I was in Park City for a softball tournament. After my quick excursion the evening before in the Guardsman Pass area, I still had a rental car and some time since games didn't start until 4:45pm today.

So I had picked out some easy-to-bag peaks in the Mirror Lake area east of Park City. So I got up early and was on the road by 6:15am. The drive was great, with deer, moose, and pretty scenery. I arrived at Bald Mountain Pass at around 7am.

My first objective was to head south and visit the Wasatch County highpoint area. After that, I would head up the slopes of Murdock Peak. With only 500 feet of elevation gain and open terrain, achieving these objectives only took about an hour or so. I then I returned to my car parked near the pass.

I moved the car like a half a mile to the Bald Mountain trailhead. The trail to Bald Mountain is a very well maintained and popular trail to this 11,943 foot peak. Right by the trailhead, I saw about 6 or 7 goats grazing near the road. They seemed content to let me photograph them.

With only 1200 feet of gain, Bald Mountain is a popular hike. However, with the early start, I was the only human on the trail at this hour. The mountain goats were all over though and made for some nice scenery.

I took a lot of shots, but still made the summit in under an hour. The views on top were spectacular. There are some really nice looking peaks to the east and nice, lake-filled basins just below the peak on two sides.

On the way down, several parties were now heading up to the top. I felt bad for asking about the goats and finding out nobody else saw them... guess I scared them all off :-(

Not moving particularly fast, I was still able to round trip the peak in an hour and a half.

This is a really neat area and the Uintahs are definitely on my list for more visits!

If coming in from the west, make your way to the town of Kamas, Utah. From Kamas, take UT 150 east for about 29 miles to Bald Mountain Pass. There are several turn-outs to park at here or a large parking area at the Bald Mountain trailhead.

For Bald Mountain, just follow the signs to the trailhead. Once at the trailhead, the trail is well marked.

For Murdock, just head to the big, flat-topped mountain to the south of Bald Mountain Pass.