King's Peak, Utah

In the early fall of 2023, I set out to bag Utah's highest peak. King's Peak is the pinnacle of the Uinta Mountains in Northern Utah, near the Wyoming border. It stands at a total of 13,528 feet above sea level. It is the 7th highest peak in the United States (including Alaska's Denali) and my second highest peak bagged, after California's Mt. Whitney.

I looked at a few different routes to this summit and ultimately settled on the popular Henry's Fork Trail, which was described as a 25-mile out-and-back with around 4,000 feet of elevation gain. To avoid crowds and not have to rush a summit while hiking in the dark, I decided to break this up into a two-day adventure with an afternoon hike in on a Sunday and a Monday summit. So I loaded up my overnight pack and hit the road for the 3.5-hour drive northwest to the trailhead.

On day 1, I started around 11:30 AM and hiked about 9.5 miles to a spot near Gunsight Pass. I set up camp here, had an awful night's sleep (as expected), and woke up around 7:15 AM the next day to cover the remaining 19 miles, leaving camp behind to climb with a lighter pack (a great move, by the way).

No lies, this was a challenging hike. Even when short-cutting the descent, it still totaled more than 28 miles and over 4,200 feet of elevation. The trail was rough, very rocky, and in many places, muddy. The Uintas were still experiencing runoff from the 2022-23 winter snows, and it had already snowed a couple of times this year. However, these mountains never disappoint. There was ample water to filter, and the views were breathtaking, more than making up for my destroyed feet. Also, when camping in the Uintas, be prepared for mice!