 Previous Day |
Big Sandy Lake → Temple Lake → Big Sandy Lake 12.9 mi (20.8 km) |
 More 2021 Adventures |
Let’s extend our adventure, everyone!
Though we came to the Wind Rivers to see Cirque of the Towers, we could see so many other lakes and valleys from our trek yesterday that we decided to take another day and explore what else awaited just up the creek from our camp! The signs were not super specific with their distances, so we were really winging it!
 |
Bypassing the trail we took yesterday and continuing our circuit around Big Sandy Lake, we took in the lovely lupine and other wildflowers blooming around the trail as we went, hardly believing how far away War Bonnet Peak looked from our new vantage point!
 |
From here, the trail split, and we followed the sign pointing to Clear Lake and Deep Lake, which we expected to be clear and deep! I sure was not ready for more uphill after yesterday, but moving gave just enough momentum to keep going through the dry woods where the weather couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be hot or chilly, sunny or cloudy. It’s a good thing we beavers were prepared for multiple outcomes!
 |
We reached our first stop, Clear Lake, much sooner than expected. Sure enough, it was very clear and seemed pretty shallow. We dipped our toes in the water, a little surprised to have gotten here so early when we’d only planned to visit two lakes the whole day. It was lovely, but we agreed there must be more up the pass just beyond our vision!
 |
 |
And we were well rewarded with the ABCs of wildflowers: asters and bistorts and cinquefoils galore! Spring passes so early in Los Angeles that I forget it can be pursued across ecosystems well into the summer! The bees sure were appreciative of that!
 |
From the wildflower meadows, we began our ascent of a huge granite face leading up to Deep Lake. To our left, huge cliffs reached for the sky, and we met a climber who had just come down from a six-hour ascent! That sure looked precarious, but life up here is never without a little risk. Look at this tree, for example, peeled up like a sticker! If a seeds falls into a pile of needles and soil, its roots spread out over the impenetrable rock, holding onto soil and moisture as much as it can until a storm, like the one last Labor Day, rips it right off its inches-thin foundation. It was a good reminder how life is resilient and nature is merciless.
 |
 |
A creek ran down the center of this rock face, forming waterfalls and pools where tiny cutthroat trout had made their homes in these tiny, alpine fishbowls! It was the perfect place to catch flies until winter, and I wondered if they knew to keep going when the weather started to chill. I sure hope so! The weather right now, though, had decided to be warm, if a little windy and increasingly hazy from Oregon’s fires. It still made for some beautiful reflections though!
 |
 |
We didn’t reach the bottom of Deep Lake, so I guess it earned its name! Instead, we drank some of its super clean water, had some snacks, and played tag with some local marmots, who were so fat they undulated when they ran! By the time we were done, we were pretty tuckered out and had a nice nap in the shade of a boulder. It was one darn lovely afternoon!
 |
But we didn’t nap long. The urge to explore was too strong, and we saw two people coming down a trail on the other side of the lake. We just had to check it out while there was daylight and clear skies, so on we went up the next stretch of trail!
 |
We stopped to admire more of the cute cinquefoils blooming along the trail all the way down into the basin of the next lake!
 |
That next lake was called Temple Lake in the shadow of Temple Mountain and its snow fields! Here, the trail was a guessing game, and the wildness was strong, both in the blue of the waters and the building roar of the mountain winds! Here, the mosquitoes didn’t dare leave the rocks for fear of getting dashed against them! That gave us a good excuse to find a sheltered cove and soak our tired feet and absorb the wondrous beauty that surrounded us. We both joked that we’d never get Woodchuck up here in a million years and did our best impressions of him. It was a good thing he wasn’t around to hear them.
 |
 |
As the sun began its creep over the mountains, we decided it was time to return to camp for some popcorn and storytelling. At Deep Lake, the winds subsided, as if we’d been scooted out by Mother Nature herself, reminding us that we’d had enough time here, just like when Antarctica closed me out with fog. I forget these things living in the big city, and I’m very thankful to Flatty for bringing me out here to remind me what’s real and important.
Country road, take us home!
Previous Day |
Total Ground Covered: 280.0 mi (450.7 km) |
More 2021 Adventures |