Days 9 & 10 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Bighorn Mountains & Wind River Range of Wyoming!
7-21-18, morning, Beaver Park – Yesterday’s march in from Green River Lakes had been tiring. Despite having crawled into Lupe’s new Marmot tiny house early, and having slept well, the sun was up again long before Lupe and SPHP reemerged.
Not good. Not good at all. Looper hadn’t made it up to her intended base camp at Granite Lake yesterday evening. And now a late start from Beaver Park. This was the critical big day, too! Perhaps Lupe’s last chance to ever get to the top of Squaretop Mountain (11,695 ft.).
Lupe and SPHP went over to meet the neighbors. John and Lisa were camped on the only truly dry ground in Beaver Park at a small grove of big pines near the S end. Loop had seen their tent yesterday, but they hadn’t been around then.
Turned out John and Lisa had gone off climbing the big ridge to the W looking for Granite Lake. They hadn’t found any consistent trail up, but had made it to a forested high point on top of the ridge. They hadn’t seen any sign of Granite Lake, though. Without a map, they’d had no idea which way to go looking for it, either, so they’d just come back down.
John and Lisa were from Illinois. They said they had been coming to camp for a week at this exact same spot in Beaver Park every year in late July for years now. Best week of every year – they loved the Wind River range! They’d been here a few days so far. Lots of people came and went. Many stopped by to ask them how to get to Granite Lake, or where the route up Squaretop Mountain was, but they really didn’t know. All they really knew was that very few of the people they talked to ever made it to Granite Lake. A teeny tiny minority succeeded in climbing Squaretop Mountain.
“Squaretop Mountain Route … The route on up to Square Top is not difficult. The smallest child I ever took up there was 4 years old, but you have to hand him up over the ledges in a lot of places.” – Finis Mitchell in Wind River Trails
About the time the conversation with John and Lisa was winding down, a dozen young men and teenagers emerged from the forest over by the ridge W of Beaver Park. SPHP talked to several of them as they came by. They had been camped up at Granite Lake the past 2 nights. Yesterday, every one of them had made it up Squaretop Mountain! Only took 3 hours to summit from the lake.
One of the men had a GPS track of the route they’d taken. The screen was small and hard to see in the morning sunlight, but the glimpse SPHP got looked like they had gone W from Granite Lake, turning more NW as they got higher. The whole group was enthused by their success. They marched off to the Highline Trail and disappeared, apparently intent on returning to the trailhead at Lower Green River Lake.
A shame they had all left so quickly! SPHP would have liked to have learned more about their route, and what they’d encountered. Still, this was certainly good news. Sounded like they had done exactly what Lupe intended to try based on Finis Mitchell’s account in Wind River Trails.
Better get on with it, too! 9:30 AM already. John and Lisa wished Lupe success, then she headed NW across Beaver Park for the 1200 foot high W ridge where Granite Lake lay hidden above.
“Granite Lake Trail – A short distance after crossing the bridge a faint trail takes off to the right with a sign showing the Granite Lake Trail. This trail, an old horse trail, is very difficult to follow unless you’ve had a lot of mountain experience. In 1953 there was a big forest fire here. It burnt the whole side of the mountain and it’s still the mess that it was when the fire went out.” – Finis Mitchell in Wind River Trails
“Squaretop Mountain Route – If you want to climb Square Top, after you cross the foot bridge on the Green River you go about 150 feet out into the woods and you come into the upper end of a big park. You go over to the edge of the timber and follow it down until you get down to and beyond the forest fire and downed timber. Then there is a draw comes right down from Granite Lake to the river, with green live timber in it. You work your way up the draw, past the burned area and pick up the old horse trail and go on to the lake …” – Finis Mitchell in Wind River Trails
No doubt it all made perfect sense back in the 1970’s when Wind River Trails was published. However, Loopster hadn’t seen any signs for the Granite Lake trail, and in the 65 years since the forest fire, the forest had regenerated to a point where no burn area was visible.
No worries, though. The topo map was crystal clear. All Lupe had to do was head WNW up the 1200 foot ridge staying S of Granite Peak. Once the terrain leveled out, Granite Lake ought to be close at paw. Simple enough.
Nearing the timber, Lupe crossed a boggy area, then a mucky little trickle of a stream at the base of the big ridge. Any ravines or old trails were still probably farther N than where Lupe was. SPHP didn’t bother looking for them. The Carolina Dog went right up into the forest, and started a long climb.
The slope was uniformly steep; wearying, but not dangerous. For a long way, the forest hid all views. Deadfall timber was present, but usually not that much. Lupe came to no major rock outcroppings or cliffs. The slope simply went up and up, with little variation. SPHP tried to angle NW, thinking Lupe was farther S than Mitchell’s recommended route.
Loop was making good time going up the ridge, limited only by SPHP’s heart, lung and leg capacity. She was already quite high when she came to a clearing. Although the morning had started out sunny with bright blue skies, by now it had clouded up. A light rain began to fall. SPHP stopped to don the old blue plastic rain poncho.
The clouds didn’t look all that threatening. Lupe continued climbing. She stayed in the clearing – a long, skinny, continuous strip that went W straight up the ridge nearly all the rest of the way to the top. The rain subsided, and SPHP stopped again to remove the poncho.
Two hours after leaving Beaver Park, Lupe reached the top of a hill. This seemed to be the high point of the entire 1200 foot ridge. The clearing had ended shortly before getting here. The hill was all fairly open forest, with lots of sizable deadfall timber scattered around.
Lupe had no unobstructed views, but by moving about, much of the E face of Squaretop Mountain could be seen between the trees. A glimpse of Granite Peak was visible off to the N, but Granite Lake was not in sight. SPHP studied the views, comparing them to the topo map.
This was probably the same hill John and Lisa had made it to yesterday. Minus a map, they hadn’t known which way to go from here to get to Granite Lake. However, SPHP was just about certain where Lupe was. This hill had to be High Point 9385. The S end of Granite Lake was only 0.25 mile NW.
“Squaretop Mountain Route … You go right around the right hand side of the lake to the outlet and cross (no trouble crossing). You go back around the lake part way and take up a little tiny stream that comes off of Square Top. You follow that stream clear up till you get above timberline, crossing a lot of snow. There’s a break in the ledges and you can go clear to the top.” – Finis Mitchell in Wind River Trails
Hmm. SPHP was surprised Lupe was still as far S as High Point 9385. The outlet stream Mitchell said to cross was way over at the N end of Granite Lake more than 0.5 mile away. Furthermore, she was already 140 feet higher than the lake. No doubt Mitchell was the expert, he’d spent nearly his whole life in the Wind River range. Maybe, though, there was a closer alternate way up?
A giant cirque S of High Point 11383 way up on Squaretop Mountain was partially in view. The topo map made it look like the cirque might not be as steep as Mitchell’s route farther N among the ledges. The last few hundred feet to the top looked challenging, but maybe it wasn’t all that bad?
Part of what SPHP suspected was the area of Finis Mitchell’s route was also in view. The upper end of it looked challenging, too. Was it really any better?
The giant cirque was closer, but not a proven route. The safest choice, with the highest likelihood of success, was for Lupe to go find Granite Lake, then follow Mitchell’s instructions as precisely as possible. Those happy young guys Lupe had met down at Beaver Park this morning had apparently done just that.
Maybe it was the lack of oxygen in the thin mountain air? SPHP led the Carolina Dog toward the giant cirque.
Traveling SW through the forest from High Point 9385, Lupe came to a boggy clearing rich with tall green grasses. She stayed N of the clearing going W. Loop had lost only minor elevation coming down off High Point 9385 to this saddle area.
As Lupe got closer to Squaretop Mountain, she eventually turned NW to look for the inlet stream that comes down to Granite Lake from the giant cirque. SPHP thought the American Dingo might be able to follow this stream up into the cirque.
In fact, in SPHP’s mind, Finis Mitchell’s brief description of his route up hadn’t entirely excluded the possibility that he actually did mean to take this same inlet stream up into the giant cirque. He never actually came out and said that, though, which he likely would have if that had been the case.
When Lupe reached the inlet stream, what she saw fairly conclusively ruled out this possibility. Mitchell had described the stream to follow up the mountain as “tiny”. The inlet stream wasn’t huge, but had decent flow. Furthermore, it was braided with a number of channels, some widely separated, taking different courses down the mountain.
SPHP thought it best to cross over to the N side of the inlet stream, so one by one, Lupe crossed the various channels.
As Lupe worked her way higher, the stream became more concentrated, the separate channels starting to combine into a single course. Loop was climbing fairly steep slopes that were partially forested, and part open meadows filled with wildflowers.
After a good climb, it appeared Lupe was approaching the base of a rock ledge or line of small cliffs. SPHP could find no break in this formation. Looper was forced S. She ultimately gained the top of the ledge by climbing a series of little waterfalls right up the main stream bed.
Above the ledge, the terrain was still steep. Lupe stayed farther N again, as she worked her way W through mostly forested territory. She gained substantial elevation. The views back to the E and SE of the Green River canyon became ever more spectacular, though the valley floor down by the river still could not be seen.
On and on! The American Dingo kept climbing. Staying N of the stream, she made steady progress toward the giant cirque. The forest thinned out. The terrain became rockier. Lupe started coming to large boulder fields more and more often. The views opened up.
As Lupe got higher and farther W into the giant cirque, SPHP expected to see some fairly easy routes up out of it along the upper edge. At first this seemed to be the case. However, as Looper got even closer, SPHP began to realize that all the channels or gullies leading to the upper lip of the cirque seemed to be full of snow at dangerously steep angles, far steeper than Lupe and SPHP were prepared to deal with.
SPHP began scrutinizing all the cliffs along the upper edge of the cirque. Which way? Where should Lupe go? At the far SW end were several gullies that looked fairly promising. It appeared there might be a route over there where only a short section of snow would have to be crossed where there was exposure. However, that area was farthest away from where Lupe was now, and time was already a consideration. Who knew what it all actually looked like up close?
Loop was closest to a big gully on the R (N). SPHP had great hopes for it, but as the Carolina Dog approached, those hopes were dashed. Way too steep. Too much snow.
Lupe kept climbing. As the perspective changed, SPHP kept scanning for possibilities.
The next gully W beyond the first disappointing one on the R (N) looked like a decent option. It was narrower, and had a steep snow bank in it, too. However, it appeared Loopster could go up a 2 or 3 foot wide gap between the snow and the rock wall to the SW. She ought to be able to get high enough in this manner to reach a point where she could leave the gully, and have an easy climb the rest of the way up.
By the time Lupe reached the bottom of the snow bank, it was clear this gully and the snow bank were much steeper than they had looked from below. However, it was possible to go carefully up the gap between the snow and the rock wall to the L. Loop did manage to get as high as it looked like she would have to before leaving the gully, but the escape route proved to be an illusion.
No way! Ahead the rock wall protruded against the snow, completely closing off the gap Lupe was climbing up, and any possibility of going higher without actually getting up onto the snow. As steep as the snow bank was, that was completely out of the question. Failure!
SPHP was ready to start a careful descent, when out of the corner of an eye, there was movement to the R. Lupe! In horror, SPHP glanced over to see her standing quite happily a few paces away right up on the snow. Apparently she had realized that she had to get up onto it in order to go any higher. Somehow she had done so of her own volition.
Lupe stood smiling proudly at SPHP. She was ready to keep going! If she lost her grip, though, and started to slide, there would be no stopping what would happen next. A 75 to 100 foot rocket slide straight down the chute to be dashed onto to the jagged rocks below!
Come, Lupe! Come here, girl! Come! Come to me!
Lupe did. A couple of steps and she was within reach. SPHP grabbed her collar and yanked her to safety. Dodged a bullet! Gonna be OK. That careful retreat now began. No more getting up onto the snow!
Time consuming, but Lupe made it safely down out of the Gully of Death. SPHP began leading her toward that most promising area way over to the SW. Lupe hadn’t gone far, however, when it looked like she might be able to simply scramble directly up the rocky slope just above her. Didn’t look far to some ledges and easier terrain above. Why not?
Another illusion was why not. Once Lupe started up, it became clear this route was much steeper, and safety much farther and higher, than it had first appeared. Exposure! SPHP hates exposure! The route kept threatening to end abruptly. Many times SPHP managed to creep, crawl, or climb higher wondering if Lupe stood any chance of following. As if by magic, the Carolina Dog always did.
What had appeared to be a 40 or 50 foot climb, turned out to be more like 200 or 300 before Lupe finally got to where the situation improved, and SPHP was certain the scary part was over. Never again! SPHP resolved Lupe would find another route for her descent. The thought of ever coming back down this way was petrifying.
Lupe still had another 300 or 400 feet higher to go to completely escape the giant cirque, but the worst was over. Still a very steep trek at first, the slope of the terrain steadily decreased. Loop was on vegetation now. The ground wasn’t so rocky. She started having fun again roaming W, while leading the way up along the N side of a big ravine.
A stream full of tiny waterfalls flowed E down the center of the ravine. Lupe came to multiple false summits as she sniffed and explored higher. The slope of the terrain kept decreasing. Couldn’t be much farther!
Finally! Loopster was out of the giant cirque! She stood at 11,000 feet, nearly 3,000 feet higher than where she’d started the day back at Beaver Park. She had reached Squaretop Mountain’s huge summit plateau, but was still a long way S of the actual true summit, nearly 700 feet higher.
“Squaretop Mountain Route … When you get out on top, then in order to look back down to Green River Lakes (you’re on the rear end of the top) you have to go about a mile and a half over the top to where you can look back down over the lakes. From the main trail it’s a couple of miles to Granite Lake, then about another mile to the top. On the top you don’t have to go clear to the front to get a good view. You can stay along the right side and go out on points where you can see the river and your trail all the way up. You can turn around when you get on top and see clear back to Gannet Peak and a lot of the glaciers. You’re at 11,695 feet, about three and a half thousand feet above the river …” – Finis Mitchell in Wind River Trails
The topo map disagreed with Mitchell’s distances, but his elevations were spot on. So was the overall gist of his description of the layout. Lupe needed to head N. The true summit was still a mile away as the crow flies. Though hours of daylight remained, it was clear she would be pressed for time on the return. Loop had to go even farther N than the summit in order to look down upon the Green River Lakes.
Didn’t matter how long it was going to take. Though unprepared, even if it meant having to stay up on Squaretop overnight, the American Dingo was going to get there. Not coming this far only to beat a retreat! After pausing a few moments to enjoy the thrill of having escaped the giant cirque, Lupe headed N.
Before her was a broad plain strewn with numerous low-lying boulders. Beyond this plain were flat-topped ridges of rock a few hundred feet high. A wonderful, easy romp was ahead all the way to those rocky ridges.
0.33 mile N got Loop close to the first of the rocky ridges. The plateau was still broad here, but narrower than before. A wide lane of alpine meadow along the E side was clearly the easiest way forward. Lupe passed near large snow banks to the W from which tiny meltwater streams trickled down through the meadow and over the E edge.
Were these snow banks the source of the tiny stream Finis Mitchell said to follow up from Granite Lake? SPHP was convinced they were. If so, Mitchell’s route must reach the summit plateau in this area. This theory seemed more than plausible. Unfortunately, Lupe couldn’t afford to waste valuable time further investigating this possibility.
The Carolina Dog continued on. Before getting very far beyond the snow banks, the first rock ridge extended almost all the way to the E edge of the mountain, choking off the alpine meadow. Lupe began climbing, and soon made a significant discovery. Cairns, and a faint trail! More evidence that Mitchell’s route did come this way.
Looking back from the ridge, Lupe had a better view of the area where Mitchell’s route probably came up. From the alpine meadow, the terrain sloped ever more steeply down to the E seemingly destined for a plunge into an unseen abyss. Of course, if that actually was Mitchell’s route, the appearance had to be deceiving. Still, the unnerving scene did not make SPHP want Lupe to consider a descent that way on her return trip.
Lupe climbed NW, and reached a less rocky area N of the first ridge. A big notch coming in from the E face of Squaretop forced her to continue W or NW. A few minutes brought Loop clear over to Squaretop’s W edge for the first time. Here she could see partway down into the Marten Lake canyon, although she wasn’t close enough to the edge to see all the way down to the lake.
Of more interest was the view to the SW. Off in the distance, there was New Benchmark (11,850 ft.)! New Benchmark was the very mountain where Lupe had been stymied by a huge steep snowbank that prevented her from continuing toward Squaretop Mountain from the W in 2017.
Having reached the W edge, the terrain now favored climbing back to the NE. Lupe came to a succession of relatively gently sloping rock strewn meadows where she made rapid progress. However, each meadow led to a much steeper, slower climb up a bouldery ridge.
After traversing several such meadows and ridges, a notable high point was seen ahead. A collection of large boulders forming a wall 25 or 30 feet high sat perched upon the largest ridge yet near the E edge of the mountain. Was that the summit of Squaretop Mountain (11,695 ft.)? Lupe headed toward it.
No! As Lupe scrambled up onto the ridge, a clearly higher collection of boulders was seen farther N. That was it, no doubt about it – the true summit of Squaretop Mountain! Lupe was almost there!
The true summit was 500 feet farther N, sitting out on a flat plain full of rounded boulders far from any edge of the mountain. The boulders weren’t numerous enough to seriously impede progress.
Ignoring the first high point she was already practically right next to, Lupe took off for the summit. She scrambled to the top from the W end in a flash. Easy, squeezy! Nothing to it! SPHP soon joined her.
Another similar collection of boulders sat even farther off to the N across the bouldery plain, but it was clearly lower. Lupe was definitely at the true summit. SPHP searched, but found no survey benchmark or registry. Only a pathetic little excuse for a cairn marked the top of mighty Squaretop Mountain (11,695 ft.).
Nothing impeded the views from Squaretop Mountain’s true summit. In nearly all directions Lupe saw a grand assortment of tremendous peaks. The most impressive lay mostly along spine of the Wind River Range off to the SE, where Gannet Peak (13,804 ft.), highest in Wyoming, and many others SPHP didn’t recognize were on display.
Time was running out. Yet there was more to see from Squaretop, lots more. Due to the late start and all the other mistakes SPHP had made, Lupe only got to spend 15 or 20 minutes at the true summit before she really needed to be moving on. She had her peakbagging achievement, but still had not seen the premier view that makes Squaretop Mountain such an incredible destination.
She still hadn’t seen the glorious view looking back down the Green River canyon all the way to the Green River Lakes.
SPHP scrambled down first. For several magical minutes the Carolina Dog remained alone atop the true summit of Squaretop Mountain.
SPHP signaled. Lupe raced down. Puppy, ho! On to the next cluster of boulders to the N! May as well check it out. It was on the way to those fabulous, long highly anticipated views of the Green River Lakes.
The next cluster was actually a somewhat trickier proposition. The top was narrow and a bit precarious. Another cairn was up here. However, a glance back to the S only served to confirm that the true summit really was back there.
Flags and purple wildflowers decorated this far N high point. The flags led SPHP to think maybe some did consider this the true summit? Who knew? Perhaps it was. Mountains can produce strange and convincing illusions. No registry here, either, though. SPHP wasn’t swayed. Lupe ventured no opinion. She’d been both places now, so what difference did it make?
Lupe didn’t stay on the far N high point long. The Green River Lakes were calling!
Excitement mounted as the American Dingo approached the N edge of mighty Squaretop Mountain. Two minutes, and Looper was there. The mountain fell away revealing the view so long sought after. 3,500 feet below, the Green River meandered away to the NNW toward Upper, and more distant Lower, Green River Lakes.
The view was stunning, glorious, magnificent! 5 minutes was all the longer Lupe had to enjoy it. Time was pressing, if she expected to have any hope of getting off the mountain tonight. For those marvelous 5 minutes, Loop stood there near the edge of the precipice taking it all in.
Off to the NW, a somewhat lower lobe of Squaretop’s summit extended farther N. Sadly, no time to go over there to explore and enjoy it.
Should have been up here many hours ago. Would have been wonderful to have time to explore Squaretop Mountain’s vast summit from one end to the other. So much to do and see up here!
How fun it would have been to visit the S end of the mountain, too! Way down by High Point 11415, S of the giant cirque, Lupe could have peered down upon the saddle to the SW leading to High Point 11590. She would have found out if she had ever stood a chance of getting here from New Benchmark.
That would remain a mystery. SPHP regretted the mistakes which had delayed Lupe’s arrival at this grand viewpoint. Chief among them, not getting to Granite Lake to set up base camp yesterday evening, and then the needlessly late start this morning.
Yet, at the same time, it had all been such an adventure! A completely joyous experience once it had been clear Lupe was going to succeed in escaping the giant cirque! Lupe had at long last made it to the summit of Squaretop Mountain. For these precious few minutes, she really was standing here by the soaring edge gazing down on the wondrous view of Green River Lakes.
The moment passed. Lupe headed S.
The American Dingo’s Squaretop Mountain adventure was far from over. She traveled along the E edge of the mountain where she could peer down into the Green River canyon. Loop never made it to Granite Lake this morning, but now she did get to see it from more than 2,400 feet above.
As Lupe passed by Squaretop’s true summit once again, now heading S, the race was on! 2.5 hours until sunset. No more than that.
From above, it was possible to see that Lupe could avoid down climbing the worst of the bouldery ridges by staying farther W. Most of the clouds had blown away. A gorgeous evening! The views were fantastic as Loop raced S.
Lupe still had to go back near the E edge to get down from the first ridge she had come to on the summit plateau. Then it was through the alpine meadow, and past the big snow banks where the trickling streams were. The sun was still up, and would be for a while yet, as the Carolina Dog reached the big ravine leading E back down into the giant cirque.
Lupe stayed near the stream down in the bottom of the big ravine as she drew near the upper lip of the giant cirque. Such trepidation! Was there going to be any reasonably safe way down? Lupe wasn’t even going to attempt a descent where she’d come up. Way too scary!
Waterfalls and steep terrain had been visible along this stream before Lupe had made her ascent. However, Loop lost a surprising amount of elevation without any problem. Spirits soared when she started coming to cairns! The cairns helped tremendously, but eventually either SPHP lost the way or they ran out.
The going became tricky. The cairns had led into another draw a little S of the stream. The route became very steep, with several down climbs SPHP had to help Lupe with. Fear grew. At one point it looked like this was it, Lupe had cliffed out, but after rounding a corner, a viable way lower appeared.
SPHP was enormously relieved when Looper made it to the base of the gullies. The scariest part was over, but a lot of time had been chewed up during the cautious descent. The sun still shone on the mountaintops, but wouldn’t for much longer.
Hurry! Hurry! Now it was down, down the giant cirque. Lupe stayed close to the bottom this time, mostly S of the stream instead of N. The frequent boulder fields were slow going, but Loop did come to a long snowfield, which helped her avoid some of them. On and on.
Loop had been in the mountain’s shadow for a long time, and was N of the stream when she did cliff out. She had reached that first ledge she’d gotten around by climbing up the stream bed. Light was fading fast, but much easier terrain was still visible 300 or 400 feet lower. No way to get to it, though.
Trying that trick in the stream bed again seemed like a bad idea now. It was getting hard to see. The terrain above the ledge seemed alarmingly steeper going down than it had going up. Staying far from the ledge, which would be easy to slide over, was a priority. So what now?
Off to the S, beyond where the stream was, a 45° forested slope went far down to the E. A viable option, if Lupe could get over there. Yeah, try that! Loop regained 75 feet of elevation before managing to work her way over to the stream again at a point where it could be crossed.
By the time Loop succeeded in reaching the 45° slope, the forest was so dark the headlamp and flashlight had to come out. There was a bit of a ridgeline here. The plan was to follow it down. Puppy, ho! Onward!
The black forest phase of the ordeal began. Nothing at all could be seen except a tiny faintly lit region in SPHP’s immediate vicinity. Lupe sniffed her way around with complete confidence in and out of total darkness. For a while everything seemed to be going fine. Lupe lost elevation steadily, passing minor rock formations along the ridgeline. It was a long way down, though. She still had 1,500 feet of elevation to lose.
The ridgeline eventually vanished. Lupe reached a boggy area where the terrain leveled out. Traveling along the S edge of the bog, she soon found herself following a tiny stream SE. The slope steepened, and the stream plunged through an area choked with deadfall timber. Progress nearly ground to a halt as SPHP struggled through the tangled mess.
A few easier spots were encountered, but were always shortly followed by another steep descent amid more deadfall. Lupe lost what seemed to be an incredible amount of elevation, but the situation did not improve.
Lupe finally came to an open slope. It was steep, too, but at least there was no deadfall. About this time, Loop got scared. She was starting to hear thunder and see lightning. Not that close yet, but coming this way. The Carolina Dog begged SPHP to stop. She wanted to hide and wait out the approaching storm.
SPHP did stop briefly several times, but kept encouraging Loop to keep going. A few raindrops were felt. The rain was about to start in earnest. SPHP put on the blue rain poncho, then sat on an uncomfortably steep slope. Lupe cowered inside the poncho on SPHP’s lap.
Lightning! Thunder! Rain fell for 20 minutes. Enough to get everything soaking wet. When it was over, the black descent resumed. The clearing ended. Back into the deadfall filled forest! Down, down, forever down!
For hours the roar of the Green River had been heard from the canyon. Lupe was getting closer. The river’s roar became louder and louder, but she never seemed to get there. Finally, the river sounded much louder. Loop had to be very close now, but she hadn’t come to the Highline Trail.
SPHP was virtually certain the trail was on the near side of the river, but in the dead of night fears mounted. What if it wasn’t? What if Looper reached the river as it cut through a steep-sided area almost impossible to traverse? What if she had already somehow crossed the trail without recognizing it?
Nutty alone at night in the wilderness phantoms! Suddenly, when the roar of the Green River was so loud it seemed a few more steps would plunge Lupe into it, there she was, standing right on the Highline Trail. Thank heavens! The Green River actually was only a few feet away down a vertical embankment.
0.75 mile back to Beaver Park and the Marmot tiny house. On the verge of utter exhaustion, Lupe and SPHP piled in. Famished, Loop devoured an entire can of Alpo. She curled up on her red sleeping bag. SPHP covered her as well as possible. She was gone in an instant, running strong and free again in the glow of the beautiful evening sunlight in Dingo Dreamland high up on Squaretop Mountain.
7-22-18, morning, Beaver Park – The sun beat down on the Marmot tiny house. Gonna cook in here! Wearily, SPHP crawled out. Lupe didn’t want to budge despite the heat. SPHP had to force her out into the shade beneath the rain flap. No energy at all. Just drained. An hour shot by while SPHP lazily took down the tiny house and packed up.
John and Lisa were up, having their morning coffee. Before leaving, Lupe and SPHP went over to visit them. They were curious. Had Lupe made it up Squaretop Mountain? They’d begun to wonder when she hadn’t gotten back by dark. What time did she get in?
Oh, yeah! Lupe had been there! She’d made it up Squaretop. As to what time she got back, SPHP had no clue. The tangled black forest had been endless. Seemed like 2 or 3 hours had gone by after the storm before Loop had made it back to Beaver Park.
John was amazed. The storm had gone through at 1:30 AM. So Lupe got back around 4:00 AM? Maybe. Who really knew? SPHP’s estimate may well have been off. Time often passes far more slowly than one thinks in the dark. Still, it must have been plenty late.
John and Lisa had news. They said that they’d been told about a good trail up to Granite Lake. Evidently a thin line of trees divides Beaver Park into two parts. The N section was smaller. Over along the W side there was supposedly a big rock at the base of the ridge close to where the good trail went up. Worth remembering, if Lupe ever came back.
The sky clouded up. Noon already. Lupe and SPHP bid John and Lisa farewell. A long trek back to the trailhead at Lower Green River Lake was in store. No matter. Loop had all day to get there.
It was a slow plod. The mood had completely switched from the hopeful journey in 2 days ago. Light rain fell. Mosquitoes harassed. Depleted, Lupe and SPHP didn’t even stop by the beautiful rapids on the Green River. The dull gray sky and annoying bugs even discouraged paying any attention to the gorgeous scenery. A feeling of sadness developed. Squaretop Mountain was over. Would Lupe ever be back? Not likely.
Forevermore in the mind’s eye, though, miles beyond the Green River Lakes, the spirit of the precious Dingo stands proudly at the brink of a spectacular precipice atop the mighty sentinel of the Wind River Range. She gazes down upon a splendid scene, still hopefully awaiting that happy day.
End – 7-22-18, 8:00 PM, Lower Green River Lakes trailhead
“Squaretop Mountain Route … Most younger groups such as Boy or Girl Scouts take two days going from the end of the road to the bridge at Beaver Park. There are numerous camping spots all over the area. From the bridge to the top of Square Top and back is a good day’s hike for this age group and families.” – Finis Mitchell in Wind River Trails
What! Seriously? Good grief Looper, I must have seriously botched this one up. Seemed like a wonder we made it at all. Next time we’re staying at Granite Lake, getting up at dawn, and sticking with Mitchell’s route. You’re gonna have practically all day to explore the whole dang summit plateau!
Links:
Wind River Trails by Finis Mitchell
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Love the way you tell the story. Good pictures too.