Post by panatomicx on Aug 26, 2023 5:24:16 GMT -8
So, Frank couldn’t make it, Alan’s not backpacking with us again, after that rainy, buggy, stuck in a leaky tent with no book to read, 2013 trip. You would think he forgot after 10 years! Brooke and Peter had other plans, my niece Tina bailed. Even my OG compadre, Joe, wasn’t able to come. So it was just Tim and I.
I was looking for something that was not too, uh, challenging. And I found just what I was looking for with Route #29 in Nancy’s book. “Stunning off-trail destinations”, “The off-trail route from Island Lake to Cook Lakes via Wall Lake is a classic”, “A fantastic route, surprisingly easy”. That last one got me-we are in!
So we flew to SLC, and pointed the Chevy towards Pinedale. I absolutely love that drive up 189, through the high plains. Had dinner that night at the Brewery, and got hit with a fierce hailstorm.
The next morning, following our acclimatization protocol, we did a dayhike from the New Fork Lakes trailhead. I picked up a water bottle on the walk back, and returned it to its rightful owner. Several folks from Colorado, one of whom was a professional show jumper, with a horse trailer and three beautiful horses. One of the reasons they come to Pinedale, they said, was to eat at the Pitchfork Fondue. Of course, we had to check it out, and it was great! Picnic tables set up on the Pinedale Rodeo grounds, with a view of the mountains. Steak, chicken or trout, and if you order the steak, they actually bring it to you on a pitchfork.
And then we set out. With light packs. My scathingly brilliant idea to have the heavy stuff horsed in: easy-peasy first day! Elkhart to Miller Park to Photographers point. we were doing the route counter-clockwise, so first stop was Marys Lake. This was also where we started on the first trip Joe and I made in 2012, and it was wonderful to be back. The moon reflected off the water that night was beautiful.
A bit of a surprise the next morning. Tim, who does IT, had some intractable problem at his job. I guess the Garmin is both a blessing and a curse, the curse being that you are reachable. I do carry an ACR Beacon, but one of the things I always appreciated about the backcountry was that you were un-reachable. Anyway, Tim wound up hiking back to town, getting on the internet, and eventually solved the problem. He was back by 3:00. I spent the day walking around the Lake, going for a dip, and just sitting around enjoying the sun. It was also an extra day to acclimate, I had no altitude issues at all on the trip.
The next stop was Cook Lake, we were the first ones to the Pole Creek crossing, followed by a big crowd. But by the time we got to Lower Cook Lake, just one other party was there. Always, the further from the trailhead the fewer people you see.
The hike from Cook to Wall Lake was one of the best I’ve ever done. Definitely top five. Sunshine and blue sky, wildflowers, a use trail sometimes. We had to go up and over a slightly tricky slab going around Wall Lake, Tim scampered right up, I handed my pack up to him, and found an easy hand and foot hold to get over. We camped on a soft lawn at the North end of Wall Lake. Swam a bit and rested. Clouds moved in, in the afternoon, and we had to retreat to the tents. The rain did pause later giving us time to have dinner, but that was pretty much it for sunshine the next few days.
Up over the Wall-Island pass the next day, cloudy and a bit drizzly. Had to boulder hop some, the use trail appeared and disappeared. A snow field approaching the top, but here was a 3 foot space along the rocks to the right that we were able to follow up. We ran into three folks on the way down, two astrophysicists, and Layne, from Layne’s World, who Tim follows on YouTube. The couple’s area of interest was the collision of Black Holes, which is a topic I’m always up to discuss. Well, not really. Turns out they were from U of W in Laramie, he was actually President of the University, and we had a nice discussion.
It started raining, and we decided to set up camp above the two Lakes below the pass. Another amazing spot, peak wildflowers, small streams and waterfalls all around, snow on the peaks.
To be continued.....
I was looking for something that was not too, uh, challenging. And I found just what I was looking for with Route #29 in Nancy’s book. “Stunning off-trail destinations”, “The off-trail route from Island Lake to Cook Lakes via Wall Lake is a classic”, “A fantastic route, surprisingly easy”. That last one got me-we are in!
So we flew to SLC, and pointed the Chevy towards Pinedale. I absolutely love that drive up 189, through the high plains. Had dinner that night at the Brewery, and got hit with a fierce hailstorm.
The next morning, following our acclimatization protocol, we did a dayhike from the New Fork Lakes trailhead. I picked up a water bottle on the walk back, and returned it to its rightful owner. Several folks from Colorado, one of whom was a professional show jumper, with a horse trailer and three beautiful horses. One of the reasons they come to Pinedale, they said, was to eat at the Pitchfork Fondue. Of course, we had to check it out, and it was great! Picnic tables set up on the Pinedale Rodeo grounds, with a view of the mountains. Steak, chicken or trout, and if you order the steak, they actually bring it to you on a pitchfork.
And then we set out. With light packs. My scathingly brilliant idea to have the heavy stuff horsed in: easy-peasy first day! Elkhart to Miller Park to Photographers point. we were doing the route counter-clockwise, so first stop was Marys Lake. This was also where we started on the first trip Joe and I made in 2012, and it was wonderful to be back. The moon reflected off the water that night was beautiful.
A bit of a surprise the next morning. Tim, who does IT, had some intractable problem at his job. I guess the Garmin is both a blessing and a curse, the curse being that you are reachable. I do carry an ACR Beacon, but one of the things I always appreciated about the backcountry was that you were un-reachable. Anyway, Tim wound up hiking back to town, getting on the internet, and eventually solved the problem. He was back by 3:00. I spent the day walking around the Lake, going for a dip, and just sitting around enjoying the sun. It was also an extra day to acclimate, I had no altitude issues at all on the trip.
The next stop was Cook Lake, we were the first ones to the Pole Creek crossing, followed by a big crowd. But by the time we got to Lower Cook Lake, just one other party was there. Always, the further from the trailhead the fewer people you see.
The hike from Cook to Wall Lake was one of the best I’ve ever done. Definitely top five. Sunshine and blue sky, wildflowers, a use trail sometimes. We had to go up and over a slightly tricky slab going around Wall Lake, Tim scampered right up, I handed my pack up to him, and found an easy hand and foot hold to get over. We camped on a soft lawn at the North end of Wall Lake. Swam a bit and rested. Clouds moved in, in the afternoon, and we had to retreat to the tents. The rain did pause later giving us time to have dinner, but that was pretty much it for sunshine the next few days.
Up over the Wall-Island pass the next day, cloudy and a bit drizzly. Had to boulder hop some, the use trail appeared and disappeared. A snow field approaching the top, but here was a 3 foot space along the rocks to the right that we were able to follow up. We ran into three folks on the way down, two astrophysicists, and Layne, from Layne’s World, who Tim follows on YouTube. The couple’s area of interest was the collision of Black Holes, which is a topic I’m always up to discuss. Well, not really. Turns out they were from U of W in Laramie, he was actually President of the University, and we had a nice discussion.
It started raining, and we decided to set up camp above the two Lakes below the pass. Another amazing spot, peak wildflowers, small streams and waterfalls all around, snow on the peaks.
To be continued.....
