DETOUR
The
plan for Wednesday was to hike the Bears Ears Trail up to the Lizard Head
Plateau. We’d cross the plateau before
descending to the North Fork of the Popo Agie River
at Lizard Head Meadows. We’d then hike
upstream a couple of miles to Lonesome Lake and camp in the Cirque of the
Towers. We would then take a layover day
to explore the Cirque of the Towers, before hiking over Jackass Pass to return
to the Big Sandy Opening Trailhead. It
was an ambitious plan, but also the day I was looking forward to the most. We had crossed the Lizard Head Plateau on our
trip in 1999, and I’d love the miles of open tundra and non-stop views. The
plateau is above treeline and completely exposed, so
we needed to cross it that morning. We
were camped several miles away, at Grave Lake, so we needed an early start.
We
got up at first light. I was hoping for
an encore performance of the magic light show from the previous morning. Unfortunately, it was overcast. In fact, the weather was worrisome. If it was already this cloudy, what would the
afternoon hold?
We
hiked around the east end of Grave Lake and crossed the outlet stream on a
sturdy bridge. A bit later we hiked by
the base of a waterfall on a small stream.
We worked our way around to the South Fork of the Little Wind River
before following it upstream through meadows and open forest. Lizard Head Peak, at the southeast end of the
Cirque of the Towers, loomed in the distance.
It was a spectacular sight under the dark, moody clouds.
It
was mid-morning when we reached a major junction. A left turn here would take us to a ford of
the river. From there the trail climbs
up past Valentine Lake to access the top of the plateau. The other trail winds its way up past
Washakie Lake and Macon Lake before climbing to Washakie Pass. It then drops down to meet the trail
connecting Pyramid Lake and Hailey Pass with the Big Sandy Opening
Trailhead.
We
had a major decision to make. The sky
was still overcast, and there were even darker clouds massed above the Lizard
Head Plateau. If we headed in that
direction we’d be committed. We would be
exposed to the weather for hours following that route. Also, Christy’s knees were still sore and a
little swollen from Monday’s misadventure.
Going back over Washakie Pass would be easier, and less risky.
A
rumble of thunder helped us decide. The
original plan was simply too risky given the conditions. We decided to hike over Washakie Pass. We could get back to the car in two days
easily by that route, but I wasn’t in any hurry to finish the trip. We decided to find a nice campsite on the
west side of the divide where we could spend two nights. If it worked out, I would do a dayhike to Texas Pass on the rim of the Cirque of the
Towers. I was disappointed about missing
out on the Lizard Head Plateau, but I was hopeful that I could still salvage a
visit to the Cirque of the Towers.
We
enjoyed a fairly easy hike to the expansive and scenic Washakie Lake. The climb from there was more demanding. We reached the barren, windswept Macon Lake
and stopped for a quick lunch. The wind
was howling, but we found a little bit of shelter behind a small stand of
scrubby trees. The weather had
deteriorated further. Aside from the
howling wind, the sky was a dark grey going on black. I was hesitant about attempting Washakie Pass
in those conditions, but Macon Lake was downright unpleasant and I certainly
wasn’t camping there. I was also not
interested in hiking back down the steep trail to Washakie Lake. We eyed the route ahead, and decided that we
could make it over the pass pretty quickly.
Once we started down the far side we’d be out
of the danger zone.
We
left the last of the trees behind and climbed high above Macon Lake and
Washakie Lake. We were almost at the
pass when we hit a major obstacle. There
was a steep snowfield covering the trail directly above us. We may have been able to descend it, but
there was no way to climb it without traction devices. We had no choice but to go around it. We swung to the right and reached a steep
boulder field. We had just started
climbing when the storm finally hit.
Cold rain and sleet lashed us while thunder
rumbled overhead. Incredibly, the wind
gusts actually increased. One of them
caught my pack cover and tried to turn it into a sail. That threw off my balance, and nearly caused
me to fall from the boulder I was perched on.
The rain and ice made the rocks even slicker, and we had to worry about
the possibility of lightning, too.
We
climbed above the snowfield and returned to the trail. We huddled for a few minutes until the storm
eased a little. We followed the trail up
to a second snowfield. We might have
been able to climb up this one, but there was an obvious, easy bypass route
here. We scrambled up more rocks until
we crested the ridge just above the pass.
We scrambled back down to the trail and hurried down the far side. Incredibly, the storm broke almost as quickly
as it started. The wind eased up, the
rain and sleet stopped, and patches of blue sky began to appear. We enjoyed the easy, scenic descent down the
far side. The best views here were back towards the peaks surrounding Pyramid
Lake and the East Fork River headwaters.
We
dropped down to the main trail in between Skull Lake and Washakie Creek. One more mile of easy hiking brought us to
the ford of Washakie Creek. Christy
waited there with our packs while I scouted around for a campsite. First I headed
upstream on River Right. I found a couple
of passable spots, but nothing great. I
backtracked and headed downstream, climbing steeply up onto a bench that looked
promising. The bench was directly below a dramatic granite dome, but high above
the creek. I found a great campsite
there, with a single tent site tucked into a small stand of trees. There were some big, flat rocks for lounging
on, and great views up the Washakie Creek valley to the back side of the Cirque
of the Towers.
Christy
and I claimed the site and set up camp. It
was late afternoon, but I still had a few hours of daylight to work with. I was half tempted to hike back up to
Washakie Pass and climb Washakie Peak.
The weather had improved, but ultimately the thought of climbing all the
way back up to the pass dissuaded me.
Instead, I decided to keep my explorations more local. I was intrigued by the granite dome above our
campsite and decided to try climbing it.
I was able to follow benches, and only a little mild scrambling was
required to reach the top. From there I had
an even better view of the backside of the Cirque of the Towers, as well as the
expansive meadows and tarns downstream along Washakie Creek. I also discovered that there was another,
taller peak immediately to my north. I
headed that way, dropping off the knob and bushwhacking a bit to reach it. There, I discovered yet another, taller peak
ahead. This was beginning to feel a bit
like a trap, so I consulted my map. It
turns out that the peak ahead was the last one.
From there I’d get a great view towards Skull Lake, Pyramid Lake, Hailey
Pass and Pyramid Peak, and the peaks in the headwaters of the East Fork
River.
The
final climb was steep but worthwhile.
The rocky summit is unnamed and unremarkable on the map. There is a large stone cairn marking it
though, so I’m obviously not the first person to climb up here. The view was every bit as nice as I’d
expected. It encompassed most of our
trip on the west side of the Continental Divide. My favorite part of it was probably the dark
waters of Skull Lake far below.
I
returned to camp and built a campfire.
Sunset was another dud, but we enjoyed the fire and a warm dinner before
heading to bed.
Back to Wyoming
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