There are a number of reasons why I wanted to do this August 2017 trip - visit family and friends, 2 Counting Crows concerts, visit Art Museums, hike in Colorado, see the Total Eclipse - but maybe the main reason is to hike up in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Both Albert Bierstadt and Alfred Jacob Miller have painted in that area, and I will share paintings from each for the 6 blogs I have about hiking in the Wind River Range. The sixth (and final) pair are:
Albert Bierstadt - "Elk Grazing in the Wind River Country", 1861 (National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY):
Alfred Jacob Miller - "Indian Encampment on the Wind River", c, 1850 (Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA):
Although there is certainly enough light to get-up-and-hike, if you are hiking north/south in a valley, it is still kind of dark down on the trail at 7:30 AM - but the cliffs LOOK GREAT to the east:
It will lighten up soon, but in the meantime it is pretty cool being down in the valley, heading north, with the mountain tops ahead of me ablaze:
Sure enough, by 8:30, I have hiked 2.5 miles and am looking back down the valley, watching the sun chase away the shadows from this high alpine meadow:
Turning around, I see the path up to Porcupine Pass:
After going up-and-over Porcupine Pass (elevation 10,702 feet), you get THE VIEW north:
called "The deep, U-shaped valley of Porcupine Creek, viewed from Porcupine Pass."
3 hours later, you are walking through mountains-and-meadows:
4 miles later you are down in a meadow alongside Porcupine Creek:
And then you hike back alongside the western edge of one of the Green River Lakes:
Back to the Fit a little after 3, then drove to Pinedale alongside the Green River:
WOW - That was SOME GREAT HIKING!! 3 days = 31 miles in 20.5 hours!!. Thank you God for these wonderful fabulous days!
Thoughts on hiking/camping: I like/My body likes hiking - going from Point A to Point B, going to places that you CANNOT GET TO IN A CAR, and seeing beautiful things in nature (views, waterfalls, lakes, meadows, forests) [note: I'm not a big fan of "wildlife", and don't "seek it out", but it is pretty cool when I run across a deer or moose]. "Hiking" includes both "hiking for distance" (flat land/low hills) and "hiking for elevation" (my 4000 footers in New England; mountain passes). I don't like "camping out" (I like a shower, a bed and a restaurant or home-cooked meal) [note: hiking with the "Camping Backpack" isn't too bad since I did a little training to strengthen my back muscles.] I think the part I like least about "camping out" is getting to my location, and having time-to-kill before going to sleep - the late-afternoons of my 2 "middle days" on these hiking trips in the Winds were by far the worst part of each hike. Having said all that, these 2 hiking trips in the Wind River Mountains were definitely WORTH IT - the views were WONDERFUL and INSPIRING and the beauty can bring tears to my eyes, and it is pretty cool to be able to say that "yeah, I went hiking/backpacking in the Winds" when I hang out with all my hiking buddies.
Music for today was albums from my purple nano:
The Beach Boys - Sounds of Summer, 2003 anthology (30 songs)
No comments:
Post a Comment