MORE COWBELL
We got up early on Sunday. We packed, made breakfast, cleaned up, loaded the car, and drove back to Lander for groceries. Christy did the shopping, while I entertained Jackson. By entertained, I mean he helped me pick out a six pack of beer. It was a winner – Sweetgrass Pale Ale from Grand Teton Brewing in Victor, Idaho. Then we played around in a patio area in front of the store.
From there, we drove through Dubois and on to Brooks Lake. The goal was to get a campsite at one of the campgrounds there before they filled up. Apparently we didn’t need to worry. Sunday July 6th was the ideal arrival date, as many people had left after the long weekend. We settled on campsite 21 in the Pinnacles Campground, which is up on a hill with a nice view of the lake and the cliffs above. It turns out that we never needed to worry about getting a site. The campground never filled up that week. However, it is worth noting that there are only a few sites close to the lake, and they stay occupied. I ended up liking our site more, as we were farther from the water and in a spot with a good breeze. That kept the mosquitoes from making the experience miserable.
Pinnacles Campground is really nice. Aside from the views of the lake and cliffs, it was quiet and the bathrooms were remarkably clean.
We arrived in time for a late lunch, which surprised me. Apparently we can get up and get moving early if we have to. We didn’t do that much on this trip, but at least we know that we have the ability. That enabled us to stay on the somewhat ambitious schedule I had planned for the day. We set up camp, ate lunch, and got prepared for an afternoon hike.
My goal for the afternoon was a 6 mile loop hike from Brooks Lake to Upper and Lower Jade Lake. That was an ambitious goal, since we started around 3pm. With Jackson, we typically average 1 mile and hour, whether I am carrying him or not.
We drove to the parking area on the south side of Brooks Lake and hit the trail. We started out on a wide, easy path with great views of the lake and the cliffs on either side. I was particularly interested in Mount Sublette (Brooks Mountain) to the west, since we were planning to hike to the top of it the next day. The trail passes through an extensive meadow, which was full of blooming wildflowers. That added to the scenery, which was already spectacular.
We reached a junction and started up a painfully steep hill. Jackson had walked that first mile, but the climb was too steep for him. I put him in the pack and carried him up. It was a struggle. It’s always a struggle, but the steep grade and the altitude was a brutal combination. Our acclimatization plan had been one night in Cheyenne at 5K, followed by two nights in Sinks Canyon, at close to 6K. Brooks Lake is 9K, and it is all uphill from there. That was a big jump in elevation after only 3 nights at moderate altitudes. It was one of my biggest concerns going into the trip. I usually handle high altitude ok, but Christy has had problems in the past, and we had no idea how it would affect Jackson. Would we even know if the altitude was bothering him?
We reached the top of the hill, hiked into the woods, and then plunged down a steep descent. A few minutes later we encountered a horse party from Brooks Lake Lodge. This was pretty exciting, as it was Jackson’s first time seeing horses up close.
From there it was a fairly easy hike down to Upper Jade Lake. The lake is a beautiful green nestled below the cliffs of Sublette Mountain. We stopped there for a break before the mosquitoes chased us off. It’s worth noting that late afternoon is not the optimal time for photography at Upper Jade Lake. The trail follows the east side of the lake, and the sun was above the cliffs to the west. Morning light would be much better for photos. I should’ve thought about that when I planned the trip.
We made a long descent through the woods, but the mosquitoes followed us. I tried to hike fast to stay ahead of them, but that didn’t really work. We didn’t stop at Lower Jades Lake, as it wasn’t very appealing. The water seemed to be low, as the whole lake had a “ring around the bathtub” look to it. That struck me as odd, as the lakes are usually full in early July.
We continued down to the bottom of the valley. We left the woods and entered the long meadow / willow swamp that extends from Upper Brooks Lake to Brooks Lake. From there we enjoyed an easy walk back to the trailhead.
The hike had one final highlight in store for us. We were nearing the final stretch of the trail when we heard something unexpected. Was that…cowbell? A few seconds later a herd of horses appeared, galloping towards us. Sure enough, some of them were wearing cowbells, for some reason. They were from Brooks Lake Lodge. There weren’t any people with them. Apparently the lodge lets them out to “pasture”, free-range, in the evening. They passed by us on a parallel trail, galloping the whole way.
We returned to camp, had a nice dinner, and went to bed at dusk. It was surprisingly cold that night, and I was underdressed. I wore my long underwear and kept a warm hat handy the rest of the nights we were there.
Later that night I got up to pee. I was enjoying the stars when I heard cowbell in the distance. It sounded like the horses were heading back to the barn for the rest of the night.
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