A backpacking trip by three 60+ year old guys that just about kicked their butts. They continued on to make an epic trip.
August 13, 2023 Camp: Lonesome Lake Miles: 9 Cumulative Miles: 9
Yesterday, I positioned my car at the Green River Campground and was shuttled back to Teton Court motel. We had dinner at Wind River Brewing company. We met the shuttle driver at 6:00am for a two-hour ride to Big Sand Lake trailhead (elevation 9,085 feet). Met about 40 backpackers and/or climbers coming out (today is Sunday) as we went in. The first six miles were gently uphill. The last 4 miles were ball-busting uphill over Jackass Pass (elevation 10,790 feet) which has two ups and two downs before getting to the pass. Ed and I didn’t stop for lunch. Big mistake. I was dead tired when we got to camp. John, who hikes much faster than Ed and me, had found us good camp spots near Lonesome Lake (elevation 10,160). After setting up my tent I ate my “lunch” at 3:00pm and sat there shivering even though it was around 50 degrees. It was overcast and looked like rain. We all had early supper and were into tents at 6:00pm. My tent has a zipper problem and the rain fly can not be zipped (Post trip note: I had grabbed my old single person tent with a broken zipper). I’m hoping for no rain. Tomorrow, first thing, is another pass.
August 14, 2023 Camp: Along a stream on the CDT Miles: 10 Cumulative Miles: 19
Last night was cold but no rain. I put all my clothes on to keep from shivering. According to John the low temp was 33 degrees but I saw frost so must have been less. Today is my 68th birthday. We started today by going over Texas Pass – about 1,100 feet up and I mean up with route finding and scrambling over large rocks. We stopped for a short break at Texas Pass (elevation 11,500). There were lots of folks going both directions. Downhill was even tougher than the uphill. While only 750 feet down it was straight down and on scree. Every step had to be taken carefully because the stones on the trail all moved as one stepped on them. This was the most dangerous and frightening thing I’ve ever done in my life! John was walking ahead and several folks wished me a happy birthday. The remaining miles were not too hard and our camp is excellent. Only us and next to a stream. I lost my bandana. Thought I lost a tent stake but John recovered it and carried it over the pass for me. There was one knee-deep water crossing that required us to remove our shoes to cross. John and I “cleaned” up in the stream which is where I realized that I had lost my bandana.
August 15, 2023 Camp: Sandpoint Lake Miles: 9 Cumulative Miles: 28
We woke up to frost in low-lying areas. After an initial 400-500 foot climb the terrain became undulating 100 up and then 100 down. We pulled into our camp for the night on the north end of Sandpoint Lake around 2:00pm. We found a pretty good spot for our 3 tents, cleaned up and prepared for resupply tomorrow. I’m pretty exhausted. I think I got dehydrated the first two days and am now just catching up. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow.
August 16, 2023 Camp: Near Little Falls Creek Miles: 11.1 miles Cumulative Miles: 39.1
Last night I pitched on a slant and almost rolled out of the tent. Sunny all day – a few clouds at the end of the day. Lots of blown down trees across the trail – fortunately the trees had been down for awhile so there were paths around the downed trees. Our resupply worked perfectly. We hired Boulder Lake Lodge to bring in three bear barrels with our resupply. We exchanged our trash and a couple of unneeded items into the barrels and left them for the resupply company to pick up and bring out. Our afternoon was spent getting up and over Hat Pass (elevation 10,855). We may be the first folks to camp in this spot. I seem to be properly hydrated – drank 3 liters of water while walking today.
August 17, 2023 Camp: Unnamed lake Miles: 10.7 Cumulative Miles: 49.8
The highlight of the day was a stream crossing, barefooted. John and I “washed” our shirts and wearing them wet was so good. We had 3 significant uphills and two minor ones. We are staying at a lake (elevation 10,350 feet) with a good rock for jumping into the water (according to the FarOut app) but we didn’t get into camp until 5:30pm so we didn’t get a chance to try it out. Then at 7:45, before I had finished dinner, it started to rain and we had a mad scramble to get everything put away. As soon as everything was put away the rain stopped. The big climb today was Lester Pass (elevation 11,110 feet). It was a bear coming down. There are light sprinkles as this was written at 9:00pm and distant thunder, remember I have a broken zipper so the tent fly doesn’t close.
August 18, 2023 Camp: Overlooking a river (unplanned spot) Miles: 14 Cumulative Miles: 63.8
Hiked in an area today that reminded me of the John Muir area of the PCT. A very windy day. At about 12:30pm, Ed checked the FarOut app and said, “It’s 21 miles to the trailhead, not 11 as thought it was supposed to be!” I checked the app and “Oh, crap! You are right!”. I had made a planning error and the trailhead was actually 10 miles further than the plan. We did some quick re-planning, adjusted our mindset, and pounded out 4 miles more than expected (10 mile day turned into a 14-mile day). Ed and I got into camp around 5:00pm. We are in a nice spot overlooking a river with several other hikers, one from the Netherlands. Around 7:00pm, a moose was sighted and hung around for about an hour.
August 19, 2023 Camp: Teton Court Motel Miles: 14 Cumulative Miles: 77.8
Woke early and got on the trail at first light (6:30am). Almost all downhill so we pounded out the miles, averaging 2 MPH (including breaks). We arrived at the trailhead and car at 1:30pm, tired but ready to be done. However, we still had a two-hour drive down a 20 mile dirt road before picking up Ed’s car and another 2 hour drive to recover our bear barrels from the outfitter. Celebratory meal at Wind River Brewing.
