This was the HARDEST trip I’ve done with my child. He was 4 years old and it emotionally kicked my trash. I researched the trail, but there wasn’t a ton of beta on it. Girl on A Hikes blog was the only substantial source I could find. While she spells it out well it’s hard to truly process what you’re actually in for. You look at the stats and think it’ll be a breeze. I tracked 10.8 miles from lot to lake w about 1,800 gain. Easy peasy. We’ve done the popular Red Castle a few times as a family which is a longer trail w around the same vert. I thought it would be comparable. I’m glad I read Alicia’s blog before I went so I knew the last mile was off route and required gps navigation. I rarely bring camp shoes which is a whole soap box conversation, but after reaching out to her she did confirm feet were going to be wet. I highly recommend cross referencing her blog as well for this trip. Now to what we experienced.
The trailhead is off the Mirror Lake highway, down a few forest roads and one requires a high clearance vehicle. The lot is small, but there might be 1 other car there. This TH goes to Allsop Lake as well. Most of the signed entries said people were traveling to Allsop vs Priord. After the trail split we didn’t see anyone for 3 days. There is a $6 fee per night or you can use your National Park Pass. The trail is pretty straight forward and uneventful for the first 4.5 miles. You cross wooden planks, see a cabin and hike in and out of a forest. I didn’t really take any pictures. The trail as I said is uneventful and the views are OK. By OK I mean I’m a spoiled brat who has been treated to a surplus of beautiful scenery.
Around mile 4.5 we are going to start crossing rivers. A lot of river crossings. A lot, a lot. Not fast moving rivers, but rivers that you should just give up trying to keep your feet dry. The faster you accept this the better off mentally you’ll be. The real fun starts when we get to miles upon miles of mud lava. It’s the same as a river crossing. You have all these rocks sticking out of the ground surrounded by deep mud that you have to hop over. You can’t hike on the grass to the side of the trail, because it’s just a huge, wet, boggy mess as well. Excellent! I upped the ante and did this while holding a child’s hand. While it was manageable it slowed us down tremendously. It was painfully slow. We needed to be to camp by 6/6:30pm and we didn’t make it to the TH early since we got a late start. We were now racing the clock. So every mud lava crossing was super frustrating for my Husband and I, but the kidlet was PUMPED. The trail is lava?!? Say whaaaaaa! Next we came to the meadow. A bog disguised as a meadow. Looks like grass. But it’s not grass. Before you know it you’re thigh deep in mud. I did change the kiddo into his keens when approaching the bog. I almost thought he lost one. The mud taketh away, but sometimes it giveth back. But only after 10 minutes of searching for it while your kidlet cries that the mud took his shoe.
Once you get to the springs you’ll be out of bog territory. You still have several mud lava crossings. You will also start climbing after the springs. It’s steep, but short lived. Then you’ll just rollercoaster next to a river. After 8 plus river crossings total…. (I lost count, so I think 8) you will hit a beautiful forested area. It’s green and lush and the hike has a different aesthetic to it. You do start a long climb. My child was exhausted by this point. We’d been hiking all day. During our break he just passed out in my Husband’s arms and took a 40 minute nap. I feel we were within a few miles of Priord at this point, but everyone was done. Not physically (for grown ups), but mentally we were trash. Managing a child is like pacing someone for an ultra marathon. Someone who’s already covered a lot miles before reaching you and needs a nap, but at the same time is facing a DNF if they can’t reach the next checkpoint within a short amount of time. Here is where I accepted our DNF. I felt defeated. This shouldn’t of been this involved. Why didn’t I heed Alicia’s blog warnings? She did touch on the river crossings and bog area. I also read she hiked from the first river crossing to camp in her chacos. I loathe hiking in chacos, tevas etc. Its easier for me to just yolo it in my trail runners and bring camp shoes. Trail runners dry out quickly so they’re dry the next morning. I mostly carried my child across some sections of river and the marshy field. I didn’t want his feet to get wet.
After his nap we rallied and made our way toward Norice lake. Norice is a mile before Priord. Only catch is is that last mile is off trail. It’s up a really steep trail that isn’t marked so you might end up bushwhacking and find the deer path of a trail on the way down. The meadow at Norice is also pretty soggy. We went during an extreme drought year and still ran into these wet conditions.
You’ll want to climb the forested hill to the right after you pass Norice swamp. It reminded me more of a large swamp than it did a lake. However the views of the mountains are incredible at Norice. When you get deep into the vast areas of the High Uintas it’s magic. It just requires effort. It’s like miles upon miles of blah, blah, blah, ok you’re worthy, here you go. The famous Highline Trail cuts through the scenic, vast areas of the Uinta Range. It’s spectacular . I can’t even begin to articulate the beauty of the vast areas you hike through on Highline. Areas like this bring me back to my thru hike. So, once we reached the top of the climb every view we were treated to was worth all the suffering to get there. I also feel my perception of the hike is going to be different than say someone who does it without a child. It was a big push for little legs and demanded a lot from both parties. I also wouldn’t consider this a child friendly hike.
You’ll find yourself hiking over stone slabs and through the most beautiful meadow before you hit the lake. We camped in the meadow. It was my favorite campsite I’ve ever had the pleasure of camping at. There are sites closer to the lake, but I preferred here. I don’t think you’d ever have to fight for a spot at Priord. The campsites closer to the lake are less exposed and some are tucked into the tree line.
The lake was a short distance from our campsite. When the sun shines on the lake it looks jewel toned. On the other side of the peaks that surround Priord sits the more popular Amethyst Lake.
I will say it was straight up spooky at night here. I’ve been asked several times when posting my trips on Instagram if I’ve ever experienced weird going ons when backpacking in the Uintas. The Uintas are famous for Bigfoot , UFO and ghost stories. I’ve always laughed it off, because never have I ever experienced any of these things. Don’t be ridiculous. But I gasped awake around 12:30 am and felt a dark feeling that made every hair on the back of my neck stand up and felt there might be an inkling of truth to what others have previously said. I just laid there scared AF thinking I was crazy. A few months later I ran across a post about someone who camped at Priord and heard the sounds of children singing outside their tent. Bah! Could’ve been a coincidence, but there is something odd about Priord.
The next morning my Husband thought he saw someone’s jacket laying on a rock above the lake. He pointed it out and sure enough you could see plain as day what appeared to be a black jacket on a rock. We decided to retrieve it. Oddly enough we never found it. There wasn’t even a dark rock. The only thing we found were spiders and great photo opportunities. Still a win, but we thought it was suspicious. Priord Vibes? Maybe. A funny story about the Uintas. There was a guy who I think in the 90’s would dress up as Bigfoot and terrorize the Highline trail area. This went on for quite sometime. While it sounds like a brilliant idea, nowadays you’d get yourself shot. I bet he has some great stories though.
We decided to pack up camp and head four miles down the trail and camp so we didn’t have such a long day the next morning. I didn’t want to do that entire push in one day again. I felt it would be more digestible broken up. On the way down we picked up a faint trail through the forest that would’ve been soooo much easier than bushwhacking uphill as we navigated to the lake. So, even though every source I’ve read has said there is no trail from the steep portion to Priord, there indeed is. It’s right off the bat once you hit the meadow passing Norice. Go up the ascent sooner and make your way over after you complete the climb not before.
If you’ve never been to the Uintas you must know that even if the forecast on multiple sites calls for a zero percent chance of rain you’re chances of experiencing a fast moving storm that produces enough lightening to make you concerned and enough hail to look like a light dusting of snow. I always hike with my rain jacket ready to access in a moments notice. These thunderstorms usually roll through in the afternoon or middle of the night. They don’t ever last very long though. Just always pack rain gear even if you think you might not need it. I love to cross reference Open Summit and NOAA for weather forecasts. You can also use the purple air app to check air quality during wildfire season.
That concludes our trip report to Priord Lake. If you love solitude and you don’t mind an obstacle course this is the place for you. Make sure to download GPS. The trail does peter out in sections. Also, follow us on Instagram for more hiking inspo with kids. Just look for Wasatchwildchild. Happy trails everyone.
Exploring the Wasatch and Beyond 