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Monday, August 1, 2022

Weekly Post, High and Wild: Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers (#101+)

High and Wild: Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers
by Robert Glenn Ketchum

After receiving my MFA from CalArts, I was invited by Bill Lund, Sharon Disney’s husband, to come stay at the families' Diamond-D Ranch in Dubois, Wyoming. Bill thought I might like to photograph in the nearby Wind River Mountains, which I did, backpacking through them extensively over the next three summers. Welcome to a world of big granite walls and huge alpine lakes!
~Robert Glenn Ketchum



Monday, August 1, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #259 
Wind Rivers, #259:  
By the time we got back to our camp at Clear Lake, the wind had died down substantially, and our camp cook was prepping a meal, having already built a warming fire. We got through dinner undisturbed, a but shortly thereafter, another howling electric storm swept over us, so we all took cover in the tents. It did not last all that long, and when we emerged, it was to find Haystack Mountain glowing gold in the late light. In the morning we would pack up and walk out, so after several years of backpacking throughout the Wind River range, this would be my last picture of those mountains. I hope you have enjoyed the adventures detailed in this blog.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, July 25, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #258 
Wind Rivers, #258:  
The stormy weather came and went quickly because it was being pushed by high, cold winds. Once the kids came out of their boulder cave, everybody got layered up, and we headed back to our camp at Clear Lake. Talja’s rain pancho was doing a lot of flapping around, and she had to hold her hood down because it kept blowing off her head. At one point I stopped to run a belt around the pancho to hold it down, and I got this very cute picture her. Like with Travis in the last post, this is the last picture I have of my daughter camping in the mountains. Not a bad memory!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, July 18, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #257 
Wind Rivers, #257:  
The kids did not want to hike up to the top of the Continental Divide, so they opted to stay at Temple Lake and fish, while LiLi, their mom, and I ascended to the pass. When we three reached the summit of the trail, we could look back at Temple Lake (last post) and see the four of them working the shoreline. We could also see some serious weather that was about to pass over them. They all had rain gear, so getting wet was not a problem, but there was a lot of lightening as well, and we could see the kids all talking to each other, and then went over into a big boulder field where they disappeared from our view. This was Travis’ second time to do extended camping in the Wind Rivers, and he and I had been subject to some pretty fierce lightening storms, so he took over when it all began, and led his sister, and the other two kids, into a sizable boulder cave above the shore of the lake. There he broke out food, and had everybody eat to stay warm. By the time we three came down off the pass, the kids were safe and comfortable, and only emerged when I called to them to find out where they were. I was impressed that Travis took charge, and made sure everyone took shelter from the storm. I also like how he is styling his Patagonia fleece jacket. This is the last picture I have of him camping in the mountains.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, July 11, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #256 
Wind Rivers, #256:  
On our last day we all decided to fish Temple Lake one more time, and marvel at the vertical face of 12,000ft+ Temple Peak. After about 1hr. of fishing, weather began to move over us, and the wind made casting difficult, so we stopped for awhile and ate lunch. There was a nearby trail that went past the lake and climbed the pass next to Temple Peak. At the top of the pass you cross the Continental Divide, so the mom and I decided we would spend the rest of the afternoon doing that. The kids were tired, however, and wanted to continue fishing, so we left them to keep trying their luck, and she, and I, headed up. The weather grew worse above the lake, and threw out a good bit of thunder and lightening, but that did not come over us, so we did cross over the divide. Now on our way back down, LiLi and I are posing it up with Temple Lake in the background. We are just below 11,000ft. at this point.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, July 4, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #255 
Wind Rivers, #255:  
With two days left before we walk out, my posse, and I, decided to revisit the dome gardens. After a good bit of laying around on the little patches of meadow grass, we are finally headed back to camp where dinner will soon be served. I just paused here to once again take in this dramatic view of Temple Peak. We have all decided that tomorrow we are going to go fishing once again at Temple Lake, and spend the day in the shadow of that 12,000ft+ face.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, June 27, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #254 
Wind Rivers, #254:  
Another lazy day when we all stayed close to camp. Travis and I climbed part way up the staircase waterfall coming out of Deep Lake, so he could find a pool deep enough to swim in. Then, on the way back to camp, he and LiLi took time out to chase some fish around. Here Travis is pointing out one to LiLi, but LiLi seems pretty fixed on another nearby.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, June 20, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #253 
Wind Rivers, #253:  
The day after our long hike around Black Joe Lake, it dawned sunny, and proceeded to get hot. Our group was pretty tired from yesterday’s activities, so some deemed to stay in camp and be lazy, and a few of us decided to go swim in the pools formed by the staircase waterfall coming down from Deep Lake. The water is freezing cold, but these two spend a good bit of time in it anyway, and there is nothing like a warm granite slab to lay on once you get out. It also put them both to sleep, so the ever-vigilant LiLi, is standing guard to assure nothing sneeks up on them.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, June 13, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #252 
Wind Rivers, #252:  
Talja requested a solo picture coping some attitude to show her friends when we get back home, so I obliged. Although her pose is cute, what is notable to me is that she has just spent a 16-mile+ day hiking in boulders, and climbing steep granite slabs, in her floral Keen water shoes, and is none the worse for wear. Amazing!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, June 6, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #251 
Wind Rivers, #251:  
As you saw in the last post, after an all-day circumnavigation of Black Joe Lake, my partner, Vicki Golden, and I, and my first black lab, Belle Star (not in that picture), stood in this exact same place while my friend, Gordon Williams, took the picture. It is AMAZING to me that 30yrs. later, at the age of 60, I have just repeated that adventure with my children and their friends, and now Travis, Talja, and my second black lab, LiLi, are striking a pose in the same spot. Talk about coming full circle, and if you had told me that I would repeat that long, relatively arduous day at 60, when I was 30, I would have laughed and told you, you were nuts.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, May 30, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #250 
Wind Rivers, #250:  
Deja vu! In the last post, my kids, and I, were sitting at this exact location in 2006, having spent the day circling around Black Joe Lake. I was 60 at that time. Here I am in my early 30’s with my then-partner Vicki Golden in 1977. At this time I could never have imagined I would stand at this spot once again, AND have two young children with me. I am so grateful I got to do this,..twice!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, May 23, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #249 
Wind Rivers, #249:  
We have now traversed Black Joe Lake and clambered up the boulder field to the top of the dome, our last real obstacle before returning to camp. The dome provides some great views of where we have been all day, as well as the summits in the basin of our camp, so we all stop to snack, drink water, and refresh, before the last push. In the background is Haystack Mountain, and you can clearly see the crack that Talja crawled up into two days ago. This is an incredible moment for me to be sitting here with my two kids at 60yrs. of age in 2006. As you will see in next week’s post, I was in this exact spot in the late 1970’s, having spent the day circling the lake below for my first time.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, May 16, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #248 
Wind Rivers, #248:  
After a brief swim session, the afternoon is getting on, so it is time to head down to Black Joe Lake and traverse the far side. We are still 6-miles from camp, but no one seems the worse for wear, and the youngest of us, the two girls, seem to have been invigorated by the cold water, so they lead the pack. The far side of the lake has a very navigable trail, so there will be no arduous bouldering until the climb over the dome at the very end. It should be a relatively pleasant late afternoon hike.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, May 9, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #247 
Wind Rivers, #247:  
With the end of Black Joe Lake in sight and only about 1/2-mile away, the heat of the day is quite noticeable, and when we stop once again for water, the girls (including mom) decide to get naked, and go for a swim. The men are having none of it, but I have to say that at 10,400ft. it was quite amusing to have little naked girls scampering around in the meadows, and splashing in the creek. Of course, LiLi joined the girls, as a lab will use any excuse to get wet on a hot day.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, May 2, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #246 
Wind Rivers, #246:  
At the far end of Black Joe Lake, it is fed by Black Joe Creek, which descends from a basin that hosts several small unnamed lakes that are covered with a good deal of ice most of the year, because they are situated in the shadow of East Temple peak and spire. After our troop traversed the near side of Black Joe Lake, beneath the sheer walls of Haystack Mountain, we followed the creek up into the high basin of small lakes. In this shot everybody has stopped for water, and some snacks, and Talja is snuggling with LiLi, as East Temple Peak and spire loom above us. We are on our way down, and as we descend along the creek, the heat of the day is upon us, and it is surprisingly hot for being at this altitude.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, April 25, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #245 
Wind Rivers, #245:  
After our day of independent adventuring with our individual family members, everyone arrived back in camp around dinnertime. Our guide/camp cook had a nice fire going, and was busy preparing our meal, so everyone settled into their sling chairs, including LiLi, and cozied up to the fire. Grant and Travis look pretty chill here. It is going to be an early evening tonight because we have a 16-mile trek planned for tomorrow, and we will spend the entire day circumnavigating Black Joe Lake, which lies just over the dome behind our camp.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, April 18, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #244 
Wind Rivers, #244:  
About 1/2 the way down the waterfall staircase from Deep Lake, we came upon a large pool where LiLi spotted some fish, so naturally she jumped and began to chase them around. The kids found that amusing so they joined her as well. In this shot, Talja has finally come out because the water is REALLY cold, and she is just having a little camera attitude.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
@RbtGlennKetchum @RobertGKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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Monday, April 11, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #243 
Wind Rivers, #243:  
The day after our adventure on Haystack Mountain, we collectively decided that each family would separate and spend time alone with our kids. Mine wanted to scramble up the waterfall coming down from Deep Lake, and wander around in the gardens on the dome between Deep and Temple Lake. It was not windy this day, and was actually quite warm in the sun. We had a lazy, leisurely lunch, and in the mid-afternoon began to head back for our camp at Clear Lake. I took this shot as we were preparing to descend, and it is worth noting that my kids did bring their hiking boots, but neither chose to wear them. Travis did the entire hike in his sandals, and Talja is wearing her Keen water shoes.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, April 4, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #242 
Wind Rivers, #242:  
As we get higher up on the shoulder of Haystack Mountain, the wind gets wilder and wilder. It was actually blowing us around, and howling loudly enough that it was hard to hear each other speak. Talja’s friend was so frightened by it, she began to cry so her mother took she and Grant down to a lower elevation where there was some tree protection. Talja was having none of it, however, and she forged ahead. In fact she is above Travis, and out-of-sight behind a roll in the granite dome. I had pointed out that crack to the left of Travis, and told her that it led to the summit as a free climb, no rope was needed, so of course that is exactly where she is headed. The crack is huge, and once she got inside it, she was protected from the wind, so she climbed 1/2-way up it before I called to her to come back down. She is clearly the bravest of this bunch, neither Travis, nor I, even climbed to the base of the crack.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, March 28, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #241 
Wind Rivers, #241:  
We had planned that the day following our walk around the Deep Lake-Temple Lake Basin, would cover less miles and stay closer to home. Sometime during the night, a fierce windstorm blew up on us, and sent the tents flapping. It was not raining, but the wind was streaming through in screaming gusts. It was kind of cool (no pun) as you could hear the gusts coming in, sweeping across the forest around us, eventually blowing through our camp. In the morning, breakfast was a layered-clothing affair as the windstorm continued. For the day's adventure, and because we needed to move around to stay warm, I suggested that we ascend the nearby ridge of Haystack Mountain, easily reachable, and directly behind our campsite. The approach led us through a brief section of trees, and then we emerged on a granite spine covered with boulders, and tundra meadows. It also FULLY exposed us to the wind. The higher we climbed, the wilder it got. Talja and Travis were fearless, even though some of the gusts literally pushed us around. I took this shot about halfway to where we topped out, and Talja took the moment to assure me that we were going all the way.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, March 21, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #240 
Wind Rivers, #240:  
Here is another girl who also has been having fun all day, and now Lili has climbed into “her” chair next to the fire, and she is doing a solo snuggly (although, there is a lot of random petting every time someone passes by her.)

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, March 14, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #239 
Wind Rivers, #239:  
After a LONG day of many miles and a lot of elevation gain, a good dinner which included the trout we caught, and a nice fire, capped off the evening. After a hike like that, there is nothing better than a little chair snuggling in front of a roaring campfire. Girls Just want to have fun!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, March 7, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #238 
Wind Rivers, #238:  
After another 4-mile overland scramble, we arrived back in camp with trout for all. Our camp cook was preparing other things as well, and anticipating our return, he had started a nice campfire, around which I gathered my weasels for this group shot to mark the end of our first full day. As it so often does in the Wind Rivers, clouds built up in the late afternoon sky, but they never manifested a full thunderstorm, and they dissipated when the cool of the evening settled in. Given a 10-mile+ day, and over 1,500ft of vertical climbing, I thought the next morning should be laid back, and that we would hang closer to camp. Now, however, it is time for dinner, and being cozy around the campfire, chilling in the sling chairs.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, February 28, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #237 
Wind Rivers, #237:  
Temple Lake is a spectacular setting, nestled at the foot of 13,804ft. Temple Peak. Whereas Deep Lake is a dark sapphire blue, Temple is turquoise green, and a much larger lake. It has become windy up here, but we are fishing with lures and not flies, so we can still get in some long casts, and everyone steps up onto a boulder to tease the trout. It gave me great satisfaction to see these young kids enjoying such a day in a very wild place, and feeling completely comfortable with it all. I especially enjoyed my lethally cute daughter throwing out long casts with her pink Barbie rod. OMG!

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, February 21, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #236 
Wind Rivers, #236:  
After lunch and sunning at the small lake beneath East Temple Peak, everyone seems rested enough to continue our day of exploration. 700ft above us, over the dome to the left in this picture, lies anther large lake, Temple. So, I decide we should go fish there as well. The troops must rock hop across the creek that comes out of the small, unnamed lake which flows into Deep. Many miles away in the background to the right, War Bonnet Peak and Pingora are visible. We stop to fish briefly at this end of Deep, but do not see any action, so we continue on, and begin our ascent of the dome and terraces leading upward to Temple Lake Basin.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, February 14, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #235 
Wind Rivers, #235:  
All posses should have group portraits if they find themselves in striking settings, and what could be more striking than being at the foot of 12,605ft. East Temple Peak in the Wind River Range. In full pose, my crew hams it up. My daughter, Talja, is to the right in light blue. My son, Travis, sports the cool shades in the wayback to the left. LiLi seems to be the only one not trying to be silly. East Temple looks pretty serious.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, February 7, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #234 
Wind Rivers, #234:  
As my posse, and I, continue around Deep Lake to the far end, it brings us beneath the very impressive East Temple Peak, towering above us at 12,605ft. Deep Lake is huge, and very deep, but just 100ft. or so above Deep, is a tiny, shallow, unnamed lake that sits, literally at the foot of the East Temple summit. I thought such a dramatic perch would be a good place to have a mid-morning snack, so we all scramble up to the little lake, and find some rocks to perch on while taking in a little food, and the warmth of the sun. Travis went down to the lake to get some water, and LiLi followed, having decided to go swimming.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, January 31, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #233 
Wind Rivers, #233:  
For our first full day in the Deep Lake Basin of the Wind River Range, I want to show the mom, the four kids, and my dog, LiLi, the entire basin, which they are likely to explore further in the coming days of our 10-day camping trip. Getting an early start, we ascend the staircase waterfall that comes down from Deep Lake into Clear Lake, where our camp is located. Arriving at Deep Lake, a large body of water above 10,000ft, we then clamber half way around the eastern shore of the lake, where there have been fewer visits from people who fish. We all have poles to share, so I want to teach the kids to fish. I guess correctly about the presence of catchable trout, and within 1/2hr., we have four nice ones for dinner tonight. To keep the fish from becoming toxic, they need to be cleaned right away, so I tell everyone what I am going to do, and suggest they might find it a little gross, so they should keep on hiking, and I will catch up to them. But NO!!! If you are a kid, gross is good, so they gather closely around me to see every gory detail. It was especially rewarding to them that the trout made for a VERY tasty dinner that night, as no one, except for me, had ever had trout before.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, January 24, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #232 
Wind Rivers, #232:  
When we dayhikers arrive at our Clear Lake camp, everything has been set up. Talja and her friend are playing at the edge of the lake, and the camp wrangler / chef has begun preparing lunch. The rest of the afternoon is spent hanging out at camp, and swimming in the lake, as most of us are tired after the 9-mile walk in. The next day, however, I intend to show this crew the expanse of this basin, and Deep Lake, which sits another 700ft. above us. Deep also has excellent fishing, so early the next morning, everyone assembles their daypacks, fishing gear, and we are off.

photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2022,
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Monday, January 17, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #231 
Wind Rivers, #231:  
6-miles into our hike, we arrive at the first lake, Big Sandy. From here, the trail branches off in three directions. The first goes up into the Cirque of the Towers. There is a stream coming down from there, so we must do a little rock hopping across it, because we are headed for the second intersection that will take us up 3-miles into the Clear Lake basin. The third trail, only slightly further on, leads up into the Temple Peak / Temple Lake basin, which we will approach in a few days from our camp at Clear Lake. Talja, her friend, our camp wrangler, and the pack horses, have all preceeded us, setting up the camp and tents, long before we arrive. As we meet the start of our branching trail, the cowboys, and all the pack horses, pass by us on their way back out to the lodge.

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Monday, January 10, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #230 
Wind Rivers, #230:  
There is a mandated procedure to enter a designated wilderness area in the US, and it involves signing-in at the trailhead. There is usually a billboard there, with warnings about dangerous animals, and instructions regarding appropriate camping behavior,..pack it in, pack it out - don’t leave litter, etc. There is also a clipboard whereupon you enter the size of your party, the destination where you intend to camp, and how many days you plan to stay. The clipboard is checked fairly regularly by rangers, and if you have not signed out, and it is past your designated last day, it triggers a rescue party to come find you. Here, my son, Travis, on the left, and his friend, Grant, on the right, have just complied. LiLi just wants to get going, so she is throwing out her “take the f%#ing picture, and let’s get this show started,” look.

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Monday, January 3, 2022

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #229 
Wind Rivers, #229:  
Back in Pinedale, the kids and I assembled our packs for the 10-day trip into the Clear Lake basin. We planned to drive from Pinedale to the Big Sandy trailhead, where there is also a rustic lodge and cabins. We would be joined there by a mother and her two kids, a daughter Talja’s age, and a son Travis’ age that he went to school with. We would overnight in the cabins, and the next morning, wranglers would take our food, the heavy gear, and the two girls into the basin on horseback. The mother, I, and the two boys would walk in on the relatively short 6-mile trail. The horses would drop the gear, and leave a camp cook, then they would come back out. A camp cook? Hey, this is to be a Cadillac trip! Here, Travis and I are doing some last minute prep before shouldering our daypacks.

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Monday, December 27, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #228 
Wind Rivers, #228:  
Fremont Lake is quite large, 12-miles long, and generally about 1-mile wide, so our return to the Lakeside Lodge takes awhile, and with very few other boats out on the water, I thought Travis would enjoy being pilot. Naturally he wanted to do this at top speed, and so Talja decided to stand on the bow and take in the breeze. LiLi’s ears were doing a lot of flapping.

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Monday, December 20, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #227 
Wind Rivers, #227:  
Talja was the first to jump into Fremont Lake, but the day was hot, so eventually Travis joined her. The lake is freezing cold, however, so after some modest splashing around, they both climbed out to warm themselves on the pads at the stern of our motor barge. Naturally, LiLi is watching over them. Once they arise, it will be time to head back to the other end of the lake, return to Pinedale, and begin to prep our packs for the 10-day trip into the Clear Lake basin.

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Monday, December 13, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #226 
Wind Rivers, #226:  
At the time, my home in LA had a pool where the kids would swim on most days of the summer. Lili always insists on joining them, and swimming alongside. Unfortunately, the boat deck is so far off the water, if Lili jumped in, we would have no way to get her out, so I hang on to her when Talja jumps, and Lili then races to the padded seats on the bow, where she can see Talja heading for the granite ledge, while she whimpers about not being able to swim with her. Talja has no problems with the swim, and hauls herself out on the warm granite to sun for a bit, before starting the swim back. It is pretty clear she is getting into the adventure of being in Wyoming.

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Monday, December 6, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #225 
Wind Rivers, #225:  
It takes the better part of an hour for us to wend our way into the far end of Fremont Lake, positioning ourselves beneath 2,000ft. walls that rise up into Elkhart Park, where the hiking trailhead begins. The day has now grown hot in the direct sun, and Talja has stripped down to her bathing suit. There is no wind to push us around, so I kill the engine, and we drift for awhile, as everyone takes in some rays. After a half an hour of that, we are hot, and Talja announces that she wants to go swimming. I assure her that the water is REALLY cold, but that does seem to dissuade her one bit, and she asks me if I think she can reach a nearby granite dome that extends into the water with a gentle slope. She swims well, but could cramp up from the cold, so I tell her she can do it, but I also prepare to start the boat up and get her, if she seems to be having a problem.

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Monday, November 29, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #224 
Wind Rivers, #224:  
On our first morning in Pinedale, I plan some “indoctrination” fun for my kids. Jus outside of town lies the VERY large Fremont Lake which extends twelve miles back into the Wind River Range. Be sure to click the link to understand the perspective. The lake is a popular destination for swimming, fishing, sailing, and motoring about, which is what I plan for us to do. It also hosts a lodge, and the Lakeside Restaurant, so we go there for breakfast to let the day warm up a bit, and then we visit the lodge, where we can rent a power barge. I say “barge” because this is NOT a speed boat, but rather a platform on big pontoons, that hosts a bow deck, a back deck, and a canopy shaded bridge. Still it has decent speed, and standing on the bow deck, Lili, and Talja, are enjoying the ride. (Lili is telling me she wants to drive, but that is not happening.)

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Monday, November 22, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #223 
Wind Rivers, #223:  
Our trip into the Wind River Range when Travis was 8yrs.-old must have left an impression, because when my daughter, Talja, turned 8yrs.-old, Travis came to me and said he thought we should take her on a similar trip. At this point, I am just a few months shy of 60, and I am wondering if this is a good idea, but he did have my interest. I was also divorcing their mother, and I thought that perhaps a GREAT road trip would be a good way to spend time with them, so I set about some planning. We now owned a black lab, named LiLi, but that should not be a problem, because for 3yrs. in the early 70’s, I backpacked all through the range with my first black lab, Belle Star. It also happened that a couple we made friends with through school, had a son Travis’ age, and a daughter that was Talja’s, and, they too, were getting divorced, so I asked the wife if she wanted to meet us in Pinedale, and join in a gang-camp. She was quite fit, and thinking about moving to Aspen, so she liked the idea and said yes. I took my tribe to Sun Valley first to get in some local day-hiking with my old friend, Gordon Williams, whom I wanted my kids to meet, then we continued on to Pinedale, where we spent a couple of days adjusting to the altitude, while staying at the Log Cabin Motel, the spectacular grouping of cabins that I staged my backpacks from in the 70’s. Here is my entourage in 2007, on the porch of our cabin.

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Monday, November 15, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #222 
Wind Rivers, #222:  
By the time our 10-day journey came to a close, and we started our walk out, Llama master, Travis, was in complete control. Normally each of us would lead one Llama, but he wanted to be the whole show, and I was happy to let him do it. We passed many backpackers, and horse-packers, who were going into the range, as we were heading out, and everyone had some comments about what a cool young man he seemed to be, and how polite on the trail, he and HIS Llamas were. This is the final picture of our trip as we are quite close to the Elkhart Park trailhead entrance/exit, and behind them in the low gap of trees, lies the heart of the Wind River Range. Once we got out, the Llamas were picked up, and we drove from Pinedale to Jackson Hole, where Travis was astounded by the “antler arches” that marked the entrance to the town square park, and just before lunch, he witnessed a “shoot-out” on main street. A good time was had by all.

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Monday, November 8, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #221 
Wind Rivers, #221:  
Of the many things my 8yr.-old son accomplished in our 10-day Wind River Range adventure, summiting an 11,000ft.+ peak, catching his first trout, and building a lot of self-confidence, I believe the most important to him was becoming Llama master. Pack Llamas are VERY friendly. They have been bred to serve, and carry. They loved attention from us, and they always wanted to be with us. They did NOT like being left in camp when we went day-tripping, and they were always excited to see us return. Travis grew up with our Rottweiler, Gretchen, whom he loved, and when she passed away, I think he missed communicating with animals, so this camping trip was his chance. On the first day we were on our own, and our friends had left us, Travis wanted to feed and care for the Llamas, and I was glad to have him enthusiastic about something, rather than be intimidated by the vast wilderness around us. Here he is serving up some dinner by hand, because he liked feeling their soft, fuzzy noses.

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Monday, November 1, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #220 
Wind Rivers, #220:  
Seneca Lake is huge, nearly 2-miles long, and the northern end of it is paralleled by the well traveled trail to Island Lake, so a lot of backpackers fish that part of the Seneca shoreline. However, if you look at the link I have provided, you will see the smaller lake at which we have established our new camp, in the middle at the bottom. It is my plan to traverse the edge of the dome in the center of this image, and reach the southern end of Seneca (upper, left), which is hardly ever visited. So, the next morning, Travis, and I, have breakfast, pack a lunch, hobble the llamas, and explore what turns out to be an effortless traverse that brings us directly to the southern edge of Seneca. It is a warm, beautiful day, and we catch trout every time we throw out a line. Catching what we need for a trout pig-out that night, we munch our lunch, scramble around a bit on the nearby domes, and then head back along the traverse ledge to our camp. Llamas don’t like to be left alone, so they are very excited to see us return, and while Travis feeds them, I cook up some hefty trout for a yummy dinner.

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Monday, October 25, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #219 
Wind Rivers, #219:  
If you are going to go out for an all-day hike in the Wind River mountains, you have got to start the day with a hearty breakfast. While Travis is finishing off his oatmeal laden with raisins, I am preparing scrambled eggs, and spicy sausage, thanks to the freeze-dried wonders of Mountain House meals. After breakfast, we are going to break this camp down, and drop about 750ft. from Tommy to a small group of lakes below us. These little lakes are way off the main trails, and as a consequence, they have never been stocked so they don’t offer up any successful fishing, but from the lower lake group, we will have access to Seneca, a huge trout-filled lake that rests in a nearby granite pocket.

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Monday, October 18, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #218 
Wind Rivers, #218:  
My 3yrs. of long summers backpacking in the Wind River Range of Wyoming, (detailed by this blog) left me with a profound love of wilderness, mountains, and high altitude adventuring. My ensuing career took me to a LOT of adventurous places, but none of them stuck in my mind like the Wind Rivers, and yet, I was so busy, I never got back to hike in the range again. Life seemed to fly by, filled with many successful projects, exhibitions, and books. Then I married for a second time, and did something I never thought I would do,..have children. When I was 48yrs. old, Travis Gaard Ketchum was born. In his first 8yrs., my wife and I took him, and our daughter, born 4yrs. later, camping many times, but always to places that were campgrounds with facilities. When Travis turned 8yrs. old, and I, 56, I decided he should have a high altitude, wilderness experience, and I should see the Wind Rivers one more time before I got too old. My wife trusted my judgement, I hooked up with another dad who had a son of the same age, and instead of backpacking, we rented llamas to carry the weight. We four, and our four llamas, drove to the 9,000ft.+ trailhead at Elkhart Park, and began our walk in. The other dad and son could only stay 4 days, so we “adjusted" to the altitude, and never went above 9,500ft. When my friend and his son left, Travis was apprehensive, and wanted to go as well, but I told him we had come a long way, and we were fully prepare for ten-days, so I thought we ought to stay. That night, while sitting on a rock watching a GREAT sunset, a “magical” elk came into our meadow quite near us, and, then and there, Travis made up his mind to go for it. The next day we took our two llamas to a small, high lake called, Tommy, at 10,500ft. We had a great campsite immediately adjacent an 11,600ft summit, which we climbed the next day. It took me two years to summit in the Winds. My 8yr.-old son did so on his fifth day. After the climb, standing in our camp, I took this picture of Travis, with the summit behind him, so he might always remember his youthful accomplishment.

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Monday, October 11, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #217 
Wind Rivers, #217:  
Another dangerous aspect of falling was not just that the process of getting back up was incredibly tiring, but as we grew more tired, we made more mistakes. Falling also had another dangerous feature. If the fall was bad enough (such as the one shown here), you could easily bury a ski tip, and get torqued around injuring your knees, or possibly breaking a leg. All of us took some brutal falls, many of them, but the gods were kind, and late in the evening we all reached the flatlands tired, but uninjured. Courtney had a radio, and signaled the ranchers we were out, so they would come and pick us up, which presented the final challenge. Some of the snowmobiles were used to tow the numerous sleds. The others towed us, once again like water-skiers. Going in, this stunt was terrifying, but we were morning strong, and not worn out. Now we were exhausted, AND carrying packs, so although nobody fell, I reflect on this as the most dangerous thing I have ever done on skis. I was SO glad to reach the ranch, dump my gear, and head for my hotel room. What a day!

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Monday, October 4, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #216 
Wind Rivers, #216:  
Towing a sled was a nightmare, but sometime, if the downhill line was treeless, you could lower the sled in front of yourself, until it came to rest below you, and then you could ski down without it chasing behind you. Nonetheless, wearing a full pack made us top-heavy, and it was extremely difficult to stay centered over your skis. Most of us fell repeatedly, and if you fell forward, you were buried facedown by the weight of your pack. To facilitate getting up, you would have to take your pack off, tamp out a place to put your skis back on, and then re-shoulder your pack. This could happen repeatedly every few feet, meanwhile you are sucking snow, sweating, and getting colder. It makes for a very long day.

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Monday, September 27, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #215 
Wind Rivers, #215:  
We arose early this morning, as we needed to ski many miles to reach the flats where our rancher friends would meet us with snowmobiles. The entire day would be downhill, and WAY more dangerous than skiing off of 11,500ft+ Mount Baldy. There were many factors that played into the danger of our retreat. For one, we had been out for 10-days, and we were tired, having expended a lot of energy to ski and stay warm. Secondarily, we were going to spend the day skiing downhill with full packs, which is an exhausting struggle to stay over your skis, and not go down. Lastly, we were all dragging sleds, also heavily laden with gear. This image gives you a good idea of the danger in that. Gravity pulls the sleds downslope, even if you are traversing to control your descent. It is not just a matter of skiing around, and through, the trees, you must also navigate so the sled does not get pulled into a wind hole around a tree base.

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Monday, September 20, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #214 
Wind Rivers, #214:  
We arrived back at our camp at about 4p.m., immediately beginning meal prep, and the reorganization of our now consolidated gear. Tomorrow we will have a long, difficult, and dangerous ski out, and will need to get started early, so all packing has to be done before we retire tonight. Except for a few emergency snacks, breakfast the coming morning, and lunch for the next day skiing, we tried to eat all the other food that was left, as no one wanted to carry that weight back out. Dinner lasted quite awhile, and was a complete pig-out.

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Monday, September 13, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #213 
Wind Rivers, #213:  
Around noon, it was finally time to strap on our packs, and head back to the tent camp that we established as the first site of this expedition. In this shot you get a good sense of the load each of us carried. The food weight was now gone, but there was still a lot of fluffy gear to be shouldered. In this background, you can also see 11,500+ft Mount Baldy, that we summited and skied down from yesterday. Our downhill run took us along the ridge that slopes to the right, and although we did do it, now it seems crazy that we would even try. Ahhh! The collective conscious of a determined group!

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Monday, September 6, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #212 
Wind Rivers, #212:  
As the morning wears on, some high clouds begin to drift in, but it does not look like rain, or snow. Nonetheless, our leisurely crew begins to collect itself for the ski back to our tent camp, several miles away. This is a great perspective of the entrance to our massive snowcave, which I am actually sorry to be leaving. It is much warmer and more comfortable than the tents.

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Monday, August 30, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #211 
Wind Rivers, #211:  
Eventually, we finish our downhill journey off of Mount Baldy, and return to our campsite / snowcave. After a big meal, and the consumption of more alcohol, everyone tucks in for the night. When we arise in the morning, we are greeted by a clear, and relatively warm day. Our mission for the next 24hrs. is to leave this camp, and return to our tent camp, which is not a very long ski away, so no one is in a hurry to begin the journey, and we all kick back in the sunshine, using it to dry out our gear. In this shot you can see many innovative “structures” created by skis and poles.

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Monday, August 23, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #210 
Wind Rivers, #210:  
Well, we are all having fun MOST of the time. That flat light can be tricky, as I pointed out in the last post, and here, one of our merry band has just faceplanted. A faceplant is not only sobering because you suddenly have snow in your sleeves, and down your neck, but because we are all wearing packs, you can be pinned in difficult positions. This guest is struggling to get up, because his ski has buried its tail, and he can’t pull it out. I actually went to his aid, and freed the tail, so he could roll over, and get to his feet.

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Monday, August 16, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #209 
Wind Rivers, #209:  
Oly Skinner (left) is still stylin’ his parallel turns, as is Monte (right), while the rest of us are just trying to get by. The slope has grown less steep, and the snow conditions are good, but the light flattens out as the passing clouds blow through, so it is easy enough to misjudge the terrain and catch a tip, or an edge. Even so, we are all having fun.

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Monday, August 9, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #208 
Wind Rivers, #208:  
Moving farther down the slopes of Baldy, the terrain begins to be less steep, so, likely fueled by the celebratory birthday beers at the summit, the Skinner brothers do a little showing off. Oly, in particular, has been making me a bit crazy, because he has been skiing flawlessly, so I have some revenge when he is the first to take this rock ledge jump, and does a full-on faceplant - note the snow dusting on his clothing. Courtney follows suite, and as you can see is touching down here, after a few seconds of being airborne. He, too, faceplants. Hahaha! I guess you can only be so perfect. In the end, the mountain gods punish us all a little bit, but no one gets hurt, and a good time is had by all.

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Monday, August 2, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #207 
Wind Rivers, #207:  
The Skinner brothers are starting to piss me off because they make the downhill skiing look so effortless. Not one of them has yet taken a fall, all three of them are linking good parallel turns, and as you can see here, Oly is in perfect parallel form on a long traverse. The weather is scuttling by, providing some dramatic lighting, but except for an occasional flurry, it does nothing to interrupt our downhill adventure. We are now about halfway home, so ski on!

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Monday, July 26, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #206 
Wind Rivers, #206:  
Oly Skinner, and I, watch as two very different ski styles are on display before us. Farthest down the slope, Monte Skinner is rocking some successive parallel turns with grace. However, the person behind him is snowplowing, and side-stepping around their turns, which is a great way to assure an eventual faceplant, and most of us do one, or two, in our decent.

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Monday, July 19, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #205 
Wind Rivers, #205:  
All three Skinner brothers, Courtney, Oly, and Monte, teach skiing at the local downhill ski area in Pinedale, and they are the best skiers amongst us. Even though we are working with boots less stiff than traditional downhill ski boots, we still can maintain some decent edge control, and here, Oly is sporting pretty good parallel form, linking a smooth series of turns. I am the most cautious of the group because I have two cameras hanging around me, and if I go down hard, I could break a rib. I need to make these pictures, however, if I expect to get this story into POWDER magazine (which I do).

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Monday, July 12, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #204 
Wind Rivers, #204:  
With the last beers in hand, and all of the gear repacked, we are about to step into our skis once again, so Oly climbs the summit cairn for a parting shot. We are also showing off our various ski and binding set-ups. You will note that although we have been skiing cross-country style to get here, none of us has cross-country skis. All of our equipment is downhill, with a variety of unique bindings that allow us to ski cross-country with our heels “free” (not locked in place), but then they can convert, locking the heel down so you can ski downhill style as well, which we are about to do. A couple of last gulps, and we are off! (We are DEFINITELY off!)

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Monday, July 5, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #203 
Wind Rivers, #203:  
Pictures have been taken, snacks have been consumed, but there are still several unfinished beers, so we continue to imbibe while slowly packing our gear, and preparing for the ski down. The passing weather opens and closes the view, and it also flattens the light, which will make skiing tricky, but for the time being, we are just enjoying the fact that we summited. Courtney Skinner is to the left in blue, and Oly is sitting in front of the summit cairn, a structure of rocks constructed to mark the true summit. This cairn also holds a summit “diary” located beneath a couple of the big stones on top, and people reaching the summit traditionally sign-in, date their visit, and say something. We are the only ones to sign-in during the winter.

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Monday, June 28, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #202 
Wind Rivers, #202:  
Many different snacks, and several beers later, we are about to end our 50th birthday party for Monte, and step back into our skis for the descent, so I take one last look over the edge of the north face of Mount Baldy and record some of the summits in the Cook Lakes Basin, faintly emerging from the clouds. Most of these peaks are in the 11,000ft-12,000ft range, and during summer backpacks in this basin, I have climbed around on many of them. Seeing them like this in the winter is a VERY different take. They are much steeper than Mount Baldy which we have ascended, and to my view, they look pretty intimidating.

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Monday, June 21, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #201 
Wind Rivers, #201:  
At the summit of Mount Baldy (11,500ft+), the 50th birthday party for Monte is underway, and the beer has been broken out, so I join the festivities, and we take a lot of pictures of each other, while we snack and guzzle. Every so often, however, I venture over the the edge of the north face, and peer into the basin below us, where the weather show continues. Working with my telephoto again, this image gives me a sense of scale because of the spare trees. The expanse of the basin is huge, and this is about 1/20th of it!

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Monday, June 14, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #200 
Wind Rivers, #200:  
I was building a portfolio of work that would eventually be published as “WINTERS: 1970-1980,” and so I switched cameras to shoot in B&W. This moment of weather passing over us on the summit of Mount Baldy (11,500ft+) gave me 3 images that made it into the portfolio. This first one is a telephoto of the event shown in the last post. Cloud shadows, and Fool’s Holes are racing across the distant basin, as the weather blows through at a rapid pace. Just FYI, "Fool’s Holes" is an adventurer’s terminology for the bright spots of sunlight. A “fool” would see them and say, “Oh, the weather is breaking off.” NOT likely!

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Monday, June 7, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #199 
Wind Rivers, #199:  
There are still two skiers behind me when I reach the summit. The others that arrived before me have shed their packs, put on their parkas, and they are breaking out the food and beer. Just as I arrive, a low level snow squall engulfs the summit, and we all disappear into a momentary fog of flying flakes. From our current vantage point, looking off the opposite side of Baldy from that which we ascended, it drops steeply into the Cook Lakes basin, where I have often camped in the summer. As the cloud surrounding us passes by and lifts slightly, I get my first view (above) of the basin below, bespeckled by Fool’s Holes and cloudshadows that are racing across it. The scale of it all is breathtaking.

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Monday, May 31, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #198 
Wind Rivers, #198:  
Oly Skinner is making his last push here, and I will be about 10mins. behind him. There is more wind at this altitude, and we are all occasionally pelted by flurries of snow, but because we are working to climb, no one is cold, and most of us are skiing in sweaters or thermals. I will ski to the left, then kick-turn, and follow Oly’s ascending track. By the time I do that, Oly will have joined Courtney and two others on the exposed rock summit, where we will eat, drink, and be merry for awhile, before skiing back down.

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Monday, May 24, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #197 
Wind Rivers, #197:  
The last traverse is finally upon us, and the summit quite near. It is a good thing, too, because the weather has become sketchy. Not only are there clouds blowing through above us, periodically they blow right through us. Visibility is marginal momentarily, and we are pelted by blobs of wet snow. It is no big deal, as long as it does not get worse. Courtney Skinner, who is in the lead here, says the exposed rocks on the highest point to the left is the summit, and they expect we will now all be there in just some minutes.

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Monday, May 17, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #196 
Wind Rivers, #196:  
This is a good example of how we spaced ourselves to minimize any risk of an avalanche. There are three of our party in this shot, and the lead skier, and I, are very close to the summit now. It is a good thing too, because as you can see, the weather seems to be changing, and we are hit with occasional flurries of snow. No one has any plans to retreat, though, as we have come this far, we ARE going to celebrate Monty’s 50th birthday on top of 11,500ft.+, Mount Baldy. I can taste those beers now, they are just a sip away! The ski down should be amusing.

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Monday, May 10, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #195 
Wind Rivers, #195:  
As the terrain grows ever steeper, I am sure we all wish there was a ski lift, but since there is not, we just keep angling upward with our lines of traverse. We all stop now and then for water and snacking, but our pace is pretty steady. There is definitely weather blowing over us, so we are collectively determined to get this climbing done sooner rather than later. Since we have come this far, no one wants to be turned back now. Besides we carried all those beers to celebrate Monty’s birthday, and we fully intended to drink them on the summit cairn. Time to bear down and push up, it is not that much farther and then party can get started.

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Monday, May 3, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #194 
Wind Rivers, #194:  
And so it begins! Slowly, ever upward using big, long traverses to the point where something blocks you, then you kick-turn and crisscross back. It is a meditative, methodical process, and everyone is spaced apart so that if someone sets off a slide, it won’t take out the person below them. The snow is VERY firm from windpacking, however, so I doubt we are going to see anything slide today. Notice in this shot how completely on the surface crust his ski is, there is no sinking in whatsoever. There is no powder to be found, so the ski down is going to be like skiing on spring snow. The wind has picked up a bit, and some clouds are blowing in, but it does not feel like storm conditions, so we are pretty sure we will summit, perhaps in the next two hours.

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Monday, April 26, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #193 
Wind Rivers, #193:  
As we glide past the last small dale of alpine trees, we come to the base of the actual summit. It has not been hard working our way through the foothills, but what comes next is an entirely different animal. The new terrain is exclusively rock and snow, and it is steep. Some clouds have drifted in as well, and the light has become very flat. At this point, no one doubts that we will summit, but the day is changing, and we are now moving into early afternoon. It is planned that we will have lunch on top, so before we hit that upslope in front of us, everybody waters up, and I break out a couple of Heath bars to munch on. The trick now is to draw a traverse line as steep as possible without any slippage, and keep switchbacking across this face until we hit the exposed rock at the top. Assuming we make that, I begin considering the ski back down, which could be very amusing,..or not! This will certainly be an adventure.

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Monday, April 19, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #192 
Wind Rivers, #192:  
Rather than trees with meadows of snow spaced between them, we now stand at the very foot of Mount Baldy, and are confronted by small patches of alpine trees, and vast pitches of wide-open, snow-covered slopes. The snow beneath us has been very firm, and there is no evidence of any avalanching in front of us, so we are now going to begin the upslope traversing that hopefully will take us all the way to the summit without any accidents. The Skinners have a good deal of experience in doing this in the Wind Rivers, so the rest of our group seems very comfortable with their decisions, and no one appears nervous or frightened. From this vantage, however, it is clear how steep our ascent is going to be, so my only concern is the amount of work in front of us. Excelsior!

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Monday, April 12, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #191 
Wind Rivers, #191:  
After a snack break at the top of the first foothill, we track the last section of substantial trees, as Mount Baldy summit continues to glow above us in the sunlight. Once through this section, patches of trees will become smaller, and farther between as we begin to rise. Snow conditions are perfect, and the temperature is warm enough that everyone is skiing in sweaters or wool shirts, and no one has put on a shell or a parka. Between the food, and the exhilaration of the approach, we are jacked, and striding at a good pace, so we should hit the lower slopes of the summit in about 1/2hr. Then the work will begin.

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Monday, April 5, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #190 
Wind Rivers, #190:  
The slowly ascending saddle as we pick our way through the trees, finally opens up considerably, and offers all of us our first direct view of the summit of Mount Baldy. It is going to be all up from here, but the snow conditions are so excellent, it has taken us little effort to come this far, and no one seems tired. In fact, we are pretty much jacked up on adrenaline as this climb is about to start. Baldy is still glowing in sunlight, beckoning us on, and our skins are biting into the packed snow track so no one is slipping. It is full steam ahead. At the top of the first rise in front of us, we will stop for water and snacks, and after that respite, point our tips at the 11,500+ft summit and begin our traversing upward. Even with skins, we will not have enough traction to just go straight up, so the line of attack will be a series of linked traverses, each rising as steeply as what traction we have will allow.
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Monday, March 29, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #189 
Wind Rivers, #189:  
With Courtney Skinner breaking trail, and Mount Baldy gleaming in sunlight before us, we head toward a low saddle in the trees, to the right of the granite dome in this shot. As you can see from the ski tracks, although there is several feet of snow beneath us, we are not pushing through deep powder because the surface has been wind-packed, which makes for great skiing conditions, so we are gliding along in timely fashion, and not wearing ourselves out before we even start the climb. The sky has intermittent clouds, but it appears that a good day is to be had by all. We are off to see the Wizard!
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Monday, March 22, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #188 
Wind Rivers, #188:  
Monty Skinner's 50th birthday has arrived, and although there is a broken cloud cover, it appears that it will not prevent us from our attempt to ascend Mount Baldy, so we fix an early breakfast and begin to prepare our gear. Our daypacks host extra clothing, food, avalanche protection devices, shovels, and most importantly, we each carry several cans of celebratory beer with which we plan to toast Monty, if we summit. All of our other equipment will stay in the snowcave. There is a certain restless eagerness in all of us, with a lot of ski, binding, and boot adjusting going on, as we all prepare for the task ahead. Shortly we will be on our way.

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Monday, March 15, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #187 
Wind Rivers, #187:  
We all sleep well in the warmth of the huge snowcave, and when we emerge in the morning, it is apparent that it had been a very cold night. Everything metal is encrusted with rime-ice, and it is 14˙ colder outside the cave than within it. The sky is not clear, but slightly hazy, although there does not seem to be any serious weather approaching, so camp immediately begins to buzz with the prepping of breakfast, lunches for all, and each of our daypacks. We all carry ample food, and water, as well as some birthday beers, so if we summit, we can properly celebrate Monty’s 50th. We have extra clothing as well, plus avalanche lines, pieps, and snow shovels. The daypacks are not unusually heavy, but they are definitely stuffed with fleece layers and parkas. While skiing today, most of us will wear longjohns, vests and shells. The climb will keep us comfortably warm, and we all want to avoid sweating into our base layers, which would then chill us rapidly, anytime we stop. In this image, the peak in the distance is Mount Baldy, and we hope to assemble on that point about the middle of the day for a birthday “party.” (The red skis in the middle are my downhill, The Skis, with Rohrer bindings, state of the art for back in the day. Today the top-of-the-line Rohrer binding is $521. WHAT!)

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Monday, March 8, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #186 
Wind Rivers, #186:  
The huge snowcave The Mole has dug has grottos to store our packs and small gear, and benches above the floor on which we can sleep. There are some lanterns for light, and in some places, spoons have been stuck into the walls to support single candles. It is relatively bright, and warm, so much so that most of us are in shirtsleeves with a vest, and we have taken off our heavier fleece, and parkas. There is some modest consumption of alcohol, and a lot of discussion about the next day, as we are all anticipating that decent weather will allow us an attempt on the 11,500ft+ summit of Mount Baldy. If it is clear in the morning, it is a go for sure, and the lower slopes of the mountain are less than one-mile from our encampment. Sweet Dreams!

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Monday, March 1, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #185 
Wind Rivers, #185:  
Having chosen a location for our Camp #2, it is now time to have our crew member nicknamed, The Mole, go to work on building our snowcave. He, and one other in our group, have carried wide-blade, non-collapsing shovels, strapped to their backpacks, exclusively for this purpose. Because the snow deposit we have chosen has been created by small avalanches, and snow sluffing off of steep granite domes, this snow is really compressed, so the cave will be very stable, and easy to carve out. The wide blade shovels are used to punch a square into the snow wall, and on the last punch, a mere flick of the shovel pops out a near-perfect brick of snow. While The Mole keeps doing this quickly, another in our merry band loads the snow bricks onto a sled, which Ole Skinner is managing, and he drags it out, dumping those bricks nearby, and returning to the cave entrance as quickly as possible. It is getting to be late in the afternoon, and this will be a big cave, so they want to get it finished before it gets dark. Outside the cave, others in our group work on carving out a kitchen with benches, and the remainder of us have teamed up with Monty and Courtney to do dinner prep. The cloudy weather has cleared completely, and we all know that means it is going to be a cold, clear night. It will be great to be inside the much warmer cave while we sleep.

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Monday, February 22, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #184 
Wind Rivers, #184:  
The blustery winds have actually been blowing the dark clouds away, and as we stand pondering our view of Mount Baldy, the sky clears, and the sun comes out, illuminating us, and giving us a glowing view of the summit we hope to ascend tomorrow. First things first, however. We have come to Camp #2 without our tents, in anticipation of making snow caves,..actually ONE huge snow cave, as Courtney thinks there is enough snow, and we will all be warmer, sleeping together. For such a large cave, we must find a substantial deposit of snow, more than just what has fallen on the ground. The location of choice is the small chute between the two exposed rock faces to the left side of this image. Deep snow has built up behind the screen of trees, because of what has sluffed-off the rock walls, and been transported downhill by small avalanches in the chute. Now the work begins! Among our crew is an assistant of Courtney’s, a big college kid, occasionally referred to as, The Mole. This is his moment. The big shovels come out, and the gear is taken out of the largest sled. Courtney, and The Mole, do some snow depth probing, determine the best location, and the digging begins. At the start, there is only so much room in which to work, so the rest of us just stand, snack, and stare, at the spectacle of the snow cave being created.

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Monday, February 15, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #183 
Wind Rivers, #183:  
The weather appears most ominous about 2pm. because it has not only grown darker, and now a wind has arrived. However, fearless leader, Courtney Skinner, says that we are nearly at our destination, and he expects we will arrive (wherever “there” is) by 3pm, so on we go. As we cross what he believes is the last lake, we are buffeted by some substantial gusts that are blowing ground snow around, but not bringing any snow from the sky. At the end of this last lake, there is a modest rise, and then we confront a small open space with few trees, surrounded by snow-covered granite domes. As we ski towards the middle of the open space, Mount Baldy comes into view, and it is not all that far away. We have arrived at Camp #2, now we just have to create it.

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Monday, February 8, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #182 
Wind Rivers, #182:  
As we approach our lunch break moving from Camp #1 to Camp #2, the sunny morning gives way to ever-darkening clouds, and it looks like it might snow. The temperature has dropped also, so when we do stop for lunch, everybody’s layers come out. The food break refuels us, and jump-starts our body heat, so once we step back into our skis. Most feel rested, and immediately get warmer with our activity. There is almost no climbing involved in today’s ski. Our line of approach crosses several lake surfaces and then slips through narrows between the rolling hills, which are probably the frozen over surfaces of streams that connect the lakes together. The sky remains threatening, but there is no wind, nor is there any snow falling as of yet.
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Monday, February 1, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #181 
Wind Rivers, #181:  
Our entire morning, moving from Camp #1, to establish Camp #2, is blazingly sunny, with dark glasses and sunscreen being requirements of the day. During lunch, however, some clouds drift in, and a breeze picks up. It does not appear like an assault of weather, but it definitely grows colder. My fishnet shirt, becomes layered over for the rest of the afternoon, but the skiing is pretty effortless. We are not gaining much in elevation, we are just crossing some large frozen lake surfaces, as we move ever closer to Mount Baldy. When we get there, we will not have our tents, so we expect to dig snow caves, and thus we need to find a suitable location by mid-afternoon, in order to finish our cave digging before nightfall. According to Courtney, we are doing well on time, so I expect we should see our new campsite shortly.

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Monday, January 25, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #180 
Wind Rivers, #180:  
Thanks to one of the crew, this is yours truly. I hate sleds, so I have opted to shoulder my backpack in spite of the hefty load. The day is warm (26˙), and skiing with my pack load is going to make me hot. I do not want to sweat into a shell, so I have quite another approach that is not intended to be a macho posture. The base layer of my winter clothing is a fishnet shirt, over which I wear a turtle neck, and then a wool shirt. I have the turtleneck, a wool shirt, and my wind shell, handy, at the top of my pack, but I am going to begin this ski wearing nothing but my fishnet shirt. The rest of the crew think I am crazy, but I am actually quite comfortable, and once we get moving, I know I have made the right call. I am not overheating under my pack weight. Eventually, when we stop for lunch, I will don the additional layers.

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Monday, January 18, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #179 
Wind Rivers, #179:  
After a day of “play,” and another great campfire dinner, we all sleep soundly and awaken to a sunny, warm (26˙) morning. Today we leave Camp #1, and hope to establish Camp #2, near the base of Mount Baldy. A good bit of our food stash will remain at Camp #1, which we hang high in the trees. Always cautious, however, the Skinners know that things can go sideways in a hurry, and stay that way for a good while in the Wind Rivers, particularly in winter, so we are carrying all our clothing, and a sizable stash of food with us, which makes our packs very heavy because of the numerous canned goods. Although we do not have to make this trek dragging a sled, many would rather do that than shoulder their backpack, so they lash it to a sled and harness-up (the red leg and waist cords showing are the sled harnesses). There is A LOT of sunscreen, and zinc oxide, slathered on, as well, because with current conditions, we are going to have some serious sun exposure over the course of the day. Monty, and I, are absent from this picture, but this is the group shot of our crew, just before we start our journey. Motley, to say the least!

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Monday, January 11, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #178 
Wind Rivers, #178:  
The slope we have been skiing has excellent snow conditions, that get even better as the relatively warm day wears on. Inspired by the antics of the rock-jumpers, other guests decide they want their pictures taken as well. None of them care to plunge, but they all do climb higher on the hill so they can build some turn rhythm in their runs. Although everyone has fun, two do face-plant themselves, stuffing powder snow into their long-john layers, but everybody comes up laughing. This guest, however, has a GREAT run, and links dozens of well-carved parallels as he approaches my camera and I. With the shadows of the afternoon growing longer, we have spent a good deal of energy climbing up to ski down, so after another run or two, we set our heals free, put our layers back on, and head home to Camp #1 for another dinner feast. It has been a fun day, and tomorrow we will move on to Camp #2, but with lighter packs, no sleds to drag, and not much elevation to climb, just some big lake surfaces to cross.

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Monday, January 4, 2021

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #177 
Wind Rivers, #177:  
From Camp #1, we do not have to ski very far to find workable slopes to downhill, so an afternoon of fun unfolds. The touring has warmed us up, and taken away our stiffness, so everyone is feeling pretty good, and in the warmth of the direct sun, most of us shed some clothing layers. I ski a couple of runs with others, as we all build our confidence in using our skis in their downhill mode. Then, I pick a nice sunny spot, and breakout my cameras. Ole Skinner, and another of the guests are notably good skiers, and I want to get some “action” photos for my POWDER magazine story, so the two of them step up, and we plan some specific shots. The snow conditions on the slope we have been skiing are excellent, and the lighting is good, so it is agreed that my two volunteers will climb above the slope, to a snow-draped, rock perch, jump-launching from there into a downhill run. It is a good opportunity to face-plant, but both pull it off without doing so. In the right-side shot, Ole watches as the guest shreds.

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Monday, December 28, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #176 
Wind Rivers, #176:  
After the previous long, exhausting day of skiing into Camp #1, we all sleep deeply, and get up mid-morning to have a leisurely breakfast around the campfire. As the master planner of our expedition, Courtney knows that we are still tired, and also stiff, so today is an “off” day, and we can choose to stay in camp, or, without packs, go skiing,..as in downhill. It is not freezing, but it is cold, moving and eating are the way you warm up, so first we do a lot of eating, then everybody chooses to gear up, and strap into their skis. We all have downhill style skis, and our bindings are heel free, but can be locked down. Most of us are sporting relatively ridged boots as well, so although it is not like downhill resort skiing, you can still muster decent turns, and the better skiers among us, will show-off later in the day by jumping off rocks and ripping true parallels.

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Monday, December 21, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #175 
Wind Rivers, #175:  
After a very full and warming meal, there is nothing like sitting around the old campfire, drinking and telling tales of adventure, so that is exactly what we do. Pate on crackers for hors d’oeuvres, steak and veggies for dinner, and chocolates, both liquid and solid, for desert, all chased by a beer or two, while sitting around a fire. There is ample wood to burn as we are surrounded by trees which have many dry limbs, but I was unclear as to what surface we would use to support the fire, since we are atop many feet of snow. The answer is, throw the branches on the snow, sprinkle on a little stove fuel, and light the fire. The fire does melt the snow, but if you keep feeding in branches, the meltwater does not put the fire out, it just burns itself into a pit. Again, Skinner ingenuity - as the pit descends, dig a shelf out at the edge of the pit, that is below the snow upon which we sit, and then you can dry clothing, boots, and gloves, by placing them on the shelf without risking getting them burned.

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Monday, December 14, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #174 
Wind Rivers, #174:  
Courtney Skinner is our expedition leader and strategist for this ski trip. He has planned out all the meals and snacks, and designed the Camp #1, Camp #2 approach Mount Baldy. He also is a mother-hen about making sure we all stay warm and hydrated. So with his brothers, Ole, and Monty, setting up their tent, Courtney digs out a kitchen “bench” and starts water boiling so we can all drink some more jello shots, and rush warmth back into our exhausted, and now cooling down bodies. He has wisely made the kitchen a pit, blocking the stove and pots from any breezes, and keeping all but his head out of that same flow of cold air. By the time dinner will finish, it will be a starry, 10˙ night. It is also worth noting that on my various winter camping adventures with my DFC&FC friends in Idaho, we had a lot of dried pasta and freeze dried meals, but seldom carried any canned food because of weight. Not so on this trip. There are cans galore, as you can see, and many have unexpected treats inside.

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Monday, December 7, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #172 
Wind Rivers, #172:  
After three lakes, the last of which was the largest, and longest, we finally reach the forest edge where we intend to establish Camp #1. Although skiing on the frozen lake surface offered flat terrain, and was easier to manage than the steep terrain of the morning, we are still all dragging, and carrying, A LOT of weight, so by the time we get here, we are all clearly burned out again. It is a GREAT relief to untie the sleds, and get the packs off of our backs, but as soon as that is accomplished, we all slip into a daze of exhaustion, and start growing cold very quickly. The winter sun is setting, so the Skinners have two objectives. The first is to create a kitchen and get a stove going, so they can make more hot jello drinks, and then, when that sugar burst hits us, they want to see the tents go up before it gets any darker. When we go on to Camp #2, these tents, the sleds, and some of the supplies will be left behind, so it is also important that we situate the tents so primary anchor lines can be tied off to the trees. There will also be stakes in the snow, but in a raging wind storm, they might be pulled out, so the tree tie-offs are essential to prevent the tents from being blown away.

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Monday, November 30, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #171 
Wind Rivers, #171:  
With lunch behind us, and the light snow still falling, we saddle up once again, and continue slogging upwards. The lunch break, and the jello “shots” have restored everyone, and about 2pm., Courtney announces that we will soon hit the first section of lakes, which will completely change the dynamic of our ski. Shortly thereafter we come out of the trees, to expansive sections of flat land, which are the frozen-over lake surfaces. Now we are able to ski in straight lines, not winding around through the trees, and not struggling to pull the heavy sleds uphill. For those of us skiing behind whichever Skinner is breaking trail, the task seems nearly effortless compared to the last 6-7 hours of this day while we were climbing. We expect to cross the largest of the several lakes we encounter to establish Camp #1, a tent encampment amongst the trees, at the edge of the lake. In the picture above, Courtney is enjoying the moment we emerge from our climb, and the flat lake terrain lies before us.

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Monday, November 23, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #170 
Wind Rivers, #170:  
If you follow this link you can get some sense of the terrain we must cover to get to Mount Baldy, which I have pinned on the map. The ranchers that brought us to the edge of the designated wilderness area, ferried us across the flat ranch land below Fayette Lake. From there, we spend the better part of 8hrs. working our way up through the foothills. The first upward pitches are pretty gradual, the weather stays pleasant, and the forest less than dense, but by midday, the terrain has grown MUCH steeper, the trees much closer together, and a light snow has begun to fall. The sleds are a real pain in the ass to pull up steep terrain, and navigate through the forest, so by the time we break for lunch, everyone is worn out. The Skinners, however, are VERY organized, and they have not only a designated “lunch” sled, but all complete meals are kept in their own stuff sacks, so in a matter of minutes after we stop, stoves are out and on, food is being prepared, and everyone is hydrating with Courtneys “secret replenishment drink,” hot water with Jello powder stirred into it. It sounds weird, but it flavors the water, and the high fructose goes off in your system, immediately providing an energy rush, and flushing heat through your body. In persistent cold exposure, it is amazing to realize how everything you ingest immediately affects your comfort and your warmth.

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Monday, November 16, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #169 
Wind Rivers, #169:  
The snowmobile cowboys drop us and our gear in the foothills of the Wind River Range, at the edge of the Bridger Wilderness Area. Having offered us all well wishes, they depart, and we are left to shoulder our packs, and rope line our sleds to ourselves. We are going to ascend about 3,000ft, carrying, and towing A LOT of weight, so there are no traditional cross-country skis in this group. Everybody is sporting modified downhill skis and sturdy boots. Neither is anyone using wax for traction. Everyone has sealskins adhered to the bottom of their skies. This makes steep climbing much less of a struggle, and it also helps to slow downhill speeds a bit, so you do not get out-of-control. This is a staged expedition as we have MANY miles to cover in order to reach Mt. Baldy. We hope to establish, camp #1 today, but it will be a long, and VERY uphill day. From camp #1 to camp #2, Courtney expects we will be skiing flatter terrain across alpine meadows and frozen lake surfaces.

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Monday, November 9, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #168 
Wind Rivers, #168:  
After the snowmobile tow across the open pasture land, we are deposited with our gear at the edge of the Bridger Wilderness Area, and it is all uphill from here. In this shot, Ole Skinner is sitting on one of the machines, and the only woman in our party is watching as others approach the drop zone. Apparently, she is a very good skier, but she has never done a trip like this before, so I loved it when I asked what she thought of the tow-in, and she replied, “That is the craziest thing I have ever done. I hope the rest of this trip is less challenging.” Soon we will find out. As you can see in these first 4 posts of this story, the day has started off sunny, with passing clouds, so we all remain hopeful, that the weather holds, and we don’t encounter an infamous, and epic Wind River storm.

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Monday, November 2, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #167 
Wind Rivers, #167:  
And they’re off!!! With packs packed, and sleds loaded and lashed to the snowmobiles, it has become time to traverse several miles of pastures to reach the foothills of the Wind River Range. I am pretty sure most in our party thought the dangerous part of our adventure was going to be summiting 11,500+ft. Mount Baldy, but we are all wrong. Going in, and coming out across these pastures while being towed on your skis by a snowmobile is among the most dangerous things I have ever done. Fortunately, we did not have to wear our packs (on the inbound trip) because there were many snowmobiles and quite a number of support drivers, but even without packs on, being towed behind a speeding machine is akin to holding on to a car bumper while riding a skateboard. Additionally, even though there is snow on the ground, it is only about 4” deep and after that it is just dirt and rocks. If you go down, you are going to be hurt. The other complication is that many of us are two people being towed, and you can’t take the chance of being too near each other, so you have to ski on your edges to keep from drifting together into the middle, behind the snowmobile. It proves to be a wildly excited, nerve-wracking experience.

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Monday, October 26, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #166 
Wind Rivers, #166:  
The morning of our departure into the winter backcountry of the Wind River Range is clear and sunny. It is cold, but standing in the sun has warmth, and there is a lot of activity. Some ranching friends of the Skinner brothers, have invited us to stage from their home, and they will take us, and our loaded sleds, by snowmobile, across several miles of flat plains, into the foothills of the Winds, at which point we will be on our own. As the sleds are loaded, and the gear lashed down, the children of the ranchers look on as we prepare (above). The seated women is part of our expedition party, and the man standing to the left of her, is Monty Skinner, who, if the plans work out, will celebrate his 50th birthday with all of us on the 11,500ft + summit of Mount Baldy, before skiing down. Things are about to get started in a very big way. Some snowmobiles will just tow the ladened sleds. Others will tow two or three of us at a time on our skis, a tricky exercise to say the least. And, they're off!

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Monday, October 19, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #165 
Wind Rivers, #165:  
In between backpacks in the Wind Rivers, Vicki Golden, and I enjoy the luxury of lodging and restaurant food in Pinedale. At the time, I am also doing backcountry skiing stories for POWDER magazine, and it occurs to me that maybe I could find a guided ski trip into the Winds. We often frequent the local sports store, so on one of our visits, I inquire if such winter trips have ever been staged, and I am told that some local ranchers, the Skinner brothers, have done several. So, I get their phone number, and directions to their ranch, setting up a meeting between us to discuss the possibility. There are three brothers, Courtney, Ole, and Monty, and they all instruct skiing at the small resort above Pinedale. They are also part of the ski patrol. They have, indeed, done winter trips into the Winds, and they explain how we can make that happen. The are not cheap to work with, and POWDER will only cover part of the expense, but the Skinners want this to be a large group, and say that they can muster other people to share the cost. I am grateful for that offer, and consequently, we set a date for early next spring. Vicki does not feel up for it, but I am good-to-go, so when spring arrives, I drive back to Pinedale for a new adventure. It has been decided that we will celebrate Monty’s 50th birthday, by staging a 10-day trip that will culminate by summiting 11,500ft +, Mount Baldy on is birthday, and then we will ski down. Vicki and I have previously camped in Bald Mountain basin, so I know the summit, and I realize the Skinners have planned a SERIOUS trip. On the morning of our departure, I meet the many other members of our expedition, when we all assemble at a ranch south of town. These ranchers are friends of the Skinners, and they will take us by snowmobile across several miles of flat plains, to the foothills of the Winds, at the edge of the designated wilderness area. During the ski trip, we will ALL pull sleds loaded with our gear, and shared supplies, and here Courtney (above) is lashing down equipment on a loaded sled.

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Monday, October 12, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #164 
Wind Rivers, #164:  
In three summers of being high and wild in the Wind Rivers, Vicki Golden, and I have backpacked a LOT of miles, camped in numerous basins throughout the range, and suffered some awesome storms, but none like this. We have, literally, been blown out, and driven into our first full retreat - a strange way to end, so many successful months. This was to be our final trip, and for a moment at our North Fork Lake camp, we thought it actually might be. After a 22-mile hike out in a torrential downpour, we are finally dry and safe in our van, and headed for a hot shower, restaurant meals, and a comfy bed at our fav place to stay in Pinedale, the Log Cabin Motel. From Pinedale, the view to the west is of the high plains of Wyoming, above which the storm is raging as well. While we unload the van into our cabin, the storm continues coming at us, building in fury with deafening thunder, and lightening, everywhere. Feeling glad to be safely out of the Winds, I take a walk to the street in front of the motel and make this last shot for the day - cloud-to-cloud lightening. The horrible weather continues throughout the night, but dissipates at dawn, and clears completely off in the morning. We have a nice breakfast in town, and a beautiful drive to Sun Valley, where we hope to hang out with Gordon Williams and other friends for a few more weeks.

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Monday, October 5, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #163 
Wind Rivers, #163:  
The relentless rain and wind continue unabated throughout the night, and are still raging when we wake in the morning. There is no sign it is going to let up. We shelter in the tent for awhile, pondering what to do, and I finally suggest we fold up camp and flee. I don’t want to spend another entire day in my sleeping bag. Vicki agrees, so the process begins by trying to get as much gear stashed as possible without getting it wet. The tent is the last item to fold, and there is no saving it, it is soaking, but we get it down and into its bag, we shoulder our packs, and then, begin our descent. It continues to pour, and in spite of our rain gear, water is streaming off our faces, and making our hands numb. Having not yet discovered neoprene gloves, something I found useful some years later in the Tongass rainforest, all she, and I, have at the time are wool mittens, which have become like soggy sweat socks. The trail out is a slippery, muddy mess, and steeper sections are flowing like small streams. When we arrive at the lower lake where we camped on the way in, the lake has doubled is size, and the meadow has completely disappeared. If there was any thought of stopping here for the night, it is quickly dispelled. That means we are walking out to the van, and we will log a 22-mile day before getting there. Fortunately for us, after an entire summer of backpacking elsewhere, we are fit enough to believe we can do it, even with loaded packs, so as it now well past noon, and we have a long way to go, we pick up our pace, put our heads down, and plow through the downpour. About 6:30pm, we are completely exhausted, but we hit the trailhead at Boulder Lake, and collapse in the comfort, and shelter of the van. The storm is still raging, and the thunder, and lightening, have returned, so before we drive back to Pinedale, and a warm shower, I take this one last shot of the low pass (illuminated by a brief sun ray - lower,middle) from which we have descended.

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Monday, September 28, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #162 
Wind Rivers, #162:  
The pounding rain that follows the terrifying one-hour lightning assault, continues all day. Our tent remains mostly waterproof, and small leaks can be easily addressed with our sponges, but outside the meadow is turning into a pond. We have enough high ground that it does not reach us, but the flow past the front of the tent, down to North Fork Lake is beginning to look like a viable stream. There is little interest on our part in going out into this mess, and for all we know, there may be more lightening to come. Besides, it is REALLY cold. Now that things seem have calmed down a bit, we decide to re-deploy our ensolite pads, and crawl back into our sleeping bags. All of this is just fine with Belle Star, as she has been clearly shaken by the storm, and is perfectly happy to stay in the tent with us. We have snacks for lunch, while the rain continues to pound down, and we sleep on-and-off throughout the day. About 5pm, the rain abates, so once again, not taking any chances, we bolt out of the tent to prepare a full meal. Everything is flooded, so we have to move the kitchen a short distance, but our stoves are working, and the freeze-dried meals are abundant, so we chow down. Our judgement to do this is wise, because after a 1-1/2hr reprieve, the rain and wind begin again. Thankfully without the thunder and lightening. As we drift off to sleep, the rain continues to intensify, and Vicki, and I agree, this is the worst weather system we have encountered in our 3yrs. of hiking in this range.

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Monday, September 21, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #161 
Wind Rivers, #161:  
Considering it is August, the storm which moved in during the night brought FREEZING cold with it, besides the pounding rain. There is no point in getting out in it at the crack of dawn, so Vicki Golden, and I, linger in our sleeping bags, and snuggle with Belle Star. About 9am, the rain tapers off, and there are some blue holes that appear in the sky. Not wanting to take any chances, Vicki, and I, bolt to the “kitchen,” and down a hearty breakfast. As we eat, the wind begins to pick up, which I am hoping, signals the storm is blowing off. Unfortunately, it does not. Rather, it signals that a new one is blowing in. Within an hour of our meal, the wind reaches another rage level, and clouds, once again, begin to pour over Round Top Mountain. It looks as though we will NOT be climbing up there today. Then suddenly, there is a massive roll of thunder directly above us, and there are two lightning strikes on the other side of the lake. Belle hates thunder and lightning, and we are not fans of it, either, se we all flee back into the tent. Belle is terrified, and shivering, so we put the sleeping bags over her, and keep petting, and assuring her, it will be OK. However, the intensity of the storm continues to build, and it is rolling right over us. We have a reasonably safe location with taller rocks and trees around us, but this is a massive electric system, and it is striking everywhere. When we close our eyes, we can see the flashes in various colors, and there are often several at once in a kind of strobe effect. Over our three years of backpacking in the Winds, we have lived through some fierce storms, but this one takes the cake. We are actually so frightened, we pull our ensolite pads from beneath our sleeping bags, fold them in half, and balance on them using our tip-toes and fingertips, so there is as little of our bodies in contact with the ground as possible. After about an hour of this unrelenting assault, a torrential rain moves in.

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Monday, September 14, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #160 
Wind Rivers, #160:  
As our after-dinner stroll around the lake continues, Belle Star revels in meadow rolls, we all love the fact that the mosquitoes had been blown to the East Coast, and the warmth of the late light grows richer, and richer. Then, it suddenly occurs to Vicki, and I, that the wind is dying down. Miracle of miracles, considering the last three days. It is not yet completely gone, but waves on the lake have turned to a radiant shimmer of reflected color, and the clouds have stopped scuttling entirely. We have provisions for four more days, and since today, having accomplished our goal of crossing the Continental Divide, the question before us is, what should we do tomorrow. On our less-than-perfect small quad topo, we can see that, at our end of North Fork Lake, there is a rising basin that ascends Round Top Mountain which looks doable, and although we may not actually reach several other lakes, we would likely have a great overview of them, so that becomes our plan for the morning. Interestingly, during our walk back to camp, the night becomes VERY cold and clear, unusual for August in the Wind Rivers. When we retire it is a stargazers delight, but about 4a.m., I hear the first drops to hit the rainfly, and for the next two hours, the momentum of the storm builds, and rain drops become a steady drumbeat on the fly.

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Monday, September 7, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #159 
Wind Rivers, #159:  Battered as Vicki Golden, and I, have been all day by raging winds, our skin care regimen, and a good meal restore us, so we can enjoy a stellar sunset. The cloud-passing, skyshow continues, but we notice the wind is dying down somewhat, and they scuttle by more slowly. We are comfortable with leaving camp, and taking a stroll along the shore of North Fork Lake. While not exactly alpenglow, as the sun in the west drops lower and lower on the horizon, the color of the light warms considerably, and sets off the granite around us with a luminous hue. This perceived “warmth” also restores us somewhat. Even though we had a great day, and accomplished our first crossing of the Continental Divide, by the time we got back to camp, we were beat to s*#@, and not in a particularly cheery mood. What a difference a little repair, some warming food, and a brief passage in time can make. Even Belle Star is happier (especially after some trout in her dinner bowl), and she is bounding wildly around, occasionally finding just the the right patch of meadow to dive on her back with her legs in the air, and wriggle around like a fish, making all sorts of guttural noises of joy. We can all say one thing about the windy day, there were no mosquitoes to fend off. I am actually hopeful that they have all been blown to Kansas!

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Monday, August 31, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #158 
Wind Rivers, #158:  
After crossing the Continental Divide for the first time, Vicki Golden, doggo, Belle Star, and I, are heading back to our campsite at North Fork Lake. Although it is all downhill on an established trail, we are now walking directly into the wind, which has been raging all day. We have on ALL of our layers, and head coverings, but it is so chill and brutal, I regret I do not have the leather face mask that I bought for winter camping. It never occurred to me that it might be useful on a summer adventure. By the time we are finally back at our tent, and slightly sheltered by the boulders around us, we realize we are, literally, wind-burned. Between the all-day buffeting to which we have been subjected, and the extremely dry air of our high altitude location, our facial skin, and lips, are cracked and painful. Before starting dinner, we take emergency action, retreating inside the tent, to repair ourselves. We have a large variety of lip balms which we goop on, but we also have Nivea, which we slather on our faces. When we finally emerge to initiate the evening meal, we look like greased weasels. On top of it all, we are also sunburned, and my nose hurts so much, I actually put “trout grease” on it after dinner. Ah! The joys of camping. Hahaha!

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 Monday, August 24, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #157 
Wind Rivers, #157:  
Vicki, Belle Star, and I, finally leave our sheltered place, and brave the howling wind tunnel of Hay Pass to cross over the Continental Divide for our fist time. As windy as it is, it feels to both of us that we have done something cool - we have climbed up through some of the tallest, most rugged mountains in North America, and crested the range, passing from the west to the east. Below us, somewhere WAY out there, are the Great Plains. The surfers have been exchanged for farmers. Then, as we continue down the trail on the east side, we come to Lake Dennis, a huge lake several miles long, at 10,636ft. Although there is a marked trail around the right side shoreline, it looks like a lengthy boulder scramble we have no intention of doing, so we sit for awhile, enjoying the sky show and some more snacks, but when the wind chill finally settles in on us, we turn ourselves back toward camp, and begin the journey.

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 Monday, August 17, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #156 
Wind Rivers, #156:  
Basking, basking, the clouds are passing. At the crest of the Continental Divide, Hay Pass, we shelter behind a small granite dome, to eat, and soak up some sun warmth, as the hike to this point has left us wind-chilled. Stepping out from behind this dome is like entering a wind tunnel on steroids. For the moment, however, we have some peace, and a good bit of food, so we just sun ourselves, and lay low. Belle is happy to stretch her lovely black fur out to sun as well, and she actually gets so hot, she pants. We stay like this for more than 1hr. as we are in no hurry. The day is young, there is no threatening weather, and the hike back to camp is not a long one, so we enjoy the leisure. When we finally make our move, it will be between our sheltering dome and the granite wall to the right. The actual crest of the Continental Divide is only about 100-yards away to the left, and then there is a small descent that should allow us to overlook Dennis, a large lake on the other side of the divide.

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 Monday, August 10, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #155
Wind Rivers, #155:  
The wind continues RAGING throughout the night, and our tent strains and shutters under the violence of some of the gusts. Things are no better the next morning, so we have to layer-up just to fix breakfast. There are clouds in the sky, but being blown through so quickly, there is no chance they will build up and storm, and if we sit around and do nothing all day we will freeze, so we decide to go for the Continental Divide crossing at Hay Pass. We already so high (SO HIGH) that there is little to ascend, our hike is mostly a slow, but modest, uphill traverse. For now that wind is at our back, thankfully we are not walking into it, but Vicki has on a rain poncho as her outer, windproof layer, and the gust keep blowing it over her head. Fierce bursts push us headlong, as though we are being driven,..well, we are! When we reach Hay Pass (above) it is like a wind tunnel, and the air flow is screaming. We have now been so buffeted about, and wind-chilled, we take shelter behind a small granite dome, to drink water, and eat some food to refuel us. The clouds overhead just keep streaming by, and, thankfully, an occasional blue hole provides the warmth of the sun. We both have on our dark blue, wool zip-necks, which soak up the heat when the sunlight hits us.

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 Monday, August 3, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #154, 
Wind Rivers, #154:  After our sheltered snack stop at Glacier Lake, Vicki, Belle Star, and I, walk briskly back to camp, so we can don parkas, hoods, and booties. The wind has taken a toll on us, and we are wind-chilled, even though we are hiking. It, literally, NEVER stops blowing. As we drop down from the higher basin, it becomes less violent, but it does not abate. Finally back at camp, we feed Belle, stuff her in the tent, covering her with sleeping bags, and then we turn to creating a massive carbo-loaded meal for ourselves. Sadly, there will be no trout for dinner tonight. Once we get some food in us, we warm up substantially inside our down layers, but the air streaming around us never relents. I think this picture of Vicki says it all - LOL!

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 Monday, July 27, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #153, 
Wind Rivers, #153:  Vicki, Belle Star, and I, finally reach Glacier Lake, and do find enough large boulders that we have some protection from the raging windstorm. We layer up with ALL the clothes we are carrying, and settle into a rocky niche to have some food and water. Belle does her sunbathing thing, and all seems well with the world. Our topo map shows that at the end of the lake, the sloping rise to the left, provides an accessible route to the top of the Continental Divide, from which we could overlook the Milky Lakes on the other side of the range, but we have been worn down by the windstorm, and it will only get worse if we push higher, so we decide to soak up some heat, eat food, and then wend our way back to camp, where we have parkas, booties, and sleeping bags into which we can retreat.

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 Monday, July 20, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #152, 
Wind Rivers, #152:  Onward and upward! Vicki, and I, pursue “The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get.” Continuing our ascendance of the lakes grouped in the Glacier Lake basin, we have but one more to reach, and that is Glacier Lake, itself. Behind us lies a string of smaller unnamed lakes, around which we have enjoyed the morning’s hike. Now we approach the top of the basin that cradles the largest in the group. The wind has been screaming all day, unrelentingly, and at this high point of our hike, it is at full rage. We are warm because we are moving, but there are times when we are actually pummeled off-balance. There is little cover up here to shield us, so I hope we can find a boulder or two when we reach Glacier, behind which we can seek refuge. Belle Star, my lab, looks hysterically funny, because in the torrent of rushing air, her ears seem to have minds of their own, and they are flapping around wildly.

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 Monday, July 13, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #151, 
Wind Rivers, #151:  Passing around the first lake, we slowly ascend the shore of the inflowing creek from the second lake slightly above us. In looking back, I am struck by how different these summits are from those we have been hiking in the central section of the Winds. The ones around us now, lack the big walls and sheer faces we camped beneath out of Elkhart Park. Rather, these are like massive mounds, with green, terraced meadows across their faces, that crawl all the way to the top. We could probably pick our way up anyone of them if we chose, but this is a lazy day for us, and the windy exposure would only be worse, so we are perfectly happy to amble along just drinking it all in. The weather seems to be growing a little more “iffy,” but there are still plenty of big, blue “holes,” and the endless wind is pushing the clouds by quickly, so it seems unlikely it will storm, thus we keep plodding on. I assure you I would NOT want to be up here, and this exposed, if things started to go off. There is NO place to hide.

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 Monday, July 6, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #150, 
Wind Rivers, #150:  The basin of small lakes Vicki Golden, and I, are hiking into are VERY high. Summits no longer tower above us. The first lake we encounter is small and shallow, so, of course, Belle wades right in. (Be sure to click on the link (COLORED LETTERS) and see the Google mapping of this basin, so you can follow the hike. Also, scroll to magnify some AMAZING detail!) If you ARE looking at the map, North Fork Lake, where we are camped, is to the upper left. The first lake we reach is long, narrow and dead-center. From there we will ascend a short rise to the other small lake, right, and above it. Finally we will traverse across to Glacier. This pass must be windy most of the time, because it sure is today, and if you blow up the detail on the Google map, you can see on the day the satellite took this shot, all of these lakes are glistening from being wind-swept.

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Monday, June 29, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #149, 
Wind Rivers, #149:  As Vicki Golden, my lab, Belle Star, and I, follow the slowly ascending traverse line across the slopes of the summits to our east, we rise into a series of stunted tree stands, big meadows blooming with wildflowers, and a string of small, interconnected lakes that will eventually bring us to the largest of them, Glacier. This is really a stroll, more than a hike, because there is very little ascending to do until the rise just before Glacier. Thankfully there is quite a bit of sun, because the wind is howling around us, and the wind chill is considerable. This being a relatively short, leisurely hike, we are in no hurry, so we stop frequently to sit in the sun, water-up, and snack. Belle is classic. The minute we shelter and sit, she finds a windless spot, sprawls, and passes out, soaking up the heat, with her gorgeous jet-black coat. There are no trails up here. We are definitely off-road, and some of these big meadows fully a bloom, buzz with insects, and smell wonderful, even in the stiff wind. Vicki, and I, feel like we have found a very private Garden of Eden. Belle thinks she has found a place to run around wildly and chase eeks (rock Pika), who are definitely baiting her like a whack-a-mole game.

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 Monday, June 22, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #148, 
Wind Rivers, #148:  After the previous, long gray, drippy day, our tent lights up early in the morning because the sun is shining on us. Having slept the better part of the last 24hrs., we are now eager to have a low key dayhike, and decide we will investigate a basin to our east and south that appears to have several small lakes, and a larger one, named Glacier. The storm of the previous day has been driven past by a howling wind, so while it is warm in the direct sun if you are sheltered by a rock or trees, standing in the fierce air flow is quite chilling. As a consequence, Vicki, and I, layer-up, and put on our wind shells. The lakes in the Glacier Lake basin do not drain into North Fork Lake, where we are camped, they drain into the smaller, swampy, mosquito-ridden lake where we camped on our first night, which lies below them. North Fork Lake is nearly as high as they are, and so our ascent is a gradual upward traverse of the western face of summits to our east. Considering how few trees can be found at North Fork, we are surprised to find substantial stands of them as we rise into the Glacier Lake basin. We are also grateful because, when we stop to snack and drink, we can shelter in them, while warming ourselves in the direct sun. It is finally a VERY beautiful day, and the sky is swimming with fast moving clouds, none of whom look to bring any threatening weather. Excelsior!

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 Monday, June 15, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #147, 
Wind Rivers, #147:  The weather streaming over Round Top Mountain descends on North Fork Lake, and our campsite, with a vengeance. The wind REALLY picks up and the rain POURS down. Our tent pitch appears well-chosen because we do not bear the brunt of the wind, nor are we flooded, as is the rest of the meadow just beyond our vestibule. Best of all, our rainfly remains taught and we stay dry inside,..at least for the time being. The storm intensifies, and shows no sign of abating, so I suggest this become a “rest” day, welcome after our arduous two day hike in, and we take our clothes off, getting back into our sleeping bags to preserve our warmth. We then proceed to pass out to the drone of water hitting the fly. Doggo likes our decision as well, so she curls up in the vestibule, and starts snoring away. Sometime around noon, I wake up to check our tent seams for leaks, and eventually stick my head out to find this (above). It looks to be a day of steady, POURING rain, so I crawl back into my bag, and doze off again. Interestingly, the sound of the rain has become such a background noise we sleep with, when the rain lets up around 4p.m., it wakes me. I dress, and get out of the tent to survey our circumstances. The world is VERY soggy, but we are relatively well off at the moment, and I make the call that we do dinner now, in case there is more of the storm yet to come. The gods are kind, and we have about a 2-hour window in which I fish, successfully to Belle’s delight, as she loves trout to improve her dry kibble, and Vicki, and I, chow down our dinner which also includes some trout. The respite in the weather allows the flooded meadows to drain a bit, which is good, because around 6-6:30 the weather rolls back in. We retreat, once again, into the tent, but before we sleep, the rain lets up, and the storm does seem to be tapering off. Perhaps tomorrow we will finally have a walk around.

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 Monday, June 8, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #146, 
Wind Rivers, #146:  Exhausted from two days of carrying heavy backpacks up steep trails, we sleep well, but even so, I am occasionally awakened by a howling gust of wind, or an abrupt downpour of rain pounding our rainfly. Come the morning when we rise, we find the tent is still dry inside, and our pitch proves well chosen, as the ground immediately around us is not flooded, but everywhere else is flowing with water. Shortly after we begin to collect ourselves and dress, the weather breaks off briefly, so we take advantage of it, and scramble out to make breakfast. In many places over the last two summers, we have made fires at our camps, but we ALWAYS carry our stunningly dependable MSR stoves. It is good we have them now, because nothing around us would ever burn, it is all completely saturated. Belle Star takes a morning stroll to investigate the surrounding terrain, and Vicki, and I, scarf down a big breakfast, partly to re-energize after the grueling hike in, and partly to generate body heat for what we expect to be a cold, wet day of walking around. As we finish the morning meal, the brief respite that has allowed us to eat, ends rather abruptly. Across North Fork Lake is a considerable summit called Round Top Mountain, and as I am cleaning plates and pots, a storm of clouds and weather literally pours over it, coming in from the west. It is impressive to watch, but a harbinger of some serious stuff about to happen. Vicki, Belle Star, and I, decide to retreat back into the tent for the moment, and let this play out, before launching any hike.

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Monday, June 1, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #145, 
Wind Rivers, #145:  At the first camp, on the first tier of our ascent, the morning dawns very overcast, but it is not raining. We do a hasty breakfast, pack everything up, and start another relatively long, upward trek. As the hours go by, a cool breeze arises, which makes our carry more tolerable. Meadows blooming with wildflowers, and strewn with boulders, increase significantly, and trees begin to disappear. Given our past summer's often terrifying experiences with lightening storms in this range, we are hopeful that some tree shelter will remain at the next lake where we intend to put down our permanent camp. When we arrive, we realize we are VERY exposed in this basin, more so than just about anywhere else we have been in this range, but we find a location that is low, and which we believe is safe from flooding, as well as being surrounded by enough high rock and big trees that it will keep us from being strike targets. Good judgment is everything, so we count on our two previous years of camping to inform our decision, and we set up. (Blue tent, lower left.) North Fork Lake is large, the mosquitoes fewer, and during meal prep, the wind begins to rise, while the clouds descend. It sprinkles off and on, but generally a good evening is had by all, and we are thankful that tomorrow, we will not have to shoulder the heavy packs again. From here, even though the ascent to the pass is long, it is not especially steep, so we feel confident that for the first time in our three summers of being high and wild in the Winds, we will finally crossover the Continental Divide at Hay Pass, somewhere up ahead on the trail.

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 Monday, May 25, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #144, 
Wind Rivers, #144:  Carrying a very full, and weighty rig, Vicki Golden, and I, are glad to have the steep ascent of the switchback trail concluded. It is great relief to be alpine, and walking through the blooming meadows of late summer. It has been hot, and humid without rain all the way in, but in the late afternoon, at this altitude, we are finally experiencing some cooler air. The trail behind Vicki in this picture, plunges downward between the treeline and the granite wall, and it is a long walk out from where we are now, yet we are only halfway to our ultimate destination, Hay Pass, where we hope to cross over the Continental Divide. That being said, we are EXHAUSTED, and will not go much further today. Our walk through these meadows finally brings us to a small lake, so we have water and plenty of room for a comfortable campsite. Glad to get out from under the pack weight, we snack, drink, and set up. My black lab, Belle Star, is especially glad to have her saddlebags off, so she celebrates by chasing meadow eeks and swimming in the lake, while Vicki, and I, do food prep. It is a lovely evening, except the swampy lake hosts hordes of mosquitoes, so the headnets come out while we cook. From where we are, the trail goes up again, to a larger lake above us, but instead of resting for a day after such a long hike, we both agree we want to leave the mosquitoes behind if we can, so we retire early, because we will have another long, upward hike tomorrow.

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 Monday, May 18, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #143, 
Wind Rivers, #143:  This starts the final adventure of my partner, Vicki Golden, and I, being high and wild in the Wind River Range, for three consecutive summers. Although we begin this summer camping in places we have already visited (Elkhart Park entrance to Titcomb Lakes Basin detailed earlier in this blog (posts #90-97), we went there to get ourselves in shape for an unknown hike, that would take us over the Continental Divide to its east side. In the final weeks of August, the moment for that trek arrives, and we feel well conditioned and up for the task. In previous summers, we have worked our way south in the range, using the Big Sandy entrance to access the Deep Lake/Temple Peak quad, also part of this earlier blog. Now, for this final backpack, we plan to go further south and use a trail that will take us up through Boulder Canyon, eventually leading us over Hay Pass and the Divide. It is a VERY long hike, which in the Wind Rivers, truly means something, hence our two months of prepping for this by backpacking other locations. I must also say, some of this is sketchy, as I did not take notes, and the topo maps for this area are the 1/2-sized quads, so not every lake is named, and sometimes the trail on the map is hard to follow. What I believe we do is ascend through Boulder Canyon, a full day of hiking with 10-day packs, culminating in a steep switchbacked climb, that finally levels off into some lovely alpine meadows in full wildflower bloom. The day is hot, making the hike even more grueling, and although weather streams over us, it does not rain, it is just muggy. At the top of the switchbacks, this (above) is the view north and to the west. Directly below, behind the line of trees, is the trail we have been on, and in the reverse direction, the meadows and a lake unfold before us.

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 Monday, May 11, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #142, 
Wind Rivers, #142:  As darkness descends, my hike-mate, Vicki Golden, and my now very tired black lab, Belle Star, finally reach our camp at Deep Lake, after a 16+-mile day-trip around Black Joe Lake in the neighboring basin. We have just enough energy left to prepare dinner, after which we all pass out cold. When morning comes, it seems a pleasant enough day, which is good because we now have a 10-mile walk out, this being our last camp of the season. Last night, when we crossed over the granite ridge of Haystack, and dropped into Clear Lake below our camp at Deep, a VERY large group of guides and drunken guests had established a huge camp, and were ringing the shoreline in the twilight, yelling loudly to each other while they fished. To our good fortune, they cooled their beer stash in the lake waters, and some of the full cans of Coors drifted away. Finders keepers,..so Vicki and I enjoyed three beers with our evening meal. That party came in on horses, A LOT of horses, which we knew tore up the trail, so when we pack out, we opt to cross the dome into the Miller Lake-Rapid Lake valley, and descend that trail as it will be in better condition. At the top of the dome traverse, we stop for one last look at the Deep Lake basin that has been our stunning home for the last 8-days (above), and marvel at the granite walls of East Temple Peak and spire. From here on out it is all downhill to my van, and then back to my studio in LA. Another GREAT summer in the Winds, and a good time had by all. Already looking forward to our planned return next year.

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 Monday, May 4, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #141, 
Wind Rivers, #141:  At the outlet end of Black Joe Lake, a sheer wall forces the trail to rise up through boulders, crowning out on a granite dome. By the time we reach there, we (Vicki Golden, my partner, my dog, Belle Star, and I) are exhausted, and running on empty. To this point we have done about 14-miles today, and we still have several more to go. However, this dome we have had to ascend offers an amazing overview of the world in which we have been camped for the last 10-days, so we linger with our last snacks, water up one more time, and take it all in. The minute we stop walking, Belle lies down and snoozes. Even wild dog is tired. Thankfully the view and the food are renewing. In the foreground (above) is the long, narrow Black Joe Lake, above which looms the impressive granite of Haystack Mountain. It is hard to grasp the scale of this, but to the middle-left, Haystack has a large, dark shadow from which a rock jumble extends in the lake. That is the spot where our morning traverse turned ugly. That is an avalanche of boulders the size of houses. To the right of Haystack, Temple Peak defines the skyline, and in the basin between Temple and Haystack, lies our camp at Deep Lake. It is a grand view, but we have miles to go before we sleep. Interestingly, I will be on this dome two more times in my life, once with my friends from Sun Valley, and then, at age 60, with my son and daughter. How blessed I feel to have been able to do that.

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 Monday, April 27, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #140, 
Wind Rivers, #140:  My partner, Vicki Golden, and I, have scrambled down from the basin of small lakes, now high above and sitting directly beneath East Temple Peak and spire, which can be seen in the distance. We have reached the far end of Black Joe Lake, and have stopped to drink, snack, and re-lace our boots. We are about 1/3 of the way back to our camp, after what has already been a long day of hiking. We are only carrying daypack weight, but we have done miles and miles of rugged terrain, and still face a long stretch of it before we are back in our camp at Deep Lake. Black Joe is a long, narrow lake and we are now on the side with an established trail, so it will easier to navigate than the boulder field we traversed this morning (Thank God!) It is about 4pm, and we need to keep moving if we expect to be in camp before dark, so we are off. Most of the trail is flat, with several stream crossings, but at the other end of the lake, a sheer wall comes down to the water, so we must ascend it, only to descend once again, and cross the outlet. That will be followed by another ascent of the granite ridge of Haystack Mountain. There is A LOT of up-to-go-down-to-go-up before we are home. We make good time around the lake shore, but the trail up through the boulders at the far end, is exhausting and slow. At the top, however, there is a reward.

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 Monday, April 20, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #139, 
Wind Rivers, #139:  Working our way down from the so-named-by-Vicki, Aurora Lakes basin, we are paralleling the flow of Black Joe Creek. There is an established trail that traverses a series of descending terraces, ultimately intersecting the far end of Black Joe Lake. The trail is not difficult, but the day is wearing on us now, and we are plodding along carefully so as not to turn an ankle or strain a knee because we are tired. In this shot, Vicki has entered a steep, treacherous terrain of rounded pebbles, and is being extra cautious not to loose her footing. Most of our descent is kinder, fortunately, and we hit the shore of Black Joe about 5pm. Most of the lake, and the boulder field on the opposite shore we crossed through this morning, are in deep shade, but we are catching late afternoon light on our side. It is still a long way around the lake, and it does involve a considerable elevation gain (up-to-go-down) at the very end, before the trail crosses the outlet, taking us back to camp.
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 Monday, April 13, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #138, 
Wind Rivers, #138:  After a short downhill slab walk from the lake-tarn cluster at the head of this basin, we encounter the biggest lake in the basin, nestled at the foot of the VERY dramatic backdrop of East Temple Peak (left) and its spire (middle). This lake is situated in a place that gets more sun than the lake above us, and so this one has less ice cover. It is amazing to us that our camp at Deep Lake is just over the saddle on the right, and down nearly 1,000 VERY sheer feet. As there is no way from here to there without rope, we still have a long trail home, before we are back there, and although we know we need to keep moving, we linger here some moments to take in the sapphire blue water, sparkling with highlights in the light breeze. It is breathtaking, and Vicki decides to call this place the Aurora Lakes basin. Watered and snacked-up, we are now ready for a 10+ mile walk back to camp. We leave the basin by scrambling down a steep trail next to a waterfall that forms Black Joe Creek. Meadows are blooming around us, the water is gurgling everywhere, Belle Star is bounding, and we are hitting a decent stride, considering we have been going at this ALL day.

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 Monday, April 6, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #137, Wind Rivers, #137:  After the massive boulder field traverse, Vicki and I have used more time and energy than we expected, so our climb up into the unnamed basin of lakes is slow, but steady. In the thin air, with each breath our lungs burn for oxygen. Fortunately, the granite slabs we are now navigating offer relatively easy passage up, and eventually roll into a broad, flat basin, well into the shadows of the afternoon, and directly below the east face of East Temple Peak and spire. It is a hot day in late August, and the first lake we encounter is still covered by substantial ice. It seems that whatever we discover in this high basin as a body of water, spends most of the year frozen solid. The underwater ice edge glows a luminous blue, and drinking from the lake provides a freezing nectar to the now-fading, hot afternoon. Our topo is not clear about how many lakes or tarns are here, but we are at the highest point in the basin, so everything before us is a downhill walk on some clean granite slabs. Because the morning in the boulder field took more time than we expected, we are now here later in the afternoon, and as the shade of the day grows, the air begins to cool down as well, so we add back some clothing layers and shells, and start our descent that will eventually take us to the shore of Black Joe Lake.

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 Monday, March 30, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #136, Wind Rivers, #136:  The trail from the ridge of Haystack Mountain down to Black Joe Lake is a breeze, and in little time we stand at the shore. The “actual” mapped trail now crosses the river, rising again, then descending to a mid-point on the opposite lakeshore. We choose, instead, to gamble on the unknown, and traverse the boulder field shoreline beneath Haystack. We reason that it is just a puzzle of rock-hoping that can be navigated, and we can see on the topos, at the far end of the lakeshore, the boulders give way to granite ledges and a complex of small lakes in an extremely high basin, none of which are named. Going off-trail in the Wind Rivers is always a gamble because of the scale of everything, and we would be reminded of that for the next 3hrs. The boulder field we begins in very manageable terrain, and picking our way through is easy. We cover nearly 1/2 of the traverse in the first hour, and then we hit a massive avalanche path, whose “boulders” are ENTIRE slabs broken off of Haystack, jumble together, and extending out, into the lake. Vicki and I must make many weird choices about our routes, especially because it has to be one that Belle Star can also follow. At one point, Belle even has to swim in the lake to get around a huge slab, that I could navigate, but she could not. Happily, and finally, with considerably more effort and time spent than we expected, we leave the monster rubble, and find connected granite ledges and gardens. The weather has vaporized completely. It is hot under the clear blue skies. Vicki has pulled her shell pants off in favor of shorts, and Belle Star also likes this less challenging terrain. We are headed up these slabs because, above that roll at the top, the basin of unnamed lakes begins, and we think we can get there from here.
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 Monday, March 23, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #135, Wind Rivers, #135:  Vicki and I descend the granite slabs between our camp at Deep Lake, and Clear Lake below, then begin to ascend the relatively smooth granite-garden ridge of Haystack Mountain. Around 10:30, we pause at the high point of our ridge ascent, before dropping down into the Black Joe Lake basin. The smooth granite is warm to the touch, and the day is growing warmer also. Instead of building into stormy weather, it appears. more and more. that the clouds are thinning, and streaming out, rather than building up. While we enjoy some mid-morning snacks, we take in this changing view to the west. It will disappear for most of the rest of the day, once we descend into the long, narrow basin of Black Joe. Our morning will be in the eastern shadow of the sheer walls of Haystack. Our western horizon will be 2,000ft. above us.
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Monday, March 16, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #134, Wind Rivers, #134:  Despite the fact that there is clearly weather moving through, Vicki, and I, think that it is going to keep moving, because it is being pushed by strong, high altitude winds, and not really building up. The air is also warming up, so the breezes are almost tropical. If we do what we have planned, it is going to be a very long, 16-mile day. In this view, we are at the head of the waterfall/pool “staircase” that outlets from Deep Lake, and meanders through the granite down to Clear Lake, well below. To the left, War Bonnet and the Cirque of Towers flicker in the cloud light. To the far right, the ever-ascending slope that final goes out-of-frame, is Haystack Mountain. On the other side of that rising ridge is the Black Joe Lake basin, which we intend to visit, and circumnavigate, before returning to our camp. To do that, we will descend the waterfall bedecked slabs to Clear Lake. From there we ascend the rising ridgeline of Haystack, and about 1/3 of the way up, a trail will break off, to the other side of the ridge, and begin a descent to Black Joe. Time to double-check the boot lacings, and take the plunge.
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 Monday, March 9, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #133, Wind Rivers, #133:  With breakfast finished, doggo fed, and daypacks packed, the lasts tasks are to secure the tent, and fill our water bottles. While doing so at the edge of Deep Lake, we can see that it is CLEARLY a stormy morning over the Cirque of the Towers and War Bonnet Peak, but our basin is still graced by sunshine, and it appears it will be safe enough to ascend the exposed ridge of Haystack Mountain, to cross over into the Black Joe Lake basin. To do what we planned is going to be a good deal of work. We first must descend the slab-waterfall staircase down to Clear Lake, well below us. From there, we go back up steeply, walking the granite spine of Haystack. About halfway to Haystack’s vertical face, a trail breaks off and begins another downward plunge. This will bring us to the outlet end of Black Joe Lake. The trail then crosses the stream, goes back up a wall, then down again to the mid-shoreline. We have a different route in mind, however. There is no trail on our side of the lake, just a MASSIVE boulder field of rock sluffed-off of Haystack. Although we can’t be sure it is traversable, we both agree to attempt it, and so the circumnavigation begins in an untracked terrain, where some of the rubble is the size of small houses. This is a boulder field with GIGANTIC boulders, and it takes a lot of cautious navigating not to get blocked-in somewhere. Several times I worry Belle Star can’t follow our route, but she is SO smart she always seems to pick out her own path, so we creep ahead, taking much more time than we expected for what is just the first few miles of our day.
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 Monday, March 2, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #132, Wind Rivers, #132:  The sun rises early, and with warmth, so the tent becomes toasty in our last moments of doze. Belle is the first to stir, because she wants to go run around on the slabs, and drink from the lake, but eventually Vicki and I also crawl out of our bags to greet the day. We both do nightly aspirin doses to ward off any sore muscles from the previous day, and the regimen seems to be working well, because we are NOT stiff, and expect to have another epic dayhike ahead. Weather is blowing through, and it looks like it might turn into something later, but at the moment, we stick with our plan to cross over the ridge of Haystack Mountain, and encircle Black Joe Lake. While breakfast is hydrating in a bag of hot water, I am enjoying the “tent’s view” of Temple Peak. Last night it was blushing at our bed time, but this morning, it is back to “looming" above our basin. It is a most impressive face, that seems to get more impressive with each passing day. Well, time to get on with our meal, and outfit our daypacks for a long one,..lots of snacks, fishing poles, blister pads in case the day takes a toll on our feet, and full rain gear, as it does seem some weather is building.
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 Monday, February 24, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #131, Wind Rivers, #131:  My campmate, Vicki Golden, doggo Belle Star, and I are TOAST! It has been a wonderful day, but a long one, involving miles of terrain and several thousand vertical feet of up-to-go-down-to-go-up, again. Dinner has been a trout feast, thanks to some productive fishing at Temple Lake to begin the day, and the after-dinner light has been radiant, so we are just a bit overwhelmed. Vicki is in the warmth of her sleeping bag, Belle has sidled right up next to her, and as I am also about to give up the ghost and pass out, Temple Peak glows one last blush, reaffirming a beautiful end to a beautiful day. There are now clouds in the sky, but they do not look like threatening weather, so we rest early in expectation of tomorrow’s attempt to complete a 16-18 mile circumnavigation of neighboring Black Joe Lake. There will be A LOT more vertical in doing that, so we hope to rest well, and awake to that sense we have had, that we are gaining strength each day we are in this amazing place.
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 Monday, February 17, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #130, Wind Rivers, #130:  As our basin at Deep Lake drops completely into the shadow of the oncoming night, the last lingering rays of the sun still linger on distant summits. The Cirque of the Towers sits to the north of our view from camp, and of the many varied days of light which we have had offer us spectacular views of it, tonight may the most grand of all. The pinnacle spire of War Bonnet Peak (left) glows like a golden spike into the sky, and the crown of cone-like, Pingora is similarly aglow. Even the tip of the Shark’s Nose is decorated. The sky above us is perfectly clear, but there is a haze of clouds behind our view, whose tones of gray-purple make the illuminated summits even more radiant. I am not sure the the concentration of climbers camping in the Cirque are taking this all in, but the three of us, completely alone in our solitude of the Deep Lake Basin, are loving it. Even my lab, Belle Star seems to be appreciating this particular visual, as she too, is sitting quietly with us and staring, instead of doing her usual dance about the meadows after a trout dinner. OR, perhaps she is just so stuffed tonight, she can’t move. Soon to retire after our long day, we decide that if weather permits, and our legs have recovered, tomorrow we will double the length of today's hike, and circle Black Joe Lake on the other side of Haystack Mountain - an ambitious plan to say the least!
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 Monday, February 10, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #129, Wind Rivers, #129:  Although the clear skies above us, signal a colder night, for the moment our camp site at Deep Lake is awash in the glow of twilight, and the radiance of the setting sun, which is alighting the slab granite faces of the surrounding summits. Our tent is near the base of Haystack Mountain, on a raised shelf overlooking Deep, so to one side of us, the waters of the lake shimmer in the surreal blue light reflection of the perfectly clear sky, and on the other side is this (above) - the west face of Haystack, seeming to flow like molten gold, down into the valley below. It has been a cosmic day, and it is now being followed by a cosmic twilight. The smell of trout rises from our fire, our meals are nearly ready, and my black lab, Belle Star, is quite literally, motionless, sitting with a fixed stare on the sizable fish being fried. She will not only get some of the day’s catch, but we will drip the grease all over her dry kibble, so she can’t wait, and at the moment she is making sure the preparation is proceeding as planned. Vicki and I are of two minds at the moment - watching Belle’s intense focus on the food prep, which is hysterical, AND, we are also in awe, while watching the surrounding terrain radiating the final glow of daylight. There is still no one that has come up into this high basin to camp besides us, and so we have it to ourselves for yet another day, proving, “The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get.” Believe me, we are all very high right now!
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 Monday, February 3, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #128, Wind Rivers, #128:  It has been a long day for my trailmate, Vicki Golden, myself, and doggo, Belle Star, as we started at the base of Temple Peak near sunrise, did a good deal of fishing at Temple Lake, then visited Miller and Rapid Lake, and finally rounded a granite dome to intersect the waterfall “staircase” (last post) that would take us back up to our camp at Deep Lake. Fishing has been a great success, and the hike was many miles long, but useful, because we are all beginning to hit our stride at this altitude, and we are getting stronger every day. Nonetheless, we are tired when we finally embrace the view of East Temple Peak and the shoreline of Deep (above). Our camp is just out-of-frame to the left in this image, and as you can see, as our afternoon has worn on, the sky has cleared completely, and it is surprisingly warm for being this late in the day. Belle Star also knows we are “home,” so she begins another wild frolick of running around, even bolting over to our tentsite, and then sprinting back to us in a frenzy. We are not fooled, however, because as glad as we all are to be back in camp, she is acting this way in anticipation of having trout for dinner. We are as well, but Vicki and I are a little too leg weary to be sprinting anywhere.
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 Monday, January 27, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #127, Wind Rivers, #127:  By late morning, my tentmate, Vicki Golden, and I have a a large baggie filled with 5 very sizable trout, and feel that will be enough for our dinner (and doggo’s). Belle Star is VERY excited at the prospects of the evening meal. Some clouds have begun to drift over, but do not indicate any impending weather, and the day is young, and warm, so we decide to explore this large basin before heading back to Deep Lake and our campsite. If you will look at this link, you can see the basin beneath Temple is long and narrow, as it descends from Temple Lake, also quite long and narrow. I love these hi-def satellite maps from Google because you can actually see the trail in this image. We have fished our way “down” the lake, so at the end, we stop for some snacks, and then rejoin the trail as it drops toward Miller Lake. Miller is small and sparkling in the midday sun, because a light breeze is beginning to rise. It is also steeply below us, so we choose to remain on the trail. About 1/2 to the way to the next lake below, Rapid, the trail nears Rapid Creek, which it parallels. There is the notable sound of rushing water and many small falls, so we decide to descend to creekside to continue our hike. It is a beautiful series of cascades, and the wildflower bloom in the shoreline meadows is spectacular. Shortly after we come to Rapid Lake, the trail veers near the lakeshore, so we rejoin the trail. Our topos tell us at this point we are well below Deep Lake now, so we walk the beaten path until it nears the granite dome (to the right in the map link) and then we veer off-trail and onto the dome, hoping to work around it, and back into the Deep Lake basin on its other side. The strategy is perfect and we soon find ourselves on the Deep Lake side, once again surrounded by the gardens of wind-stunted, sculptural, limber pines which we discovered the previous day (post #121). Picking our way through them, we eventually come out onto the descending slabs between Deep and Clear lake that are aflow with water, pools, and waterfalls, and through which we hiked up on our route coming in (posts #111-114). We love this cascade staircase, so we happily climb back up through it en route to our camp, and Belle proceeds to do her wading and splashing fun once again.
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 Monday, January 20, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #126, Wind Rivers, #126:  After an early morning rise, doggo, Belle Star, my tentmate, Vicki Golden, and I, have climbed the dome that separates the Deep Lake basin from the Temple Peak basin, in time to catch the early morning light (last post), and now as the day warms up, it is time to catch some trout (Belle definitely agrees with this idea). At the base of Temple peak is Temple Lake, which is quite large (and in the Google map link, still sporting a good deal of ice). There is no ice on the lake today, however, as it is clear, sunny, and warm. The near shore to us is crusted with large boulders, and does not offer much access to the waterline, but it does afford some standable platforms from which we can cast. We are not flyfisher persons, we are casting and trolling, so I start off with a really flashy, wiggly lure, and get a strike immediately - a big one at that. It is clear that there are A LOT of trout here, and they have not been fished much, so they are not wary. Vicki finds a platform of her own, and throws out her choice of temptation, which eventually brings her a fish as well, just not as quickly as mine. I love how she is even getting her tongue into the action in this picture - LOL! If you think Belle is staring intently, she is. Her focus is on a patch of grass I have watered down, and onto which we have placed the trout we are catching. Belle wants to make VERY sure that none of them try to escape back into the lake.
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 Monday, January 13, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #125: My partner, Vicki Golden, doggo, Belle Star, and I, are up early and out of camp, as we are on a mission. Yesterday we circumnavigated the Deep Lake basin, and today we intend to climb the dome across the lake, that will take us to Temple Peak and the large lake beneath it. They lie about 800ft. above the basin in which we have camped. As we round Deep Lake, headed for the dome, it is cold in the shadows, but refreshing, and there is no wind chill effect, because there is little, if any, weather brewing at the moment. The dome is not difficult to surmount, although we are breathing more heavily as we increase our altitude, and finally we summit. Temple Peak is massive, breathtaking in the radiant morning light, and towers over the entire basin.The lake, however, is just barely visible as there are some further rolling meadows and granite exposures to cross before we will get a full view. Belle loves the big open expanses of grass and blooming alpine flowers, and especially the fact that on day trips, she does not wear a pack, so she is doing the crazy-dog-run-around, and pursuing every pika that eeks at her. Of course, they are just torturing her, and she never catches anything. It is more like doggy whack-a-mole - she chases one down its hole, and another pops up behind her and squeaks. A good time is being had by all. Vicki and I are surprised by the distance to the lake and how big this basin is, topo maps give you no sense of scale, but finally we arrive at the shoreline, and the setting (above) is quite impressive. This looks like it is going to be a GREAT day. Break out the fishing rods!
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 Monday, January 6, 2020

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #124: There is a good, deep sleep had by all, in spite of the dog snoring, so my partner, Vicki Golden, my black lab, Belle Star, and myself, awake refreshed, and ready for another day of rock & roll in the granite of the Deep Lake basin. It is a cool, beautiful morning with some high clouds, but it certainly is not threatening anything as yet, so we get fired up with a good breakfast, Belle does several laps around the meadows, and we load our daypacks, expecting to be out ALL day. I could not resist this (above, and the post for next week) because our tent pitch in the stunted tree forest, comes with some dramatic views. You are looking at the front of the tent, with the pointed summit of War Bonnet Peak in the background, and the morning light is also perfectly defining the cone-shaped sheer walls of Pingora, just to its right. I believe the distant fang between the two is called the Sharks Nose.
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 Monday, December 30, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #123: Wind River, #123: By the time Vicki, Belle Star, and I, get back to camp, there is just enough illumination to do a little twilight fishing from this rock, and I have success, so we soon prepare a sumptuous dinner involving fresh catch, and our favorite Mountain House freeze-dried pasta. Yummy, and warming. Belle LOVES trout also, so she is beside herself with her dinner, and after gobbling it down, does a wild run-around to celebrate it. It is very clear, so the night will be cold, and it is still too early to retire, so Vicki and layer-up, grab our ensolite pads, and seek out some flat granite, to lay around and watch the star show. I am sorry camera tech at this time, can not capture it, but rest assured, it is AWESOME. Belle gets in on it as well, snuggling between us, and making snore noises. She also passes some TRULY stinky trout-dinner gas, heretofore referred to as LTF,..LOL! Eventually we begin to stiffen in the cold, so it is time to crawl into our sleeping bags. With such a dazzling night/day behind us, our expectations for tomorrow run high.
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 Monday, December 23, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #122: Wind River, #122: It has been a long, but wonderful, first day of camping for my partner, Vicki Golden, and me in the Deep Lake basin of the Wind River Range. The unending granite terrain was very traversable, the views about the lake, spectacular, and the tree terraces, like secret gardens of the ancient ones (see last post). The exploration of the large dome across from our camp was just eye-popping. Even better, in the late afternoon, it was looking like weather was rolling in, but as evening has drawn down, the build-up has stopped, and by the time we reach the lakeshore, it is perfectly clear. Camp is now, not very far away, so we pause for awhile to drink it all in. The late light on the surrounding summits is radiant, and there is a strange excitement in both of us (probably my labbie, Belle Star, too), because we are the only ones here. This is OUR basin, for the moment, and we are the only ones enjoying the spectacle of this sunset. How unique is that? How lucky are we? What a world!
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 Monday, December 16, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #121: Wind River, #121: As Vicki Golden, my partner, Belle Star, my black lab, and I, finish the traverse of the far end of Deep Lake and start up into the garden terraces of the dome, the puffy clouds coming in from the west (last post) begin to look more like a storm might be building. Although clouds take over the blue sky, they are not yet cumulonimbus, and so we are comfortable being up on the exposed dome, exploring its terrain and many amazing stunted, weathered trees. In fact, these trees are SO stunted, they grow more like bushes, fanning out and hugging the ground, rather than rising up. As beautiful as they are, they also serve to make us perfectly aware of how extreme the winds must be at times, across this granite bald. Some of the gardens are relatively new, but at one point we come to an area that sits in a pocket, and is slightly sheltered from the western flow of weather, where we discover this. This pine is ANCIENT, and twisted into the most fantastic shape. It has a HUGE, gnarled trunk, and is almost barren of needles, but proving that it still lives, a few spare ones sprout from several extended branch arms. It is an AMAZING living thing, in an equally amazing setting. In the background lies Deep Lake. To the left is the sheer slope of Haystack Mountain, beneath which lies our campsite, and behind the lake, East Temple Peak and spire, spike into the sky, defiant of the passing weather. We ARE in a garden of the gods.
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 Monday, December 9, 2019
High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #120: Wind River, #120: As the stream from the small lake beneath East Temple Peak winds its way into Deep Lake, it fans out across the slabs we walk upon, and winds around the random boulders, creating some beautiful shallow pools, which my black lab, Belle Star, takes every opportunity to walk through. At the POV above, I am looking directly across the significant expanse of Deep Lake, and directly into the very distant Cirque of Towers. It is a stunning view of a VERY granite world, which we are in the heart of. The pointed summit to the left is War Bonnet Peak at 12,487ft., astride the Continental Divide, and just to the right is the distinctive flat-topped, cone-shaped, Pingora, an amazing sculpture of sheer granite walls. Interestingly, there may be dozens of campers-climbers residing in that basin at this moment, but there is NO ONE where we are, and the walls surrounding us are equally impressive. We feel so lucky to have it all to ourselves, and to have found a discreet place to hide in a tree garden, in case weird weather decides to roll through. So far, our day has been mostly clear, but it has also been hot, and as the afternoon wears on, some puffy clouds drift in from the west. Our route back to camp will take us onto the dome on the left, and as the afternoon is wearing on, it is time for us to get moving.
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 Monday, December 2, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #119: Wind River, #119: My partner, Vicki Golden, and I, finish our snack break at the edge of the tundra pond behind Deep Lake, while my black lab, Belle Star, continues her wading around in the pond chasing small, darting fish to no avail, but a lot of splashy amusement for all of us. The day is very warm, so it is good to be a water dog. It is impossible not to be in awe of our surroundings, as we are directly beneath East Temple Peak and spire, which means from our elevation at Deep Lake, we are looking up at 2,000’+ of granite, as East Temple crowns out at about 12,645ft. Shortly before we repack our daypacks to continue our circumnavigation of Deep, a few clouds appear to the west, and as they cross in front of the sun, they cast a shadow on East Temple, dramatically separating some of its multiple crags. I cannot resist the moment (above). However, there is still a good distance we have to travel to get back to camp by going the long way around, so once again, our party of three begins the granite stroll and rock ramble. It is a short distance along a tiny creek from the “lunch” pond, back the shore of Deep, and from there we just enjoy slab walking. Deep Lake is entirely encased in granite and facing out across the lake, Haystack Mountain is to our right, East Temple Peak is behind us, and to our left, a sizable dome of tree-meadow terraces, mostly obscures even-larger Temple Peak, and the big lake that lies at its foot. We do not have time today to climb to Temple, but we do intend to explore the dome, while wending our way back to camp.
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 Monday, November 25, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #118: Wind River, #118: During our afternoon circumnavigation of Deep Lake, where are now encamped for the next week, my partner, Vicki Golden, my black lab, Belle Star, and I, reach the end of the lake to find ourselves directly beneath the towering, sheer walls of East Temple Peak and spire. There is a tiny, no-name lake here, which makes a great location to stop for a snack, and Belle Star goes wading in the water. We sit and stare for awhile, and then I decide to work my way around the edge of this alpine pond, and get right up against the big walls, as closely as I can. The upward viewpoint is dizzying, with the ragged spires and ridgeline seeming even more so, etched against the blue-blue sky. Upon occasion, we have heard rocks tumble down from above, but have never seen anything fall, thus suggesting it happened some where distant to our location. Our walk, however, has made it clear, granite debris DOES come down all the way to the lakeshore, because there are boulders scattered everywhere. Now, in this position, I notice how many unattached granite plates still cling to this nearly vertical wall in defiance of gravity, making me rethink what I am doing in this particular location, and causing my quick retreat to rejoin my “family” on the other side of the pond, where we have stopped to snack. We have only covered about 1/2 of our intended circumnavigation of Deep Lake, so it is now time to slip back into our daypacks, and continue our walk-around.
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 Monday, November 18, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #117: Wind River, #117: With our camp established in what my partner, Vicki Golden, and I, believe is a sheltered location, we shoulder our daypacks for a traverse about Deep Lake. The terrain could not be more inviting. The basin consists of massive, rolling slabs of granite, punctuated by alpine meadows, and small clusters of stunted trees. Boulders are strewn everywhere. The sheer walls of numerous summits form an amphitheater of peaks around us, and Deep lake is crystal clear, so much so, it is easy to see there are a lot of trout, which will make us very happy come dinnertime,..especially my black lab, Belle Star (anything to make the dry kibble tastier). As we walk further into the basin, and away from the outlet edge, the tree islands disappear completely, so our world is now defined by rock, grassy terraces, and a few low hedges. Our camp is quite near the base of Haystack Mountain, which we have since walked past, and before us lies East Temple Peak and spire (above). The peak and spire rise into the sky like ragged fangs, and their very sheer, clean rock faces are both impressive, and intimidating. When a few clouds drift through, spotlights of sun swim across this landscape, randomly lighting parts of the basin in very dramatic ways. It is definitely time to stop for snacks, and to take this all in. It IS a “The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get,” kind of day.
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 Monday, November 11, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #116: Wind River, #116: My partner, Vicki Golden, and I, have backpacked into a high, and very exposed, granite basin that surrounds Deep Lake. After a number of camps in similar Wind River locations, we know we could be fiercely stormed upon, so we hoped to find some refuge, and we do. After unloading our packs, she, my black lab, Belle Star, and I, do a walk-around, looking for a spot where we can “hide” our camp, and we come upon a dense cluster of stunted trees, that have a small meadow at their center, that is large enough for us to pitch a tent. The trees are not much taller than we are, but they are so dense, we feel certain they will shelter us from strong winds and, hopefully, any lightening. It feels like we have found a discreet fort to protect ourselves, so we set up camp. Our position has an unparalleled viewshed, as you will see in the ensuing posts. We are slightly above Deep Lake, and quite close the the sheer granite walls of Haystack Mountain. Our tent vestibule opens to a spectacular perspective of Deep Lake with Temple Peak towering above it, and the reverse position looks over the Clear Lake basin below us, directly at Warbonnet, Pingora, and other big walls in the Cirque of the Towers. We are surrounded by a display of some SERIOUS granite. With our site established, we have a good lunch, and then load our daypacks for an afternoon of exploration, determined to circumnavigate the lake, better orienting us to our new home for the next week. By the time we are ready to roll, the day has grow warm, with little wind, and no visible threatening weather, so we launch ourselves with positive anticipation about what the rest of the afternoon might offer.
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 Monday, November 4, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #115: Wind River, #115: If your are backpacking into a place that you have never been before, but you have chosen to go there because the topo maps suggest a dramatic, albeit exposed, setting, THIS IS IT!, When our granite slab-waterfall-pool staircase finally reveals the Deep Lake basin, my partner, Vicki Golden, and I, are pretty sure we have arrived in a backpacker’s nirvana. The lake is large, and the surrounding gardens and peaks are off-the-chart. We are nearly encircled by some of the most significant, and visually domineering summits in the Wind River Range. There are easily walkable granite slabs everywhere, and it seems there will be more than enough cover to find a semi-safe campsite. When I peer into the crystal clear water of the lake, I can see trout swim by, not even trying to be coy (not Koi - LOL!). But, most impressively, East Temple Peak, 12,645ft. (to the left), and Temple Peak, 12,977ft. (middle), loom above it all, lords of the terrain, of which they are indeed. After the climb up here, it is time to take our packs off, have some snacks, do a walk-about, and imagine that we have found a “good” place to camp. Which we do,..and it is, as you will see in the next post - a dense little garden terrace of trees, at the imposing foot of the SHEER walls of Haystack Mountain. Clearly, a severe case of the DFC&FC motto, “The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get.” (And, look how far away Temple Peak still is. There is yet another big lake still above us.)
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 Monday, October 28, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #114: Wind River, #114: In the last post, you see a trail-up POV, and it certainly seems steep. Steep in the Wind Rivers, however, has an entirely different meaning. In this picture, made some days later, Vicki and I are standing across from the foot of Haystack Mountain, looking at the staircase of granite slabs, waterfalls, and pools, we traversed to get to our Deep Lake campsite, and it appears from here that we were just ascending a modest rise in the terrain,.. a sloping hill, at best. If you look carefully, you can see the flow of water coming out of Deep Lake, and crossing right through the middle of the picture. Besides belying the upwardness of the actual hike, what is notable are the ASTOUNDING granite garden terraces that abound in the new world that surrounds us. Besides throbbing with the green of full summer, they are not only supporting some significant trees but in a closer look, you would find them abloom with a profusion of wildflowers. The scale of this terrain is simply AMAZING, and in the ensuing days we will discover that in grand fashion. For the moment, however, we are still ascending the “staircase,” and the Deep Lake “reveal” is somewhere just up ahead.
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 Monday, October 21, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #113: Wind River, #113: Ever upward, my partner and I, Vicki Golden, continue to climb towards Deep Lake. The topo maps show us a large lake surrounded by seriously wild vertical summits, so we hope to find enough protection from the fury of Wind River weather, that we can secure a safe campsite, and enjoy exploring this basin, and others that are adjacent. The hike-in rose steeply from Big Sandy Lake to Clear Lake, where we had lunch, and then the forest trail ended. It has given way to a SPECTACULAR, tiered group of granite slabs, awash with outflow from Deep, creating a myriad of waterfalls and pools that make the walk up, infinitely interesting. We have stopped many times along the way to snack, and enjoy our ascent. As the horizon of our path slowly gives way to the distant view, one of the largest summits in the range, Temple Peak (12,977ft.), emerges in our view. With each step, Temple’s presence is evermore commanding, and yet it is still miles away, sitting in its own basin with its own lake, and not even part of the Deep Lake basin, where we hope to camp. Vicki and I are very excited, and also a bit intimidated, because to rise above the protection of the forest, into an exposed granite basin we don’t yet know, may subject us to serious weather, if we chose to stay. Nonetheless, following the mantra of my colleagues in the DFC&FC that introduced me to high alpine backpacking, “The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get,” we press on, and upward, marveling at the beauty of the landscape through which we are climbing.
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 Monday, October 14, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #112: Wind River, #112: As my partner, Vicki Golden, and I, continue our first backpack of the summer, we have risen from Big Sandy Lake, to Clear Lake, where he had lunch, and now we are on our way to Deep Lake, even higher up. We are traversing the base of Haystack Mountain, now, and the forest trail has given way to one across open granite, aflow with much running water, and pocked with beautiful pools. There is no “path” to follow, but generations of hikers before us have built cairns to guide us on the passable direction, so we do not get cut off by water that cannot be crossed. Although we are DEFINITELY climbing, at times rather steeply, it is a enjoyable effort because the granite provides an excellent, gritty walking surface, and the surroundings are strikingly beautiful. My dog, Belle Star, especially likes it, and anytime we stop to snack or rest, she goes and stands in a pool - those Labbies are such water dogs! As we rise, Haystack is more than visible with its massive, sheer walls completely blocking our eastern horizon. For awhile, all we can see ahead of us, is the upward curve of granite slabs, but in time, the summits that surround the Deep Lake Basin begin to reveal themselves. One of the tallest in the Wind Rivers is the first to emerge. Temple Peak, at 12,977ft., is still in the considerable distance, but in the image above, can be seen poking out from behind this boulder erratic. “The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get."
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 Monday, October 7, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #111: Wind River, #111: On the first backpack of the summer, my partner, Vicki Golden, and I, have come into the Wind Rivers through the Big Sandy Lake and trail. After an acclimatizing camp at Big Sandy Lake, we push up into a much higher basin, that first brings us to Clear Lake, and then (we hope), even higher to Deep Lake. We take a lunch break at Clear Lake, and then launch for Deep, but after we round the lakeshore, our trail changes dramatically. What has been a dirt path through the forest, emerges onto massive granite slabs, flowing with water pouring out of Deep Lake, somewhere well above us. There are numerous streams and pools, and you could easily wander into an impassable position were it not for the thoughtful cairns that generations of hikers have created to guide those who might follow in their path. Cairns are a stack of stones, built just tall enough to be visible, and placed so that when you stand at one and look around, you should be able to see the next in your line of sight. Following this “visual” trail, Vicki and I pick our way up through the terraces, streams, pools, and waterfalls. This is the most interesting “path" either of has ever walked upon, and it just keeps getting better.
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 Monday, September 30, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #110: Wind River, #110: On the first backpack of our summer, my partner, Vicki Golden, and I, have decided to enter the Wind River Range from a trailhead we have not previously explored, called Big Sandy. This trail is mostly trafficked by climbers headed for the Cirque of the Towers, where many big walls abound. The initial trek to Big Sandy Lake, is a short 6-miles, with relatively little rise in elevation, so it is a perfect breaking-in backpack, as we get used to carrying the weight of our needs for the next 12 days. From Big Sandy, all trails go UP, steeply! Vicki and I want to avoid the climbing campers in the Cirque, and plan to go instead, into the Temple Peak basin, but we acclimatize by finding a protected campsite at Big Sandy, directly beneath the impressive summit of War Bonnet peak (12,487’), and not far from the Jackass Pass trail that leads into the Cirque. The lake has great fishing, which my dog, Belle Star, really appreciates, as she loves trout as much as we do, and of course, we get ragingly stormed upon, just to remind us of how spooky the Winds can be when the weather gets cranked up. The morning of our departure for the Temple basin sees the storm of the night before, rather quickly, blow away. Although it still lingers after we first awake (last post), by the time we finish breakfast and break camp, it is clear, and pleasantly cool. Packs on, we are off, and as I look back, War Bonnet appears even more imposing because of how our angle of view has changed. The trail that we follow climbs steeply to Clear Lake, and although it takes work, it is nowhere near as demanding as the one into Titcomb Lakes Basin, where we camped last summer. We arrive at Clear Lake in time for a nice lunch, while we recoup, and prepare to go up, yet again, to our hopeful camping destination at Deep Lake. Although we expect considerable exposure at Deep Lake, we hope to find enough cover to stay, because the lake appears to be surrounded by some stunning summits, Haystack Mountain, East Temple Peak and spire, and tallest of all Temple Peak. Exclesior! Or, in our parlance, “The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get."
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 Monday, September 23, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #109: Wind River, #109: My partner, Vicki Golden, my black lab, Belle Star, and I, have found a nice sheltered campsite in a small group of trees at the far end of Big Sandy Lake, where many trails branch off. This is our first backpack of the year, and we are carrying 10-day-weight packs, so having come this far, it is our intention to only explore and day-hike tomorrow, before moving camp again. After some successful fishing, and a great dinner, we have a clear night, star-filled skygaze, and retire early, expecting that in the morning, we will climb Jackass Pass to view Lonesome Lake and the Cirque of the Towers. Belle does not like thunder and lightening, and about 4a.m., when I hear the first faint rumble, I also hear her awake in the vestibule, and come to the mosquito screen, so I will let her in. She wants to snuggle with us, and hide under the sleeping bags, should the weather come this way. It does,..and with a vengeance. The storm literally blows-up when it hits the Cirque of the Towers and War Bonnet Peak, beneath which we are camped. The electric-strike, light show through the tent walls is just amazing, and there are numerous passing downpours of rain, with deafening thunder that shakes the ground. Our first night in, is serving to remind the three of us, what weather in the Winds is all about, and why you want to be sure your campsite has some protection. As dawn breaks, the rain stops and the storm rolls off into the distance, so I stick my head out to see what is going on, and find War Bonnet being illuminated by the rising sun, like a fiery tongue against the dark sky.
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 Monday, September 16, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #108: Wind River, #108: By the time Vicki Golden and I arrive at the outlet of Big Sandy Lake it is mid-afternoon, and it takes a while longer to navigate around the shoreline to a big meadow. Nearby, the trail climbs Jackass Pass into the Cirque of the Towers, which we hope to day-hike tomorrow, so we find a sheltered spot in a cluster of trees, and set up camp. By the time we are finished setting up, the big meadow has developed the golden glow of late light, and my black lab, Belle Star, is running wildly around in the flowers, and jumping into the creek to chase trout skittering through the pools. It is warm and beautiful, so we sit in the sun watching Belle frolic. There are other campers here, but they are around the meadow, on the other side of the lake, so they are undisturbed by the traffic of climbers walking through to get to the Cirque. I do note, however, that Belle is chasing fish, so I grab my pole to see if dinner can be enhanced with fresh trout. It is a wonderful twilight of fishing, and I catch two, large enough to have some for Belle, as well (it is her FAVORITE thing!). After dinner, the clear day, gives way to a cold, clear night, and thankfully the full-blown mosquito population has not yet arisen, so we sit for awhile under a stunning star-filled sky, both glad we are once again high and wild in the Wind Rivers,..and we are about to get a whole lot higher.
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 Monday, September 9, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #107: Wind River, #107: On the first backpack of this summer, Vicki Golden and I have come into the Wind River Range through the Big Sandy entrance. The trail into Big Sandy Lake is one of the shortest entry hikes in the range, but we are adjusting to 10-day-weight backpacks, and enjoying a dazzling clear, cool morning, so we linger along the way, in no hurry to get to the lake. Not only is the trail relatively short, it is also quite flat, but it will take us to Big Sandy Lake, from where, all branching trails go UP! Our plan is to camp at the lake tonight, day hike the trail over Jackass Pass to see the Cirque of the Towers tomorrow, and then go into the Temple Lake Basin to camp the next day, avoiding the Cirque, and the “crowd” of climbers that are camped there scaling the big walls. It is mid-afternoon when we finally reach the lakeshore, where expansive vistas open up. Most of our walk has been among forest meadows, occasionally encountering granite rock gardens, but at the outlet end of Big Sandy Lake, the forests give way to the gardens, and the lake truly is an “alpine” habitat. Small islands are abloom with flowers, and there are numerous peninsulas, such as the one above, adorned with storm-sculpted bonsai trees. Recalling our many encounters with Wind River weather, we want more protection then we see here, and we also want to get closer to the Jackass Pass trail branch, so we continue around the lakeshore, to find a huge meadow at the far end, where many trails split off. In the shadow of War Bonnet Peak, we also find a small cluster of trees to offer some cover for our camp.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2019, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd


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 Monday, September 2, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #106: Wind River, #106: The Big Sandy Trail to Big Sandy Lake meanders through forested rock gardens throughout most of the hike. To our north, Laturio Mountain is just barely visible behind the foothill of granite benches that descend to our trail, and to the south, we parallel the tumbling waters of Big Sandy Creek. On the other side of the creek, the impressive walls of Schiestler Peak rise quite sheerly, offering themselves for occasional dramatic views through the trees of the forest. Some of the faces that tower over us as we approach Big Sandy Lake, remind me of the vertical walls around Clear Lake, that my friends and I encountered on our first Wind River backpack, 2yrs. before (posts #19-37). The morning sunlight is radiant, and as the trail rises beautiful terrace gardens begin to punctuate the forest. Stunning, groups of large limber pine assert themselves here and there, as well. Above is one such section of the trail, which you can see, crossing right through the middle of this picture.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2019, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd


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 Monday, August 26, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #105:
Wind River, #105:  Vicki Golden and I keep ourselves in good condition throughout the winter months by doing cross-country ski camping with our friends in Idaho, The Decker Flats Climbing and Frisbee Club (DFC&FC), and regularly skiing and boulder scrambling in the Sierra’s of California, staging trips out of Sequoia National Park. For several years running now, she and I have been VERY physically active, and we are probably in the greatest shape of our lives. As such, we are more than ready to return to Pinedale in June and backpack once again into the Wind River Range with which we are growingly familiar. As before, we stage and supply from a cabin at the Log Court Motel, but this year, we are going to use a new trailhead, farther south of the Elkhart Park entrance, much of which we explored last year. For our first backpack of the new season, we intend to go in at Big Sandy. Of all the entrances, Big Sandy may be the deepest road entry, and the shortest trail walk in the entire range. The trailhead starts at nearly 9,200ft. and it is 40 miles out to the closest town. It is only about 6 miles however, to Big Sandy Lake. This entrance is also the gateway to Pingora, Warbonnett, and The Cirque of Towers, one of the most-trafficked, big wall climbing areas in the range, and this attraction helps shape our plans. We do not want to join the “crowd” in The Cirque, but we do want to see it, so we plan to camp at Big Sandy Lake for two nights, explore The Cirque on a day hike, and then move to different high basin for the rest of our trip. The morning of our departure is sparkling clear and cool, with no weather showing. The start of the trail is quite forested, and the early morning sunlight causes everything to glow. The trail is a VERY gradual ascent and in good condition, so with a relative short hike ahead of us, we linger, and adjust to being back beneath a pack for another summer.
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Monday, August 19, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #104:
Wind River, #104:  Following a cold, blustery day of on-and-off rain, Vicki Golden, Belle Star, and I awake to a dark overcast on the morning we plan to walk out to Elkhart Park, about 12-miles away. At the moment, it is not raining, so we have a “final” backpacker's breakfast for this season, and then break down camp. Although the skies ares ominous, it does not storm, and actually, the cool day makes the hike more pleasant. The Pole Creek Trail is well worn by both hikers, and horses, and with the recent rains, there are many places that are a flooded, muddy slog to get around. Since the weather is civil, we are not in a hurry to get to the trailhead, and so we take our time, stopping regularly for whatever snacks remain, and to take in our late summer presence in this astounding range of granite and high peaks. Vicki and I have already decided to return for a full summer next year, so we can explore other trailheads and basins, and at the moment we are just relishing these last few miles for this year. Especially, because we are so late in the season, there are few others still out here, and we have not seen a single other person all day. Not far from the start of the trailhead and parking lot, there is an expanse of meadows called Millers Park, and it offers a dramatic view of the numerous summits that comprise the Titcomb Lakes Basin, where we started this backpack ten days ago. It is late afternoon now, and although the skies above remain stormy, to the west it is clearing and the sun gets under the cloud deck to send warm, low angled light across the landscape. It lights up the entire peaks section which is now more raggedly defined because it is beginning to accumulate snow. There is much more there now, than there was 5 days ago when we camped there. Winter is coming! For Vicki and I, however, this is an inspiring “last look,” and we both agree we cannot wait to return in nine months for new adventures in other sections of this very long mountain range.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2019, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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 Monday, August 12, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #103:
Wind River, #103:  Our rising traverse from the southern shore of Upper Cook Lake into Bald Mountain Basin, is an off-trail ascent that brings us through wildflower meadows, granite rock, and dome gardens, and some gently sloping granite slabs. It is a pleasant, nearly effortless hike, and even my dog is having fun romping around. Finally, Vicki and I reach a broad “terrace” of rolling granite that is pock-marked with small lakes, expansive meadows, and very small clusters of trees. Everything is VERY exposed, and this does NOT look like an intelligent place to camp. Our topo shows another, larger and more forested lake, not far ahead, beneath another face of Mt. Baldy, so we press on with hope, as it is our last chance before the trail descends. This last lake is spectacular, and the setting VERY dramatic, directly beneath a steep face on the opposite shore. The trees here are taller, as well, and do not show the directional wind-sculpting that those do on the other side of the plateau. We establish camp in a protected swale with big trees, and a peninsula nearby extends into the lake, offering a great view of the Mt. Baldy summit. As the day has progressed, the weather we saw this morning has been building. It is now about 4p.m. and we have established our site, set up our tent, and broken out some munchies, as we take in our new location. Belle Star has become an insane dog, and is running wild laps around the meadows, jumping on and off of boulders,..and then, we all hear it - faint, and VERY far away, the first rumble of thunder. For the moment, it does not stop our activities, BUT over the next 1/2-hour, the rumbles grow louder, and the wind begins to pick up. Eventually Belle comes back to camp to sit with us because she does NOT like thunder and lightening, and it seems this storm may pass close to us. The mosquitoes in this basin have been horrible, so I am only too happy to have a blusterous evening, but now It seems to be rising to the “raging howl” stage, so Vicki and I put Belle Star in the tent, and don our rain gear to sit outside, and watch whatever is about to happen. Within minutes, the first lightening, offers the illusion that the storm is passing to the north of us. A split second later, however, a deafening thunder clap scares the weepus out of us, and a massive cloud raining hail and lightening pours directly over the summit of Baldy, coming right down on top of us. Yelping, she and I flee inside the tent to hide under the sleeping bags with Belle Star. The fierce storm is over in a matter of moments, but the rain lingers, which makes for a wet, cold night. The next day is windy, cold, and raining on and off, so we hike around the basin to stay warm, and circumvent our lake, where we encounter this beautiful limber pine overlook. A good place for snacks. The fishing is also excellent, so a great trout dinner is had by all, Belle Star included, and we retire early because in the morning we will walk out to our van in Elkhart Park, regardless of the weather.
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 Monday, August 5, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #102:
Wind River, #102:  As Vicki Golden and I slowly rise on our off-trail traverse between Upper Cook Lake and Bald Mountain basin, the initial plethora of paintbrush-filled meadows gives way to small granite domes and large sections of exposed slab granite, none of it offering any vertical challenge. Trees and shrubs begin to replace the flower patches, and as we get higher into the basin with each step, something becomes visually obvious. Although there are many trees, few of them up here are of any height. Most are stunted, sprawling horizontally, and others show signs of being struck by lightening. Curiously, they all also lean, bend, and grow in the same common direction, not because they reach for the light, but because they are being sculpted by fierce winds. When I point this out to Vicki, we agree to make our campsite selection as wind-sheltered as we possibly can. Our hike is not without effort because we are climbing slowly upwards with some substantial backpacks, but it is actually quite pleasant. The slabs and connected meadows make walking easy for us, and my black lab, Belle Star, is now carrying less then 1/2 the weight of food in her saddlepack that she started with, so she is bounding around, exploring everything. I think she likes this basin as well.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2019, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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 Monday, July 29, 2019

High and Wild:  Three Years of Wandering in the Wind Rivers, #101:
Wind River, #101:  Vicki Golden and I understand that we are deep into the Wind Rivers backpacking, AND it is late in the season. On the first part of this trip, we were with our friend, Michael Knowlin, and we camped in the Titcomb Lakes basin, where it snowed upon us lightly. Since leaving Michael and dropping down into the Wall Lake basin, the last few days have been clear and warm, but the nights are cold, and we know fall/winter is coming. Today, after we broke camp at Wall, and walked around the lake to where the trail and waterfall descend to Cook Lake, we could see that on the distant western horizon, clouds were forming. Because this could be incoming afternoon weather, we double down on our walk, descend to Cook, and then navigate the eastern shore. Were we to go farther down the trail, we would find an established trail juncture for Baldy Lakes Basin, that would take us up to those lakes, where we want to camp tonight. Given our successful, off-trail traverse into Wall Lake two days ago, I suggest instead, that we go off-trail again, and rather than dropping down to the trail juncture, we begin a rising traverse through rocks and meadows that will get us to the same place in less time, fewer miles, and no down-to-go-up. The topo map offers no indication of any dangerous exposure, or blocking walls, so Vicki and I depart the Cook Lake Trail past the end of the lake, and veer upward, wandering south along the east side of the Cook Lake Basin. Having NOT explored this route previously, there is always concern it may not work because of topographic obstacles, yet from the moment we step off-trail, this route-less meander welcomes us. This late into summer, and fall in the air, most meadows are loosing their blooming wildflowers, but we now find that we are surrounded by an endless array of paintbrush, and boulder strewn gardens everywhere.
photograph(s) © copyright, ROBERT GLENN KETCHUM, 2019, @RbtGlennKetchum @LittleBearProd #LittleBearProd

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