Father & Son Re-unite in the Wind Rivers, WY

It's been two years since our epic John Muir Trail hike and now Matt and I are back together in God's country.

Transportation (flights) went well as did our 4 hour drive across a barren landscape to Pinedale, WY. After a long day, a good dinner and comfortable beds were welcome.

Our first morning was beautiful, as was the interesting drive from Pinedale to Big Sandy trailhead. We witnessed dramatic Wyoming ranch scenery with Mountain backdrops along the way.

We were delayed by a herd of cattle coming down the road towards the car. It was a standoff until Matt eventually hollered, "hey" at them. They reversed direction much to the dismay of the cattle dog. Not to worry as the herd was intercepted by two wranglers and we worked our way around each other.

As Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin played on our Sirius radio, I had a surprisingly emotional response to the song. The reason being, is spending time with my son, who I don't see very often and the adventure we about to embark on. Despite the tear rolling down my cheek, and the rough last 10 miles of road, we had a blast on the drive in. Time to start the hiking!

ARTICLE OUTLINE

• Introduction
• DAY 1, 9/6
• Big Sandy trailhead to Marms Lake (elev. 9,900 ft) 6.6 miles
• DAY 2, 9/7
• Marms Lake to Pyramid Lake, 10,450 ft. (Grave lake was intended) 9 miles (15.6 total)
• DAY 3, 9/8
• From Pyramid Lake over Hailey Pass (11,230') to Grave Lake 5.7 mi. (21.3 total)
• DAY 4, 9/9
• From Grave Lake over Washakie Pass (11,611') to Shadow Lake (10,287') 12.4 mi. (33.7 total)
• DAY 5, 9/10
• Shadow Lake over Texas pass (11,500') to a campsite ° mile from Lonesome Lake in The Cirque of the Towers. 6.3 mi. (40 mi. total)
• DAY 6, 9/11
• From the Cirque of the Towers over Jackass pass to Big Sandy trailhead. 9 mi. (49 mi. total)
• DAY 7, 9/12
• 4 mile day hike to Long Lake
• Epilogue
• "MOUNTAIN MAN"
  • EQUIPMENT THAT I WOULD BUY AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT

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# PHOTOS: 12