I have hiked up Bald Mountain before, but never to see the sunrise like I did a couple of days ago. Hiking up to almost 12,000 feet and watching the sun come up in the Uinta Mountain Range in Utah was pretty amazing!
The trailhead was at a parking area just of Bald Mountain Pass on the very scenic Mirror Lake Highway (SR-150). The pass sits at an elevation of 10,715 feet and is just under 30 driving miles east of Kamas, Utah.
The trail from the parking area to the summit of 11,949 foot Bald Mountain was around 1.4 miles long and was fairly steep in places. It was rocky the entire way with some fairly steep drop-offs on one side as I traversed upwards.
My hike started at around 4:45 am. Sunrise was around 6:15 am and the sun came up behind spectacular peaks in the Uintas to my east. I reached the summit in time to be greeted by spectacular colors in the sky and about a dozen mountain goats. Both made for some amazing photos and videos.
The top of Bald Mountain was fairly flat and very rocky and steep cliffs dropped from almost all sides. In the direction of the rising sun were Hayden Peak, Mount Agassiz and dozens of other peaks of the High Uintas. Looking to the north and east I could see Mount Marsell, Reids Peak and Mount Watson.
Directly across the highway was Murdock Mountain, which I went up after finishing the Bald Mountain trail. The Uintas are dotted with hundreds of high lakes and I could see many in any direction I looked.
I spent around 3-1/2 hours on my Bald Mountain hike. This included lingering on the top for a while. The round trip from the parking area was less than 3 miles and gained a little over 1,100 feet.
One more thing – I did have a little fun on the summit!
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