On Friday, August 25, 2017, we had a chance to take our kayaks back up to Trail Lake. We had scouted this area as a possible eclipse viewing site, but felt the hills on either side of the valley were too close for sweeping views. However, we felt the beautiful green lake surrounded by colorful mountains would make for an excellent kayak outing.
We discovered that summer in Wyoming is for early risers. If you want to do anything outside, you have to get up early and take advantage of the blue sky mornings. By 1:00 p.m., the wind and clouds build and there is always a chance for rain. We were on the water by 10:00 a.m and worked our way over to the Torrey Creek inlet.
Torrey Creek starts way up in the Wind River Range at the base of the Whiskey Mountains. The East Branch and West Branch come together and flow for nine miles before forming four lakes on its way to the Wind River.
Torrey Creek was named for a prominent rancher, Captain Robert A. Torrey of the 13th Infantry, who was very active in Wyoming affairs at the beginning of the century. Captain Torrey was the first in command at Fort Washakie.
Torrey Creek is in a very picturesque setting, as it braids its way down to Trail Lake from the Fitzpatrick Wilderness:
The part of Torrey Creek closest to Trail Lake was wide and easy to paddle up. As we paddled up the creek's snaking path down from the canyon, we found some sections to be quiet and still.
We paddled past some beautiful red rock outcrops.
As we turned a corner, we got our first good look at Klondike Peak. We plan to do a hike up in that direction to Lake Louise later in the week.
Around the next corner, the creek narrowed and a bridge almost blocked our path. See Kathy duck. Duck, Kathy, duck!
Right after the bridge, we encountered our first shallow rapids. Try as we might, we couldn't paddle up without getting stuck on a rock. The creek looked clear after the riffle, so we decided to get out of our kayaks and walk them upstream. As soon as we cleared the rocks, we managed to get back in our boats and keep going. Once we reached a calm section, we beached our boats and stretched our legs. Time for a selfie!
The further up the creek we paddled, the stronger the current became. We decided turnaround time would be when we could no longer make forward progress. We made it as far as the Whiskey Mountain Conservation Camp, but we could get no further. We allowed the creek to take us downstream to a nice gravelly beach for lunch. After snarfing his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Dave is ready to start paddling again.
Our return trip took half the time of our strenuous paddle upstream. We hardly had to paddle down, as the current took us back to the lake.
Like clockwork, the clouds began to build.
The rapids that had stopped our upstream progress, barely slowed us down on the way back. The swifty flowing water just pushed us right over the rocks. Here, Kathy is challenging the "white water" of Torrey Creek:
When we got back to Trail Lake, we hoped to kayak around a bit, but the wind began to blow in some serious looking clouds. We'll just have to satisfy ourselves with this photo --
-- and the linked video showing a 360 degree view of Trail Lake.
After stowing the kayaks, we hoped to find some of petroglyphs this area is famous for. The Whiskey Basin was a favorite winter ground for the Sheepeater Clan of the Shoshone Tribe because of the relatively mild winters and the abundance of big game. Petroglyphs carved in the large glacial rocks by the Sheepeaters provide a vivid history of this area.
With a petroglyph map from our campground, we quickly found a couple great specimens.
While a few cars drove up and down Trail Lake Road to take in scenery, we had the creek and lake all to ourselves. What a difference a week makes, after the eclipse crowds. We are so glad we decided to stay in Dubois for another week after the eclipse.
We still have several more outings on our list. Stay tuned.
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