Lake Blanche

 Lake Blanche 

It is fairly easy to find the trail head.  There are lots of descriptions online of how to get there but i just searched for "Lake Blanche" in Google maps on my phone and it led me right to the parking lot.  Form the parking lot you follow a paved oath along the river and you see the trail head marker on the right.

Once you start on the path it is almost a straight shot to the lake.  As you can see in the picture the hike is only 2.8 miles but with the elevation gain of 2700+ feet, it is a long 2.8 miles. Moving at a quick pace with a few short breaks it took me 1.5 hours to reach the lake.







Although much of the trail is bordered by shrubs and trees there are still some great views looking back down the canyon.  The trial is well maintained but there are still some spots where the trail is crowded over by bushes on the sides.  The trail also had a lot of insect activity. (bring insect repellent especially for when you reach the lakes)








The trail also has a lot of wildflowers.  I did the hike in late July and there is likely to be even more earlier in the year. There was also a lot of wildlife along the trail. I was there early in the morning and that my have been why.

 

The elevation gain is steady and there are only a few level parts of the trail.  Make sure to bring plenty of water for the hike. Just before arriving at the lake you will go through an area that has the names of past visitors from just months ago to a hundred years ago.  The destination is just over the ridge from this point.  My suggestion is to go early.  I left the parking lot at 5:45 and I had the whole trail and lake to myself.  The only other people I saw were on their way up as I was hiking back down.  The hike back down took me actually more time than the way up.  It is hard on the knees going back down because of the constant and quick elevation drop. Another reason to go early is because the side of the canyon that the trail is on was still in the shade when I hiked back down. I would definitely recommend this hike.  Although it is strenuous, the destination is well worth it.
 

Lake Florence

Lake Florence

Lake Florence

Lake Lillian

Lake Lillian

 

San Rafael Swell Part 2 (Goblin Valley Area)

Wildhorse window A.K.A the Eye of Sinbad

Wildhorse window is a natural bridge associated with a large window.  You get to the window after about a mile hike off the road that leads into Goblin Valley State Park in Utah.  It is visible from the road but doesn't look nearly as impressive as it does when you get up close.  The trail is somewhat difficult to find and also to follow although it is marked by a series of stacks of rocks that past hikers have left.  There are a few different sites that have descriptions of the trail and how to find the window.  The site I used was http://www.utah.com/hike/wild-horse-window-trail.  Someone had used the rocks marking the trail head to make a fire pit but we destroyed the fire pit and rebuilt the marker.  

At first we didn't even see these but they are on the right hand side of the cave (when entering in)

   

There wasn't really a train up to where we wanted to go but we just navigated our way up and around and it was well worth the time we took to get there

This is the view from the cavern next to the main window

There are some minor obstacles on the way there and back.  The water will likely be gone in early summer but if you go before then be sure to wear shoes you don't mind getting wet.  Or just take the time and effort to navigate around the pools.  There are also a few sheer drop-offs along the trail so be sure to be careful as you hike to and from the window.