my Montbell Versalite (pit zips open) for most of the day. We played leapfrog with one solo hiker who was also doing the UHT.
Highlights include the view of Leidy Peak from Trout Creek Peak and the giant meadow of Summit Park.
Much of this first section looks exactly like this.
Looking toward Leidy Peak from the Trout Creek Peak area.
A moment of hot sunshine as we crossed Summit Park. We found deep (cow) puddles in the meadow, if you’re in a pinch for water.
Our initial plan for this day was to camp at Hacking Lake. When we made it there by 3:00 PM, it was filled with cars, OHVs, and RV campers. People were blasting music, and it was just too crowded for our taste. We opted to fill up water, then walk back to the UHT.
We ended up setting up tents near the Leidy Peak TH just as it started to rain. The dirt road trailhead (off of FR043) had half a dozen or so vehicles parked at it (lowest clearance vehicle was a RAV4), and we had a group of 3 UHT’ers, plus two hunters, camping in the vicinity. This would be a good UHT start point if you choose to skip the McKee Draw section of the hike.
Waiting out the storm. The sun peeked out for a moment at sunset.
The rain turned into an all-out storm by midnight with intense winds, cracking thunder, and hail. The falling ice rattled droplets off the interior of my Zpacks Plex Solo, causing condensation to drizzle down on my sleeping bag. It was loud enough to keep me awake, but I managed to keep dry and warm with occasional wipe-downs of my single-walled DCF tent.
A stormy night in my Plex Solo.