- Joined
- May 31, 2015
- Messages
- 3,211
July 13-16, 2019
The high snow levels of this past winter and spring, combined with having to study for the bar exam all summer, have made for a summer generally lacking in outdoor exploits for me so far. Thankfully(?), the bar exam is in a week and a half, and after that, I can be free of the shackles of the guilt of not studying if I ever want to go out for an overnighter or something.
Despite the lack of trips so far, I had a really good one in the pipeline, and it had been planned several months in advance. My good friend Sam, his brother Nathan, and their friend Brian were coming out in July for a backpacking trip in celebration of Sam's wedding in August. After presenting them with some options that are usually decent in July, the group settled on the southern portion of the Winds, likely a loop incorporating the Cirque of the Towers and Dads Lake areas. That decision was made in January or February of this year. The snow kept piling up after that, it took forever to warm up out here, and it was looking unlikely that the Winds would be great for mid-July. We came up with a few alternatives and then watched the weather to see if our original plan would work. Fortunately, we had a few weeks of high temperatures in late June and early July that really helped melt out the area we wanted to visit. Unfortunately, we later found out that that would result in more mosquitoes than any of us had ever seen.
We changed the plan slightly and ended up avoiding the Cirque and therefore most of the crowds. I believe the number of groups we encountered on our 4-day trip was less than 10, which surprised me since we were in the Big Sandy area. Anyway, on to the trip. I'm sharing a lot of photos here. There was just a lot to see.
We got out to the trailhead in the early afternoon on Saturday. Lots of cars there, but also plenty of spaces to park still. To set the tone for the majority of our trip, we got swarmed by a ludicrous amount of mosquitoes as soon as we opened the car doors. We applied bug spray, readied up, and headed off. The destination for the night was Dads Lake. I didn't take a ton of photos along the way, but here are a few.
Brian entering Fish Creek Park. This was Brian's first backpacking trip. Heck of an initiation, handled deftly by him.
Sam and Nathan just after crossing Fish Creek.
Dads Lake coming into view.
Columbine in the rocks above the lake. The wildflowers were a few weeks out from peak. Not much wildflower action on this trip.
Camp.
The best bear hang tree I've ever found. I camped at this same spot last year and was in awe then as well.
Nathan mobbed by mosquitoes as he looks at our proposed route.
Nice evening.
The next day, whether our route would be a go was uncertain. We were headed over Hailey Pass and around Grave Lake. Then through Ranger Park and over Washakie Pass the next day. We were pretty sure we could make Hailey Pass, but not so sure about Washakie Pass. The trouble was that, if we went all the way over Hailey and around to Washakie and couldn't make it over, we'd have a reeaally long final day. Fortunately, only 15-20 minutes after starting out the second day, we came across two women just below Marms Lake who said they had come over Washakie Pass on their trip. There was definitely snow, but it was supposedly doable. Game on.
Marms Lake.
Approaching Washakie Creek.
Maybe one of my favorite views on earth.
Crossing Washakie Creek. Tons of HDR on these from my phone, which has an automatic HDR setting that has to be re-disabled every time you open the camera app. I'm too lazy for that.
We made it around Skull Lake quickly.
Then to near Mae's.
Started hitting snow as we began our climb to the pass. It covered the trail in lots of places, but it wasn't hard finding our way.
The lakes below the pass were frozen and awesome.
Not too much farther.
Crossing the outlet of the second lake.
Sam nearing the top of the pass.
Happy to be here.
The descent was incredibly steep, and the trail was covered in snow too steep (to us) to glissade. We found another way down on the rocks.
We kinda skied this part on our feet. Nathan glissaded the upper part.
We stopped for a quick lunch but got going quickly because, as you can see, the clouds were building.
Mount Hooker.
The entire trail from here down to Grave Lake was a mess. All the hillsides were just flowing marshes, and the trail was a creek. We came across a few members of a NOLS group looking in vain for a camp site. I think they ended up camping near Baptiste Lake.
We got to a pretty big creek crossing, and it started raining and hailing. We hid in the trees for 15 minutes and waited it out. Then we crossed the creek.
Hail and rain spraying off the rock.
Preparing for the crossing. So much water everywhere.
Brian making the crossing. He and I crossed in an unnecessarily deep spot. I was a bad example and led him through it. Nathan and Sam picked a smarter route that only came up to their knees.
We walked and walked to Grave Lake and then around it. Grave Lake was really cool. It's just so big, and it feels so remote and isolated. There's also not many good places to camp along it. And it takes forever to walk the length of it.
Grave Lake looking east. Those clouds are from the storm that hailed on us.
There was a decent sized creek to cross midway around the lake. I didn't get any pictures, but the current was very strong. We forded it and continued on.
Because Grave Lake is so large, its outlet is likewise very large. There's a killer bridge going across it. Nicest backcountry bridge I've ever had the pleasure of crossing.
Last look at the lake before heading into the forest.
By the time we had gotten around Grave Lake, we were beat. Time to start considering places for campsites.
We found a very secluded spot in the middle of the forest between Grave Lake and the Little Wind River. Shockingly, the mosquitoes were not as bad as they had been at Dad's Lake.
The next day, we went through Ranger Park, then up to Washakie Pass. Beautiful walk. Strenuous at times. I've been writing too much so far, so I'll just let the photos talk for a bit.
Washakie Pass. We decided just to go straight up the snow, using our poles for stability. Nathan led the way, kicking steps and showing us how it's done. Both he and Sam have some experience on snow and glaciers, so Brian and I deferred to them.
There was a lot more elevation to gain than it appeared.
No selfie this time.
You could see way out into the flat parts of western Wyoming.
East Fork Basin in the distance, looking real nice. Hope to go there another day.
I took this to remind myself that the trail was a creek for most of the way down to Skull Lake.
We kept walking. Made it back across Washakie Creek, and headed on toward Dads Lake. We got rained and hailed on again, about the same time of day as the previous day. Opted to set up camp in Fish Creek Park, for an easy hike out the next morning.
Sam making the ford at Washakie Creek.
That view.
The last remnants of the storm. We got very warm in all our rain gear after this.
Night 3 camp in Fish Creek Park.
The mosquitoes in Fish Creek Park were nearly nonexistent at first. We had a good breeze and it kept them at bay. The breeze died though, and they were even worse there than they had been on our first night at Dads Lake. We ended up going to bed at 7:50 just to get away from the bugs. It was so comforting being the tent and not having to think constantly about your personal swarm of hundreds of mosquitoes following you everywhere. I have never seen mosquitoes this bad on any trip I've ever done. They were bad when I visited Dads Lake and Skull Lake in mid-July 2018, but that experience paled in comparison to this one. We all agreed that we'll save Winds trips for August and September now.
Another note is that Nathan discovered an old elk carcass about 100 yards from our tents. There was a pile of bear scat next to it. After a cautious approach and a quick look, we determined that the scat was at least a few weeks old. Probably not a concern. Still interesting to me though, as it was the first sign of bear I've come across in the Winds. Couldn't tell if it was grizzly or black bear though. I should've taken a photo for the scat scan discussion thread.
Watching the mosquitoes from the comfort of the tent's mesh wall.
The hike out in the morning was quick. We stopped for ice cream and sandwiches at the Farson Mercantile, and headed home. Awesome trip, even with the mosquitoes. We were fortunate all the passes were a go. A few days earlier may have been trickier. Who knows? Anyway, we all had a great time. Thanks for reading!
The high snow levels of this past winter and spring, combined with having to study for the bar exam all summer, have made for a summer generally lacking in outdoor exploits for me so far. Thankfully(?), the bar exam is in a week and a half, and after that, I can be free of the shackles of the guilt of not studying if I ever want to go out for an overnighter or something.
Despite the lack of trips so far, I had a really good one in the pipeline, and it had been planned several months in advance. My good friend Sam, his brother Nathan, and their friend Brian were coming out in July for a backpacking trip in celebration of Sam's wedding in August. After presenting them with some options that are usually decent in July, the group settled on the southern portion of the Winds, likely a loop incorporating the Cirque of the Towers and Dads Lake areas. That decision was made in January or February of this year. The snow kept piling up after that, it took forever to warm up out here, and it was looking unlikely that the Winds would be great for mid-July. We came up with a few alternatives and then watched the weather to see if our original plan would work. Fortunately, we had a few weeks of high temperatures in late June and early July that really helped melt out the area we wanted to visit. Unfortunately, we later found out that that would result in more mosquitoes than any of us had ever seen.
We changed the plan slightly and ended up avoiding the Cirque and therefore most of the crowds. I believe the number of groups we encountered on our 4-day trip was less than 10, which surprised me since we were in the Big Sandy area. Anyway, on to the trip. I'm sharing a lot of photos here. There was just a lot to see.
We got out to the trailhead in the early afternoon on Saturday. Lots of cars there, but also plenty of spaces to park still. To set the tone for the majority of our trip, we got swarmed by a ludicrous amount of mosquitoes as soon as we opened the car doors. We applied bug spray, readied up, and headed off. The destination for the night was Dads Lake. I didn't take a ton of photos along the way, but here are a few.
Brian entering Fish Creek Park. This was Brian's first backpacking trip. Heck of an initiation, handled deftly by him.
Sam and Nathan just after crossing Fish Creek.
Dads Lake coming into view.
Columbine in the rocks above the lake. The wildflowers were a few weeks out from peak. Not much wildflower action on this trip.
Camp.
The best bear hang tree I've ever found. I camped at this same spot last year and was in awe then as well.
Nathan mobbed by mosquitoes as he looks at our proposed route.
Nice evening.
The next day, whether our route would be a go was uncertain. We were headed over Hailey Pass and around Grave Lake. Then through Ranger Park and over Washakie Pass the next day. We were pretty sure we could make Hailey Pass, but not so sure about Washakie Pass. The trouble was that, if we went all the way over Hailey and around to Washakie and couldn't make it over, we'd have a reeaally long final day. Fortunately, only 15-20 minutes after starting out the second day, we came across two women just below Marms Lake who said they had come over Washakie Pass on their trip. There was definitely snow, but it was supposedly doable. Game on.
Marms Lake.
Approaching Washakie Creek.
Maybe one of my favorite views on earth.
Crossing Washakie Creek. Tons of HDR on these from my phone, which has an automatic HDR setting that has to be re-disabled every time you open the camera app. I'm too lazy for that.
We made it around Skull Lake quickly.
Then to near Mae's.
Started hitting snow as we began our climb to the pass. It covered the trail in lots of places, but it wasn't hard finding our way.
The lakes below the pass were frozen and awesome.
Not too much farther.
Crossing the outlet of the second lake.
Sam nearing the top of the pass.
Happy to be here.
The descent was incredibly steep, and the trail was covered in snow too steep (to us) to glissade. We found another way down on the rocks.
We kinda skied this part on our feet. Nathan glissaded the upper part.
We stopped for a quick lunch but got going quickly because, as you can see, the clouds were building.
Mount Hooker.
The entire trail from here down to Grave Lake was a mess. All the hillsides were just flowing marshes, and the trail was a creek. We came across a few members of a NOLS group looking in vain for a camp site. I think they ended up camping near Baptiste Lake.
We got to a pretty big creek crossing, and it started raining and hailing. We hid in the trees for 15 minutes and waited it out. Then we crossed the creek.
Hail and rain spraying off the rock.
Preparing for the crossing. So much water everywhere.
Brian making the crossing. He and I crossed in an unnecessarily deep spot. I was a bad example and led him through it. Nathan and Sam picked a smarter route that only came up to their knees.
We walked and walked to Grave Lake and then around it. Grave Lake was really cool. It's just so big, and it feels so remote and isolated. There's also not many good places to camp along it. And it takes forever to walk the length of it.
Grave Lake looking east. Those clouds are from the storm that hailed on us.
There was a decent sized creek to cross midway around the lake. I didn't get any pictures, but the current was very strong. We forded it and continued on.
Because Grave Lake is so large, its outlet is likewise very large. There's a killer bridge going across it. Nicest backcountry bridge I've ever had the pleasure of crossing.
Last look at the lake before heading into the forest.
By the time we had gotten around Grave Lake, we were beat. Time to start considering places for campsites.
We found a very secluded spot in the middle of the forest between Grave Lake and the Little Wind River. Shockingly, the mosquitoes were not as bad as they had been at Dad's Lake.
The next day, we went through Ranger Park, then up to Washakie Pass. Beautiful walk. Strenuous at times. I've been writing too much so far, so I'll just let the photos talk for a bit.
Washakie Pass. We decided just to go straight up the snow, using our poles for stability. Nathan led the way, kicking steps and showing us how it's done. Both he and Sam have some experience on snow and glaciers, so Brian and I deferred to them.
There was a lot more elevation to gain than it appeared.
No selfie this time.
You could see way out into the flat parts of western Wyoming.
East Fork Basin in the distance, looking real nice. Hope to go there another day.
I took this to remind myself that the trail was a creek for most of the way down to Skull Lake.
We kept walking. Made it back across Washakie Creek, and headed on toward Dads Lake. We got rained and hailed on again, about the same time of day as the previous day. Opted to set up camp in Fish Creek Park, for an easy hike out the next morning.
Sam making the ford at Washakie Creek.
That view.
The last remnants of the storm. We got very warm in all our rain gear after this.
Night 3 camp in Fish Creek Park.
The mosquitoes in Fish Creek Park were nearly nonexistent at first. We had a good breeze and it kept them at bay. The breeze died though, and they were even worse there than they had been on our first night at Dads Lake. We ended up going to bed at 7:50 just to get away from the bugs. It was so comforting being the tent and not having to think constantly about your personal swarm of hundreds of mosquitoes following you everywhere. I have never seen mosquitoes this bad on any trip I've ever done. They were bad when I visited Dads Lake and Skull Lake in mid-July 2018, but that experience paled in comparison to this one. We all agreed that we'll save Winds trips for August and September now.
Another note is that Nathan discovered an old elk carcass about 100 yards from our tents. There was a pile of bear scat next to it. After a cautious approach and a quick look, we determined that the scat was at least a few weeks old. Probably not a concern. Still interesting to me though, as it was the first sign of bear I've come across in the Winds. Couldn't tell if it was grizzly or black bear though. I should've taken a photo for the scat scan discussion thread.
Watching the mosquitoes from the comfort of the tent's mesh wall.
The hike out in the morning was quick. We stopped for ice cream and sandwiches at the Farson Mercantile, and headed home. Awesome trip, even with the mosquitoes. We were fortunate all the passes were a go. A few days earlier may have been trickier. Who knows? Anyway, we all had a great time. Thanks for reading!
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