To the Lost Twin Lakes & Beyond, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming (7-11-20)

Days 1 & 2 of Lupe’s 2nd summer of 2020 Dingo Vacation to Wyoming & Utah!

7-10-20, 4:15 PM, 82ºF, I-90 just E of the Black Hills of South Dakota – Lupe’s 2nd Dingo Vacation of the summer of 2020 was 13 minutes old.  Trouble already!

Maybe we better turn around, SPHP!

Looking that way, Loopster.  We’ll get off at the next exit.  Can’t be more than another mile or two.

Too late!  A few huge raindrops splatted against the windshield.  Sort of mushy like sleet.  Moments later, I-90 all but disappeared.  Cloudburst!  The G6 was getting smacked around by wind, hail, and torrential rain.  Wipers maxed out, and with the hazard lights on, (for all the good they would do), SPHP slowed the G6 to a crawl.

Upon reaching the exit, SPHP spied a huge Quonset hut.  The entrance was wide open.  It was full of stuff, but there was room enough to sneak the G6 inside.  Hail made a tremendous racket as the metal building got pounded.  The Quonset hut leaked a bit, but that was minor.  SPHP got out of the G6 to watch the storm, leaving the door open for Lupe, but the Carolina Dog had no intention of abandoning the safe, dry comfort of her stack of pillows and blankets.

Outside the ground would have turned white, but it was raining so hard that everything became a flowing lake, dancing water sweeping the hail along in a muddy current.

Finding this Quonset hut was a lucky stroke, SPHP!  Good job!

Thanks, Loop!  All luck, though, as you say.

What now?  Are we going to return home?

Maybe.  Sort of a late start to be heading for the Bighorns, anyway, but I can’t imagine this torrent lasting much longer.

It didn’t.  20 minutes, and the G6 was back on I-90, the last raindrops sprinkling harmlessly as blue sky reappeared.  60ºF!  A 22 degree drop, but by the time Loopster crossed the Wyoming border, the pavement was dry and the sun was warming things up again.  Beautiful evening cruise ahead!

7-10-20, dusk, Bighorn Mountains a mile S of Powder River Pass –  Friday night.  Munkres Pass, a favorite spot, was occupied.  This would have to do.  SPHP stashed the G6 along USFS Road No. 29.  Lupe hopped out, sniffing excitedly along the edge of the black forest, thrilled to be back in the Bighorns.  Good things were going to happen!

Yes, but not tonight.  Too late for that.  In the morning, though.  Better get a few winks.  (10:19 PM, 50ºF)

7-11-20, 8:17 AM, 41ºF, West Tensleep trailhead – Ugh!  The backpack was a beast, at least by SPHP’s wimpy standards.  Finally ready.  Lupe trotted happily along the dusty road leading back to the trailhead.  Hadn’t been any room to park there.  The whole place was packed.  After all, it was a weekend in July.

SPHP paused briefly to register at the trailhead, and the enthusiastic American Dingo was on her way.

Although Lupe had been to the West Tensleep trailhead before, she had never taken Trail No. 065 to the Lost Twin Lakes.  The trail started out heading NNE in a lodgepole pine forest gaining elevation at a gradual, easy place.  Mostly shady at first, but light began filtering through the trees as the sun got higher.

After going a mile, the trail leveled out completely.  The Carolina Dog soon came to a couple of switchbacks leading lower.  At the bottom, the trail headed E through a little clearing providing an initial view.

Beyond the small clearing, Lupe re-entered the forest, but not for long.  She quickly arrived at a much larger meadow where the trail followed a short stretch of Middle Tensleep Creek, crossing only a minor tributary before entering the forest again.

At this point, the trail turned NE, away from the stream.  This would have been a great spot for a picnic, because a nice shaded waterfall was here, but it was still too early in the day for that.

Loop had lost most of the elevation she’d gained during the first mile by the time she’d reached Middle Tensleep Creek.  However, upon leaving the waterfall, No. 065 climbed steadily again, this time at a faster clip.  This region was all forested until Lupe got to where the trail leveled out again after gaining 400 feet.

Here, she came to a couple of clearings providing more mountain views.

Beyond these clearings, the trail continued NE back in the forest again, gradually losing 100 feet of elevation before leveling out.  From the edge of a vast meadow dotted with boulders, Middle Tensleep Creek was once more in sight down in the valley to the SE.

This meadow was where a major tributary, the outlet stream from Mirror Lake, flowed into Middle Tensleep Creek.  The outlet stream was visible, too, but Lupe saw no sign of another feature shown on the topo map.  Trail No. 031 to Elk Park was supposed to cross this meadow and both streams S of a junction with the Lost Twin Lakes trail.  However, if No. 031 still existed, Lupe and SPHP passed by without noticing it.

The Lost Twin Lakes trail continued NE, beginning to climb again as it returned to the forest.  A curve SE soon revealed a big stream ahead.  This was the outlet stream from Mirror Lake, which Loop now had to ford.  The American Dingo didn’t mind a bit, stopping to get a cold drink along the way.  SPHP managed to rock hop it without difficulty.

Beyond the ford, the Lost Twin Lakes trail climbed a bit higher before reaching another clearing which provided an update on the progress Lupe was making toward the high country.

Going downhill heading NE, Lupe was now very close to Mirror Lake, hidden somewhere among the pines off to the L (N).  Naturally, the American Dingo and SPHP were both anxious to have a look at it, and left the trail to find it.

Only 10:30 AM, but Mirror Lake was so beautiful, and SPHP was already so pooped from lugging the heavy backpack, that an early lunch break was appealing.  Discovering the joyful presence of squirrels almost the moment she arrived, Lupe was totally in favor of staying, too.

Baked chicken and an apple.  Lunch was a noisy affair with the shrill Dingo raising a ruckus, but it sure felt good to relax.  The placid scene was one of deceptive tranquility.  Loopster skipped lunch entirely, but that was her own choice.

Mirror Lake was a good 3 miles from the West Tensleep trailhead, a bit over halfway to Lost Twin Lakes.  So far, Lupe had been making decent time.  However, she was going to be gaining more elevation between here and Lost Twin Lakes.  That meant SPHP would be slower the rest of the way.  As pleasant as it was resting in the shade watching ripples on Mirror Lake, lunch shouldn’t get drug out for too long.

When SPHP strapped the pack back on, Loop finally had to tear herself away from her squirrel watching.  Turned out that it was a good thing she had gone to see Mirror Lake right away.  The Lost Twin Lakes trail never did go right to it, instead staying S of a ridge big enough to hide the lake.

Middle Tensleep Creek was again visible S of the trail as Lupe continued NE in an open valley.  Ahead, the valley narrowed, and the trail began climbing faster as it traversed a steep slope just N of the stream.  Loop was soon a good 50 or 60 feet above Middle Tensleep Creek.

Even here, the trail itself was rarely more than moderately steep.  Before long, it began to level off as the valley broadened out again.  Scattered boulders were now seen strewn across an open hilly region overlooking Middle Tensleep Creek, which wound lazily through lush green grass and tightly packed bushes.

To the SE, Lupe could now see a forested granite headwall 150 feet high.  Far beyond it were towering cliffs, part of the giant cirque where the Lost Twin Lakes were hidden.

Crossing the hilly region, the Lost Twin Lakes Trail curved gradually SE toward the headwall, eventually taking Lupe down to Middle Tensleep Creek.  Although fairly wide, the stream wasn’t deep.  Lupe easily waded across, and SPHP manage to find a spot where it could be rock-hopped.

After crossing Middle Tensleep Creek, Lupe was soon climbing among the forested granite formations of the headwall.  Anticipation grew as the American Dingo reached the top.  Any moment now, Loop might get her first look at the lower Lost Twin Lake.

Nope.  The first view Lupe got was not of the lake, but of a bright green swampy region to the SW.  A little farther on, a big slab of rock provided a look at what was ahead.  No lake here, either.  Instead, the trail could be seen crossing a meadow on its way to another headwall still 0.5 mile away.

Gah!  I was really hoping we’d see the lower lake here, Loopster!  Getting mighty tired of lugging this pack.

It must be up past that next headwall, SPHP.  Not that far.  You can do it!  We’re almost there!

Of course, Loop was right.  It was all easy until the trail started climbing the second headwall.  Nothing hard about that, either, except that SPHP was running out of gas.  When the terrain finally leveled out again, sure enough, the lower Lost Twin Lake was in sight, nestled beneath steep rocky slopes and cliffs more than 1,000 feet high.

Even though SPHP had been taking lots of short breaks, it was only 1:45 PM.  Not a cloud in the sky, and getting out of the intense July sun for a little while seemed like a great idea.  Lupe was in favor of hiding out for a bit, too.  Climbing the granite formations W of where the trail came up, she discovered a long 8 or 10 foot high boulder providing a nice big shady spot to hang out.

A few small trees were in this area, which was only a little E of the high point of this second headwall.  SPHP ditched the pack, providing instant relief to sore feet and shoulders, while Lupe was happy to curl up in the shade.  She eagerly made short work of her long delayed lunch of Taste of the Wild.  Meanwhile, SPHP snacked on other supplies.

A pleasant lazy-day rest ensued, the only two disadvantages of this spot being that the lake wasn’t in sight, and that mosquitoes harassed both Lupe and SPHP.  They weren’t too bad, though, and the less cautious of those evil insects paid with their lives for their bloodthirsty behavior.

45 minutes slipped by before anyone felt compelled to stir.

We came all this way to see the Lost Twin Lakes, SPHP.  Maybe we ought to actually have a look at them?

Capital idea, Looper!  And I’m glad you waited this long to suggest it.  Feeling a bit peppier again.  Let’s go have a look-see.

Getting to the top of the exposed rock formations at the headwall’s high point took only a couple of minutes.  More of the lower Lost Twin Lake could be seen from here, and even a sliver of the upper one.  The rugged setting was spectacular, and would be even more impressive over by the upper lake.

The lower lake was round, but did have an arm that stuck out toward the W.

The views were also impressive looking back down the valley that the Lost Twin Lakes trail had come up.

While it would have been easy to go down to the shore of the lower Lost Twin Lake, near vertical rock formations along the E side blocked off any access to the upper Lost Twin Lake from the shoreline.  However, it did look possible to get a view of the upper lake by going up and over those rock formations.

Returning to the Lost Twin Lakes trail, Lupe crossed it and headed E up a slope where a twin waterfall could be seen.  This slope was full of bushes preventing easy maneuvering, but the American Dingo soon discovered a faint use trail.  Unfortunately, the use trail did not take her to the spiffy twin waterfall, instead crossing the stream it was on well above it.

After crossing the stream, the use trail turned S and faded away once past the bushes.  Lupe explored higher on a grassy slope dotted with boulders, and soon came to an important spot.  A big snowbank and its little meltwater pond filled most of a small depression.  Grass grew in the flat region next to the muddy shore of the pond.  SPHP was ecstatic!

Yes!  It’s really here, and even better than I hoped it would be, Loop.  Luck of the Dingo, this is going to work out great!

You’re sure taking this snowbank and mucky 2 inch deep pond well, SPHP.  Any particular reason?  Care to let me in on the secret?

Oh, you’ll see soon enough, Loopster!  Let’s go have a gander at the upper lake first, though, before all that.  I’ll bet it’s fabulous!

SPHP ditched the backpack by a boulder not too far from the snowbank.  Lupe continued sniffing S up to a high point a few hundred feet away.  From here the Carolina Dog had a tremendous view of the upper Lost Twin Lake nestled in a giant cirque surrounded by towering cliffs.  She could even see much of the W half of the lower lake.

Wow!  This is a super scenic spot, SPHP!

Sure is, Loop!  Let’s rest here a spell.  I thought I was in better shape than this after your last Dingo Vacation, but I’m about worn out.

No worries, SPHP!  I’m sort of tired, too.  Wouldn’t want to leave a place like this as soon as we got here, anyway, would we?

The Lost Twin Lakes were gorgeous!  Lupe and SPHP sat pondering the awesome scene for a long time.  It was pretty rocky here, which wasn’t too comfortable for the Carolina Dog, but she could get on SPHP’s lap whenever she wanted to.  Already above tree line, there was nothing to obstruct the views in any direction other than the massive magnificence of the mountains themselves.

Oh, my gosh, Looper!  We’ve been here an hour and a half.  Time sure flies in paradise!  We better get going.

Where to, SPHP?

Remember that big melting snowbank in the depression?

Of course!  Back there, what for?  The pack?

The slope above the snowbank is our route higher.  Until we actually got here, I wasn’t sure if it would be too steep or not, couldn’t tell from the topo map, but it’s fine.

How high are we going?

As high as we can get before we run out of oomph.  Tomorrow, to the spine of the Bighorn Range!

Approaching the depression with the snowbank again, SPHP stopped to pick up the backpack.  Then it was on down into the depression, and up the slope beyond it.  Loopster frolicked in the snow to cool off before catching up to SPHP.  The easily passable terrain narrowed considerably near the top of the steepest part of the slope, bordered by rocks to the SE and the stream that fed the twin waterfall to the NW, but the route never got completely pinched off.

The easy terrain soon widened out, still continuing higher at a good clip, though not as steeply as before.  The Carolina Dog roamed at will, now heading up a wide, shallow valley, never getting too far from SPHP.  This whole area was grassy, and full of pink and yellow wildflowers.  Rocks were scattered throughout, with numerous unseen rivulets trickling away beneath them.

After a long trudge, a rocky high point appeared ahead, the first sign that Lupe actually was getting close to the spine of the Bighorns.

The slope was gradually decreasing, when SPHP had finally had enough.  Shedding the pack at a good spot to pitch Lupe’s tiny house, SPHP rested, studying the map before taking that task on.  4 miles to the NNW was a lovely view of the Mather Peaks (12,400 ft.) region, although SPHP couldn’t tell for sure if the true summit was actually in view or not.

Lupe became excited when SPHP started putting up her orange and gray Marmot tiny house, the new one SPHP had bought for her just last year before her adventures to Loaf Mountain (11,722 ft.) and Bighorn Peak (12,324 ft.).  She hadn’t seen the tiny house since then, but it was clear she remembered it.

Bothered by mosquitoes, and tired after today’s long trek, Loop circled the tiny house again and again, trying to nose her way in before it was even fully set up.  SPHP tossed the sleeping bags inside and spread them out for maximum comfort, prior to letting her enter.  A very happy American Dingo was soon curled up on the softest spot.

Looper spent most of what was left of a beautiful evening snoozing.  Not a waste of time judging from her twitching paws and muzzle, since she was apparently quite busy having lots of exciting adventures in Dingo dreamland.

As near as SPHP could figure it, the tiny house was at about 11,100 feet.  Lost Twin Lakes Peak (12,015 ft.) was in view to the SW, in addition to the nearby unidentified peak to the E along the spine of the Bighorn Range, and Mather Peaks off to the NNW.

An hour before sunset, the Carolina Dog emerged from her tiny house.  So beautiful up here above and beyond the Lost Twin Lakes!  For a little while she stood sniffing the W breeze.

Despite how incredible it all was, Lupe didn’t stay out too long.  Ready for dinner, and still short on sleep, she retired early to prepare for her next big adventure along the spine of the Bighorns tomorrow.

Links:

Next Adventure                         Prior Adventure

Want more Lupe adventures?  Choose from Lupe’s Summer of 2020 Dingo Vacations to Wyoming, Utah & Montana Adventure Index, Dingo Vacations Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index.  Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.