When the Crux is the Approach

Climbing & Backpacking the Winds (Wind River Range)

Q:  What happens when you combine a climbing trip with a backpacking trip?

A:  Really freaking heavy packs.

Q:  What happens when your pack is really freaking heavy?

A:  Misery.

so. heavy.

Before we headed into the Wind River Range, we spent an evening in the Ridley's grocery store in rural Pinedale, Wyoming, calculating the products with the highest caloric content per weight ounce. (Two dirty backpacking climbers with calculators among the horse trailers and cowboy hats = hilariously awkward.)

"pinedale: all the civilization you need"

We discovered that Pop Tarts and Fritos are in, and quinoa and fresh produce are out. Basically, the more Amurrrican the product, the better it fit our criteria for convenience, calorie content, and packability. Unfortunately, it was a perfect demonstration of one of the causes of America's weight issues – if you eat this sh!t and you are not burning >1,500 calories per day due to exercise and altitude (which I'm going to guess is most people), your body will NOT be happy.

testing recipes in the grocery store parking lot

Even reducing our total food weight, our packs were still pretty darn heavy. Take everything you'd need on a 5 day backpacking trip (including food, tent, stove and fuel, map, clothing layers, first aid and survival kit, etc), and add TWO 60 meter ropes, a full trad rack, harnesses, shoes, and helmets. Dave took the group climbing gear, and I took most of the group camp gear.

whew

My personal definition of alpine climbing is: “when the crux is the approach!!"

DAY ONE: Big Sandy Trailhead to Cirque of the Towers

The hike from the trailhead to Big Sandy Lake is easy (mostly flat), but I am tired. So tired.

somehow i am still upright

Then, the trail starts to climb. Taking a break at the outlet of North Lake, we hear “Dave and Nicole?!?” And standing in front of us are two friends from Ithaca! I nearly fell in the creek! What a small world, what a lovely coincidence, and what a way to lift the spirits!

the best thing since poptarts: coincidental run-ins with friends from home...  6 miles from the trailhead and 

Going around North Lake is a pain; we gain elevation and lose elevation and also lose the main trail.

pretty, but harder walking than necessary

At Arrowhead Lake, we choose to take the climbers' path, which heads directly into the Cirque by crossing a boulder field instead of climbing up and over Jackass Pass. Routefinding around the boulders is tricky against impassable rocks the size of our house.

a *very* provisional thumbs up

And then we pop out into the Cirque. Pretty amazing.

whaaa???

I find a campsite high on the southern ridge of the Cirque, tucked into some trees and hopefully above the mosquitoes.

home sweet home

DAY TWO: Climbing Pingora, 11,884', 5.8 III

For me, a “relaxed morning” is two cups of tea, journalling, a nap, and then leaving camp.

For Dave, a “relaxed morning” means sleeping until 7:00 a.m. and eating oatmeal in camp instead of Pop Tarts on the trail.

Interestingly, this pattern is reversed when we're at home. But in any case, mountain climbing barely allows for a Dave-style relaxed morning, so off we go.

sugar, fat, and calories. and a stomach ache.

Because of our camp location, we had twice as far to bushwhack as most climbing parties. Much of the bushwhacking is boulder-scrambling, which is slow and annoying. It takes several hours to pick our way across the Cirque. It sucked.

this looks way cooler and prettier and happier than it was. you just can't see my face is all.

Reaching the southern shoulder of Pingora, we can't decide how to apply the general guidebook approach description to what we were seeing. It was frustrating.

Finally, we decide to scramble the class 3 and 4 ledges up the southern toe of the southern shoulder. Correct choice, but there are several sections that were exposed and slightly dodgy. It was scary.

what do you mean, i'm supposed to go right up the side of that? unroped?

Of course, as soon as we rope up, I have my security blanket (I'm such a baby), and the climbing goes very well. It was awesome!

Pitches are long...

holy exposure, batman!

We take fun variations 'cause why not... (and we got to pass a slow party, again - since when are we the fast ones?)

proof that tricams are useful

The most technical sections are also very aesthetic...

drool

The setting and the views are BEAUTIFUL...

very nice

Weather holds perfectly...

except for the intense wind

...And we top out on one seriously cool mountain.

we made it!

cirque panorama

Of course, the day isn't complete without some drama.

First time ever that we get a rope stuck on a rappel. Dave ties in with our other rope, leads up to the problem flake, then down-leads. Not too bad.

exposure on rappel

Then, we can't find Dave's pack. All of the ledges look the same. Did an animal grab it? Did it blow away? Ah, there it is.

where the HECK is that pack.

We are tired and out of food and water. My contacts are so dry from the wind it's hard to open my eyes completely. Time to move intentionally and deliberately, checking everything. No rushing. No impatience. We'll get down, sooner or later.

still a long way to go

Finally at the trail junction where I left my pack, we eat snacks, drink water, and I wash my hands in icy snowmelt and peel the contacts off my eyes.

Return across the boulder fields...

the very definition of type II fun

And finally back to camp at 9:00 p.m.

zzzzzzzzzzz

“It's just a three pitch climb,” they said. “It won't take that long,” they said. As long as you know the approach and don't mind exposed scrambling and remember that it's always later than it should be in the mountains!

Well after dark, we see the headlamps of the party we passed, descending the boulder field. At least we weren't that slow.

DAY THREE: Hike Texas Pass, ~11,400'

My birthday! Dave lets me do whatever I want. Today I get my two cups of tea.

We hike down the Cirque to Lonesome Lake and rest in the sun for a while.

reigning nap champ

Two climbers make the scramble along the shoulder of Pingora we made yesterday. They are itty bitty against the granite expanse. I feel small.

can you see them?

Hiking here means picking the line of least resistance and going cross-country. Most of my hiking has been on trails in higher use areas. The Cirque area has some herd paths, and it's best to use them if they exist and you can find them, but today we wander.

ramblin'

I'm feeling rested and happy, so we continue up the other side of the Cirque toward Texas Pass. The pass has a small snowfield, easily bypassed. And amazing views!

that one in the middle? we climbed that!

Great way to spend a birthday.

When we get back to camp, our tent has blown over. Hrm, windier than I thought.

ruh-roh.

I catch up on my journal and take a nap. Ahh, this is nice, especially after the death marches of the past two days.

reflecting and documenting

The mosquitoes are intense, though.

"i vant yer blooooood"

And so is the storm that blows through while we're cooking dinner, hiding under the overhang of a boulder. The thunder echoes and rumbles around the Cirque like rocks in a clothes dryer.

catching run-off from the boulder to rinse my dinner bowl

DAY FOUR: Return hike, Cirque to Big Sandy Trailhead

Even though we brought food for five days, we decide to head out on day four. I'm not inspired by the other climbs in the guidebook. I've got other plans on my mind. And I'm not feeling super great, with bloody sinuses and the beginnings of a hacking cough.

The wind continues intensely from last night's storm as we cross Jackass Pass, this time on the hiker's trail instead of the climber's trail.

nice hair, dave

As we descend, the clouds begin to gather. Crap.

seriously? what else on this trip...

I explode my pack at Big Sandy Lake and repack everything inside a contractor bag. The wag bag (i.e. alpine poop bag) stays on the outside of the pack. Imagine how many crude turd jokes Dave made.

yes, yes i did. back at the car, of course.

The contractor bag acts as a talisman, and the clouds drop only a spritz of hail and rain on us. And then we're back at the trailhead.

A few hours drive puts us in Lander, one of the most climber friendly towns on the planet. We have a shower at the local climbing and fitness gym, then camp in the City Park. Legally, for once!

what? usually we have to be discreet...

EPILOGUE

type 2 fun. but still fun :-)

It was a heck of a butt-kicking trip, but I had fun.  More over, I'd love to return here someday. The Wind River High Route and the Deep Lake climbs look awesome. I would definitely do more trip planning, and it would be even better to return with someone who knows the area (Jeff??). Some day!

cirque of the towers from lonesome lake

Early Season Backpacking in Glacier National Park

We've been running into a lot of this on the trip:

SNOW.  Or pretty white flowers, if I'm trying to fool myself.

What to do when the backcountry is still snowed in?  Hike up a few valleys and avoid the mountain passes.

We spent four days in Glacier's backcountry, hiking up and down the Belly and Mokowanis Rivers in the northeastern corner of the park on the Canadian border.  It's not as spectacular as the mountain passes, but it's a scenic early season option.  And yes, early July is still early season.

Day 1:  Hike from Chief Mountain Trailhead to Glenn Lake (Foot)

From Chief Mountain, the trail descends down to the Belly River, passing through lots of beautiful meadows.  If you're early in the season, the meadows will shine with wildflowers!

At the Belly River Ranger's Station, we headed west toward Cosley Lake.

It was hot, so I hiked all day in Chacos with a pack.  I felt that the hiking was very moderate, with ~700 feet descent and maybe ~250 feet ascent over the 10.3 miles.  Met a few people in camp who were knackered and carrying packs twice the size of mine.  Lighten up, people!

downside: dusty, dirty digits

We made camp in a designated spot by the lake.

pretty!

Immediately, all our gear was swarmed with moths, seeking out salt from our sweat.

yummy

Day 2:  Up the Mokowanis to Margaret Lake, Down the Mokowanis to Cosley Lake

The next day, we packed up camp and stashed our gear to day hike farther up the valley.  This part of the trip was super pretty.

A pretty double waterfall past Mokowanis Lake camp is the official end of the trail, but we saw another alpine lake hiding behind it on the map.

TRAIL BETA to MARGARET LAKE:  at the base of the lower waterfall, continue on a herd path to the left of the falls.  Follow the creek bed past the cascades.  Keep the creek on your right as you walk up it, even though a large cairn is on the other side.

When the cascades peter out, continue up a tributary creek to the left of the main creek.  There are a few different ways to go (we took one going up and another coming down).  It shouldn't seem too difficult at this point.

You are aiming for a series of ledges to the left of the upper waterfall.  The herd path from the tributary creek passes in front of a very steep wall by trending right, then climbs a series of ledges with some running water.  Then you pop out at the upper left side of the upper waterfall!

drying out the boots and gaiters

We had lunch up here, enjoying the sunshine after the previous evening's rain.

margaret lake panorama

On our way down, we spotted a herd of bighorn sheep on the other side of the river.  They were just as curious about us as we were about them!!

losing their winter coats. kind of scruffy... like dave!

We retraced our steps down the Mokowanis to Glenn Lake, picked up our gear, and hiked a few more miles down valley to Cosley Lake camp.  Dave had a full river bath, but it was WAY too cold for me, so I stuck with the washcloth wipe-down.

minimizing trail grossness

Dave got some smoked oysters from another camper.  It's amazing how he attracts food.  Another camper shared some cinnamon whiskey, which is The New Official Tedeyan Backcountry Adult Beverage.

"hmmm not bad"

The water in Cosley Lake was oh-so-still, like a perfect natural mirror.

Day 3:  Cosley Lake to Elizabeth Lake + Side Trips

I had been thinking about the start to Day 3 since a few miles into Day 1, when I looked closely at the map and realized that I would have to ford a river.  As in, put my pack on my head and walk through the water.

I don't do water.  And in summer, I don't pack with an extra set of clothes.

But I also didn't want to walk a bunch of miles out of the way.  Sooo...  down to the skivvies.

uhhhh that looks cold

And here we go.

this photo intentionally vague to protect my modesty but included here as PROOF that i voluntarily went in the water

It wasn't that bad.

We dropped our gear at the foot of Elizabeth Lake.  

more alpine pretty

While I was eating lunch, a huge black bug landed on my face.  WTF?!  I brushed it off and it landed in my peanut butter wrap.  Argh.

grosssss

I knocked it off my wrap and scraped off the PB.  Little jerk, ruining my lunch.

chocolate covered raisins, yoghurt covered pretzels, peanut butter covered bugs

Ever heard of the threat "I'll cover you in honey and leave you in the woods for the bears?"  No?  Whatever.  Dave wondered what would happen if the ground squirrels noticed the bug.

CRUNCH.

Dave's laugh was priceless, but I felt bad for the bug.

From Elizabeth Lake, you can continue up the valley to Helen Lake, or you can take a side trip up to Red Gap Pass.  Red Gap is one of the lowest elevation passes in the park and one of the first to open to non-technical travel.

We walked about halfway up the hill toward the pass, until the heat overtook me and I started getting sick.

elizabeth lake panorama

Back down at camp, we cooled off in the lake.

ahhh

A few campers were fly fishing.  The fish were jumping like water on a hot skillet.  There certainly were enough bugs!!

evening light

Day 4:  Elizabeth Lake to Chief Mountain

We decided to beat the heat with an early start the next morning.  The hike ends with a 700 foot climb on a moderate, switchbacked trail - totally fine by our standards - but certainly more pleasant in the cool of morning.

belly river ranger station 

And then we were done!

belly river

Other random comments about backpacking these parts...

Many of the camps in these valleys have resident deer who like to steal sweaty hiking shirts, stinky trail runners, and expensive cameras with sweaty straps (no, really).  They'll also eat the grass where you pee.  They want your salt, so watch your belongings, pee on rocks, and keep a clean camp.

shameless

Hanging food bags is a valid wildlife (bear) management strategy in Glacier, which is SO COOL!  No bear can (subtract 2.74 lbs from pack)!  Can't do that in the Adirondacks!

this actually works here!

On the downside, the bears here are grizzlies, as well as black bears.  They don't take kindly to being startled, and they're even touchier when cubs are around.  We made ourselves hoarse with whooping, hollering, and singing to announce our presence.

Glacier gets TONS OMG SO MANY backpackers.  The park management has done a great job of mitigating the impacts of so many people tromping through the backcountry.  You can only camp in designated sites, and the designated sites have pit toilets to prevent the fields from being dug up for cat holes, plus poles or wires for hanging food to prevent damage to trees.  The designated camps also have designated food prep areas where people tend to congregate.  For "wilderness," it can be a very social atmosphere, if you want it to be.

cooking at cosley lake

I read somewhere, "Which is the prettiest backcountry camp in Glacier? All of them!" and I would tend to agree.  If you're planning a trip and don't get the exact camp you want, don't stress.  They're all great.

I ran into so many people on their first backpacking trip, or even their first time camping/ sleeping in the woods.  Very impressive!  This seems to be a bucket list type of place for people.  We were able to give some encouragement and suggestions to some.  Gave these nice (hitch)hikers a ride from Chief Mountain back to Many Glacier - was the first trip for one - hope he comes back for many more.

P.S.  I'm writing this trip report ~2ish weeks after the trip.  At the time, I wasn't super impressed with the trip.  None of the trail days were hard, and the secenry was very pretty but not spectacular.  I'm glad I write these trip reports, though, because this was a great experience in retrospect.