THE SINK, THE RISE, AND THE SLIDE

 

 

We left our campsite in the Sherman Mountains and drove into Laramie for groceries.  We got hit with another thunderstorm while loading the car.  I was beginning to think that all of these storms were not a good omen for the trip.

 

We hit the road again, bound for Lander on the southeast side of the Wind River Range.  We stopped in Rawlins for gas, which was a mistake, as they must have the most expensive gas in the state.  Then it was north and west, through high desert along the Ferris Mountains. 

 

This stretch of highway provided some unwanted excitement.  I was driving about 70mph when a pronghorn antelope suddenly appeared directly in front of us.  In the fraction of a second between recognition and my foot moving towards the brake, I saw the pronghorn…curve…away from our car.  It’s like it took a side step, but without breaking stride or losing any speed.  It’s a good thing, too, because we missed it by inches.  After that one side step, it sprung forward again, out of harms way.  It all happened so fast, I never even slowed the car.

 

We drove through Lander and on to Sinks Canyon State Park.  Our goal for the evening was to find a place to camp.  Preferably a free place, and one at a relatively high elevation.  We had spent the previous evening at 8,000’, and our first backpacking trip, which was scheduled to start on Wednesday, would take us over 10,000’.  For ideal acclimatization, we should camp between 8-9K.  That ruled out the campgrounds in Sinks Canyon, as they are 1) not free, and 2) below 7K in elevation.

 

We drove through the canyon and up the many switchbacks on Fossil Hill and on towards Frye Lake.  We continued beyond the turn for Worthen Meadow Reservoir and on to the Neff Park area.  There are several campsites in that area, but all of them were occupied.  We continued on to Sawmill Creek, and found a spot up on a hill.  It was a passable campsite, but not great.  Down below us were some occupied campsites close to Sawmill Creek.  In between was a stand of trees that looked promising.  I walked down there to see if it was any better than the site on the hill.

 

It was.  There were plenty of trees for hanging the hammocks, along with a fire pit.  There was a lot of cow shit, but most of it was old and dried up.  There was also a ton of firewood.  I waved to Christy, and she drove down and joined me.

 

The campsite was at 8,800’, so the elevation was perfect.  There wasn’t a water source, but we had brought a couple of gallons with us.  We filled everything up at the campground in Sinks Canyon State Park the next day, so the lack of water wasn’t really a problem.

 

Tuesday was a low-key acclimatization day.  After breakfast we drove back down to Sinks Canyon State Park.  Our first stop was at The Sinks.  There, the Middle Popo Agie River flows into a cave and disappears underground.  We did the short walk to the overlook, and then hiked the short, rocky trail down to the entrance to the cave.

 

A paved trail runs a ¼ mile from The Sinks to The Rise, where the river re-emerges at a large spring.  We drove down there instead, as it was a hot, sunny morning.  The Rise is viewed from an observation deck directly above the large, green spring.  The spring was full of huge trout.  The Rise is one of the few places in Wyoming where fishing isn’t allowed.

 

From there, we drove back up the road a couple of miles to the bridge over the Middle Popo Agie River.  We started our main hike for the day there.  Our goal was Popo Agie Falls, and perhaps a stretch of the river upstream from the waterfall.  Thanks to a tip from Dave Landreth, we decided to take a less-crowded alternate route to the falls.  The trail map doesn’t show it, but there is a stock bypass trail that avoids the narrow canyon downstream from the falls.  We followed that trail, climbing switchbacks on an open, sunny hillside.  After a bit of a climb, we traversed high above the valley.  After perhaps a mile, we reached a rock outcrop with a view of the waterfall in the distance.  The view is spectacular, and it was a dramatic first-glimpse of the falls.

 

There was another couple here – the only people we saw on the stock trail.  It is a large overlook though, so there was plenty of room without crowding.  We had lunch there and enjoyed the view before resuming the hike.

 

We gradually descended towards the river and rejoined the main trail.  At that point it was still only early afternoon.  We decided to hike upstream first, as Dave had mentioned outstanding scenery along that stretch of river.  Plus, we figured the waterfall would be less crowded if we visited it later in the day.

 

We climbed steadily through aspen and pine, well away from the river.  At the top of the climb we gradually worked our way back to the riverside.  This stretch of river is peaceful and pretty, and glimpses of the mountains in the distance provided a hint of what we would see on our first backpacking trip.  We continued upstream a bit farther, with no specific destination in mind.  After a break, we headed back, bound for the falls.

 

Popo Agie Falls doesn’t look like much on the topo map.  It’s far more impressive in person.  It’s a big waterfall – both high and wide.  The initial drop is the only part of the waterfall that is visible from the overlook where we had lunch.  There, the river tumbles over the brink of a sheer cliff.  There is a lot more below.  After the initial drop, the river splits into two channels.  The River Right side features a long run of rocky cascades, ending with a waterfall in a narrow chute.  The River Left side has cascades and small drops, followed by a steep slide into a deep pool in a granite bowl.  A bit farther downstream on that side is perhaps that prettiest part of the waterfall – a multi-tiered drop with four channels. 

 

The side trail to the falls led us to a cliff overlooking the canyon downstream from the falls.  From there we had a good view of the River Right channel and the initial drop.  A bit farther on we found a view of the lower waterfall on the River Left channel.  Just upstream is the focal point of the hike for most visitors.  Many people that hike here come to slide down the middle section of the falls and swim in the pool at its base. 

 

Although it was late afternoon, the area was still crowded.  We watched lots of kids, a couple of adults, and even a dog slide down the waterfall.  Although it looked quite safe, Christy and I are both very accident-prone, so we decided to skip it.  Still, it was fun watching the kids (and the dog) enjoying the water.

 

We hiked back on the main trail through the canyon, making a partial loop out of our hike.  We returned to the car, and drove back up to our campsite in the “cow pasture”.  That evening, a herd of cattle passed by.  One of the cows was quite a sight.  It was all black, except its face was entirely white.  I mentioned that he looked like “Jason” from the Friday the 13th movies.  That comment really helped us sleep well.

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