{"id":3741,"date":"2017-09-06T08:10:12","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T14:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=3741"},"modified":"2019-03-16T10:33:14","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T16:33:14","slug":"fremont-lake-photographers-point-wind-river-range-wy-8-29-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=3741","title":{"rendered":"Fremont Lake & Photographer’s Point, Wind River Range WY (8-29-12)"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 28-30, 2012, Days 21-23 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.<\/em><\/p>\n

As soon as Lanis woke up; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP would\u00a0hit the road again.\u00a0 In the meantime, Lupe and SPHP took a little stroll.\u00a0 For SPHP, it had been a restless night trying to sleep sitting up in the Element.\u00a0 This car camping business was starting to get pretty old.\u00a0 Lupe, of course, was always fresh as a daisy, since she could stretch out and relax on her mountain of pillows and blankets in the back of the Element.<\/p>\n

Last night’s car camping was SPHP’s own fault for being so stubborn.\u00a0 Lupe’s tiny house could have been set up back at the Farewell Bend State Recreation Area in Oregon.\u00a0 Instead, SPHP got persnickety about bureaucracy and regulations, and had Lanis keep driving.\u00a0 Lupe had made it as far as Boise, Idaho before stopping for the night.<\/p>\n

Oh, well.\u00a0 It didn’t matter now, the night was over.\u00a0 On the bright side, SPHP had saved $18-22.\u00a0 When Lupe and SPHP got back to the Element, a bleary-eyed Lanis was at least conscious.\u00a0 He was soon pressed back into chauffer service driving SE on I-84.\u00a0 Lupe, Lanis and SPHP left I-84 at Mountain Home taking Hwy 20.\u00a0 Hwy 20 started out winding NE into the S end of a very dry looking mountain range.<\/p>\n

The sky had been a little smoky in Boise, but along Hwy 20 the smoke was much thicker.\u00a0 The smoke got denser and denser until it was like being in a fog.\u00a0 Lanis started expecting to see the actual flames of a forest fire around any bend, but it didn’t happen.\u00a0 Way back in the early days of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation, back at the Beartooth Mountains in Wyoming, the sky had been smoky then, too, but never this bad.\u00a0 Apparently the fires in Idaho had been burning all this time.<\/p>\n

\"Southern<\/a>
Southern ID was hot, dry, barren and smoky. The skies weren’t nearly so smoky, though, as Lupe started getting close to Craters of the Moon National Monument.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The skies were much clearer by the time Lupe reached Craters of the Moon National Monument<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Lupe, Lanis and SPHP stopped briefly near the visitor center.\u00a0 Lanis went inside, and soon returned with the unsurprising news that Dingoes aren’t allowed on any of the trails.\u00a0 Well, that was that!\u00a0 Lupe made a few more stops at pullouts along Hwy 20 for photos, but she really didn’t get to do anything at Craters of the Moon.<\/p>\n

\"Lava<\/a>
Lava flow at Craters of the Moon National Monument.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Craters<\/a>\"Craters<\/a>Lupe continued on.\u00a0 Idaho remained hot and parched until Lupe reached Idaho Falls.\u00a0 E of Idaho Falls on Hwy 26, the scenery improved steadily.\u00a0 It was much greener here near the high mountains.\u00a0 By early evening, Lupe reached the fabulous Wind River Range near Pinedale, Wyoming.\u00a0 Lupe, Lanis and SPHP took Skyline Drive up to Elkhart Park for a look around.<\/p>\n

From viewpoints along Skyline Drive, Lupe saw two big lakes, Half Moon Lake and Freemont Lake,\u00a0formed by the retreat of large glaciers ages ago.\u00a0 Near Elkhart Park was a pullout along the road with a sweeping view of the central portion of the mighty Wind River Range.\u00a0 SPHP recognized Fremont Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(13,745 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>, one of many visible along the Continental Divide.<\/p>\n

\"Half<\/a>
Half Moon Lake from Skyline Drive near Pinedale, WY 8-28-12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Half<\/a>
Half Moon Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fremont<\/a>
Fremont Lake near Pinedale, WY from Skyline Drive. Photo looks S. At 8 or 9 miles long, Freemont Lake is the largest of a series of a series of big lakes along the S side of the Wind River Range left behind by the retreat of large glaciers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lanis<\/a>
Lanis near Skyline Drive above Fremont Lake. Although the S end of the lake extends well out of the mountains, the N end of the lake is nestled in among them. This photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking W across Fremont Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking N at the Wind River Range in Wyoming from a viewpoint along Skyline Drive near Elkhart Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Freemont<\/a>
Freemont Peak along the Continental Divide from a viewpoint along Skyline Drive near Elkhart Park. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After going up to Elkhart Park and back down again, Lanis and SPHP pitched Lupe’s tiny house at the Fremont Lake campground.\u00a0 The campsite was some distance away from the lake.\u00a0 Lanis and SPHP feasted on sandwiches\u00a0after a quick\u00a0run in to\u00a0Subway in Pinedale.\u00a0 Both Lanis and SPHP were feeling pretty tired, and looking forward to a night stretched out in Lupe’s tiny house.<\/p>\n

Lupe wasn’t tired, though.\u00a0 She’d spent most of the last two days and nights cooped up\u00a0in the Element.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe was bursting with energy!\u00a0 She was very happy to be out sniffing every tree and bush\u00a0around.\u00a0\u00a0She was finally getting to do Dingo stuff\u00a0again!\u00a0 With great enthusiasm, she raised\u00a0a ruckus over\u00a0each and every\u00a0squirrel.\u00a0\u00a0Slowly the\u00a0sun went down.\u00a0 Twilight\u00a0faded.\u00a0 The squirrels went to bed.\u00a0 It still\u00a0took a lot of persuading from SPHP to get\u00a0Lupe into the tiny house and settled down for the night.<\/p>\n

SPHP woke up.\u00a0 It was still early.\u00a0 Like dark out with the stars still shining early.\u00a0 SPHP had no idea what time it was, but felt better.\u00a0 Lupe was instantly awake, too.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP stole out of her tiny house and into the night.\u00a0 Fifteen minutes later, Lupe and SPHP reached the dock down by the boat ramp.\u00a0 Fremont Lake\u00a0sits at\u00a0around 7,400 feet elevation.\u00a0 Overhead, the Milky Way was blazing in a cloudless night sky.\u00a0 The brightest stars reflected clearly in the still lake.<\/p>\n

To the E, SPHP saw Sagittarius, Venus and just a hint of light.\u00a0 Dawn was coming.\u00a0 The night sky was gorgeous, but it was probably best to get a little more sleep.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP returned to rejoin Lanis\u00a0in Lupe’s tiny house.\u00a0 Well, at least SPHP did.\u00a0 Lupe had other ideas.\u00a0 She wouldn’t go in the tent.\u00a0 SPHP tried to rest while listening for the tinkling sound of Lupe’s tag as she sniffed around outside.<\/p>\n

It worked for a little while.\u00a0 Lupe was sniffing around out there pretty close to the tiny house.\u00a0 As it grew lighter though, the squirrels started waking up.\u00a0 Sniffing became growling.\u00a0 Pretty soon the growling was barking.\u00a0 Just occasionally at first, but the barking sprees lengthened.\u00a0 SPHP had to get up,\u00a0or Lupe would succeed in getting evicted\u00a0from the campground.<\/p>\n

Lanis was pretty played out.\u00a0 After successive long days driving, he was just plain zonked.\u00a0 It was light out now.\u00a0 The sun came up and rose high in the sky.\u00a0 Lanis snoozed on.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP made a couple more trips down to Fremont Lake.\u00a0 There was a little beach near the dock and boat ramp.\u00a0 Lupe went wading.\u00a0 SPHP watched minnows swimming near the shore.<\/p>\n

\"Fremont<\/a>
Fremont Lake, Wind River Range, WY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe wades in Fremont Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was almost lunch time when Lanis finally regained consciousness.\u00a0 Lupe, Lanis and SPHP\u00a0drove down to the Lakeside Lodge, Resort & Marina<\/a><\/span><\/strong> at the very S end of Fremont Lake.\u00a0 The resort features a restaurant with both inside and outside dining available.\u00a0\u00a0Next to Fremont Lake, there was a\u00a0large deck with tables shaded by big umbrellas.\u00a0 Beyond the lake was a gorgeous panoramic view of high peaks of the Wind River Range.<\/p>\n

It was sort of busy.\u00a0 The clientele looked upscale.\u00a0 Lanis and SPHP were in rather disreputable condition.\u00a0 There was an open table, though, at the far edge of the deck separated a little bit from the rest of the guests.\u00a0 The wait staff was willing to serve mangy Lanis and SPHP.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0was even allowed to rest on the deck at SPHP’s feet.\u00a0 On Lupe’s entire 2012 Dingo Vacation, this was the only time Lupe, Lanis and SPHP actually got to eat at a restaurant.\u00a0 It was wonderful!<\/p>\n

Lanis and SPHP both ordered big burgers.\u00a0 They were great!\u00a0 SPHP stealthily slipped some burger down to Lupe.\u00a0 Everyone was happy.\u00a0 The scenery was magnificent.\u00a0 It was a relaxing, beautiful time.<\/p>\n

After the glorious lunch by Fremont Lake; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went into Pinedale for a little while.\u00a0 SPHP hoped to find a good map of the mountains to look at.\u00a0 There was a USFS map posted outside a\u00a0forest service office near the grocery store.\u00a0 SPHP studied it for a few minutes while Lanis was in the grocery store.\u00a0 Lupe was on a leash\u00a0right there with SPHP.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP were both about ready to leave, when an overly helpful ranger came along.\u00a0\u00a0 The ranger almost insisted that SPHP come inside for more information, and a cheerful lecture on a blizzard of federal rules certain to enhance any wilderness experience.<\/p>\n

Rule\u00a0No. 1, of course, was that\u00a0Dingoes couldn’t come in the building.\u00a0 Why just the other day, some Grand Poo-Bah supervisor from the District of Bureaucracy had sent out an email on the importance of never allowing a Dingo to set paw in any forest service building.<\/p>\n

Lanis was waiting at the Element by the time Lupe and SPHP extracted themselves from all the helpful assistance.\u00a0 At least SPHP had seen enough of the map to have a pretty good idea where to go.\u00a0 Since the day was off to a rather late start, the best day hike without a map to bring along with was probably to take the well-traveled Pole Creek trail up at Elkhart Park.<\/p>\n

Lupe, Lanis and SPHP went back up to Elkhart Park.\u00a0 The trailhead was already at 9,350 feet elevation, so Lupe was going to get to see some pretty high country.\u00a0 The Pole Creek trail started off heading SE as it went up the Pole Creek drainage.\u00a0 The trail was wide and well-worn.\u00a0 It gained elevation steadily, but at a moderate pace.<\/p>\n

The area was almost all forested.\u00a0 There were squirrels in the trees.\u00a0 Lupe got to run, and run, and run.\u00a0 She had a fantastic time.\u00a0 The trail eventually turned NE, and then gained elevation more slowly.\u00a0 Lupe began to encounter clearings in the forest and little ponds.\u00a0 Lupe, Lanis and SPHP made it as far as Photographer’s Point<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(10,400 ft.)<\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 There was a huge panoramic view to the N.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe reaches Photographer’s Point in the Wind River Range with muddy paws from wading in a pond.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NW at the Wind River Range from Photographer’s Point. Wow, there’s a lot of rock out there!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NE from Photographer’s Point. Fremont Peak is on the R. The lake partially in view is probably Gorge Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The inspiring view from Photographer’s Point just made SPHP want to\u00a0go farther. There were lakes nearby that SPHP had seen earlier on the map posted outside the forest service office in Pinedale.\u00a0 Lupe is always game to do more, but Lanis was ready to call it a day.\u00a0 However, even though Lanis really did need to get back to Indiana very soon, he did agree to spend another day in the Wind Rivers.<\/p>\n

So Lupe didn’t go any farther into the Wind River range than Photographer’s Point.\u00a0 With an earlier start the next day, she could, though!\u00a0 After spending some time admiring the sweeping views; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP\u00a0returned along the Pole Creek trail.<\/p>\n

The sun was getting low in a cloudless sky, by the time Lupe reached the Element again back at Elkhart Park\u00a0.\u00a0 A little while later, Lanis and SPHP crawled into sleeping bags in Lupe’s tiny house near Fremont Lake.\u00a0 Lupe curled up for a snooze, too.\u00a0 Tomorrow was going to be an even bigger day spent in the spectacular Wind River range!<\/p>\n

After midnight, there was a sound that Lupe, Lanis and SPHP had rarely heard on Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 Raindrops on Lupe’s tiny house!\u00a0 Not too many, but some.\u00a0 SPHP took a look outside.\u00a0 No stars in any direction.\u00a0 The whole black sky\u00a0must have been\u00a0overcast.\u00a0 Not good.\u00a0 The tent was old, and had always leaked.\u00a0 The raindrops came in little spurts.\u00a0 No big deal, if it stayed like this.\u00a0 Lupe, Lanis and SPHP tried to ignore it and go back to sleep.<\/p>\n

For at least a couple of hours, the rain was sporadic and light.\u00a0 Gradually the intensity was increasing, though.\u00a0 Water started dripping inside Lupe’s tiny house.\u00a0 SPHP remained hopeful that the rain would hold off until dawn, when it would be possible to get a good look at the sky and assess the outlook.\u00a0 More rain came, harder too.\u00a0 As the tent started leaking more, Lanis and SPHP sat up talking about what to do.\u00a0 Stick it out and wait for dawn, or pack things up before everything got soaked?<\/p>\n

Nature decided.\u00a0 Suddenly there was a volley of intense rain, with big drops.\u00a0 Lupe got hustled into the Element.\u00a0 Lanis and SPHP scrambled to take down her tiny house for the last time.\u00a0 Everything got pitched into the Element.\u00a0 Very suddenly, Lupe’s grand 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast was over.<\/p>\n

The rain became light and steady as Lupe left Pinedale and the Wind River range behind her.\u00a0 On the way to Farson,\u00a0the first light of dawn appeared and\u00a0began spreading\u00a0along the E horizon.\u00a0 Before reaching Farson, Lanis drove out of the rain.\u00a0 Back to the NW, clouds still hung over the Wind River range.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0rain showers were likely just local.\u00a0 Lupe could probably have gone back, and spent another day exploring the Winds.<\/p>\n

The decision had already been made, though.\u00a0 On the 23rd day of her first ever Dingo Vacation, after more than 5,000 miles, 5 states, and 3 weeks of adventures, Lupe was going home.<\/p>\n

\"Dawn<\/a>
Dawn in Wyoming, 8-30-12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2012 West Coast\u00a0Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/strong><\/a><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August 28-30, 2012, Days 21-23 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast. As soon as Lanis woke up; Lupe, Lanis and SPHP would\u00a0hit the road again.\u00a0 In the meantime, Lupe and SPHP took a little stroll.\u00a0 For SPHP, it had been a restless night trying to sleep sitting up in the Element.\u00a0 This … Continue reading Fremont Lake & Photographer’s Point, Wind River Range WY (8-29-12)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3726,"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":[429],"tags":[105,106,26,538,536,104,535,537,385,275],"class_list":["post-3741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2012-west-coast","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-elkhart-park","tag-fremont-lake","tag-lupe","tag-photographers-point","tag-pole-creek-trail","tag-wind-river-range","tag-wyoming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/P1030824.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\/3741","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=3741"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20776,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3741\/revisions\/20776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}