Wind River Early August Trip

Our route: Pyramid Lake Trail, over Washakie Pass, by Valentine Lake, onto the Lizard Head Trail that crosses the plateau, down to Bear Lake, up to Lizard Head Meadows, to Lonesome Lake, over Jackass Pass and out of the Winds via the Big Sandy Trail. 

Breakout the board! It's time to ride!

With 117 inches of snow and two feet of new powder this ski season is already reaching epic proportions! I hope it stays this way and I hope all of my friend who ski the backcountry are safe and stay out of any avalanche danger. With the amount of snow we have on top of new snow and fluctuating temperatures there have already been dozens of avalanches and several skiers seriously injured in these slides. Luckily there haven't been any deaths and hopefully there won't be this season. I prefer lift access snowboarding at my wonderful ski hill so I am in the clear as far as avalanches go. Backcountry skiing is too scary for me and frankly, not worth the risk or worry. 

Granite Falls

Cliff & Wade Lakes, Montana

Gorgeous campgrounds at both lakes and an empty campground on the hill that separates the two lakes. We opted for the hill top campground so the three dogs could freely roam without disturbing other campers. We had the place all to ourselves! 

Wind River--July--Girls Trip

Taking a backpack trip to the Winds in July is a gamble. Mosquitoes are in full force and bad weather is likely going happen. We had all extremes during this 3 day girls trip. The three friends I brought had never seen the impressive Cirque of Towers. So our plan was to hike into the Cirque of Towers on day two. Bad weather came in late our first night...and it continued the rest of the trip. Day two, we hiked in the rain to the Cirque, stopping just before The long incline up Jackass Pass (yep, you heard it right!). There was no Cirque. No mountains. No view. The low thick clouds were completely obstructing the magnificent granite peaks. Bummer! Luckily, back at camp we were able to gather enough dry wood to have a rager of a campfire which helped dry out the girls wet gear &  keep the Mosquitos away. It was a great trip even though the weather was not ideal. I know at least 3 out of the 4 girls had an excellent time! ;)