2020 Wind Rivers; Smith Lakes
Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 5:20 pm
2020 Wind Rivers; Smith Lakes
7/19 – 7/22
Hopes of doing a thru-route were off when I could not yet get my broken little toe into my regular hiking shoes. Fortunately I had also planned many loop trips, so now I had only to pick two for my 14-day “self-quarantine” as well as an easy early trip due to my toe. Big Sandy or Dickinson Park trailheads had good options. I was swayed by having a safe, cool storage for all my backpack food and the thought of a nice hot shower, so I continued over South Pass, quickly dropped off my summer’s food in my friend’s basement in Lander (which is as good as cold storage), took a quick shower and bought my fishing licenses, a $120 annual out-of-state Wyoming license and a $70 annual senior discount Wind River Indian Reservation license/permit ($180 total!!!). The road to Dickinson Park was as bad as ever; exceedingly slow going. I stayed at the free and empty FS campsite.
Since I had to hike in my old overly large Keen heavy hikers, I decided to do a 4-day test trip to easy-to-reach Smith Lakes, hopefully including a short but difficult off-trail section to High Meadow Lake for a nice loop (more on this later). Years ago I had taken my 5-year old daughter here! Although not big peaks or cliffs, this area is quite pretty with lots of easy to catch fish, if not the biggest fish and of moderate elevation for acclimation.
I stayed up until dark getting organized. Having mistakenly put the 2-man tent poles in the 3-man tent that I brought for car camping, I had to make do with my old Copper Spur1 with broken zippers. Thankfully it was cold enough the mosquitoes had already left.
Day 1: Smith Lakes TH to Middle Lake. 6.7 miles, 1225 feet gain, 5 hours (plus 1 mi/1.5 hr. fishing)
I was awakened early by the ring of bells on several horses (pack station down the road). Good alarm clock! I needed the extra time to finish packing. I then put the food for my second trip in the bear box and drove to the trailhead getting on the trail about 9AM.
The trail immediately crosses a large bog on a boardwalk (thank goodness!). My little toe was a bit sore, but I had cut the forefoot section from an old wool sock to give it more room. I was pretty klutzy in oversized shoes, but limped along at a reasonable pace the 6 miles on a good trail to Middle Lake. Not liking the established campsite I continued to the inlet, where I failed to find a better site, so returned and set up. Three other hikers came by as I was setting up.
The wind formed whitecaps on the lake so I fished the more protected southwest side of the lake and caught three smallish brook trout and then hiked further along the shoreline on a use trail which disappeared before I reached the inlet. Murphy’s Law of campsites; here I found a much better campsite but was not going to move at this late time. Back down the trail and across the outlet to camp I then cooked dinner and retired before dark. In the middle of the night, I heard odd sounds and though I saw a person lurking among the trees. I later learned from the other hikers that they saw a big bull moose at my campsite the next morning after I had left. I wonder if that is what I had heard.
Day 2: Middle Lake to Mendarrin Lake. 3.3 miles, 765 feet gain, 4.5 hours (plus 1 mile, 2 hrs. fishing-photographing)
I went back to the southwest shore to take photos in the better morning lighting before packing up and leaving. On the way I took a short side-trip to Cloverleaf Lake for photos. The trail drops to Cook Lake and then gets somewhat confusing at the west end as several use-trails head off in different directions. I pretty much followed a use-trail all the way to Mendarrin Lake. It did help that I had been here twice before. Both Cook Lake and Cloverleaf have fish but I did not want to carry fish up to Mendarrin Lake.
I found a wonderful campsite and then took a bath, washed a shirt and wandered around before lazily fishing for a few hours. I caught several 8-9 inch fish for dinner. Although my right little toe felt fine, it was swollen and my limping had created a tweak in my left ankle. I was exceedingly clumsy so had to reconsider my intended route. The direct route to High Meadow Lake was a “fall you die” route up a steep granite ledge. Trip over myself, I probably would, so I decided to go the long way via returning to the Meadow Lake Trail, trading a 2 mile off-trail route for a 7.5 mile trail route. If my foot felt bad at the trail junction, I could simply walk out to my car.
I rested my feet, now a swollen little right toe and a tweaked left ankle. After cooking the fish for dinner I wandered around for a few more photos before heading into the tent quite early to listen to music.
7/19 – 7/22
Hopes of doing a thru-route were off when I could not yet get my broken little toe into my regular hiking shoes. Fortunately I had also planned many loop trips, so now I had only to pick two for my 14-day “self-quarantine” as well as an easy early trip due to my toe. Big Sandy or Dickinson Park trailheads had good options. I was swayed by having a safe, cool storage for all my backpack food and the thought of a nice hot shower, so I continued over South Pass, quickly dropped off my summer’s food in my friend’s basement in Lander (which is as good as cold storage), took a quick shower and bought my fishing licenses, a $120 annual out-of-state Wyoming license and a $70 annual senior discount Wind River Indian Reservation license/permit ($180 total!!!). The road to Dickinson Park was as bad as ever; exceedingly slow going. I stayed at the free and empty FS campsite.
Since I had to hike in my old overly large Keen heavy hikers, I decided to do a 4-day test trip to easy-to-reach Smith Lakes, hopefully including a short but difficult off-trail section to High Meadow Lake for a nice loop (more on this later). Years ago I had taken my 5-year old daughter here! Although not big peaks or cliffs, this area is quite pretty with lots of easy to catch fish, if not the biggest fish and of moderate elevation for acclimation.
I stayed up until dark getting organized. Having mistakenly put the 2-man tent poles in the 3-man tent that I brought for car camping, I had to make do with my old Copper Spur1 with broken zippers. Thankfully it was cold enough the mosquitoes had already left.
Day 1: Smith Lakes TH to Middle Lake. 6.7 miles, 1225 feet gain, 5 hours (plus 1 mi/1.5 hr. fishing)
I was awakened early by the ring of bells on several horses (pack station down the road). Good alarm clock! I needed the extra time to finish packing. I then put the food for my second trip in the bear box and drove to the trailhead getting on the trail about 9AM.
The trail immediately crosses a large bog on a boardwalk (thank goodness!). My little toe was a bit sore, but I had cut the forefoot section from an old wool sock to give it more room. I was pretty klutzy in oversized shoes, but limped along at a reasonable pace the 6 miles on a good trail to Middle Lake. Not liking the established campsite I continued to the inlet, where I failed to find a better site, so returned and set up. Three other hikers came by as I was setting up.
The wind formed whitecaps on the lake so I fished the more protected southwest side of the lake and caught three smallish brook trout and then hiked further along the shoreline on a use trail which disappeared before I reached the inlet. Murphy’s Law of campsites; here I found a much better campsite but was not going to move at this late time. Back down the trail and across the outlet to camp I then cooked dinner and retired before dark. In the middle of the night, I heard odd sounds and though I saw a person lurking among the trees. I later learned from the other hikers that they saw a big bull moose at my campsite the next morning after I had left. I wonder if that is what I had heard.
Day 2: Middle Lake to Mendarrin Lake. 3.3 miles, 765 feet gain, 4.5 hours (plus 1 mile, 2 hrs. fishing-photographing)
I went back to the southwest shore to take photos in the better morning lighting before packing up and leaving. On the way I took a short side-trip to Cloverleaf Lake for photos. The trail drops to Cook Lake and then gets somewhat confusing at the west end as several use-trails head off in different directions. I pretty much followed a use-trail all the way to Mendarrin Lake. It did help that I had been here twice before. Both Cook Lake and Cloverleaf have fish but I did not want to carry fish up to Mendarrin Lake.
I found a wonderful campsite and then took a bath, washed a shirt and wandered around before lazily fishing for a few hours. I caught several 8-9 inch fish for dinner. Although my right little toe felt fine, it was swollen and my limping had created a tweak in my left ankle. I was exceedingly clumsy so had to reconsider my intended route. The direct route to High Meadow Lake was a “fall you die” route up a steep granite ledge. Trip over myself, I probably would, so I decided to go the long way via returning to the Meadow Lake Trail, trading a 2 mile off-trail route for a 7.5 mile trail route. If my foot felt bad at the trail junction, I could simply walk out to my car.
I rested my feet, now a swollen little right toe and a tweaked left ankle. After cooking the fish for dinner I wandered around for a few more photos before heading into the tent quite early to listen to music.