Trans-Uintah Primitive Spirit 100 Mile Fast Pack  Run 1991
 by John Moellmer
     The Highline Trail closely follows the backbone of the High Uintahs Mountains of Utah. These mountains were formed primarily as a result of over thrust from North-South compression during the Laramide Orogeny in the early Tertiary.  The rocks are almost all of the Uintah Formation and consist largely of red brown quartzite.  The bedding is remarkably horizontal and the recent glaciation has created a landscape of great shelves, lakes and vast forests.  The very heart of the mountain range has been set aside as the High Uintah Wilderness Area and is a land of stunning beauty.
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    The Highline Trail begins in the eastern edge of Utah near Lonetree Campground on Highway 191 north of Vernal, Utah.  It was from this highway that Dana Miller and I  hoisted our 20 pound (9.1 kilogram) packs and began a 110 mile (177 kilometer) run through the length of the range.  Our intent was to run the distance without any outside support until we reached the highway which accesses the western edge of the range near Mirror Lake within three days and two nights.  The trail beginning is not marked but a sign does point to the East Park Trail from a dirt road a half mile from the highway.  Unfortunately, no trail is visible at the sign so we misjudged and ended running up a dead end road about two miles too far north.  So, about four miles and nearly an hour later, we were back to the East Park Trail sign.  After a  little cross-country searching, we found the trail and headed east.  After running in trees for five miles we reached East Park, a spacious grassy meadow ringed in tall pines.  We did go through one spot where a logging road cut across our trail, little realizing that the logging here was clear cutting and what that would mean to us.
    After about another mile we reached East Park Reservoir, accessible by road and populated with campers, kids and dogs.  It was going to be interesting to experience the gradual transition from popular areas to remote wilderness. In looking for the trail
which led us out of the reservoir area we made our first discovery that day of clear cutting. The trail had been completely stripped away.  No trees, just acres of open logging and slash burning.  Much of the ground was sterile from the intense heat of burning the slash.  We took to a logging road across the bare hillside which led in the direction we wanted to go.  The hills became patchwork areas of clear-cut and uncut forest.  After crossing a clear-cut area we would be off from there area where the trail might have been when the forest picked up again.  We wandered, got lost, got found by compass and map, bush-whacked, stumbled, cursed (at least I did) through many areas of clear-cut and forest for about 10 miles until at last we reached Manila Park.  Yet, nowhere did we encounter any sign of a Highline Trail, so well marked on our maps.  Manila Park was a wonderful open and scenic high meadow of grass and blue sky, a respite from the miles of devastation.  We bush-whacked again east for half a mile and came to the hill top with a huge ten foot high cairn.
    There we found a small trace of a trail and that marked the humble beginning of the Highline Trail, out on the top of some hill. The trail became more and more distinct until we reached the Trout Creek Trail junction and found a wonderful sign:  "HIGHLINE TRAIL".  Finally, the trail!  Within a mile we ran into another clear-cut and we were lost again.  Aggghhhh! Oh, yes, the name of the place was Lost Park.  After awhile we picked the trail up again in trees at the far edge of the clear-cut and headed east again.  Within a mile we picked a wrong trail and ended going to Trout Peak, elevation 10,509 feet.  It was a beautiful view out to the south with our backs to the clear cutting.  We backtracked to our error and in about four dry miles we came to Summit Park and ate and filtered some water.  It was late afternoon and we were tired.  We then followed the blazes on the trees and rock cairns until we reached a massive clear cut.  The fallen logs and slash was so thick we opted to just bushwhack through timber for several miles.  We stumbled now quite tired upon the Hacking Lake road just at Hacking Lake.  this area had been recommended to us as the absolutely farthest east we would want to consider starting onto the Highline Trail.  Now we knew why!  We went about two more miles west as the sun went down and found an alpine shelf on the east side of Leidy Peak to camp.  We had traveled 25 miles in 12 hours with our fully loaded fast packs much of it off trail in very difficult terrain.  I felt tired and sad about the trail having been abandoned by the Forest Service and the forest significantly clear-cut for short term profit and long term scar.
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    I awoke to one of the most beautiful sunrises of my life.  The sky was crystal clear and all of my fatigue and sorrow was gone.  The pack caused no soreness from the day before and hoisting it on my back was no problem.  We returned to the trail and began our run into the west.  All our trail problems were behind us; we and the trail were never lost again and there was no more clear cutting.  We were now rather consistently running at 11,000 feet yet seemed to be thriving on thin air.  The poor mileage the day before had us really motivated to try to make up the time.  Our goal had been to do the whole thing in three days and now we faced about 80 some miles and two days.  We were going to have to put the hammer down!  Throughout the day we went deeper into the range and began to encounter the great 12,000 plus foot passes crested with snow laced peaks.  There were so many lakes and parks we passed during the day: Wilde Lake, Deadman Lake, Whiterocks Lake, Chepeta Lake and then the boundary of the High Uintah Wilderness Area at North Pole Pass, 12,300 feet. I felt great, the pack was comfortable and I looked forward to what lay ahead.  From that high pass, I really had an appreciation for my life and the decisions which brought me here with my friend.
    We left the high shelf of North Pole Pass and dropped down into the the Uintah River drainage passing Fox Lake.  We met a ranger who was staying the entire summer in that area to manage and protect the wilderness.  He was very interested in our run and asking again how long we were taking for the whole length of the Uintah range.  "Three days?".  He wished us well.
     We were in thick timber now, but there were enough cairns and tree blazes to ensure our not getting lost.  Several times we came to trail divisions which were not marked - thanks be that we brought our maps.  WIthin about five miles we reached Painter Basin with Kings Peak looming in the nearby distance way above us.  Evening was settling in (it was about 8 pm) and we had traveled about 35 miles.
     Looking about we selected a campsite at about 12,000 feet on a slope with scrub pines and a small creek.  It was again a very beautiful spot to camp with Painter Basin all spread out to the east of us and the highest of the Uintah Range to our west.  I marveled at the fact that this was the 24th of July, Utah's most popular holiday time and we had seen almost no one the entire day.  The High Uintah Wilderness Area is truly a jewel.
                                           * * * * * *      D  A  Y      T  H  R  E  E      * * * * * *
    In the morning we awoke to thunder, lightning, hail, rain, snow, and wind.  A fast moving front came and showed us that these were still wild mountains and we were guests in a country which did not pander to humans.  Within an hour the storm had passed and we were out of our sleeping bags and packed up.  The sky had become clear and was very dark blue at that altitude.  We had wanted to finish the remaining 45 miles today and felt the need to get going.  We skipped breakfast and instead relied on trail mix and Powerbars to fuel us until dinner that night.  Hoisting our packs, we began the climb to Anderson Pass near King's Peak.  The morning sky was beautiful with the sun rising at our backs as we reached the pass at 6 pm.  We made our first radio contact of our trip with a Salt Lake City Ham radio operator and left a health and welfare report for our wives.
    The descent into Yellowstone Basin brought us into scrub patches of alpine fir trees and high meadows ringed with great peaks. The trail led us across the basin and uphill gently around a high ridge into Tungsten Basin where a few crystal clear lakes lay.  Being a rather small basin, within an hour or so we had climbed to the ridge to the west to overlook the Lake Fork drainage nearly 15 miles across but with very kind and smooth trails.  Even so, our feet were beginning to feel the 80 some miles we had run with 20 pound packs.  Afternoon storms began to pick up with a force we hadn't seen so far.  As we approached the western edge of the Lake Fork drainage a large storm was passing over Red Knob Pass our intended route.  We spent an hour or so waiting for the pass to clear.  This was the day we hoped to finish the run so the time bind was starting.  I wasn't pleased to be anxious about time when I was trying to be relaxed with the run and scenery.
    When Red Knob Pass cleared we left Lake Fork and soon were at the pass looking into one of the most beautiful bowls I had seen.  Between us and the next pass to cross was the bowl holding Deadhorse Lake.  It looked like an oasis of trees surrounding a small lake in a wild sea of jagged peaks and rock.  It was so peaceful and clean.  We descended Red Knob Pass and ran through the small basin and to the lake.  There was no one about and there was such a feeling of peace, very hard to describe.  Intermittent rain began to fall as we ascended Deadhorse Pass.  If any pass was aptly named, it was this one.  The trail was very poor, steep, and in several spots so rotten that slipping and falling was a very real concern.  I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to take a horse up or down that trail.
    In late afternoon we descended Deadhorse Pass and ran down into the Rock Creek drainage.  We were getting close to the finish!  Only about 12 miles to go, but we were running late and the weather was failing us.  The next 5 or so  miles were very hard, physically and emotionally.  The rain began to fall steadily with much lightning and thunder.  The trail became wet and muddy and visibility fell to within a mile.  We stumbled down to Rock Creek which was higher than we expected for this time of year and we had no way to cross but to simply wade.  The water came to our knees and was very cold.  Within about a mile the trail became very poor and faint and I feared (thankfully, in error) that we had lost the Highline trail altogether.  Boy, was I down.
    We had one more pass, Rocky Sea Pass, and about 8 more miles to the highway but we were reduced to a walk in a severe storm.   The pass was a concern; should we bivouac the night and wait for the morning to do the pass or push through now and chance the lightning?  The weather made the decision easy; a clearing in the clouds appeared timed just right for a dash to the pass, 11,300 feet.  We reached the pass near dark with more rain coming and made the unpleasant decision to bivouac the night just over the pass down at timberline.  It was a hard decision; we both wanted so badly to be out the evening of the third day but we just couldn't physically do it.  We radioed our wives to say we wouldn't be out that evening, but the next morning.  So, the evening of the third day was spent in a grove of trees by a gently running spring with a light rain falling.  It was a beautiful campsite but we were beat!
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    The morning was cool and cloudy.  We slept in until after the late hour of 8 am.  and packed our gear in leisure.  After a good breakfast, we hoisted our packs and began the last hike.  I was anxious to get home but very conscious of leaving something very precious behind.  We were quiet for awhile but soon began taling about ourselves and families.  We began meeting backpackers coming in from the trailhead now just a few miles away.  One person commented on "our hurry" (believe me, we were not hurrying).  One group inquired on how far we had come; our answer was met with incomprehension.  We might as well have said, "Mars!"
    Then, there was the road, the parking lot, my car, my wife, my son and all the rest of my life waiting.  There were smiles, congratulations, and a chance to repent of promises to "never run another step in my life."  My sweet wife came up and said we must be very hungry and how would we like some Power Bars and warm Exceed to drink.   She then produced fresh fruit, cold pop, chips, and an assortment of cookies.
                       * * *         J  O  H  N        M  O  E  L  L  M  E  R      * * *
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TOILETRIES                                                  CLOTHING                                                  FOOD
toothpaste                                                           lycra tights                                             2 freeze dried dinners
toothbrush                                                           running shorts                                       2 noodle soups
dental floss                                                          polypro bottoms                                    6 packages hot cereal
washcloth                                                            caprilene tops                                        6 packages hot cocoa
sunscreen                                                            long sleeve shirt                                       Exceed
chapstick                                                            short sleeve shirt                                      trail mix
toilet paper                                                         2 pair socks                                          10 Power Bars
ibuprofen                                                             headband
                                                                            wool gloves
                                                                            running shoes

SLEEPING GEAR                                            MISCELLANEOUS                             MISCELLANEOUS
flashlight  & batteries                                        camera & film                                        pot & lid
sleeping bag                                                       Ham radio - emergency                         matches & lighter
ground cloth (poncho)                                        propane stove & fuel                            blister kit
closed cell foam pad                                           knife, spoon                                           first aid kit
rain fly shelter tarp                                             chopsticks                                             maps & compass
twine, cord                                                          water filter                                             Ultimate Directions Pack
                                                                                                                                           (Escape prototypes)

                                                         John Moellmer (Prince ManyDots)
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