A Day on Brooks Lake

Hi Blog!

The Great American Eclipse has come and gone. Most of the tourists have continued on. We now have a chance to get out and explore a little deeper into the Wind River Range here in Dubois, Wyoming. When we were over in Lander, we drove to the southernmost point of The Winds and fished Louis Lake. On Wednesday, August 23, 2017, we decided to visit the northernmost point. Our destination was Brooks Lake. The lake lies in the shadow of the Continental Divide, right on the border of the Teton Wilderness. The Continental Divide Trail goes right by the western shore of the lake.

We arrived at Brooks Lake around 9:00 a.m. and were greeted with calm, glassy water. We are still experimenting with fishing from our kayaks. We just received new rod holders and paddle clips. We planned to put them to the test today. Kathy couldn't wait to strike out and try her luck.

As we were launching our kayaks, Kathy struck up a conversation with a fellow at the boat launch. No sooner did she open her mouth, than he asked "where are you from?" Turns out, he was from Bucks County, which is just north of Philadelphia. As soon as Kathy said "wudder" instead of "water" he knew he was in the presence of a kindred spirit. He moved from Pennsylvania to Wyoming and now works for NOLS - National Outdoor Leadership School.

After chatting for a bit, we learned he was waiting at the boat launch for his graduating class. Twelve students were expected to exit the Teton Wilderness after a five day backpack. We told him we would keep our eye out for them and cheer them on as they approached the lake. The trail goes right over the rise at the end of the lake.

After casting about near the far shore, Dave decided to paddle the length of the lake to put himself in position to greet the hikers. Kathy, on the other hand, was too busy catching fish.  We both got this spectacular view of a peak on the Continental Divide:

Having backpacked before, we knew exactly how tired these folks were. Dave whooped and hollered and congratulated them on their accomplishment. They all stood a little taller as they made their way to the trailhead.

We were surprised at how busy this area is. No sooner had the NOLS 12 passed, than two other backpackers headed in.

Unfortunately, our calm conditions didn't last for long. As the wind picked up, casting a dry fly became difficult. We both switched to wet flies and began trolling for trout.

On one of our passes back and forth across the lake, we noticed another large group of hikers heading out for a day hike. We thought, perhaps they were staying at Brooks Lake Lodge, which is just up the road from the boat launch. The resort offer all kinds of outings for their guests, from horseback rides to day hikes.

By noon, we were feeling a little wind-burned, so we decided to call it a fishing day. As we were packing up the kayaks, we ran into yet a couple of Continental Divide Trail through-hikers.

We chatted for a bit, but let them get on with their lunch. We, on the other hand, wanted to hike around the lake to the far end, to find our lunch spot.

The trail on the western edge of the lake is just exploding with wildflowers.

Several streams run down from the Continental Divide to fill Brooks Lake. We saw a few nice brook trout when we crossed over the footbridge. Too bad we left our rods in the Jeep!

Even though this area is part of the Shoshone National Forest, there is still evidence of its ranching past.

We reached the end of the lake and found the perfect lunch rock. We were soon joined by one of the locals. Luckily, he didn't eat much.

With the sun behind the clouds, we finally got a good look at the Pinnacles. Pinnacle Buttes are in the Togwotee Group of the Absaroka Range. The highest butte of the massif (usually referred to in the singular form as Pinnacle Butte) is also the highest peak of the Togwotee Group. The formation is loosely referred to as "the pinnacles". A regional postcard icon, if you ask locally for "the pinnacles", fingers will point at this massif.

We finished our hike just in time. As we were driving home, the rain the weatherman promised began to fall. We got a lot out of our day at Brooks Lake. In fact, we are hoping we have time for a return trip for a hike to the Jade Lakes or to Upper Brooks Lake and Bear Cub Pass. 

Our list just keeps getting longer.