no bears. no moose. just views.
Ok, but wolverines. Endless views! Like on top of the world feelin’ kind of views. Did I mention the wolverines sighting?!?
A very trail focused Sprite
Backpacking in grizzly country is intimidating. Even when you’re with very cautious and knowledgeable friends. The views make up for the fear factor though even if the mosquito bites don’t. I really wanted to take a pic of my mosquito bite riddled rear for you to laugh at. Aren’t you lucky I didn’t, though?
Here’s a l’il tale of a three day adventure in the Beartooths in northern Wyoming for your reading pleasure. Hopefully, it delights. and surprises. Now that the surprises are out of the way, on to the goods. Enjoy!
The Characters
The Hardcore adventurer - Pushing limits, always wanting more.
The Wolverine whisperer - Also known as the Planner. Hikes very fast.
And me, Sprite - Mentally prepared for 20 miles, physically prepared for 10.
Day one
Picturesque campsite at Green Lake
14 ish miles. We think. Island Lake to Green Lake with hundreds of lakes between. No hyperbole here? Fine. There were at least a dozen or more. Plus, moose swamps. How did we not see a single moose on such a cool, overcast morning on top of the pass? Hmmm. Odd, indeed.
Rolling along excitedly, we reveled in discovering mountain goat poop and black bear paw prints. It may have been our sugar + coffee high from the Cattail Bakery treats we indulged in, but we couldn’t believe our luck at being the only ones out on the High Lakes Trail. After meandering around lakes for the first five miles or so, we turned and finally began serious climbs. And a particularly steep downhill that deserved a comment about being fun at the end of our way out.
Water crossings in the cold, swift snow melt off relieved our feet despite freezing bones and burning skin. We continued on. We caught a rhythm—hiking down into a lake basin, skirting a lake or two, struggling up and out the other side, taking in the wide Big Sky views of the range, repeat—until we, ok truthfully me, didn’t. At that point, we made a decision to cross one final creek and at least make it to the next lake to search for a perfect campsite. Trail Lake, you were cute and quaint even though you weren’t Goldilocks for us for the weekend.
Green Lake won our hearts. It was the perfect basecamp for us with picturesque views and ample room to camp and most importantly, flat space far enough away from camp for eating and storing our smellies. We enjoyed the serenity of the evening alone in the wilderness. Impressed with the fish jumping wildly at dusk, the Hardcore Adventurer took photos and videos of the experience. Finally, the droves of mosquitos forced us into our tents early for the night.
Day two
Sprite contemplating life in the mountains (Why do we have to work?)
A frosty 32 degree morning at Green Lake. What a reprieve from mosquitos! The hopes of them freezing to their death overnight were quickly dashed when the sun cast its spell on our little slice of paradise. They appeared en masse to shamelessly harass us.
After a leisurely start we sauntered off towards the Senia Creek drainage on our way to see more lakes. Our destination vague, we aimed for Otter Lake and possibly beyond depending on the terrain and how quickly we could hike. After crossing Senia Creek, we followed the social trail through marsh and forest until we met the established trail to the lakes.
We hiked calmly while enamored with the views of the ranges on either side of us, the fields of wildflowers, and the incredible experience we were enjoying. We attempted to recall the names of the peaks in the distance. I taught the wildflower swooping slo-mo video technique that Dani taught me years ago in the Tetons. We chatted and laughed and snacked and saw not a single other human.
Reaching Jordan Lake and another creek to wade across we decided lunch overlooking the lake would be enough for the day. Then, we turned around and returned to our camp to fight off the mosquitos. In the woods just after crossing Senia Creek, we spotted movement on a rocky outcropping. Fluffy, brown animals with a yellowish side swoop scurried down the rocks fleeing from us. With such long tails, they couldn’t be bears. With such large bodies and located in thick foliage, they couldn’t be marmots. Although the Beartooths are known for hosting a robust and growing wolverine population, we still questioned our eyeballs and brains.
This 11 mile day got us back to camp early and we questioned how to keep the pesky mosquitos away for so long. The Hardcore Adventurer lost an item and went back to search for it (and the wolverines) so she delayed the inevitable attacks for an extra hour or two while the Planner and I ate an early dinner.
Then, we were entertained with our first sighting of humans passing by the near side of the lake from us. Would they find a campsite near us? Oh look! One of them just spun around three times while swatting away mosquitos. We laughed. We created commentary on them stopping to put on head nets against the swarms of mosquitos and filtering water from the lowly stream (“Can’t you see the stream over here is flowing better?!”). We wondered how they could continue on through the trees up the steep climb with the impending dark.
Knowing we were in for an early morning, we didn’t feel guilty escaping the mosquitos by hopping into our tents early for the night. Without any bear sightings or scat to be concerned about, we slept more heavily.
Day Three
Sprite not knowing what to do with her hands sans trekking poles
Sprite seriously struggling uphill
A bright, sunny day changes views drastically. We ran into the gentlemen who entertained us the night before and chatted over being impressed at their climb out of Green Lake in the impending darkness. One of them informed us about a stunning waterfall just beyond our first water crossing at Trail Lake. We simply couldn’t resist this enticement.
The roaring, twisting cascades did not disappoint. We took lots of photos as nymphs. Again, we couldn’t believe our luck. The extra mile definitely felt worth the efforts.
The bright lighting and blue skies took our breath away as much as the ridiculous climbs out of each lake basin. (How was it possible to have more vertical on the way out than on the way in?! we wondered.) Pilot and Index peaks seemed so close they were winking at us. The scattered granite rocks everywhere seemed to radiate in the sunshine. The massive rock faces that glowed guided us down from the high country, causing our jaws to hang in awe. We tripped often since rather than our eyeballs staring at our feet to help us remain sturdily upright within the single boot track, we risked gawking at the views.
Every marmot we saw, we claimed the animal(s) we sighted during yesterday’s foray definitely were NOT marmots. Then, as we drew closer to the trailhead we began seeing more and more people. Island Lake was busy with people fishing and families day hiking the trail as we rolled onwards to the car. Riding down the pass and through the canyon we almost made it to town and a black bear on the side of the road popped its head up to greet us. We all exclaimed, “100% those were wolverines we saw and NOT bears!”
Our final moment together before parting included dinner. Burgers, tots, and shakes at Red Boxcar, a popular greasy burger joint by Rock Creek on the southside of town, hit oh so right after our accumulated mileage and weariness. Next time, we vowed, we will take more days and explore more of the area.