Three Donkeys in the Wind River Range

**The title for this year's annual blog post is the PG version of the title I really wanted to use. There will be a picture further down that should help you perceive my meaning.**

Every summer I tell myself I'm going to jump on writing this summary earlier than the year before and every summer it doesn't happen. I'm not exactly sure why that is but I think it may have to do with the fact that the experiences mean that much more a few weeks later compared to immediately after. It's in those quiet moments, weeks and months later, when I remember laying atop a massive granite rock in the middle of a pristine alpine lake at 10,000 feet that I get goosebumps and truly appreciate the experience for what it really was. I hope through this short (ok, quasi-short) reminiscent tale that you can experience just a bit of what we experienced during those fantastic days of exploring "the Winds."

One other note before diving in: just as I try to write this sooner than I usually do, I also tell myself to take it down a notch when it comes to the wordy nature of my ramblings. I will try to do that, but no promises. I won't be offended if all you do is scroll through the pictures!

At one point the number of donkeys that were supposed to be part of this trip stood at 7. As is natural, however, our number dwindled to 4 and then at the last minute it took another hit and dropped to 3 after Lupp got sick. With this year's destination being the Wind River Range of Wyoming, Colmar and Finan flew into Denver and I picked them up, having already driven our 10 days before. We stayed overnight in a hotel close to the airport and lit out the next morning for Wyoming. We knew we had 7-8 hours of driving ahead of us as well as a couple hours of hiking in order to get into our first campsite at Dad's Lake. 

Even for the road trip portion of this adventure, we started off well! Because the underlying theme for all of these adventures is "In Search of a Path Less Traveled" when Finan proposed cutting across the high desert of central Wyoming on a dirt road we thought, "why not?" So we did. It was definitely the path less traveled. 

We had a little fun along the way as well...

We could finally start to see the mountains rising up in the distance but it would be a few hours before we were finally in their doorstep. 

By the time we organized everything at the trailhead and started up the trail it was pushing 6:30. We knew we had five miles or so to trek in to our first campsite so we hoofed it pretty good so we could set up camp and cook dinner in the light. 

Oh, and in case you're wondering why we are often featured with long sleeves and long pants in the photos...mosquitoes! I had read that they were heavy in the Winds, and that held true! I had dozens of bites through my pants over the course of the trip. 

A nice fire at our first camp site: Dad's Lake

Dad's Lake

The next morning we awoke and took our time preparing a gourmet breakfast of instant oatmeal and instant coffee. Both are staples while on the trail! We didn't have all that far to hike to our next lake so we didn't rush out. We had beautiful weather for hiking and the further we got into the winds the better the scenery became. 

Colmar contemplating how to cross Washakie Creek

Skull Lake greets us kindly

After a few hours of leisurely hiking we arrived at campsite #2: Skull Lake. After scouting around for a while we found a nice place to set up our tents. We then decided to eat lunch and take a nap before going on a little exploration of some of the nearby granite domes that were looming to our northeast. We bushwhacked straight for the base of the dome and in no time were scrambling up the semi-steep but solid rock. It was a fun little scramble and the views it afforded us were spectacular. 

Panorama from atop the granite dome. Skull Lake is the lake more or less centered in the picture.

Series of Lake above Skull Lake as seen from atop the granite dome.

Later on we enjoyed a nice soak in Skull Lake (not all that cold, maybe 55 degrees) and then later a long period of relaxation by the fire. We were treated to a sunset that created beautiful colors in the clouds and a rising moon. 

The next morning was once again fairly leisurely. We were breaking ourselves in nicely to the altitude. We knew day three would entail a much more significant gain in elevation compared to the first two days where we had barely gained 1500 feet. That morning we gained 1600 feet in less than three miles as we ascended Washakie Pass. We ran into no snow on the west slopes but the east slopes were still socked in pretty good with snow. Fortunately none of it was all that steep and the runouts were gentle enough that we could glissade right down. 

An expansive, flat bench on the way up Washakie Pass.

Snow greets us on the east side of Washakie Pass.

Gaining good speed by taking Finan's glissade line!

Colmar conquering the slope.

We stopped for lunch at Washakie Lake before continuing on to our lake of choice for that night, Valentine Lake. Possibly our favorite views of the whole trek were those granted us once we had descended into the valley containing the south fork of the Little Wind River with Buffalo Head towering over the valley floor. 

South Fork of the Little Wind River with Buffalo Head in the background.

Once we arrived at Valentine Lake and had to time to reflect on the trip thus far, we noticed a trend: every night our campsite was better than the last in terms of view and ambiance. The views at Valentine Lake were spectacular and simply imbued tranquility. 

Valentine Lake

Valentine Lake

The next morning was going to be of the much earlier variety due to the fact that we would be spending a decent amount of time above treeline and therefore we hit the hay fairly early. 

We were up and out of camp by 6:00 the next morning. Valentine Lake sits at 10,400 in elevation and we would be attaining our highest elevation of the trip: 11,850. We gained most of that elevation pretty quickly as we headed up Lizard Head Pass. There was still some snow up top and we spent quite a few miles trekking across the large plateau before dropping down into a large valley not far from the famed Cirque of the Towers and towards our next lake and campsite: Papoose Lake. 

Colmar crossing one of the many streams created by close-by snow melt

The following pictures were taken as we cross Lizard Head plateau. 

When we finally arrived at Papoose Lake we had ascended almost 1500 feet, descended 2200 feet and covered a little over 10 miles. It was a good half-day of hiking but we were glad to be at the lake, especially considering the views were were greeted with. Some of the large monoliths that seemed to rise straight out of the lake were simply amazing. 

Papoose Lake with the Monolith on the left and Dogtooth Mountain on the right.

Reflection on Papoose Lake close to sunset.

We headed out early again the next morning as we knew we had a little bushwhacking to do to get to our final campsite at Rapid Lake. It didn't take long to get to the famed Cirque of the Towers. 

We didn't stay there long as the mosquitoes were attempting to carry us away!

Then the three of us donkeys hoofed it up Jackass Pass. 

  

The Towers as seen from atop Jackass Pass.

We descended the south side of Jackass Pass fairly quickly reaching Big Sandy Lake before ascending once again towards Rapid Lake. The last half an hour or so ended up being a bushwhack up to the lake. We saw some fairly fresh bear scat but never a bear. Rapid Lake finally broke our streak of staying at a more impressive location every night, but the nicest thing about it was that we had it completely to ourselves. We had barely interacted with any other groups at any of the other campsites we had chosen but there had been other groups, usually set up quite a ways away with the only evidence of them being there a bright tent setup across the lake. Here at Skill Lake, however, we were completely alone and the solitude was awesome. 

Finan and I scouted out a very small trail later in the evening which we found actually took us all the way down to Big Sandy Lake. That would be our ticket out in the morning. It was steep and narrow, but it dropped us right where we wanted to be. We got rained on for a while that afternoon at Skull Lake and therefore were holed up in our tents for a while. Finan and I had designs on taking a quick run at Schiestler Peak but the weather never relented enough for us to feel comfortable enough for us to do so. 

The next morning we awoke early and headed out down the little trail we had scouted the night before. 

Colmar coming down the steep social trail we used to get down to Big Sandy Lake.

When we arrived at Big Sandy Lake we were greeted with absolute calm over the water with a perfect reflection of Schiestler Peak. It was a glorious way to start the last morning of our Wind River adventure. 

Schiestler Peak reflected in the calm of Big Sandy Lake.

The rest of our hike out was uneventful. We were happy to get to the car, unload our packs and get some new shoes on! We quickly made our way back out of the mountains and soon found ourselves looking at the map to see how best to get to Hwy 191. We ended up taking what was labeled "Major Connector" on the atlas and before long ran into some traffic. 

Local traffic on the "major connector" out of the Wind River area.

It took us about 7 hours of driving to get back to the Denver area but we had a pit stop at the first Brewery we could find for a couple beers and a burger. We ended up staying with Tripp and Hannah in Boulder that last night as they were gracious enough to put us up, even with Hannah's two sisters visiting. 

As I reflect on yet another fantastic summer adventure with wonderful friends I can't help but get a little nostalgic and full of feeling. These shared experiences are so valuable to me as I know they are to Finan, Colmar, and Lupp as well. In my world it's not a huge thing to take a week away in the summer but in their world it's much more difficult due to their job and limited time off. I am so thankful that they value our friendship enough to take a large chunk of their time off to spend on these adventures. 

Until next time, this donkey is signing off.