{"id":2647,"date":"2016-02-04T08:10:23","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T15:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2647"},"modified":"2019-03-16T14:13:36","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T20:13:36","slug":"big-sandy-to-jackass-pass-cirque-of-the-towers-wind-river-range-wy-9-1-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2647","title":{"rendered":"Big Sandy to Jackass Pass & Cirque of the Towers, Wind River Range, WY (9-1-15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 31, 2015, Day 23 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation, was spent getting repositioned from Green River Lakes at the NW end of the Wind River Range down to the Big Sandy Trailhead at the SE end.\u00a0 Early in the morning, Lupe and SPHP went down to take a look at Lower Green River Lake and Squaretop Mountain one last time.\u00a0 There were three moose down there!\u00a0 One was just a youngster.<\/p>\n

\"Momma<\/a>
Momma moose and calf near Lower Green River Lake, Wind River Range, WY.\u00a0 There was a 3rd moose, too, but it quickly disappeared into the forest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe and SPHP said good-bye to Green River Lakes and Squaretop Mountain early on 8-31-15.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Moose<\/a>All\u00a0three moose\u00a0were soon\u00a0out of sight in the forest.\u00a0 Lupe has now seen 5 moose.\u00a0 One in Canada\u00a0during her\u00a02014 Dingo Vacation, and four on her 2015 Dingo Vacation.<\/p>\n

After a last fond look at Green River Lake and Squaretop Mountain<\/a> (11,695 ft.)<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, Lupe and SPHP made the\u00a0long drive along\u00a0the\u00a0dusty and very washboardy road following the Green River back to pavement.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP stopped for a while in Pinedale, WY,\u00a0and then continued on to the Big Sandy trailhead and campground.\u00a0 This ultimately involved another long drive along another\u00a0dusty and very washboardy road.<\/p>\n

Starting in June, 1930, Finis Mitchell and his wife, Emma,\u00a0ran a fishing camp at Mud Lake near the Big Sandy opening.\u00a0\u00a0As a 4 year old child, Finis\u00a0had\u00a0arrived with his parents\u00a0at the Wind River Range in April, 1906.\u00a0 He spent much of his life in the Winds.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP went to check out the Big Sandy Lodge\u00a0near Mud Lake.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Lupe at the Big Sandy Lodge near Mud Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mud<\/a>
Lupe visits Mud Lake, Finis Mitchell’s old base of operations for his fishing camp many years ago.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Big Sandy Lodge<\/a><\/span><\/strong> is not related in any way to Finis Mitchell’s old fishing camp, except that it is in the same location.\u00a0 There is no electricity, and the lodge does not accept credit cards.\u00a0 Meals are served in the main building for lodge guests only.\u00a0 The lodge complex features very nice individual cabins.\u00a0 The entire complex is located just S of Mud Lake.<\/p>\n

After visiting Big Sandy Lodge and Mud Lake, Lupe and SPHP spent the rest of the day near the\u00a0Big Sandy campground.\u00a0 There\u00a0were lots of cars at the very popular trailhead.\u00a0 SPHP spent some time getting ready for Lupe’s big trip up to Jackass Pass and the Cirque of the Towers the next day.<\/p>\n

On the first day of Lupe’s 2013 Dingo Vacation, she had spent a night out under the stars on top of Bald Mountain<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming.\u00a0 Lupe had also been tenting on the Clark’s Fork of the Yellowstone<\/a><\/span><\/strong> and other places during her Dingo Vacations.\u00a0 But Lupe had never before done what she was going to do the next morning.\u00a0 She had never been on a backpacking trip.\u00a0 This was going to be a very short one, just 3 days and 2 nights, but SPHP\u00a0was pretty certain\u00a0she would love it.<\/p>\n

September 1, 2015 (Day 24 of Lupe’s 2015 Dingo Vacation) was bright and beautiful.\u00a0 After breakfast at a picnic table, Lupe and SPHP set out on the trail to Big Sandy Lake, about 5 miles to the NE.\u00a0 The first part of the trail was near Big Sandy Creek. Nearly all of the trail goes through forest.\u00a0 Most of it gains elevation at a slow to moderate pace.\u00a0 Lupe had fun exploring the forest, and occasionally barking at squirrels along the way.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe near Big Sandy Creek on her way to Big Sandy Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although some big mountains could be seen now and then, it didn’t really feel like Lupe was among them until she reached Big Sandy Lake.\u00a0 At Big Sandy Lake there were towering mountains in every direction, except back the way Lupe had\u00a0come from.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP stopped for a little break at Big Sandy Lake.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at Big Sandy Lake. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the break, Lupe and SPHP continued along the trail on the NW side of Big Sandy Lake.\u00a0 Several trails\u00a0branch out\u00a0from Big Sandy Lake.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP were looking for the trail to Jackass Pass, which leaves the area from the NW\u00a0corner of the lake.\u00a0 The trail to Jackass Pass\u00a0had no signage at the intersection, but Lupe and SPHP found it without any trouble.<\/p>\n

\"Haystack<\/a>
Haystack Mountain<\/a><\/span> (11,978 ft.) <\/span><\/strong>from Big Sandy Lake. Photo looks ESE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Haystack<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Schiestler Peak from Big Sandy Lake. Photo looks SSE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Haystack<\/a>
Haystack Mountain (L), East Temple Peak (pointy mountain peeking up\u00a0at center), and Temple Peak (highest R of center in distance) from Big Sandy Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although Lupe had gained some elevation in the 5 miles getting to Big Sandy Lake, the real climb began when she\u00a0started heading N on the trail\u00a0up toward Jackass Pass.\u00a0 The trail went through forest at first, but the trees became progressively more stunted and scraggly, and the way became rockier as Lupe gained elevation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
War Bonnet Peak<\/span><\/a> (12,369 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> on the way to Jackass Pass. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
North Lake and War Bonnet Peak. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at North Lake. This lake was not named on SPHP’s maps, but they did show North Creek going through it.\u00a0 Sundance Pinnacle<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(11,054 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0is seen at R.\u00a0 Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The trail to Jackass Pass went past two lakes.\u00a0 In both cases, the trail gained a couple hundred feet of elevation to go around the E side of the lake, only to drop clear back down to lake level before continuing on to regain the lost elevation and more.\u00a0 In some places it was possible to lose the trail among the rocks, but it wasn’t too hard to find it again.\u00a0 Usually a Carolina Dog appeared on it before the search was even begun.<\/p>\n

The first lake the trail came to was unnamed on SPHP’s maps, but a backpacker said it was North Lake.\u00a0 This made sense, since the map did show North Creek heading down to Big Sandy Lake from it.\u00a0 The second lake Lupe came to was Arrowhead Lake.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe up high on the rocks E of Arrowhead Lake. Photo looks S back in the direction Lupe has been coming from. From left to right: Haystack Mountain, East Temple Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(12,600 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, Temple Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(12,972 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>, Schiestler Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP isn’t exactly sure where Jackass Pass is officially located.\u00a0 Lupe got her first view of the Cirque of the Towers from the high point on the trail as it passed to the E of Arrowhead Lake.\u00a0 Not too far ahead was another ridge of about the same elevation, which is probably technically Jackass Pass.<\/p>\n

\"It<\/a>
It was windy up high near Arrowhead Lake and Jackass Pass. Lupe took shelter near these big rocks and had a little rest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"From<\/a>
From the high ridge E of Arrowhead Lake, Lupe gets her first view of the mighty Cirque of the Towers. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The 2nd high ridge, which\u00a0SPHP believes is\u00a0the official location of Jackass Pass, is seen ahead in the foreground. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jackass<\/a>
Jackass Pass dead ahead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe and the Cirque of the Towers. Two days later as Lupe headed back to the G6, SPHP met a backpacker on the way to Jackass Pass for the 1st time. The backpacker asked if it was worth the effort. SPHP’s response was, “If you don’t like what you see up there, you just don’t like mountains. Try the ocean on your next vacation.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP believes the 2nd ridge is really Jackass Pass.\u00a0 To get to it, the trail dropped clear down almost to the level of Arrowhead Lake and then went back up again.\u00a0 From the second ridge, there was a huge panoramic view encompassing the Cirque of the Towers, Pingora Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(11,884 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>, Lonesome Lake, Texas Pass and Lizard <\/span>Head<\/span> Peak<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(12,842 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed for the highest part of the ridge at Jackass Pass to take in the amazing scene.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking back at Arrowhead Lake just before Lupe climbed up to Jackass Pass. The main trail passes Arrowhead Lake to the E\u00a0over high ground to the\u00a0L of this photo. There is an alternate route around the other side of the lake seen on the R. When Lupe left the Cirque of the Towers two days later, she took the route around the W side of the lake. Lupe had no problems, but the area of large boulders (seen in this photo\u00a0at the far R side of the lake) slowed SPHP down tremendously. It would have been easier to just stick to the main trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at Jackass Pass where she gets her first view of Lonesome Lake. Texas Pass is the low point in bright sunlight on the far ridge near the center of this photo. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Pingora Peak and Lonesome Lake from Jackass Pass. Pingora Peak is the distinctive tall column of rock on the L.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pingora<\/a>
Pingora Peak (L), Lonesome Lake, and Texas Pass (R center) from Jackass Pass.\u00a0 Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Warbonnet Peak from Jackass Pass. Lupe tries to take shelter from the wind. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lupe looks S from Jackass Pass in the direction she came to get here. East Temple Peak is in the sunlight on the L. Temple Peak is the highest mountain in the distance. The lake is Arrowhead Lake. The trail to get to Jackass Pass came over the big rocky ridge shown L of Arrowhead Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cirque<\/a>
Cirque of the Towers from Jackass Pass. Near the center of this photo is a brown grassy area just below some big smooth light gray rock. SPHP pitched Lupe’s “tiny house” (the tent) in this brown grassy area. Lupe spent two evenings and nights there. She loved it!\u00a0 Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The views were tremendous, but it was really windy up at Jackass Pass.\u00a0 Lupe tolerated SPHP hanging around up there looking at the scenery only so long.\u00a0 She was ready to get out of the wind.\u00a0 It was time to go pitch Lupe’s “tiny house” (the tent).\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP crossed over the pass, and headed down into the glorious Cirque of the Towers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe exploring the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range, WY. Wolf’s Head<\/span><\/a> (12,160 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (L) and Pingora Peak (R). Photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Wolf's<\/a>
Wolf’s Head (Center) and Pingora Peak (R). Cirque Lake is out of sight to the L of the base of Wolf’s Head. Lupe would go up to see Cirque Lake the next day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lupe near Pingora Peak in the Cirque of the Towers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Just as Squaretop Mountain is SPHP’s favorite at the NW end of the Wind River Range, Pingora Peak is SPHP’s favorite mountain at the SE end of the range. Both Mountains have distinctive shapes and are in outstanding settings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lizard<\/a>
Lizard Head Peak<\/a> (12,842 ft.)<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0from the Cirque of the Towers.\u00a0 Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Down in the Cirque of the Towers there was a little breeze, but nothing like the wind up at Jackass Pass.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP traversed much of the Cirque of the Towers to get to a grassy area\u00a0close to\u00a0the side valley up to Cirque Lake.\u00a0 There SPHP pitched Lupe’s tiny house.<\/p>\n

Years ago, SPHP had been to the Cirque of the Towers once before.\u00a0 On that previous trip, which had been in early August, SPHP would have traded all of the food in the pack for a single can of bug spray.\u00a0 The mosquitoes had been horrendous.\u00a0 On this first day of September, though, there were none at all.\u00a0 It was going to be a spectacular evening without any bugs.<\/p>\n

Once the tiny house was up, Lupe and SPHP poked around exploring here and there near by, surrounded by magnificence in every direction.\u00a0 Lupe was having a blast!\u00a0 The evening couldn’t have been better or more fun, or could it?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe by her tiny house in the Cirque of the Towers. Pingora Peak in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the light faded and the stars came out, SPHP went into the tiny house.\u00a0 Lupe came into the tiny house, too, and\u00a0laid down on her sleeping bag.\u00a0 It had been a long day’s\u00a0journey up to the Cirque of the Towers, and she was tired.\u00a0 As she rested, though, it began to dawn on her – there wasn’t going to be any long trek back to the G6 this evening.\u00a0 SPHP intended for her to stay right here in the Cirque of the Towers all night.<\/p>\n

The American Dingo lifted her head up.\u00a0 There was a sparkle in her eyes.\u00a0 Lupe was gone.\u00a0 The Wild Dingo of the Night was here.\u00a0 It was going to be a long night!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
War Bonnet Peak from Lupe’s Tiny House in the Cirque of the Towers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure\u00a0<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2015 Wyoming, Colorado & Utah Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August 31, 2015, Day 23 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation, was spent getting repositioned from Green River Lakes at the NW end of the Wind River Range down to the Big Sandy Trailhead at the SE end.\u00a0 Early in the morning, Lupe and SPHP went down to take a look at Lower … Continue reading Big Sandy to Jackass Pass & Cirque of the Towers, Wind River Range, WY (9-1-15)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[274],"tags":[105,404,391,392,106,395,26,399,393,398,394,401,104,397,400,396,403,385,402,275],"class_list":["post-2647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2015-wyoming-colorado-utah","tag-american-dingo","tag-arrowhead-lake","tag-big-sandy-lake","tag-big-sandy-lodge","tag-carolina-dog","tag-cirque-of-the-towers","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-east-temple-peak","tag-finis-mitchell","tag-haystack-mountain","tag-jackass-pass","tag-lonesome-lake","tag-lupe","tag-pingora-peak","tag-temple-peak","tag-texas-pass","tag-war-bonnet-peak","tag-wind-river-range","tag-wolfs-head","tag-wyoming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/P1070114.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2647"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20752,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647\/revisions\/20752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}