My friend from Michigan came out to visit, and we did a three day hike in the Bighorns. Things started off a little rocky, in that there was a fire at one of the lakes we would have to pass in order to drive to the trailhead. Then, another fire started, closing the highway that would get us to trailhead B. My boss went the extra mile, when she and her husband decided to do a dayhike near the trailhead we initially wanted to start from. She came back and said the road was fine, and that they hadn't really even seen any smoke. Well, I guess that took care of that.
Leslie and I took off for the Edelman Trailhead, which is near the end of a not-too great road. It took a few hours to get there, and get our packs on. The sun was pretty bright when we took off through a wide valley.
We figured that the pass was the dip in the distance. We followed the trail through a boggy area and then onto this dry, grassy area, which continued for three or four miles.
It was a nice day, and you could see in every direction.
Within an hour, we had spotted a moose. Staring at us, it was obvious that he had also spotted us.
He eventually decided we were scary, and ran back toward the road. We continued hiking, and within half an hour, saw another bull moose. I was beginning to think this was going to be a really cool, moose-hike, but that was the last of the moose that we saw. That was ok, we saw two.
We came to a couple of teeny creek crossings, where we sat in the shade of one of the evergreens and had lunch.
We ran into a string of folks on horseback, and then some other people, mostly fishermen. We kept getting closer to the head of the valley.
We began to climb, but realized that it might be best if we just set up camp and went the rest of the way the next day. So, we set up camp.
It was a nice little camp, with a great collection of rocks and not terribly flat places to put tents. We were happy. The view back down the valley was quite nice.
About 6 pm, a young couple came tramping up the hill. They were hiking down to another trailhead, where there tent was set up and waiting for them. We figured they had another 7-8 miles to do and would be finishing up in the dark. That didn't appeal to us. Nope.
During the night, we had a thunderstorm and some rain. I remember the first time I was in a tent during a lightening storm, and thinking about "the bombs bursting in air."
The next day we got up early enough, but didn't get too motivated to pack up until the sun had dried our tents. We were headed up to see Emerald Lake, and while we'd done some climbing yesterday, the more direct climbs were going to be today.
We passed a nice stream with some pretty waterfalls and pools.
And we got the opportunity to look back on where we had come from. (Stopping to take a picture was always a welcome relief from climbing the hill. Don't tell anybody, though.)
We also got to see new territory. The lake in the distance is Long Lake.
We got to a point where there was only a little bit of up to get to the unnamed pass above Emerald Lake.
The flowers up high were different than the ones down low. They were alpine...
All of a sudden, there was Emerald Lake, and I believe the first of the Lakes of the Rough. Heaven knows what Lakes of the Rough means, I was just proud to have gotten to see one. We sat on rocks and ate our lunch. We watched a couple of people come up the trail from the left, go between the lakes, and then disappear over Edelman Pass (the low part on the far side of the lake).
There was a pica in the rocks to our side. He (she) was quite upset that we had arrived, and (GASP) had sat down. It was even worse when we stayed for a bit. I'm sure he (she) experienced great relief when we left.
We decided it would be best to head back down, at least some. We had to call my sister by 5 pm, or she was going to call the Mounties--or more likely, the County Sheriff. And while the hiking on the way out was going to be downhill or flat, the road was going to slow us down, and we wouldn't be able to call until we got off the road and headed toward town. We had identified a few places we thought might be nice, but ultimately decided to stay at the same place we had stayed the night before, though across the trail from our initial campsite.
The above picture represents most of what we had hiked on the second day. We got to see it both ways.
I forgot to take a picture of the second camp. It was nicer, even if it was only 30 feet away from where the other camp had been. The spots were flatter, and nestled at the edge of the woods. This evening, and in fact the whole day, we hadn't seen any other hikers except the two we saw from a distance up at the pass. This time there was not one, but two thunderstorms and they were accompanied by rain. We got up and on our way earlier than the previous day.
I managed to take a selfie.
Yes, I'm a pinhead.
We moved along a little more easily on this day. I kept hoping to see our moose friends again, but they had disappeared.
We did see smoke from both of the fires that had initially caused such concern.
And while we didn't see any moose, we did see a cow and calf.
And some pretty prairie smoke.
We got back to the car, and down the road in plenty of time to avoid being the subject of a search. We were soon in a nearby restaurant. Mmmmm.
Leslie and I took off for the Edelman Trailhead, which is near the end of a not-too great road. It took a few hours to get there, and get our packs on. The sun was pretty bright when we took off through a wide valley.
We figured that the pass was the dip in the distance. We followed the trail through a boggy area and then onto this dry, grassy area, which continued for three or four miles.
It was a nice day, and you could see in every direction.
Within an hour, we had spotted a moose. Staring at us, it was obvious that he had also spotted us.
He eventually decided we were scary, and ran back toward the road. We continued hiking, and within half an hour, saw another bull moose. I was beginning to think this was going to be a really cool, moose-hike, but that was the last of the moose that we saw. That was ok, we saw two.
We came to a couple of teeny creek crossings, where we sat in the shade of one of the evergreens and had lunch.
We ran into a string of folks on horseback, and then some other people, mostly fishermen. We kept getting closer to the head of the valley.
We began to climb, but realized that it might be best if we just set up camp and went the rest of the way the next day. So, we set up camp.
It was a nice little camp, with a great collection of rocks and not terribly flat places to put tents. We were happy. The view back down the valley was quite nice.
About 6 pm, a young couple came tramping up the hill. They were hiking down to another trailhead, where there tent was set up and waiting for them. We figured they had another 7-8 miles to do and would be finishing up in the dark. That didn't appeal to us. Nope.
During the night, we had a thunderstorm and some rain. I remember the first time I was in a tent during a lightening storm, and thinking about "the bombs bursting in air."
The next day we got up early enough, but didn't get too motivated to pack up until the sun had dried our tents. We were headed up to see Emerald Lake, and while we'd done some climbing yesterday, the more direct climbs were going to be today.
We passed a nice stream with some pretty waterfalls and pools.
And we got the opportunity to look back on where we had come from. (Stopping to take a picture was always a welcome relief from climbing the hill. Don't tell anybody, though.)
We also got to see new territory. The lake in the distance is Long Lake.
We got to a point where there was only a little bit of up to get to the unnamed pass above Emerald Lake.
The flowers up high were different than the ones down low. They were alpine...
All of a sudden, there was Emerald Lake, and I believe the first of the Lakes of the Rough. Heaven knows what Lakes of the Rough means, I was just proud to have gotten to see one. We sat on rocks and ate our lunch. We watched a couple of people come up the trail from the left, go between the lakes, and then disappear over Edelman Pass (the low part on the far side of the lake).
There was a pica in the rocks to our side. He (she) was quite upset that we had arrived, and (GASP) had sat down. It was even worse when we stayed for a bit. I'm sure he (she) experienced great relief when we left.
We decided it would be best to head back down, at least some. We had to call my sister by 5 pm, or she was going to call the Mounties--or more likely, the County Sheriff. And while the hiking on the way out was going to be downhill or flat, the road was going to slow us down, and we wouldn't be able to call until we got off the road and headed toward town. We had identified a few places we thought might be nice, but ultimately decided to stay at the same place we had stayed the night before, though across the trail from our initial campsite.
The above picture represents most of what we had hiked on the second day. We got to see it both ways.
I forgot to take a picture of the second camp. It was nicer, even if it was only 30 feet away from where the other camp had been. The spots were flatter, and nestled at the edge of the woods. This evening, and in fact the whole day, we hadn't seen any other hikers except the two we saw from a distance up at the pass. This time there was not one, but two thunderstorms and they were accompanied by rain. We got up and on our way earlier than the previous day.
I managed to take a selfie.
Yes, I'm a pinhead.
We moved along a little more easily on this day. I kept hoping to see our moose friends again, but they had disappeared.
We did see smoke from both of the fires that had initially caused such concern.
And while we didn't see any moose, we did see a cow and calf.
And some pretty prairie smoke.
We got back to the car, and down the road in plenty of time to avoid being the subject of a search. We were soon in a nearby restaurant. Mmmmm.