Hike to Lake Louise in the Wind River Range

Today, Monday, August 28, 2017, is our last day in Dubois, Wyoming, and we wanted to end our stay with a special hike.  We had heard a lot about the hikes into the Fitzpatrick Wilderness of the Wind River Range.  One spectacular hike is Glacier Trail, but it demands a long backpack, and we don't have enough time for it.  So we chose a 6-mile day hike to Lake Louise.

The trailhead is not far from Dubois, in the Whiskey Basin Wildlife Management Area.  When we arrived, it appeared that nine other groups were already on the trail, and from the register it appeared that all of them were backpacking for a night or longer.  We thought we might meet some of them on the trail.

Here, Kathy poses for our obligatory trailhead photo.  Note how desert-like the environment is.  The temperature would reach 85F later in the afternoon, but because we started early, it was a comfortable 68F.

As we climbed steeply, some of the trees reminded us of the trees that can be seen along the coast in Big Sur or Carmel:

After about a half mile, we reached a promontory, where Kathy looked out over the Torrey Creek valley where we had started:

We reached the boundary of the Fitzpatrick Wilderness.  From here, there are no trail signs, and the trail can be spotty because little if any work is done to maintain the trail.

Had we hiked across the bridge below, it would have taken us south, up the Glacier Trail on a tour of some spectacular glaciers in the northern Wind River Range.  Unfortunately, we weren't going that way, but we hiked down to the bridge to see what we could see.

From the bridge, Torrey Creek cascaded down through its canyon with a tumbling roar:

Further upstream, Torrey Creek was more placid, and we paused to enjoy this little backwater:

A mile or two upstream, we saw, felt and heard the full power of the stream.  Take a look at this video of Torrey Creek crashing down through the canyon from the outlet of Lake Louise.

Our total elevation gain over 3 miles was 1,000 feet, but this is misleadingly low, because the trail was an unending series of steep uphills and downhills, making for a strenuous hike.

Eventually, after finding our way across smooth faces of granite, we reached the trail's end, marked by a rough cairn consisting of a large pile of stones:

From the cairn, it is possible to pick your way up the cliff's rock shelves out to a promontory where you can get this grand overview of pretty Lake Louise:

Once we had paused to enjoy the view from on high, we picked and wove our way down the rock shelves, to the shore of the lake, where Kathy made formal introductions:

David immediately took off his boots and socks to soak his toes in the cold lake water:

Kathy didn't object, and did the same:

We ate a thoughtful lunch, gazing at the glacier carved cirque and the pristine lake set in it.  Reluctantly, we picked up our packs and returned the way we came.

Often we only narrate the sequence of our hikes.  But every hike has pleasures of the senses that are hard to described in words, and can be difficult to show in photos.  We certainly can't show you the smell of fir trees suffusing the early afternoon air in a copse between two rocky cliffs.  We can't describe for you the shaking and noise we hear when we watch Torrey Creek tumble down the canyon (although we can offer you the video).  There are beautiful abstract paintings at every turn, including this Study in Green in an algae-rich pool --

-- or this Symphony in Multicolor Stone --

-- or this sudden, exciting discovery of sparkling Galena (does it contain lead, or silver, or both?) embedded in a quartz-granite rock:

We have to keep some of these pleasures to ourselves, and recognize that there are mysteries to life that are beyond describing.  Everyone experiences them.  Each is unique.  Occasionally, the experience of a hike inspires us to reach further and try to show you some of ours.

Until our next adventure, which we expect in Rawlins, Wyoming, as Kathy and the World's Most Interesting Man will say:  "Stay thirsty, my friend."