Lake Blanche is one of my favorite places west of the Mississippi River. This is a gem that I found when I was first visiting Utah in the fall of 2014. Nestled deep in the Twin Peaks Wilderness area of the Wasatch Mountains you will find a trifecta of jaw dropping alpine lakes. I have done this hike in every season, each being uniquely different. but always consistent. This is the map I choose to represent the Quinoa Mountain Chili. This hike, much like the chili, never disappoints. It is the prefect meal year round and one of my all season favorites.
Favorite Memory of Lake Blanche: This was an overnighter hike that I squeezed in over a weekend pit stop in June of 2018. At the time I was working for a company based out of North Dakota and I was traveling the country installing solar powered water circulators (probably the coolest job ever aside from starting my own company). Work had landed us in my home base at the time, Salt Lake City. I had been raving about how great the mountains there were and I wanted to share those with my co-worker and one of my best friends, Dereck. After work on Saturday we quickly gathered up all the gear for an overnighter and headed up the canyon! Dereck was a ride or die and down for any adventure, but I could not help but just laugh to myself as he prodded up the trail in his steel toes work boots and thick Carhart pants, with a spare pack I let him burrow full of gear for the night. 2,700ft of elevation gain is no joke in that attire. Haha! We made it to the lakes just before the sun was setting and got to watch a beautiful, albeit quick sunset over the lakes. I am certain we didn’t eat anything as good as this chili for dinner, but we did have dinner over a couple of beers. I just remember how grateful I felt that night as I was staring up at the stars through the mesh of my tent. It is really magical to share these places with your favorite humans. The next day we broke camp early as to not ruin the scenery for any day hikers coming up for the day, and made our way back down the trail quite uneventfully- minus several inquisitive looks about Dereck’s attire. It still holds true that this was my only overnighter at the lakes. Every other time has been a day hike. There are few trails I have come across in my day that are worth the trip more than once, this one will forever be a favorite of mine.