August 2019 - Day 4/21 Wind River Range (1/3)

Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019 - Day 1/3 in the Wind River Range - 15 miles driving:



I am furious with MapMyWalk. It did not work/save my hikes for either Day 1 or the 2nd half of Day 2. This is a screenshot of another hiker's path, which is actually exactly what I did:

Day 1 from the trailhead (Elkhart Park) in the lower-left up to Upper Cook Lake on the far-right. Day 2 (not shown) day-hike up to Upper Wall Lake (red circle), then back to campsite, then hike over Lester Pass to Little Seneca Lake (the north peak of the triangle). Day 3 hike down-and-out to the trailhead.

Today's 15+ miles hiking to Upper Cook Lake:


I did 2 hikes in 2017 in the Wind River Range - Cirque of the Towers at the south end, and the Green River area at the north end. Last year I went up to Titcomb Basin and Indian Pass in the middle area. This year I wanted to see Wall Lake and cross Lester Pass in the middle area. A year-and-a-half ago I read Sky's Witness: A Year In The Wind River Range by C.L. Rawlins (1994):

which is a wonderful account of a Forest Service worker's "year in the Wind River Range". I had a great time following along with my big trail map of the Winds, and highlighted areas I want to see.

Breakfast, blogging, and then a lovely drive up to the trailhead parking lot:

and although I got the 4th parking spot:

the rest of the lot seemed pretty full:


The trail heading up is very nice:





After 3.5 miles, this is my trail-to-the-right (um, the "Trail to Miller Lake"):

which loops past Miller Lake, Middle Sweeney Lake and Upper Sweeney Lake.

My first view of Miller Lake:

where I stopped for lunch a few minutes later (at noon):


A nice shot of Upper Sweeney Lake at 1 PM:


When you have multiple lakes, that means you have multiple up-and-downs over the terrain that separates the lakes. By the time I finished this "little loop", I was exhausted. I found a nice spot and just lay down for 30 minutes

At 2:09 I was at the intersection of Pole Creek Trail:



9 minutes later I had a beautiful view of Elklund Lake


Beautiful Raw Wild Country (and exhausting hiking):





After I took another rest, I had to take my boots, socks, and pants off (Merrills On) to cross a stream. This is looking back at a couple going the other way:

and this looks to the left to see where that stream goes:


I keep going northeast to get to the Cook Lake Loop Trail:



At 8 PM (and exhausted), I reached the southeast corner of Upper Cook Lake:





I found a perfect spot and set up my tent:



Thank you God for these Beautiful Places, and for giving me the body that allows me to get out and explore!

only one album today:

Billy Joel - Glass Houses, 1980


It was fun having "You May Be Right", "Sometimes a Fantasy", "Don't Ask Me Why", "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" in my head while hiking.