The day finally came. We were in the Winds. It was time to top off the packs and head up the trail for four days. Luckily it was sunny and we found just a few cars at the trailhead. Both good signs. We headed out of New Fork Lakes trailhead, chosen due to the strong windstorm that blocked a lot of trails with freshly downed trees throughout the Wind River Range on Labor Day. New Fork canyon was reported as one of the few trails without trees blocking the trails. Although we read at least one report that this trail is rarely used due to the dull scenery, and the slog up the canyon to get to good views, we found the view up the canyon pretty enticing.
Maybe when you gauge it against other trails in the range it’s a bit dull, but I’m just going to say here, don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
We started later into the day due to the chilly overnight temperatures (19 degrees). The aspens were nearly at their peak for color in the canyon. Lucky us. We passed a couple people day hiking, and one pair of campers in the first few miles, then had the next two days to ourselves.
Well, mainly to ourselves, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Our destination for the night was New Fork Park. A wide, relatively flat meadow about halfway to our destination. After about 8 miles for the day we found a camp after a bit of looking around as the creek went dry as we started to look for a camp. What’s an extra mile when you’ve hiked 8 already?
Due to the extra time spent searching for a camp, dark was settling in as we were making dinner. Just about that time a pretty loud (read, near) grunting sound started approaching camp. Well, this is a bad time for a bear to come along, with all our food spread out for dinner. Just about then, a pair of eyes appeared in the headlamp light. Well, now I know what a bull moose sounds like as he circles your camp! Apparently we were spending the night where the moose intended to bed down for the night. After some stern talking he finally changed his plans, but not until after a full circle of camp, several more grunts and gazing at us from a distance for an extended period. At his closest, he was about 30 feet from where he caught us making dinner, well closer than the physical distancing requirements I believe are in place for humans and moose.
The next morning we woke to frost, but no new moose visits in the night, so all was well. After some coffee and breakfast it was up the trail we went. Today was a bit shorter but more of a climb to reach our destination.
Lozier Lake was our destination for the day, tucked high in the Winds, it promised not only an alpine lake but a view of the highest peak in the range and the state of Wyoming. We were pretty tired after all the climbing but cresting the ridge to the view of the lake and the mountains made it all worthwhile.
It didn’t take long to find a spot to camp for the night. It appeared we had the lake all to ourselves and it turned out that was the case. The views were everything I hoped for and then some.
Before too long twilight was setting in, but we were due for one more surprise. The full moon rose right over the mountains as they lit up in alpenglow. Worth the effort indeed.
Top it off with a fish on the rod as the moon came up and this constitutes backpacking dreams come true.
Yes, it’s a lot of pictures, but trust me, I narrowed them down. Now the tough part is deciding which photo to enlarge. We sat back and enjoyed the moonrise. Tomorrow we’d head out of the Winds.
