Marjorie Lake (Backpacking & Climbing) July 21-22, 2017

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Weekend trips are starting to pick up. I just got back into the swing of things after being out of state for a few years. This was my first backpacking trip in a little over two years. Also, only my second time climbing in two years as well. Some of my family members and I backpacked from the Crystal Lake trail head over into Marjorie Lake. We left in the late evening but made good time. The hike wasn't hard or long either.


We got things in camp set up and had a great time sitting around the fire as the sun went down. Late that night, I pulled out my camera hoping to get some shots of the stars. I hadn't handled my camera in over two years and ended up giving up in frustration half an hour later. I couldn't figure out any of the right setting for getting some shots of the milky way. The next morning, fog was seeping across the lake as the sun crept over Haystack Mountain. We made a great breakfast, washed dishes in the lake, then packed up and hiked out to the car.



Back at the car, we grabbed my climbing gear and hiked the short distance to Cliff Lake and the climbing area up there. Cliff Lake will always be my favorite wall for meany reasons. It was the first wall I climbed on (2012) and is one of the best walls in the Uintas (my favorite mountain range).


Cliff Lake has some great views of Reids Peak and Bald Mountain. As far as climbing goes, Cliff Lake has a great range of climbs from 5.6 up to 5.10c. My favorite climbs up there remain Vulgaria (5.8) and No Woman, No Cry (5.10c).



After climbing for a few hours, we pulled the ropes and headed home. My favorite sound climbing is when the rope is pulled and it whistles and rushes through the air as it falls. I had heard that the sound is called "flossing the sky," so that is what I like to call it. Back to the car, then back home to Oakley, Utah.

A picture my good friend and photographer took back in 2014


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