1993 Wind River Indian Reservation Adventure
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 4:50 pm
1993 Adventures on the “Res”: Washakie Park to Bull Lake, Wind Rivers Wyoming
Note: Bull Lake Creek and Canyon burned in the 2012 fire and I am not sure this route could even be done now. I am thankful that I could experience this very seldom visited canyon before it burned. I did a search and do not think I posted this report previously. But if so, well, here it is again! This is a lengthy read with lots of photos, the originals not so good, so a few more recent photos were added. Those who have taken your teens backpacking may also be able to relate to our "mother-daughter" adventure. And an adventure it was!
I had planned this route with two friends; they bailed and my daughter came home early from her summer job. It then became a “mother-daughter” trip. Having only one vehicle complicated post-trip transportation. In retrospect, the route was a bit too gnarly for a 17-year old. I think her “what I did over the summer” essay probably started, “My mother tried to kill me.”
Pre-trip
All our food, repacked in plastic bags, lay on the dining room table. We filled two old gym bags, each with 35 pounds of food. My pack started at 70 pounds and hers 60. I carried the tent and group gear. To save weight we reduced fuel to 10-days with plans to cook on fires half the trip. My daughter took fly fishing gear and in retrospect, we easily could have deleted a third of dinner food as successful as she was. We argued over her paperback book, but she would not bend; she goes nowhere without a book. We shared one pair of sandals. Not thrilled about three weeks with Mom, we made a deal: no heart-to-heart mother-daughter talks, no nagging, no criticizing and no early mornings. Fine, as it would be a parenting break for me too.
Our gear was old, the only new item being a North Face tent, weighing in at 5 pounds (light for 1993). Only later, college expenses were out of the way, would I start purchasing newer light weight gear. For now it was gear from the 1970’s supplemented with clothing from Deseret Industries (the Utah version of Goodwill); old navy surplus wool pants, hideous pink shirt and wind suit, and some amazingly fine cashmere sweaters. Not having the latest gear should never stop you from backpacking!
We drove from Logan Utah, and spent one night in Lander. Next day we stopped at Fort Washakie to pick up our Wind River Indian Reservation permits; my daughter, being not quite 18, still qualified for a “child” permit for $10 and I had to fork out the $60. The official arched his eyebrows when I said we were coming out Bull Lake Canyon. He said it was not possible; nobody ever came out of there alive. I said I had done the lower section and knew a few people who had successfully descended the canyon. I am not sure if it was fatherly concern, sexism or if he just didn’t think white folk were very tough. We had to sit through about half an hour of patronizing lecture before we were allowed to leave. The rest of the day was spent finding and slowly driving up the ill maintained Washakie Park 4wd road. We were totally alone; this is not a popular entry point to the mountains.
Day 1 (8/2) Mom, you expect me to carry that!?!
We could not pick up our packs! We lifted them on a big rock and slithered under the straps realizing that our first few days would be uncomfortable. We slogged along the faint trail taking 15-minute rests every hour. Thankfully, weather was good. After 2 miles of level travel the trail split and we took the more traveled fork that climbed 1,200 feet up through thin forests until we topped out in terrain of weathered granite with little knobs all over the hillside.
Now we could thankfully descend about 500 feet to Shoshone Creek. Nearing Shoshone Lake, we were confronted by a knee deep swamp. I sloshed through the swamp and climbed up on a dry knoll at the outlet of the Lake and went back to retrieve daughter and carry her pack. We were both in camp by 4:45 after starting at 9:00 AM. It had taken us 8 hours to go 5 miles, one small step at a time. We camped on the north end, at the outlet. Fishing was easy and my daughter caught several. We kept one 8-inch brook trout to add to our meal since we needed to eat up some food weight! It was early to bed for us. As promised, no discussions; she read and I looked at maps.
Note: Bull Lake Creek and Canyon burned in the 2012 fire and I am not sure this route could even be done now. I am thankful that I could experience this very seldom visited canyon before it burned. I did a search and do not think I posted this report previously. But if so, well, here it is again! This is a lengthy read with lots of photos, the originals not so good, so a few more recent photos were added. Those who have taken your teens backpacking may also be able to relate to our "mother-daughter" adventure. And an adventure it was!
I had planned this route with two friends; they bailed and my daughter came home early from her summer job. It then became a “mother-daughter” trip. Having only one vehicle complicated post-trip transportation. In retrospect, the route was a bit too gnarly for a 17-year old. I think her “what I did over the summer” essay probably started, “My mother tried to kill me.”
Pre-trip
All our food, repacked in plastic bags, lay on the dining room table. We filled two old gym bags, each with 35 pounds of food. My pack started at 70 pounds and hers 60. I carried the tent and group gear. To save weight we reduced fuel to 10-days with plans to cook on fires half the trip. My daughter took fly fishing gear and in retrospect, we easily could have deleted a third of dinner food as successful as she was. We argued over her paperback book, but she would not bend; she goes nowhere without a book. We shared one pair of sandals. Not thrilled about three weeks with Mom, we made a deal: no heart-to-heart mother-daughter talks, no nagging, no criticizing and no early mornings. Fine, as it would be a parenting break for me too.
Our gear was old, the only new item being a North Face tent, weighing in at 5 pounds (light for 1993). Only later, college expenses were out of the way, would I start purchasing newer light weight gear. For now it was gear from the 1970’s supplemented with clothing from Deseret Industries (the Utah version of Goodwill); old navy surplus wool pants, hideous pink shirt and wind suit, and some amazingly fine cashmere sweaters. Not having the latest gear should never stop you from backpacking!
We drove from Logan Utah, and spent one night in Lander. Next day we stopped at Fort Washakie to pick up our Wind River Indian Reservation permits; my daughter, being not quite 18, still qualified for a “child” permit for $10 and I had to fork out the $60. The official arched his eyebrows when I said we were coming out Bull Lake Canyon. He said it was not possible; nobody ever came out of there alive. I said I had done the lower section and knew a few people who had successfully descended the canyon. I am not sure if it was fatherly concern, sexism or if he just didn’t think white folk were very tough. We had to sit through about half an hour of patronizing lecture before we were allowed to leave. The rest of the day was spent finding and slowly driving up the ill maintained Washakie Park 4wd road. We were totally alone; this is not a popular entry point to the mountains.
Day 1 (8/2) Mom, you expect me to carry that!?!
We could not pick up our packs! We lifted them on a big rock and slithered under the straps realizing that our first few days would be uncomfortable. We slogged along the faint trail taking 15-minute rests every hour. Thankfully, weather was good. After 2 miles of level travel the trail split and we took the more traveled fork that climbed 1,200 feet up through thin forests until we topped out in terrain of weathered granite with little knobs all over the hillside.
Now we could thankfully descend about 500 feet to Shoshone Creek. Nearing Shoshone Lake, we were confronted by a knee deep swamp. I sloshed through the swamp and climbed up on a dry knoll at the outlet of the Lake and went back to retrieve daughter and carry her pack. We were both in camp by 4:45 after starting at 9:00 AM. It had taken us 8 hours to go 5 miles, one small step at a time. We camped on the north end, at the outlet. Fishing was easy and my daughter caught several. We kept one 8-inch brook trout to add to our meal since we needed to eat up some food weight! It was early to bed for us. As promised, no discussions; she read and I looked at maps.