We recently completed a 50 miler in the High Uintas.  We started at the Uinta Trailhead outside of Neola and Roosevelt Utah and hiked up the Uinta river, up and over to the Chain Lakes, then to Lake Atwood, then on to Kings Peak and Painters Basin, Then back to the Uinta River canyon, and out. It was a fantastic and challenging hike.

Day 1: Here is our crew at the beginning of the hike, energized and ready to go.

Entering the High Uintas Wilderness.

Day 2: We stopped to fish at the 4th Chain Lake. The fish were basically jumping out of the water and grabbing the lure midair. Even I could catch fish at this lake. Wow.

Then we got absolutely dumped on in the middle of a lightning storm as we made our way over the pass and into the Atwood Basin.

Then the weather mostly cleared up for the day and we enjoyed some beautiful scenery on our way to Atwood Lake.

Day 3: We hiked over the pass out of Atwood Basin and into Painters Basin. Then on down. It is an incredibly wide basin. We made camp, lightened our packs and headed for Kings Peak.

Here we are at the top!

Then back down to our camp, where I pumped water on my meditation rock.

This was a lovely place to camp, with an incredible view.

Day 4: Working our way back down via the Uinta River trail, with lots of water crossings and some more rain.

As we got into the canyon, there was hardly a trail on this steep hillside.

Then we got into an area where the river dropped down into a sheer walled gorge, with the trail up on a shelf above for several miles. We found a nice place to camp with fresh spring water and a soft forest floor.

Day 5: Final hike out. Interesting bridge over a river crossing.

And mission accomplished. Everyone made it back safe and sound, with only some sore ankles and a few blisters. Proud of these boys and the Bishop for all their teamwork and effort they put into this hike.

All told, 48 “trail” miles with around 8,000 feet of total elevation gain — but this was a solid 50-miler for sure.

I was asked to share some thoughts in Sacrament Meeting about the 50 miler trip. Follwing is the talk I put together.

Uinta 50 Miler YM Trip Talk

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters.

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to help lead our Priest’s on a 50-mile backpacking trip in the High Uintas. Growing up, I did several 50-milers myself. Those experiences were incredibly formative—they taught me how to push through hard things, how to respect the power and peace of nature, and how getting away into the mountains can reset your perspective.

But this time, I got to experience the 50-miler from a very different angle—as a leader.

Let me tell you: it’s an entirely new kind of challenge.

From the beginning, we wanted to do something special. We evaluated a few different locations and eventually settled on Kings Peak—the highest point in Utah—via the Uinta River Trail. This route would be very close to 50 miles in total. To lighten our loads, we initially planned to bring pack horses along. That meant several Wednesday night activities with Brother Bell, where the young men learned how to handle horses, saddle them, care for them, and ride with them. I was impressed how quickly they took to it.

As a trial run, we did an overnight practice hike up Maple Canyon and into Dibble Canyon. We brought three horses. One of them—Socks—was not a fan of water. He and one of the others were terrified of the creek crossings. But the real drama came at the end of the trip. Socks flat-out refused to get into the trailer. We tried everything—carrots, pulling, coaxing, removing another horse to make more room. We even backed the trailer up to a slope so there was no step. Nothing worked.

Finally, we looped a rope through the trailer and hooked it to my truck. Slowly, carefully, we began to pull. Socks resisted with everything he had. In the struggle, his hind leg slipped under the trailer and got a nasty scrape. Brother Bell was heartbroken. He loves his animals, and it pained him that Socks couldn’t understand we were trying to help.

Watching this unfold, I couldn’t help but think of Mosiah 3:19:

“For the natural man is an enemy to God… unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit… and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him.”

Sometimes we’re like Socks—digging in our heels, resisting the very thing that would bring us to safety and healing, because we don’t understand or trust the one guiding us.

After that experience, we were genuinely unsure about bringing horses on the actual 50-miler. We prayed about it, researched the trail, and talked to others. One friend at work told me that they attempted the same route several years ago, but one of their horses broke its leg and had to be put down on a tricky section between Chain Lakes and Atwood Basin. That really gave us pause.

In the end, we decided not to bring the pack horses. It meant everyone had to carry their own gear and food. We had to plan carefully—enough calories to sustain us, but light enough to carry.

Finally, after all the preparations were complete and the time had come, we hit the trail Monday morning. Brother Frandsen joined us for the first couple days and brought and rode a mountain qualified horse he trusted. We hiked up the Uinta River Trail, crossed at Sheep Bridge, and climbed to the Chain Lakes where we camped that night. Beautiful spot.

Tuesday, we slept in a bit and had a lazy morning. Eventually we strapped on our packs to our sore hips and shoulders and headed out. We fished at the 4th Chain Lake—amazing fishing, or I should say, amazing catching. These fish practically jumped out of the lake and caught our spinners mid air. Incredible. But storm clouds rolled in and we had to hustle over Roberts Pass. The heavens opened. Cold rain, lightning, slippery rocks. Then after the downpour, the sun returned and it was a glorious afternoon.  We made it safely to Lake Atwood and found an old camp site likely used back in the early 1900s.

Wednesday, we packed up, said goodbye to Br. Frandsen, and climbed out of Atwood Basin, and crossed into Painter’s Basin. We dropped our gear at a new camp and headed out with just the essentials to summit Kings Peak. We were worried about the weather. As we made it to Anderson pass, the storm we were hiking through broke, and we could see clearings in the distance. We decided it was safe to make a summit to the peak. It was a hard push and required a lot of scrambling over boulders and loose scree, but every young man made it. As a leader on the trip, it was a joyful moment to see the last members of our group crest the final ridge and arrive at the peak. I’ll admit, there were more than one time I was unsure if we were all going to make it!

Thursday, we followed the Uinta River down through multiple creek crossings and bogs. The trail would disappear, and we had to look up and search for cairns—rock markers placed by others to guide the way. You had to keep your eyes up and look for the bigger picture. If you only looked at your feet, it was easy to wander off the trail.

That felt like another gospel metaphor to me. Life is like that—if you only watch what’s immediately in front of you, you can lose the trail. But if you pause, look around, and counsel together, you can find your way again. Thinking Celestial is just like maintaining that bigger picture, and helps elevate our perspective above what’s immediately in front of us.

Later that day, the trail descended into a canyon. Fallen trees, steep slopes—it would’ve been impossible for a horse without some serious on the spot trail clearing. We were grateful that Brother Frandsen went back the way he had come, and we were grateful we didn’t have several pack horses with us. We found a beautiful camp near a spring on a wide forest bench above the river.

Friday, we hiked the final stretch back to the Sheep Bridge, and down to the trailhead. The cars were still there, they started—tender mercies! Then, like all good hikes, it ended with a big burger in Roosevelt before the drive home.

It was a hard hike. Packs were heavy. Feet were sore. But the young men rose to the challenge. They looked out for each other. They eased each others loads. Prayers were offered. We enjoyed morning and evening devotionals. We were spiritually fed.

I think that’s the gift of these trips: they strip away distractions, they stretch you, and they help you see more clearly what matters. It’s hard to not think Celestial.

And sometimes… they remind you that it’s better to follow the Shepherd into the trailer than to fight against the rope.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.