Friday, February 18, 2011

Run/Hike Kings Peak?

I've been thinking that it would be a ton of run to do a two day running expedition with minimal supplies. One of the places that sounds fun to do this is King's Peak. This may be naive of me. I really don't know what King's Peak is like. So I'm going to do a bit of research and document it here.

Notes

  1. Jupiter Steeplechase is 3000 ft elevation gain over about 8 miles (375 ft/mile)
  2. King's Peak (the Henry's Fork route) is about 4100 ft elevation gain over about 16 miles (257 ft/mile)
  3. The above two assume no elevation loss on the way up, even though that's surely false. You get the idea...
  4. Cold up at the top. Could even have some snow.
  5. Need to look into altitude sickness, just to be sure. Sounds like the peak is high enough for it to be a concern.
  6. Super busy during July-August
  7. upper parts of the trail are usually covered with snow from mid-November until mid-July. The most pleasant time for the climb is late August, when the days are still relatively long but the meadows have dried out and the mosquitoes have abated
  8. From greatoutdoors.com: "Sudden storms with violent lightening can brew up at any time (as noted in the story), so be prepared. Snow is possible all months of the year, though least likely in August. The evenings are very cool throughout the hiking season. Wild flowers begin their show in late July and are quite spectacular."

Articles & links for reference

  1. Map
  2. Here is a good article describing hiking King's Peak from the North.
  3. Peakbragger info on King's Peak
  4. Summit Post info on King's Peak
  5. Wikipedia on King's Peak
  6. Travel journal of hiking King's Peak
  7. Interesting background on the Uinta Mountains
  8. Matt Heart running King's Peak and some more vids of the same.
  9. Dave and Ab hike King's Peak and talk with someone who ran it
  10. General info on the Henry's Fork approach to King's Peak
  11. Excerpts from "Utah's Incredible Backcountry Trails" about King's Peak
  12. Crazy dude that did King's Peak in snowshoes in one day
  13. Cool blister treatment stuff
  14. This guy ran/hiked King's Peak in October 2010. Took him about 4 hours up, 3 down. He said he hit snow at around Gunsight Pass. He wore what warn-looking tights, looks like layered long-sleeve shirt, but no jacket, nice warm gloves. Probably there was more gear not in the pics, but that gives you a rough idea of the temp.
  15. Greatoutdoors.com - King's Peak Lives Up to it's Name
  16. Trip repot from some guys I know

Notes from talking to my Aunt Linda & Uncle Blaine

  1. aug 15
  2. elk horn crossing washed out - rebuilt, should be okay now
  3. henry's fork
  4. 3 hr drive from slc, through evanston
  5. weather more important than crowds
  6. usually astormy during hike all year
  7. watch out for lightning
  8. water? - filter or iodine pills. will need to filter it (sheep/horses/people, etc)
  9. pack light? - 30-35 lbs. need extra clothes, gloves, hat, raingear
  10. they did 3 days
  11. saturdays are the crazy days. best if you can avoid sat. friday too. maybe start on saturday and go through sunday?
  12. not a lot of vertical first 10-12 miles
  13. once you go from about 10-11, then there is a lot of vert
  14. lots of false summits (5?)
  15. everything takes a little longer than you would think
  16. class two after anderson pass (the rocky part)
  17. want to have a light shell pant. wear tights/shorts? then put on shell if needed.
  18. everwhere they ever backpack, it always rains. if stuff gets wet, it gets very cold. be prepared.
  19. freeze dried dinner. granola, power bars, beef jerkey, etc. tuna packets. salmon packets.
  20. trail isn't all that well marked.
  21. stay away from dollar lake area. beautiful, but crowded and trashed. toilet bowl.
  22. altitude: they never had a problem. worry more about it if you are ascending fast. eat and stay hydrated. gu and stuff.

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