12 Nights in the Winds Sept 18-30 (LONG)
Oct 7, 2015 18:00:15 GMT -8
panatomicx, BlueBear, and 4 more like this
Post by trinity on Oct 7, 2015 18:00:15 GMT -8
I am finishing up a 3 1/2 month sabbatical from the church at which I work, most of which, of necessity, I had to spend at home, since my wife just started up a new business, and we have a 6 year old son. But I was determined to have some retreat time to really get back in touch with myself and God, and was able to pull off 2 1/2 weeks off in Wyoming, 13 days of which I spent in the back country of the Winds. Needless to say, it was awesome. How many opportunities does life give you to go on an almost 2 week backpacking trip, especially with a demanding vocation and a young child at home? I was incredibly lucky, not only to work at a church that supported me in taking time away, but also in having a wife who understands how important it is to my spiritual well-being to spend time out in the wilderness. And everything fell into place along the way. I even got grant money from my church diocese to help me with some needed equipment! I was a little concerned about my trip being so late in the season, but I dodged some bad weather at the beginning of my trip, and wound up with perfect weather almost the entire trip. It was truly incredible. I've been dreaming of an extended trip to the Winds ever since my first backpacking trip there some 25 years ago, so this was truly a trip of a lifetime. I had a very rough itinerary, but nothing I had to stick to, giving me the freedom to just roam around, staying at each place as long as I wanted. I had some longer days, but generally I covered 6-8 miles a day, with a max of around 12. I arrived in Pinedale on Monday, Sept 14, and spent a few days in a Forest Service campsite along the Green River, giving me some time to acclimate and do some fishing on one of my favorite rivers in the world. I had planned to head into the back country on Thursday the 17th, but there was some nasty weather in the area, so I decided to wait until Friday. This, it turned out, was a very good decision. Quite a bit of snow fell in the higher elevations all that week, and the backpackers I encountered coming out as I went in were all pretty unhappy. One person I gave a ride back to the Green River Lakes trailhead was out doing the high route solo, and he felt lucky to have made it out alive. Anyways, by Friday morning there was a lot of snow, but the weather turned beautiful, sunny, and warm, and pretty much stayed that way for the next two weeks! I spent the night at Trail's End and headed in at the Elkhart trailhead. Lots of snow on the way in.
This made for some spectacular scenery. Here is a shot from the intersection of the Pole Creek and Miller Lake trails:
Another shot from Lake Ecklund:
After the turnoff to Titcomb Basin, the trail became difficult to follow in spots; I was the first person to hike this section since the snowfall, so no footprints to follow:
My first night was spent by a small pond next to Mary's Lake. It was a very beautiful spot, and I wound up spending an unscheduled extra night there, just exploring around, reading, writing in my journal, and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
As you can see, within a few days, much of the snow in the more open and south facing areas had all but disappeared. Next I hiked down to Spruce Lake, and spent several nights there as well. I bushwhacked and fished the perimeter of this beautiful lake which, like almost every other lake I camped at, I had all to myself. The backpackers were all in the Titcomb area, so for the whole first week I saw no one except for the occasional horsepacking elk hunters. I went days at a time without seeing another soul. From Spruce I headed down to North Fork Lake. This was a bit of a hump, from campsite to campsite it was probably 11-12 miles, much of it through a large burn. It proved worth it, though. I had expected more people at North Fork, but, once again, I had an entire lake to myself, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I was treated to a magnificent sunset that evening:
The next day I headed up to Baldy Lake. A nice day, but a few pretty steep climbs, including Hat Pass
I was still carrying a fair amount of food, even after 5 or 6 days, I really didn't appreciate how all that weight was going to affect my ability to cover ground. The Winds aren't too bad, but there are some pretty steep spots, and my poor Texas body is not conditioned for all that altitude. At any rate, I found yet another fabulous campsite on Baldy Lake.
The moonrise over my tent that evening was beautiful:
I was feeling pretty tired the next day, and decided to just take it easy around camp, maybe do some fishing. But I kept eyeing Mount Baldy. I am not a peakbagger, but this mountain looked challenging, but fairly non-technical. Finally I couldn't stand it, picked out a route to the top and headed up. I chose the right route, and though it was a bit of a climb, the effort was well worth it, with an amazing view back to some of the places I'd been, including Spruce Lake. It was a great spot.
The route up also gave spectacular views of the Bald Mountain Basin, through which I hiked the next day:
After two nights at Baldy Lake I was finally ready to head for Titcomb Basin. I hiked up out of the Baldy Lake basin (a pretty good climb), then through the gorgeous Bald Mountain Basin. I hope to be able to spend some time at these lakes in the future. Eventually I made it down to Pole Creek, where I stopped to eat lunch and throw flies at small brookies. I had a minor tragedy crossing Pole Creek; while bushwhacking off trail to get to a spot where I could cross the creek on some rocks, I lost my balance and went over hard right on top on one of my trekking poles, breaking it in several places. I was distressed, since I still had some tough miles ahead, but I strapped the broken pole to my pack and hiked on with one pole. It really sucked. I had gotten so used to the rhythm of using two poles that I was really having a tough time, and Lester Pass was still looming ahead. At some point, it occurred to me that I had only broken the lower section of the pole, and that maybe it would still be usable. I wrapped the end up in duct tape in the hopes of preventing the carbon fiber from splintering, and though I avoided putting too much weight on it, and it didn't really bite into the rock without the carbide tip, it wound up working quite well. And it got me over Lester Pass! Reason #231 to always carry duct tape with you.
It had been a long day by the time I got to Island Lake. This is an exceptionally beautiful lake, and I was tempted to stop there, but it is fairly heavily used, and I wanted to get further up into the basin. I hiked until dusk, finally finding another perfect spot just a little above Pothole Lake.
At this point, having lost a day, and spent an unscheduled extra day at Mary's Lake, I decided not to complete the western section of trail I had planned over Fremont Crossing and past Elbow, Summit, Trail, and Long Lakes. Something to go back for next time. Instead, I just spent 4 nights at this rather spectacular campsite. This gave me ample time to explore the upper basin, lounge around camp, fish, and hike up to Indian Pass, which turned out to be a high point:
After a week of seeing practically nobody in the backcountry, I was concerned about the (relative) hordes of people I might encounter at Titcomb. It really wasn't bad at all. Yes, I saw a lot more people there than I had in other areas, but I don't think there were ever more than 5 or 6 groups in the whole basin. I don't think there was anyone camped within a mile of me, and the few people I encountered were very cool. I don't think I'd want to go there, though, at the height of the season. Eventually I reluctantly headed out, spending a fairly easy day hiking to Hobbs Lake for my last night in the Winds. By this point my pack felt downright light as a feather, so I was able to enjoy my hiking time quite a bit more. Hobbs turned out to be a lovely little alpine lake. The next day I hiked back out, probably 7 miles or so. For a change of scenery I took the Miller Lake trail past some beautiful but obviously fairly heavily used lakes (by virtue of being so close to a trailhead). Still, I didn't see a single person that whole day, quite a surprise given that Elkhart is such a heavily used access point. I stopped to take another picture at the intersection of the Pole Creek and Miller Lake trails. What a difference a couple weeks can make:
Oh, and the fishing was great, epic at several of the lakes. Some of these spots were given to my by swimswithtrout, out of deference to him I am not naming the spots, but here are a few random pics, including my first Golden Trout.
All in all an amazing trip. This was by far the longest backpacking trip I've ever been able to make, and the quality of an extended trip like this is just very different from a 4 or 5 day trip. It really allowed me the time and the space that I desperately needed in my life, letting me get back in touch with my own natural rhythm. I had amazing weather, but it was towards the end of the season, so the back country was practically deserted. Special shoutout to Double Cabin and others who gave me great info and advice, and especially to swimswithtrout who gave me invaluable advice in planning my itinerary, fishing possibilities, conditions to expect, etc. It had been 15 or so years since I'd last been to the Winds; it definitely will not be such a long time before I go back. In fact, there's a nice little church in Pinedale that I think I might keep my eye on....
This made for some spectacular scenery. Here is a shot from the intersection of the Pole Creek and Miller Lake trails:
Another shot from Lake Ecklund:
After the turnoff to Titcomb Basin, the trail became difficult to follow in spots; I was the first person to hike this section since the snowfall, so no footprints to follow:
My first night was spent by a small pond next to Mary's Lake. It was a very beautiful spot, and I wound up spending an unscheduled extra night there, just exploring around, reading, writing in my journal, and enjoying the beautiful scenery.
As you can see, within a few days, much of the snow in the more open and south facing areas had all but disappeared. Next I hiked down to Spruce Lake, and spent several nights there as well. I bushwhacked and fished the perimeter of this beautiful lake which, like almost every other lake I camped at, I had all to myself. The backpackers were all in the Titcomb area, so for the whole first week I saw no one except for the occasional horsepacking elk hunters. I went days at a time without seeing another soul. From Spruce I headed down to North Fork Lake. This was a bit of a hump, from campsite to campsite it was probably 11-12 miles, much of it through a large burn. It proved worth it, though. I had expected more people at North Fork, but, once again, I had an entire lake to myself, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I was treated to a magnificent sunset that evening:
The next day I headed up to Baldy Lake. A nice day, but a few pretty steep climbs, including Hat Pass
I was still carrying a fair amount of food, even after 5 or 6 days, I really didn't appreciate how all that weight was going to affect my ability to cover ground. The Winds aren't too bad, but there are some pretty steep spots, and my poor Texas body is not conditioned for all that altitude. At any rate, I found yet another fabulous campsite on Baldy Lake.
The moonrise over my tent that evening was beautiful:
I was feeling pretty tired the next day, and decided to just take it easy around camp, maybe do some fishing. But I kept eyeing Mount Baldy. I am not a peakbagger, but this mountain looked challenging, but fairly non-technical. Finally I couldn't stand it, picked out a route to the top and headed up. I chose the right route, and though it was a bit of a climb, the effort was well worth it, with an amazing view back to some of the places I'd been, including Spruce Lake. It was a great spot.
The route up also gave spectacular views of the Bald Mountain Basin, through which I hiked the next day:
After two nights at Baldy Lake I was finally ready to head for Titcomb Basin. I hiked up out of the Baldy Lake basin (a pretty good climb), then through the gorgeous Bald Mountain Basin. I hope to be able to spend some time at these lakes in the future. Eventually I made it down to Pole Creek, where I stopped to eat lunch and throw flies at small brookies. I had a minor tragedy crossing Pole Creek; while bushwhacking off trail to get to a spot where I could cross the creek on some rocks, I lost my balance and went over hard right on top on one of my trekking poles, breaking it in several places. I was distressed, since I still had some tough miles ahead, but I strapped the broken pole to my pack and hiked on with one pole. It really sucked. I had gotten so used to the rhythm of using two poles that I was really having a tough time, and Lester Pass was still looming ahead. At some point, it occurred to me that I had only broken the lower section of the pole, and that maybe it would still be usable. I wrapped the end up in duct tape in the hopes of preventing the carbon fiber from splintering, and though I avoided putting too much weight on it, and it didn't really bite into the rock without the carbide tip, it wound up working quite well. And it got me over Lester Pass! Reason #231 to always carry duct tape with you.
It had been a long day by the time I got to Island Lake. This is an exceptionally beautiful lake, and I was tempted to stop there, but it is fairly heavily used, and I wanted to get further up into the basin. I hiked until dusk, finally finding another perfect spot just a little above Pothole Lake.
At this point, having lost a day, and spent an unscheduled extra day at Mary's Lake, I decided not to complete the western section of trail I had planned over Fremont Crossing and past Elbow, Summit, Trail, and Long Lakes. Something to go back for next time. Instead, I just spent 4 nights at this rather spectacular campsite. This gave me ample time to explore the upper basin, lounge around camp, fish, and hike up to Indian Pass, which turned out to be a high point:
After a week of seeing practically nobody in the backcountry, I was concerned about the (relative) hordes of people I might encounter at Titcomb. It really wasn't bad at all. Yes, I saw a lot more people there than I had in other areas, but I don't think there were ever more than 5 or 6 groups in the whole basin. I don't think there was anyone camped within a mile of me, and the few people I encountered were very cool. I don't think I'd want to go there, though, at the height of the season. Eventually I reluctantly headed out, spending a fairly easy day hiking to Hobbs Lake for my last night in the Winds. By this point my pack felt downright light as a feather, so I was able to enjoy my hiking time quite a bit more. Hobbs turned out to be a lovely little alpine lake. The next day I hiked back out, probably 7 miles or so. For a change of scenery I took the Miller Lake trail past some beautiful but obviously fairly heavily used lakes (by virtue of being so close to a trailhead). Still, I didn't see a single person that whole day, quite a surprise given that Elkhart is such a heavily used access point. I stopped to take another picture at the intersection of the Pole Creek and Miller Lake trails. What a difference a couple weeks can make:
Oh, and the fishing was great, epic at several of the lakes. Some of these spots were given to my by swimswithtrout, out of deference to him I am not naming the spots, but here are a few random pics, including my first Golden Trout.
All in all an amazing trip. This was by far the longest backpacking trip I've ever been able to make, and the quality of an extended trip like this is just very different from a 4 or 5 day trip. It really allowed me the time and the space that I desperately needed in my life, letting me get back in touch with my own natural rhythm. I had amazing weather, but it was towards the end of the season, so the back country was practically deserted. Special shoutout to Double Cabin and others who gave me great info and advice, and especially to swimswithtrout who gave me invaluable advice in planning my itinerary, fishing possibilities, conditions to expect, etc. It had been 15 or so years since I'd last been to the Winds; it definitely will not be such a long time before I go back. In fact, there's a nice little church in Pinedale that I think I might keep my eye on....
