8-4-2000
We left Knoxville and drove 360 miles to Evansville, Indiana.
8-5-2000
We knew we couldn’t spend all day in the car, so we planned a stop on the Katy Trail in Missouri along the way. We pulled off I-70 at Rocheport which looked to be the easiest access to this rail trail, but also proved to be one of the most scenic sections of the Katy. Rocheport has all the essentials for biking on the Katy, so we rented a pair of bikes and rode a total of 14 miles in both directions from the trailhead between mileposts 172 and 179, whizzing down the finely packed gravel trail alongside the Missouri River. It was just our luck that we went through the only tunnel on the entire trail, and alongside some beautiful riverside cliffs. After the ride we pushed on to a motel in Wakeeney, KS.
8-6-2000
We had hoped to make it to the Wyoming mountains that day, but arrived in Rock Springs too late, and too tired to head back out after doing our final shopping at the Albertsons. Instead, we rented a room at the Super 8 to enjoy one more night of indoor living after 1800 miles of driving.
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| The route from Big Sandy. 2000 trip is in yellow. |
8-7-2000
We were on the road the next day at 7AM headed for the famously tough to find Big Sandy Trailhead. We saw only one county road sign and several unmarked road junctions along the way, and we saw only one other car in the 2.5 hour drive to the trailhead. But many others had found their way also, there must have been 100 cars in the lot when we finally arrived.
Despite all the preparation that went into planning the hike, we got lost almost immediately. We’d planned to do a counterclockwise loop, but missed an early turn and realized we were headed directly to Cirque of the Towers when we encountered a sign for the side trail to V Lake.
By Big Sandy Lake we had only been hiking for two hours, so despite our lingering fatigue from the driving trip we pushed on to North Lake. After some tough climbing we found a campsite amid the boulders and pines on the west side of the lake. Jean was feeling good all day long, but I bonked almost as soon as we arrived in camp with a headache, poor stomach, and lethargy. But some snacks and hot tea brought me back to life.
After a windy afternoon, the evening was pure quiet. We saw a deep red alpenglow on Mitchell Peak and the other peaks to our south. The burning heat of the day vanished as the sun disappeared behind Warbonnet, but dusk remained cool, not cold. Except for some curious pikas we had the basin to ourselves. Jean had already counted 75 other hikers during the day.
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| USGS Temple Peak Quad showing approach route. |
North Lake, 7 miles
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| Jean at Jackass Pass. |
8-8-2000
We had a short, but not easy, hike to Cirque of the Towers. I’d forgotten there was another climb before Arrowhead Lake. Lucky for us the climb was a little easier beyond the lake. We went straight past the lake, ignoring a bypass that other hikers had told us was chocked with boulders. Since my last visit, Lonesome Lake in the Cirque had been closed to camping, but we managed to get a site in a grove of trees above the lake. There were at least 5 other parties around, mostly climbers. When the wind was calm, we could even hear the various climbers in the cirque calling to each other.
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| Jackass Pass into Cirque of the Towers. |
We took an early lunch, then lounged in the hot sun enjoying the views. I then took a 45 minute walk up to Cirque Lake and was able to use informal trails most of the way. Cirque Lake is a stark, high tarn. No one was camping nearby, but there were plenty of flowers in the adjacent meadow. Back in camp Jean and I both were feeling the altitude, so I pumped some extra water. Still, we ate our full dinner and split a 16 oz. beer.
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| Pingora in Cirque of the Towers. |
Cirque of the Towers, 4 miles
8-9-2000
Today’s route all retraced part of my 1984 trip. In 1984 we were pelted by hard rains across the entire exposed expanse of Lizard Head Plateau, but on this trip at least we had better weather. The morning was overcast, we had a 20 minute hike to the outlet of Lonesome Lake where we saw 3 parties, then a two mile hike to Lizard Head Meadow, which reminded me of some of the long “parks” in the Bighorns. Three more parties were camped in the valley.
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| Lizard Head Peak Quad showing the 2000 route in yellow. |
Next was the long steep climb up the slopes of Windy Mountain, the toughest section being some switchbacks just above tree line above Bear Lakes. Despite our slow progress it was wonderful to be able to look back into the Cirque to Lizard Head and the peaks to the north. Finally, the grade lessened, and we were able to enjoy the gentle terrain that had been so rain soaked in 1984. Late in the walk we got a few gentle drops, perhaps a reminder of what could be. As hot as the first few days in the Winds had been, we were glad to have some clouds to keep the temperature down. We suspected the mild altitude problems we were having were driven a bit by heat and sun as well.
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| Lizard Head. |
Valentine Lake was surprisingly crowded with at least 7 other parties. I had told Jean that we might have a good chance of having the lake to ourselves. We washed in the lake immediately upon arrival. It made the world of difference to me, no more altitude symptoms the rest of the trip.
Valentine Lake, 10.5 miles
8-10-2000
After our first cloudy night of the trip, we hiked two miles to a tough creek crossing just before the junction with the trail to Graves Lake, where we split from my 1984 route. We hiked two hours to Macon Lake where we stopped to pump water. Washakie Lake was exceptionally beautiful, I wished we’d had the chance to camp there. It took another 50 minutes to reach Washakie Pass, the climb was never too steep, but it was a little loose and crossed one snowfield. Even though a group we met at the pass would try to climb Washakie Peak, I opted for the easier summit to the south and climbed Bernard instead. It was only 20 minutes up moderate talus. The peak did not warrant a register. There was a nice little alcove shelter, and the summit was just off a sheer north face offering great views. Walkup summits in the Winds were not to be taken for granted. Over four trips to the Winds this was only my fifth peak, one was the technical Gannett Peak and only two of the others weren’t just easy side trips off a mountain pass.
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| Approaching Washikie Pass. |
Descending the west side of the pass was gentler and easier. Near the head of the valley, we saw a herd of several hundred sheep, but were lucky to lose them before the junction with the Pyramid Lake Trail. At that junction we turned north and found a nice campsite on the east side of Skull Lake. Another noisy party came in a bit later, but they quieted down after Jean went over to talk with them. We had a light 30 minute rain in late afternoon.
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| Mount Bonneville Quad and the route from Washakie Pass to Bernard Peak. |
Skull Lake 7.5 miles, Bernard Peak 12,193’
8-11-2000
I do not recall any other layover days on long trips taken with Jean, so this was a very special treat. I had planned on trying to walkup Pyramid Peak, but lacked the ambition for it when daylight arrived. Instead, Jean and I spent an easy morning reading in camp and dodging a few brief showers. Later we walked to the end of the trail above Pyramid Lake to enjoy the views. The East Fork peaks looked especially sheer, and we found good campsites at Mae Lake. Pyramid Lake had little shelter for camping. We saw only our second deer of the trip on the return. Three new parties had arrived at the lake in our absence, but all was quiet. It seemed odd that Valentine and Skull had the most crowded camping of the trip, while our site in the Cirque had seemed the most private.
Skull Lake, 5 miles
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| Jean at Pyramid Lake. |
8-12-2000
On our final day in the Winds, we walked back to Big Sandy Opening in about 4 hours via Marms, Dads, and Meeks Lakes. We both liked Marms, but wouldn’t have wanted to camp at Dads or Meeks. We saw one deer and Jean got her hiker count up to 219. At the trailhead we washed up in the creek and hopped in the car. The weather was still hot and dry. We would return with a lot of lunch food left over and about a half quart of fuel (out of 2 qts.) left over. In later trips we would burn fuel faster by boiling all our water, but on this trip, we filtered our water.
It took 90 minutes to drive to Pinedale where we got the last room at the Sundance Hotel for $65. Two badly needed showers later we were feeling human again. We walked around town a bit checking out the outdoor stores and grabbing a milkshake.
Pinedale, WY, 9.5 miles
8-13-2000
The next morning, we drove into Jackson. We found out that the Gros Ventre Campground in Grand Teton NP hadn’t filled on Saturday, so we immediately went there and claimed a campsite. The CG is by the river, but away from the big lakes and mountain views of the other campgrounds. Jean didn’t take to Jackson, so we went to Moose instead and shopped a bit. We then drove to Jenny Lake, found the parking full, and then parked at String Lake. We started walking the popular Jenny Lake Loop Trail through a recent burn. The loop was really crowded, but the peaks loom straight above you, and the crowds can be forgiven. We took the trip to Hidden Falls, but it was too crowded with hikers being discharged off the boat shuttle to go to Observation Point. We were still getting used to the heat, which was a good excuse to get ice cream at Jenny Lake.
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| Hidden Falls in the Tetons. |
After the hike we spent a long time at the Visitor Center then went back to Moose for beer and pizza at a table with full view of Grand Teton. Then it was back to our campsite in the sagebrush.
Gros Ventre Campground GTNP, 7 miles
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| Bison in the Tetons. |
8-14-2000
Priority 2 for this trip was Yellowstone National Park where we hoped to get in a two night backpack trip. We got an early start to get to the backcountry office at the south entrance, but with fires in the Bechler and Pitchstone Plateau areas and Heart Lake full, we were lucky to get a permit at campsite 8SI on Shoshone Lake.
After getting the permit we had plenty of spare time, so we drove to West Thumb to walk the geyser basin trail, and then drove to Old Faithful where we waited 3.5 minutes for an eruption. Next back to the trailhead for major snacking. We hiked into Shoshone Lake via Lewis Channel. It was a great walk through some of the 1988 burn, plus lots of lakeshore and river side walking. Lush green understory under lodgepole pine. At one point we noticed a flash of brown in the underbrush of the furry ears of a baby moose. Knowing that momma was likely close by, we scurried up the trail without a photo. Our other family moment was witnessing a young family singing “row, row, row your boat” as they paddled up the channel.
8SI is one of the rare, shared sites in Yellowstone. Our neighbors were a family of 8 who had paddled in, Grandpa with a group of teenagers. We also meet the ranger stationed at the nearby patrol cabin. He was very careful to make sure we observed all the cooking/cleaning protocols for grizzly country, and found we were up to snuff. After dinner Jean and I walked along the lake shore to enjoy a beer, and we spotted a moose strolling along the shore. The ranger said the moose was a regular and seemed to be curious about the ways of people. So, despite our first night together in grizzly country and wildfires on the horizon, we slept safely and comfortably, though Jean and the other campers were woken up by the sound of a bugling elk.
Shoshone Lake 8SI, 7 miles
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| Moose at Shoshone Lake. |
8-15-2000
We woke up to our coldest morning of the trip. There was smoke coming in from the fires to the west that mixed with the clouds to produce some lightening and a little rain. We headed out via Dogshead Trail, which was shorter, but wasn’t as scenic as our inbound route along the channel, mostly just forest blackened by the 1988 fires. The last 1.2 miles follows and abandoned old road that still has some asphalt fragments in place. But there are remarkably few options for short loop backpacking trips in Yellowstone and Shoshone Lake was a great destination for newcomers like us.
After getting back to the trailhead we drove to Grant Village. We thought about staying there but the campground was dominated by RVs, so we went to the visitors center and watched a film on the 1988 fires.
We then decided to try the short day hike to Lone Star Geyser, a five mile out and back walk on another converted old road. We were lucky to arrive just in time for a “minor” eruption, a 20’ column of water that lasted about a minute. About 30 minutes later was the major eruption a 25-30’ water column followed by a loud gas phase. The major eruption lasted another 30 minutes. Over several later visits to the park, Lone Star has become one of our favorite places. For one, we always seem to hit its 4 hour eruptive cycle on cue. It is an unusual geyser in that there are no others nearby, but it occupies a huge area of sinter, indicative of major activity over time. The geyser has a huge cone ~8’ high and 6-8’ wide at its base.
We spent the night at the Lewis Lake Campground in Yellowstone, which we found to be nice and quiet. There was still smoke from the fires southwest of Shoshone Lake and we heard several helicopters flying by.
Lewis Lake CG, 9.7 miles
8-16-2000
We heard later that day that the south entrance of Yellowstone had been closed because of the fires, but we had no trouble as we started the drive home. We spent that night in North Platte, NB and reached Ames, IA, Jean’s hometown the next day. On the 18th we took a short hike at nearby Ledges State Park. We headed home on the 19th staying in Urbana, IL, and got home to Knoxville on the 20th. Total hiking mileage for the trip was 158.4 miles.
