This is a very significant event in my life. I have always loved hiking and in my youth thought I had hiked the highest mountain in Utah (Timpanogos) and it wasn't until I married Jared that he informed me the tallest peak is actually in the Uintahs some 100 miles away...Kings Peak. When Jared purchased some pack goats 4 years ago and trained them to carry things for him on backpacking trips, I thought it might just be possible for me to do a 3 day backpacking/hiking excursion. This year Jared and I both felt 2026 was the "now or never" year. Pioneer day fell on a Friday which gave me a 3 day weekend so the date was set, and we went on half a dozen training hikes this year to prepare.
Day 1 Friday July 24
We woke up at 4 am and got our pre-packed backpacks and goatpacks loaded in Jared's truck (mind about 25 pounds, Jared's about 35 pounds). I packed some sandwiches for the road and we went to the farm to get the goats; Jared had rigged a nice enclosure in the back of his truck for the 3 hour 15 minute drive to the trailhead. I thought I'd be able to see some kind of mountain int he distance and get hyped up to summit it, but you drive plateaus for miles and never see a peak. Kings Peak is just one of several mountain hills in a ginormous Uinta Basin. (I didn't see what we were hiking until we got to the lake.) First checkbox, find a parking spot at Henry's Fork. Thankfully we managed to squeeze the truck into a spot not far from the trailhead and I said about 5 prayers of gratitude for that because as we supposed there were a hundred other hikers/campers there on a holiday weekend. The weather was perfect, we got on the trail at 8:30 am this first 8.1 mile hike was fun, thrilling and beautiful. The river we hiked above was glorious and the goats did great! We stopped about after about 5 miles to eat and rest. Lots of people had the same idea as us and were on the trail, I was nervous about finding a camp spot. We arrived at the lake about 1:15 pm and walked around a bit scouting a spot. Jared found a great one were we had a level place to pit the tent and trees to high-line the goats. I was very thankful despite the fact it was only 20 feet away from 2 college girls' camp site and I felt like I was being watched all the time. The spot to the north of us got filled too and it was only 15 feet away. By the end of the day we were surrounded but still checkbox 2, find a good camping spot, was accomplished. I just had a hard time finding a place to go potty in the woods without an audience. Jared went fishing at the lake and I stayed at camp trying to recover from the stress of the week on top of a push-hike to claim a spot. I took a nap even though it was pretty hot! The anticipation of hiking to the summit the next day didn't make for a restful night, especially sleeping on the ground either hot or cold. It rained in the night and I was jolted by the sound of thunder now and then. Hard to breathe too, maybe allergies? I took a benadryl but could not fall asleep. At 1:00 am I was finally dozing off when a helicopter literally circled the lake and landed in the field next to our campsite. Jared jolted awake and put on his shoes to go out and investigate. He was out there for almost 25 minutes, didn't have his phone got disoriented and had to call my name to find our tent. I was awake and nervous the entire time he was gone. Apparently 2 hikers got lost and dehydrated and called serve and rescue and the helicopter dropped them off at their campsite at Dollar lake. Glad they are safe and found I guess. Took another hour after that for me to fall asleep, even had some mini panic attacks, then we got up at 4:30 having to potty. 4:45 am both of us were awake and ready to start this summit hike. We didn't come this far just to come this far!
Jared boiled some water and we at oatmeal in the dark and packed a day backpack--water, electrolytes, lunch, first aid kit, and rain gear. No fires allowed this year. We left the goats at the campsite in the shade on the high line and got on the trail at 5:45 am to go 5.5 miles and 3500 feet elevation gain. I carried the pack for the first 2 miles but Jared carried it the rest of the time. Jared's back was hurting and his legs cramping up. I was too hyped up that I was actually hiking the summit to care much about my pain or that I was doing this on only 2 hours of sleep. We set a pretty good pace. The first 3 miles a lot of elevation gain but not too difficult. Beautiful views of the basins and sunrise and great weather. The next 2.5 miles was SO difficult! Endless fields of boulders, sometimes straight up. I was glad I had done some pull-up training, literally puling myself up the mountain face like a rock climber. Scrambling boulders in the heat for 2 hours. It was hard to find the trail but the hundred other hikers there would give us hints of where to go. It was just Uintah plateaus as far as the eye could see. A few lakes and rivers and some pines. So breathtaking. Jared had to lay flat to rest his back at one point poor guy.
The last 40 minutes was the worst. The oxygen was thin, I was panting like a dog, fighting for my life to stay anchored on those cliffs of boulders. They just kept going and going. We would see cliff outcroppings thinking that was the peak but NO just more boulders for eternity! Finally the top, many people there but we got some good pictures of us with the wood plaque. I kissed the highest stone. We sat up there and ate tuna salad, crackers, and chocolate covered pistachios. It was a nice moment! Full of adrenaline and dopamine--we did it!!
My feet were in for a brutal beating on the decline, in weird angles anchoring to the side of the mountain. And we were trying to hurry before the storm hit. We didn't want to be on the plateau or peak with the thunder and lightening coming. We managed to skirt around one of the boulder fields on the way back, took us about .5 miles out of the way but worth it. We hurried but the last 3 miles was in the rain. We put on our rain gear and glad we packed that. Some people didn't make it to the summit because it was hailing on them. We got to the camp about 2:30 pm right when the rain stopped and I was BEAT. Slept for an hour while Jared filled our water bladder with lake water and filtered it into our now empty electrolyte bottles. We had a pleasant time by the lake while Jared tried to catch a fish and the goats grazed. I was really sore walking back tot he tent from the lake (uh oh how am I supposed to hike 8 miles tomorrow?) Jared is so tough. We made mountain house meals for dinner and had a lovely conversation. The weather was so nice. Forced myself to stay awake until 9pm so I'd sleep well. I did sleep better but still struggled to breathe (I'd taken the time to pack my nose rinses and everything, so annoying). Thank goodness for my "She-wee" I didn't have to leave the tent to pee.
DAY 3 Sunday July 26
We got up about 6 am and took our time eating breakfast. Our neighbor campers cleared out before we did. We said a prayer and acknowledged it was Sunday and thanked the Lord for keeping us safe. It was a chore packing everything up but we make a pretty good team. Bugs were minimal, we did it all by the text book and the conditions couldn't have been better! Left Dollar Lake about 8:15 am. Jared estimated it would take 4 hours to get back to Henry's Fork and our truck. Another 8.1 miles to hike! With the heavy pack on my back and with shin splints, blisters, and bruising I was a lot slower and Jared had to stop and wait for me a lot. Each step was painful. Once I acclimated to the pain I enjoyed the hike. Sang hymns if we were the only ones on the trail. I was completely alone sometimes with Jared so far ahead I couldn't see him or the goats. He needs to go at a pace that's comfortable for him. At one point he attempted to carry his and my packs (mine on the front) but I was too worried he couldn't see the trail and would trip and fall. You always have to watch your feet when hiking. Especially on that trail that has the MOST boulders I've ever seen. He was very sweet. I love Jared very much and am so thankful for his help, encouragement, cheers, and compliments. The goats like my slower pace. We stopped at mile 5 again to eat by the river. I want to etch that river into my mind forever, so pretty, clear and swift. Even though it was painful and going back didn't have the same awe it did for me coming in, I'm thankful for my Sunday hike. I pushed my body to its limits and am please with what I can still do. Even though we couldn't go to church I felt very spiritual in all that nature. We got to the truck at 12:30 pm. I stumbled in and took off my hiking boots straight away. Got the goats hydrated and loaded and were on our way home! Probably the only time in my life I'll do that amazing, difficult hike so I wanted to record it all.
