DETOUR

 

 

The plan for Wednesday was to hike the Bears Ears Trail up to the Lizard Head Plateau.  We’d cross the plateau before descending to the North Fork of the Popo Agie River at Lizard Head Meadows.  We’d then hike upstream a couple of miles to Lonesome Lake and camp in the Cirque of the Towers.  We would then take a layover day to explore the Cirque of the Towers, before hiking over Jackass Pass to return to the Big Sandy Opening Trailhead.  It was an ambitious plan, but also the day I was looking forward to the most.  We had crossed the Lizard Head Plateau on our trip in 1999, and I’d love the miles of open tundra and non-stop views. The plateau is above treeline and completely exposed, so we needed to cross it that morning.  We were camped several miles away, at Grave Lake, so we needed an early start.

 

We got up at first light.  I was hoping for an encore performance of the magic light show from the previous morning.  Unfortunately, it was overcast.  In fact, the weather was worrisome.  If it was already this cloudy, what would the afternoon hold?

 

We hiked around the east end of Grave Lake and crossed the outlet stream on a sturdy bridge.  A bit later we hiked by the base of a waterfall on a small stream.  We worked our way around to the South Fork of the Little Wind River before following it upstream through meadows and open forest.  Lizard Head Peak, at the southeast end of the Cirque of the Towers, loomed in the distance.  It was a spectacular sight under the dark, moody clouds. 

 

It was mid-morning when we reached a major junction.  A left turn here would take us to a ford of the river.  From there the trail climbs up past Valentine Lake to access the top of the plateau.  The other trail winds its way up past Washakie Lake and Macon Lake before climbing to Washakie Pass.  It then drops down to meet the trail connecting Pyramid Lake and Hailey Pass with the Big Sandy Opening Trailhead. 

 

We had a major decision to make.  The sky was still overcast, and there were even darker clouds massed above the Lizard Head Plateau.  If we headed in that direction we’d be committed.  We would be exposed to the weather for hours following that route.  Also, Christy’s knees were still sore and a little swollen from Monday’s misadventure.  Going back over Washakie Pass would be easier, and less risky. 

 

A rumble of thunder helped us decide.  The original plan was simply too risky given the conditions.  We decided to hike over Washakie Pass.  We could get back to the car in two days easily by that route, but I wasn’t in any hurry to finish the trip.  We decided to find a nice campsite on the west side of the divide where we could spend two nights.  If it worked out, I would do a dayhike to Texas Pass on the rim of the Cirque of the Towers.  I was disappointed about missing out on the Lizard Head Plateau, but I was hopeful that I could still salvage a visit to the Cirque of the Towers.

 

We enjoyed a fairly easy hike to the expansive and scenic Washakie Lake.  The climb from there was more demanding.  We reached the barren, windswept Macon Lake and stopped for a quick lunch.  The wind was howling, but we found a little bit of shelter behind a small stand of scrubby trees.  The weather had deteriorated further.  Aside from the howling wind, the sky was a dark grey going on black.  I was hesitant about attempting Washakie Pass in those conditions, but Macon Lake was downright unpleasant and I certainly wasn’t camping there.  I was also not interested in hiking back down the steep trail to Washakie Lake.  We eyed the route ahead, and decided that we could make it over the pass pretty quickly.  Once we started down the far side we’d be out of the danger zone.

 

We left the last of the trees behind and climbed high above Macon Lake and Washakie Lake.  We were almost at the pass when we hit a major obstacle.  There was a steep snowfield covering the trail directly above us.  We may have been able to descend it, but there was no way to climb it without traction devices.  We had no choice but to go around it.  We swung to the right and reached a steep boulder field.  We had just started climbing when the storm finally hit.  Cold rain and sleet lashed us while thunder rumbled overhead.  Incredibly, the wind gusts actually increased.  One of them caught my pack cover and tried to turn it into a sail.  That threw off my balance, and nearly caused me to fall from the boulder I was perched on.  The rain and ice made the rocks even slicker, and we had to worry about the possibility of lightning, too. 

 

We climbed above the snowfield and returned to the trail.  We huddled for a few minutes until the storm eased a little.  We followed the trail up to a second snowfield.  We might have been able to climb up this one, but there was an obvious, easy bypass route here.  We scrambled up more rocks until we crested the ridge just above the pass.  We scrambled back down to the trail and hurried down the far side.  Incredibly, the storm broke almost as quickly as it started.  The wind eased up, the rain and sleet stopped, and patches of blue sky began to appear.  We enjoyed the easy, scenic descent down the far side. The best views here were back towards the peaks surrounding Pyramid Lake and the East Fork River headwaters. 

 

We dropped down to the main trail in between Skull Lake and Washakie Creek.  One more mile of easy hiking brought us to the ford of Washakie Creek.  Christy waited there with our packs while I scouted around for a campsite.  First I headed upstream on River Right.  I found a couple of passable spots, but nothing great.  I backtracked and headed downstream, climbing steeply up onto a bench that looked promising. The bench was directly below a dramatic granite dome, but high above the creek.  I found a great campsite there, with a single tent site tucked into a small stand of trees.  There were some big, flat rocks for lounging on, and great views up the Washakie Creek valley to the back side of the Cirque of the Towers. 

 

Christy and I claimed the site and set up camp.  It was late afternoon, but I still had a few hours of daylight to work with.  I was half tempted to hike back up to Washakie Pass and climb Washakie Peak.  The weather had improved, but ultimately the thought of climbing all the way back up to the pass dissuaded me.  Instead, I decided to keep my explorations more local.  I was intrigued by the granite dome above our campsite and decided to try climbing it.  I was able to follow benches, and only a little mild scrambling was required to reach the top.  From there I had an even better view of the backside of the Cirque of the Towers, as well as the expansive meadows and tarns downstream along Washakie Creek.  I also discovered that there was another, taller peak immediately to my north.  I headed that way, dropping off the knob and bushwhacking a bit to reach it.  There, I discovered yet another, taller peak ahead.  This was beginning to feel a bit like a trap, so I consulted my map.  It turns out that the peak ahead was the last one.  From there I’d get a great view towards Skull Lake, Pyramid Lake, Hailey Pass and Pyramid Peak, and the peaks in the headwaters of the East Fork River. 

 

The final climb was steep but worthwhile.  The rocky summit is unnamed and unremarkable on the map.  There is a large stone cairn marking it though, so I’m obviously not the first person to climb up here.  The view was every bit as nice as I’d expected.  It encompassed most of our trip on the west side of the Continental Divide.  My favorite part of it was probably the dark waters of Skull Lake far below.

 

I returned to camp and built a campfire.  Sunset was another dud, but we enjoyed the fire and a warm dinner before heading to bed.

Continue reading about our trip as we conclude our 8-day backpacking trip in the Wind River Range, with a layover day hike to Shadow Lake, Texas Lake, and Texas Pass on the rim of the Cirque of the Towers, before returning to the Big Sandy Opening Trailhead.

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