$40
VIEW
It
rained again Monday night. I’d left the
tent fly open for maximum ventilation, and woke to rain blowing into the
tent. In my sleepy panic, I managed to
snag the zipper of the tent fly. I
followed that up by breaking the zipper trying to get it unstuck. Perfect.
I managed to rig the fly so that rain wouldn’t come in, but it was awkward. If we caught a severe storm it would never
hold up, and we still had three more nights remaining in our trip.
My
plan for Tuesday was a solo hike in the Wind River Roadless Area (Indian
Reservation). I’d purchased a $40
one-day permit to cross the Indian Reservation in Pinedale prior to our trip. Christy would spend the day relaxing on the
beach at Grave Lake. I set my alarm
early in hopes of catching morning alpenglow.
It was first light when I peered out through the fly. The entire lake was fogged in. Blech.
There wasn’t any reason to get up in those conditions, so I rolled over and
dozed. I woke up again 20 minutes later,
for no apparent reason. It seemed
inexplicably bright outside, so I looked out through the fly again. The fog had lifted, and the mountains on the
far side of Grave Lake were a bright orange from the morning alpenglow. In knew it would only last a few
minutes. I grabbed a jacket and my
camera and ran down to the beach. The
fog came and went, and the alpenglow was brilliant. The color faded quickly, so I walked down the
beach. The view of the unnamed mountain
to the south reflecting in the calm water of the lake was nearly as nice as the
alpenglow.
I
returned to our campsite, loaded a daypack, ate breakfast, and hit the
trail. I hiked back to the junction with
the Onion Meadows Trail and followed it towards Onion Meadows. After a mile or so in the woods, I reached
the boundary of the Indian Reservation at the edge of Onion Meadows. Indians frequently camp here, but there
wasn’t anyone around. I hiked across the
meadow, and startled a couple of elk just before rock hopping Raft Creek. I had some trouble finding the trail to
Teepee Pass, but eventually stumbled upon it.
I climbed on switchbacks in the woods, but passed one viewpoint of a
waterfall on Raft Creek far below. It is
down in a deep, narrow canyon. The
waterfall didn’t look very exciting, but it could be impressive with higher
water.
The
climb continued, and the trail was hard to follow at times. It was faint, and fallen trees were
frequent. I wandered off course several
times, but always managed to get back on track.
My GAIA app on my phone was very helpful. The trail is shown accurately on the topo
map, and anytime I drifted off course I was able to correct myself using the
app. I reached the mouth of the lowest
of the Raft Creek Lakes by mid-morning.
I took a break there and watched a pretty cutthroat trout swimming in
the clear, shallow water. I left the
trail there and followed the river upstream to a larger lake. At the far end I climbed steeply up a gully
and then along a ridge, away from the lake.
Eventually I rejoined the trail to Teepee Pass, which is marked
occasionally with cairns. I was now well
above treeline.
The hike to the pass was a gradual climb through a grassy meadow. I descended the far side, staying on the
hillside east of the stream. This side
of the pass is grassy and treeless, too.
I dropped down to swampy area with small ponds. I worked my way through there and around a
minor knob. I started across a plateau,
but left the trail to head towards a cliff overlooking Trail Lake, Roberts
Lake, and Roberts Mountain. I scrambled
up to the top of the cliff, and the view blew me away. I was directly above the beautiful blue water
of Trail Lake, over 200’ below. It might
be possible to fish from here! There is
a nice view down the valley to the north, but the showstopper is the vista
across Trail Lake to Roberts Lake and the imposing cliffs of Roberts
Mountain.
It
was really windy there, but otherwise the weather was good. I had lunch, took a lot of photos, and soaked
in the sunshine and scenery. It was a
great spot, and well worth the $40. It
was hard to leave, but I had a long hike back.
I returned to Teepee Pass and continued on the trail down to the lower
end of the Raft Creek Lakes. I had a
view of Grave Lake along here, which was, incredibly, still fogged in. Ugh.
Did Christy spend the whole day in the fog? I descended quickly to Onion Meadows, despite
losing the trail several times. I
returned to Grave Lake, passing a couple camped in the woods shortly before
reaching the lake. They were the first
people I’d seen all day. I returned to
our campsite and joined Christy there.
She had been fogged in most of the day.
The sky had cleared for a couple of hours that afternoon, but then the
wind had cranked up. That wind had kept
it too chilly for her to swim or really enjoy the beach.
I
wanted to enjoy the beach that evening.
Unfortunately, there was a group of guys hanging out in the woods on the
hillside just above the trail and our campsite.
I’m guessing they were camped nearby and had walked over to check out
the view. That was all fine. The only problem is that they were engage in
a lively, loud conversation that went on for hours. Oddly, of all of the scenic spots around
Grave Lake, they were hanging out in a little break in the trees with a narrow
view of the lake and mountains beyond.
I’m not sure why they picked that spot.
I found their choice amusing, but also a little disturbing. It just so happens that they were in the
exact spot where I’d pooped that morning. I thought about walking up there and telling
them that I’d pooped there that morning, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to
do it.
We
had dinner and a campfire on the beach.
Sunset looked promising, until the fog rolled back in late that
evening. That fog finally convinced our
neighbors to stop hanging out in our toilet and return to their campsite, so it
wasn’t all bad. In fact, the eerie
peacefulness of the lake was quite enjoyable accompanied by the warmth of the
campfire.
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