PYRAMID,
BAPTISTE, HOOKER, AND GRAVE
I
got up at first light Sunday in hopes of catching morning alpenglow on Raid
Peak and Geikie Mountain. Sunrise was a
dud though, due to lingering clouds to the east. It was a windy, cold morning, so we didn’t
hang around long. We packed up and
started the easy off-trail hike to Pyramid Lake. We climbed gradually on benches above the
East Fork River. Then we hit the unnamed
pass west of Pyramid Lake. We ran into a
large organized group coming from Pyramid Lake there. We actually saw that group at the trailhead
two days earlier. Their hike was similar
to the first part of ours, but in the opposite direction. They were heading towards our campsite and
then down the East Fork River.
We
picked up a beaten path there and followed it down to Pyramid Lake. Pyramid Lake is a popular place to camp, and
we spotted several tents. At that point
we considered taking a short cut to Hailey Pass starting from the northeast
side of Pyramid Lake. We decided against
it though, and picked up the trail heading south to Maes
Lake. We did take a short cut around the
north side of Maes Lake. A rough path led along the lakeshore to the
stream draining Twin Lakes. We hopped
across that creek and bushwhacked steeply up to the Hailey Pass Trail. That was a grunt, but at least it was short
and the forest was open. From there we
made a steady climb up to Twin Lakes.
This stretch of trail had some fantastic views back to the southwest. Some of the clouds had cleared, granting us
improving views. We stopped at the lower
Twin Lake for lunch. The Twin Lakes are
just small tarns set in a rocky basin.
The trail immediately beyond the lower lake was steep and difficult,
with big rocks and awkward footing. Fortunately that stretch is short. We rock hopped the outlet of the upper lake
and enjoyed an easy stroll the rest of the way to Hailey Pass.
Hailey
Pass features a great view to the north.
Christy and I hiked up the north side to Hailey Pass back in 1999. We enjoyed the views behind us on the way up,
but were disappointed by the lack of a view to the south. At the time we didn’t realize that we needed
to hike beyond the Twin Lakes to get a view in that direction.
Originally,
I had hoped to make the quick scramble up Pyramid Peak from Hailey Pass. However, dark clouds were building. Conditions were sketchy for peak bagging, so
we started down the north side of Hailey Pass.
This stretch of trail is lousy.
It is very steep, with poor footing on scree. Christy’s knees had been holding up
throughout the trip, but this was the worst stretch of trail she had
encountered. Fortunately, we made it
down without incident.
From
the base of the pass we enjoyed a leisurely hike down the valley. This stretch of trail featured some nice
late-season wildflowers and great views of the dramatic cliffs of Mount Hooker. We waded Baptiste Creek and reached the
junction with the side trail to Baptiste Lake.
We took that trail, as camping at that lake was our goal for the
day. After a steep climb through the
woods we reached a bench with scattered meadows and forests. We were treated to more dramatic views of
Mount Hooker along Baptiste Creek. We
rock hopped the creek and made one final climb to Baptiste Lake. This lake is a true beauty. It is in a cirque surrounded by rugged peaks,
and Christy spotted a bald eagle soaring over the water. Most of the lake is inside the Wind River
Roadless Area (Indian Reservation), but the southern end is in the National
Forest.
We
didn’t see any possible campsites near the lakeshore, so we climbed up the
ridge to the south. There are several
nice campsites up there. The three best
were already occupied. I found two
others, but both were a bit closer to occupied campsites than I would have
preferred. However, both were out of
sight of the other campsites, and I didn’t find any other acceptable
options. We ultimately selected one of
them and began setting up camp. Christy
was working on dinner and I was staking down the tent when our neighbor from
the adjacent campsite wandered over.
What ensued was a bizarre conversation that I had trouble
following. He seemed kind of hostile,
but was going on and on about his campfire.
I was puzzled. It was a struggle
to participate in a conversation I didn’t understand. Eventually I realized the problem. He was being passive aggressive. That is a language I don’t understand,
because I’m the exact opposite in any sort of confrontation. I’m direct and to the point. At any rate, I eventually grasped that he
wasn’t happy that we were camping near his campsite. He finally suggested, in a roundabout,
indirect way, that we move to a site on the other side of Baptiste Creek on the
southeast end of the lake. That was
laugh out loud funny. I was confident
that Christy wouldn’t move anywhere, even if we hadn’t already set up camp,
built a campfire, and started dinner. I
thought about asking him to run that idea by my wife, but decided against
it. She wasn’t likely to follow his
passive aggressive approach any more than I did.
It
was a little annoying having a hostile neighbor nearby. The etiquette on campsite selection is a bit
subjective. Obviously, you don’t want to
camp right next to another group.
However, the spot we took, which was an established campsite, was out of
sight and mostly out of earshot from them.
Plus, there weren’t any other reasonable options. Ultimately, if he was bothered by having a
neighbor nearby, he could have packed up and moved to the other side of
Baptiste Creek just as easily as we could’ve.
Apparently it wasn’t that big of an issue,
because they didn’t go anywhere.
We
enjoyed a relaxing evening at one of the most scenic campsites in the Wind
River Range. We had a great view of
Baptiste Lake surrounded by dramatic peaks right from our campsite. While searching for a place to hang our food,
I stumbled upon a rock outcrop with an excellent view in the opposite
direction, of the face of Mount Hooker.
UNDER THE DOME (or A GRAVE MISTAKE)
I
got up before first light the next morning in hopes of catching alpenglow on
the massive north face of Mount Hooker.
Mount Hooker has the tallest uninterrupted cliff face in the U.S. east
of Yosemite Valley. It’s not famous
though, probably because it takes at least one very long day of hiking (two
days for most people) to reach. Morning
alpenglow was a bit subdued because of clouds on the horizon to the east. It was still a lovely morning, but the light
wasn’t as dramatic as I’d hoped. I
returned to camp and started on breakfast.
We were eating when a solo climber hiked by our campsite. We had heard voices coming from the face of
Mount Hooker wall the previous evening. It had been a group of climbers on a day trip
up the face of Mount Hooker. That day
trip turned into a very uncomfortable overnighter. The guy we met had been going the entire
previous day and night. He looked like
he was badly in need of a nap. I’m not
sure where his partners were.
We
broke camp and hiked back down Baptiste Creek.
It was a mostly clear morning, and the views and photography conditions
were better than they’d been the previous afternoon. The conditions looked good for an attempt at
climbing Mount Hooker. There is one
non-technical, class III route up the mountain.
It looked challenging, but awesome if we could pull it off.
When
we reached the junction with the Bears Ears Trail we
loaded up day packs and hung our big packs.
We waded Baptiste Creek and hiked back upstream. At the base of Hailey Pass we left the trail and
headed for the base of a steep gully that was choked with talus and
boulders. That was the route, but it
looked tedious. Just before it was
another gully that looked promising. It
was steeper, but much clearer. We
decided to try it. It started out steep
and got steeper. Eventually we reached a
point where we were in a grey area between scrambling and true climbing. I stopped to assess the situation, but needed
to hold onto a rock to keep from falling.
I wasn’t comfortable with it.
Christy was ahead of me though, and she didn’t want to come back
down. You should never climb something
you aren’t comfortable descending, but Christy had already violated that
rule. She decided to keep going, while I
would descend and then try to climb up the main gully. The plan was to meet back up somewhere in
that gully.
I
made it back down, walked around the corner, and started scrambling up, over,
and through the boulders. This was slow
and tedious, but kind of fun and less scary than our initial route. I was worried about Christy, but there wasn’t
anything I could do but try to catch up with her. Eventually I spotted her in the gully above
me. I scrambled up to her and we
regrouped. She said her gully actually
got worse, but at that point she had no real choice but to continue. Fortunately she had
made it through. After a short traverse
she reached the top of the main gully. I
wasn’t in sight, so she had actually started down. She had downclimbed a bit before we spotted
each other.
We
were way behind schedule, and it was already beginning to cloud up. I wasn’t ready to give up. We continued scrambling up the gully and
reached the top a few minutes later. The
boulders and talus continued, but at least we weren’t climbing steeply. We continued ahead to the unnamed tarn in the
small basin southeast of Mount Hooker.
From there we hiked north to Mount Hooker’s prominent east ridge. We had lunch there and assessed the
situation. Clouds were building, and we
were way behind schedule. Christy was
leery about the final part of the climb, which looked sketchy from our vantage
point. I’d read that there was a little
exposure up there. Given the timing and
conditions, we decided to head back.
We
backtracked down the valley and forded Baptiste Creek one more time. We were retrieving our packs when a huge storm
rolled in. There was lightning, thunder,
and lots and lots of rain. I’m glad we
weren’t on top of Mount Hooker when it hit!
We used the rainfly from the tent as an
impromptu tarp, which kept us and our gear mostly dry. The storm passed quickly. We repacked and followed the Bears Ears Trail
down towards Grave Lake. We passed an
actual waterfall on Baptiste Creek – a rarity in the Wind River Range. Shortly after that we reached an unmarked
junction. There was no sign, and there
is no junction shown on the map. We
headed down, as that looked right based on the trail map. This was a huge mistake. We passed a campsite and a couple of guys
fishing. Just beyond, we found the trail
covered by boulders from a landslide below Grave Lake Dome. We should’ve have hiked back to the other
trail, but chose to continue ahead. The
traverse through the rock slide / boulder field was long, slow, tedious, and
challenging. Footing was awkward, and
parts of the route are dangerous. We
made it through, but were pretty beat up by the time we reached the far
side. Unfortunately, Christy’s knees
were sore and a little swollen by the time we reached camp that evening.
Shortly
after escaping the boulder maze, we rejoined the correct trail and followed it
along the shore of Grave Lake. We waded
Grave Creek and continued on to the junction with the trail to Onion Meadows in
the Wind River Roadless Area. The
expansive Grave Lake Beach begins here.
We continued on the trail until we spotted a nice campsite on a knoll
above the lakeshore. The campsite
overlooks Grave Lake and the south end of the beach. We claimed it, as it looked perfect. The site did have one flaw though. There was only one good place for the tent,
and there was a dead tree directly above it.
I removed some of the dead branches and shifted the tent so that it wasn’t
directly under the tree. We had dinner
and a campfire on the beach that evening. Sunset was a bust due to clouds on the
western horizon. A sudden storm came up
that night, and my panicked attempt to zip the rain fly failed miserably. I snagged the zipper, and it came off the
track when I tried to get it unstuck. I
rigged up the fly to keep the rain from blowing in as much as possible before
going back to sleep.
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