The Spark
As I took shelter in a small two man tent, with my good friend Jason, the earth shattering booms reminded me of my past life where I stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy. I might have also been having a flashback where I was watching an episode of Band of Brothers with 7.1 surround sound. It's pretty much the same I'm thinking; either way I had my hands held over my head wearing every conceivable rubber thing I'd brought with me; which turned out to be my only my shoes (I know you're all going to chastise me for wearing them inside the tent and tracking in gunk but it was life or death) and the covering of Jason's GPS (I gave it back later). It was there in that tent at nearly 12,000 ft that I made a personally democratic decision to never do battle with the Thunder God again.
The road to the above situation began when Jason and I decided to climb to the summit of Kings Peak. Standing at the majestic altitude of 13,528 ft (4,123 m), Kings Peak is the highest point in the State of Utah. A little known fact about Utah is that it also happens to be my home. Therefore, we had a few reasons to experience this mountain first hand.
Our quest to the top of Utah was fairly spontaneous in that we decided to climb it only a few days before the weekend of August 22nd - 24th, but the week gave us time to research the mountain and gather supplies and gear we needed. That was the summer I refused to drive my car because of high gas prices and I was in fairly good shape from biking everywhere. Jason basically lives in the back country as a sometimes ninja sloth or a sometimes Sasquatch so he thought he wouldn't have any problems with the endurance aspect either.
During my research of the peak and the route to use to the summit I came across a couple of people that climbed the 50 state high points. I never really wanted to go back East just to climb a 500 ft mole hill, however, I was left with a longing to climb the highest peaks in the Western States, and thus began my pursuit of climbing mountains. Jason had taken a Mountaineering Class at Utah Valley University and had been bitten by the bug (more accurately a Brown Recluse Spider named Scotty) before me and so he was all about getting into the wild and summiting mountains.
The standard route to Kings Peak begins at Henry’s Fork campground and is a 28.8 mile (46.3 km) jaunt through the wilderness roundtrip. We gave ourselves 3.5 days to do it. We decided that we would have ample time to hike the distance and play with all the bambies, thumpers, and whatever other woodland creatures we might happen to run into along the way.
The Journey
We left after work on Friday, August 22nd. Jason came over to my place and picked me up in his trusty Nissan Truck. Here is the map to get to Henry’s Fork Campground:
Overall the drive took around 4 hours. The highlight of the trip was when we passed through Evanston, Wyoming and noticed a sign that read, “Kemmerer” or as we like to interpret it, “More than Kemmer” which just so happens to be Jason’s brother-in-law. Kemmer just so happens to also be the person who sold Jason the tent that we’d be using on the trip. Small world...I know.
It begins
We arrived at Henry’s Fork Campground at around 10 PM at night. After deciding we had everything we needed for the trek I picked up Jason’s large pack and into the wild we went. It was a cool August night and I had plenty of deet on my body that I didn’t notice any swarms of bugs around me. This is very important to me as my blood is precious to me. We walked for a few hours through a forest that was on a kind of hillside with a creek running parallel to us. Jason picked a nice campsite for us off the beaten path and we hung our packs in the trees (various flavors of varmints are known to chew into packs to steal food and deodorant. They apparently don't like to be stinky). I had probably the best sleep I’ve ever had in the wilderness that night which actually isn't a big deal since I rarely sleep for more than a few hours outside.
August 23rd
In the morning we were woken to what we thought was Bilbo Baggins and a troop of dwarves on their way to the Lonely Mountain. Jason and I had a moment of wonder as we slowly unzipped the tent and peeled away the flap. It turns out that it was just a scout group on their way down the 
mountain. We got up around 10 AM after getting around 8 hours sleep or so. Jason insisted that we have some hot breakfast so he whipped up a fire and boiled some water. We had some oatmeal. It turns out that the best flavor of this stuff is cinnamon and brown sugar...but it's not that great. I apologize if you love it and think it's the best thing ever but us Norwegians prefer milk and honey, but I digress.
Jason packed up the tent and I took out my machete and kept guard. I didn't like the looks of those baby scouts; even though I'm sure they didn't see us. Only a troll would camp next to a trail...or under a bridge (more on that later). The day was already hot by the time we started our romp through the wilderness. I stripp
ed down to just my shorts and strapped in.
It had been decided that since Jason had hurt his shoulder in a biking accident a few weeks before that I would "shoulder" most of the load. It's okay, I was in pretty good shape and my body didn't protest too much. It was a lovely day walking on the easy trail slowly gaining elevation. In fact it is my firm belief that if mountain bikes were allowed on this trail I could bike all the way to Gunsight pass in a few hours.
We made our first rest stop in a glade under a large tree that we named Mr. Tree. We snacked on some fruit roll-ups as a team of horses came up carrying an old man in his 80's and all his gear. The old timer was wearing what looked like a red onezee long john type getup that Yosemite Sam might wear, I nicknamed him Uncle Jeb (he also wanted to know if we played soccer). He said he was making pretty good time on his horses and that he'd see us on top. I don't even know how he knew where we were going as we basically just gave him the "nod" (greeting among mountaineers that contains 1000 words but don't quote me on that). We decided then and there that Uncle Jeb was pretty much cheating; letting a beast take him the whole length of the approach, but he was 80 years young so whatever.
We came to a fork in the path and we made an error here by going right when we should have gone left over the river on a bridge. We ended up going through some land inundated by water and the path eventually led us to an encounter with a beast in the trees. As we came up the trail up a little gulch. All of a sudden we heard a branch snap and saw a flash of brown in the trees on the opposite side of the gulch as it took off. Jason had his knife out in a flash and I brandished my machete as we stood peering through a wall of foliage. Truth be told, Jason and I make a fearsome sight, so it's understandable that the beast tucked his tail and ran.
At the top of the gulch 
we came to one of the many lakes that are common in the high Uintahs. Jason fell in love with the spot and wanted to become a hermit and live out the rest of his days in the tent he bought from Kemmer. I pulled out some beef jerky and dangled it in front of him to get us moving again. We had realized we were not on the right trail and instead of going back the way we had come Jason pulled out his good ol' reliable GPS and started to input the coordinates for various check points I had made for the trip. It was now a matter of circumnavigating the lake while getting back to the proper trail.
Some bushwhacking ensued where the machete was used to great effect. We stopped again to have another snack and it started to rain lightly. I donned a shirt at this point and we continued on. We came to a very large open expanse where we could see the whole valley we were traveling through. A river ran through it and was really pretty. Jason went downstream to find a place to cross as I eventually just took off my shoes and forded the river. It wasn't but knee deep in places so if any of you yell at me for calling it a river that's okay, well, maybe it wasn't a river. Jason 
and I met on the other side and we found the right trail. We began trekking again stopping every once in a while to snack on fruit roll ups and beef jerky.
By the afternoon we were making our way to the treeline where thickets were becoming more and more isolated. I was worried about this a little because I wanted to have a fire and all our meals required boiled water and we didn't have a stove. It was about this time with Gunsight pass in view that I had to "download some software" if you know what I mean, and hid from the trail in some shrubs to do my business. From my from angle I could also see Kings Peak! It was in our sights and made us very happy to finally see our goal.
There were a few switchbacks up Gunsight pass which was nice, but it was fairly stormy at the top of the pass. For some reason I had the song, "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain til She Comes" going th
rough my head over and over again. It was probably the worst thing ever. There were no trees and just a few grasses sprouting from in between rocks and boulders. The valley on the other side was a huge expanse of streams, grass, and bushes. There were no trees except far off in the distance several miles away. The light rains of the day had also made things a little damp, so our quest for a fire was kind of in doubt.
It seemed like forever before Jason found an appropriate camp 
spot. If you've ever seen a dog circle around its bed a few times before finally settling down that is what Jason does when selecting a camp site. He had done this several times before finding his "spot". We set up the tent and then began to work on making a fire. We had found a stump that we could use for wood as there were no trees and we ended up picking up the branches from the shrubs all around to use as firewood but they were sort of moist. The tinder we could find wasn't catching so Jason improvised a blow torch with our bug repellant aerosol can and a lighter to set the fire...
it took a very long time to start but eventually it did. We praised mother nature for letting us have the gift of fire. We had some dehydrated meals made by World Kitchens which is probably the best you're gonna find outside.
Once it was dark we tried to get some sleep. I think Jason slept pretty well but I absolutely couldn't get any shut eye! I eventually had it with trying to fall asleep. I blame this on the fact that I had some beef jerky stuck in my teeth. I spent several hours building up the coals and keeping the fire alive as I tongued the meat in between my molars.
August 24th
I watched the sun come up and I remember thinking how gorgeous the scene was. I become very happy at times like those when I might just be the only soul seeing what I am at that moment. Jason heard me nerding around the camp looking for more wood; which was harder and harder to find and poked his head out of the tent. After he let out a wretched screech I told him I hadn't slept much and so he decided to rub it in by mentioning he had slept very well. I was instantly angry at the piece of beef jerky still lodged in my teeth! After a breakfast of more oatmeal we were off again. Th
e summit push is the most elevation gain of the whole trip. It's a couple thousand feet in just a few miles. We slogged up the trail to a high plateau overlooking the valley we had slept in. There were vestiges of winter about as we saw a few snow fields left even in late August. Jason wasn't carrying anything and I had his pack with just food and water in it so we moved fairly quickly. We stopped to purify some water in a mountain stream on the way up. It tasted like heaven (which tastes like a mix between amb
rosia and mana in case you're wondering).
There was a shepherd herding his sheepies all over the place and it made me glad we had used the purifier. The trail winded around the face of the mountain to the north where we accessed the ridge that we would take to scramble up to the top. The trail disappeared and we followed the cairns up the ridge. There was a family on the way up and we passed them. I think the dad was upset because he yelled that the first ones to the top had to buy lunch. My belly growled at him and I ate more jerky, careful not to get it stuck in my teeth.
We made it t
o the top around noon or so. The top of Kings Peak is like a giant pile of boulders a couple thousand feet high. To the south we could see South Kings Peak which is only a few feet shorter and was once thought to be the higher o
f the two. The dad of the family finally got to the top and I think he was angry at us for beating him to the top or it could be that his daughters kept staring at a shirtless Norwegian boy who was at the top of Utah. We
took turns taking pictures of each other and chatting with the several other people that summited with us. Uncle 
Jeb made his way to the top still wearing his full body red underwear. He made Jason take a picture of him doing a handstand on the top. It was super cute.
A couple had come from 
the southern route to the top and they had brought their dog with them. His name was Hamburger and they had rock climbing shoes on his feet! Jason and I are still very excited about this. All in all we stayed at the top for at least an hour. In all directions it felt like 
we could see forever, and Jason said he could in fact. I don't know if I believe him but at that time I didn't even care
. Off in the distance to the east we could see the daily thunderstorm clouds gathering so we decided we had better get down. Instead of going the way we came we decided to just go straight down the east face.
It was kind of creepy as we made our way down the slag heap. We could hear what sounded like rushing water underneath the boulders. I was afraid they would slide at any moment but the weight of a human is fairly negligible to the large boulders we were bounding on. Jason was like a mountain goat as he sprang from boulder to boulder. I was much slower but we finally made it down.
We took a few more photos of us at the high plateau as the storm clouds continued to move in. We believed we were no longer at risk from the building thunderhead above us and we
took our time going down the path of switchbacks to the valley where we'd slept. On the way we found a badger which we nicknamed Hamburger Helper to go with the puppy at the top. We saw no one else come up the trail save one guy going to the summit with trekking poles. We wondered if he made it okay considering the building storm.
No sooner had we stepped into the valley when we heard what sounded like a cannon shoot right above us. The valley amplified the crack and boom of the thunder as we covered our ears because it was so loud. Jason shouted and another loud boom happened. I rose my head and saw my friend with a wide eyed expression looking at the mountain to the north. Smoke and dust were rising in the air not more than 100 feet from where we were in the place where lightning had smote the mountainside. Then all of a sudden it began to rain hard as the deafening explosions of lightning erupted all around us. We ran with our heads ducked down trying not to give the lighting above a shorter path to the ground. At last we made it to our tent and threw ourselves in it. The harsh lightning seemed to abate a bit and because of my sleepless night I fell into a dead sleep.
I woke about an hour later to the sound of the wind hitting our tent hard. Jason seemed to be in a stupor. We started talking and decided that we should leave once the rain let up a bit. It seemed to within about 20 minutes and we packed up our things. I was no longer half naked but was wearing a sweatshirt under a pancho; impervious to water. The wind and rain made it cold for a summer afternoon and we made it to the top of Gunsight Pass shivering as we quickly made our way down the other side. If it is the propensity for Utah weather to change so rapidly or our descent into the valley to the north I don't know. It just got a lot warmer once we were down off the pass.
Jason and I decided that we would just head back the 14 miles to the truck and be done with it. While we certainly had enough food for another day I wasn't looking forward to sleeping in the tent again. Off we went at a bristling pace. We went so fast that we didn't take any more pictures the rest of the time. Gravity was on our side as it pulled us along. However, 14 miles is a lot, especially after a sleepless night and a summit. Nevertheless the smells of the wood and the appearance of the forests spurred us on.
About the time we crossed the bridge we came across a troll who made Jason and me answer a riddle. Instead of answering I threw him some beef jerky which promptly became lodged in its teeth. He left his bridge seeking some dental floss (which we still didn't have). Our feet began to hurt a lot as the sun began to go down. I had on some really crappy shoes from Ross that obviously weren't meant for rigorous hiking. We were forced to rest more and more because of our feet but we felt like we were getting close so we kept going. Eventually Jason whipped out his GPS and I started monitoring our progress. We were only going about 2 mph. Steadily we went on and the sun set and the forest became completely black. Jason got out his headlamp because a lot of roots were in the trail trying to get us. I didn't pull out mine because...well, I was too lazy and I didn't want to stop. I should have though because I was slowing us down. Jason and I had switched packs too because of my horrible shoes. It was a great relief not to be carrying most of our stuff anymore but my feet still hurt. Our only option was to keep going.
Up and over the rolling trail we went in the dark forest. To the west of the trail the land rose and to the east it fell as we heard the stream beside us. There was no moon that we could see and the stars were the only thing that could give contrast between the pitch black forest and the sky. It seemed like forever that we were hiking back on the trail but soon we were back at the trail head where we met some hikers that were just starting their journey. They asked us some questions about our trip but I really just wanted to get back to the truck so I could sit down.
The hikers questions exhausted we made our way through the campground parking lot and found Mr Truck parked just where we left it. We threw our packs in the back and gave a shout as we sat down in the truck. What a relief! My legs were weary and my body was very thirsty. Jason started up the truck and we were off.
We stopped at the first gas station we saw and both got 64 oz. drinks. Our legs had already begun to get stiff as we walked about the gas station. We downed our drinks pretty fast...or as fast as possible. I wanted caffeine so I could stay awake and I wanted the sugar. Jason got a Dr Pepper and we drove back to Utah. We talked about the trip and how we wanted to do more stuff like that. It was also the first time I realized I liked the band Sigur Ros as Jason played them on the way back. All in all it was a fun trip and I think we learned a lot about gear and food in our first little adventure. And you know what? Because of my 64 oz. drink I didn't get to sleep until well after we got back home, but that's another story altogether.
Gear
I like to know what gear people use on their trips so I find it helpful to list what was used in the adventure. Below is a list of items that we used on Kings Peak:
- Shoes (us actual hiking shoes next time)
- Socks (wool synthetic socks are best)
- Clothes (shorts, pants, shirt, and jacket)
- Sleeping bag (smaller and lighter next time; didn't have a pillow. This was a problem)
- Sleeping pad
- Pack (large, we figured out we don't need such a large pack)
- Food (4 world Kitchens dinners, granola bars, beef jerky, fruit roll ups, oatmeal)
- Water (3 liter bladder, water purifier)
- Insect Repellent (helped start the fire as well)
- Matches
- Bowl, utensil, and pot
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Machete
- Camera
- Tent (get a decent tent)
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