The off-trail hiking is a big part of what makes these mountains so appealing. The entire trip took seven days but this brief report will concentrate photographically on two of those days. The notes toward the end will address general conditions and observations as applied to the entire time period.
The first of the two hikes was a visit to some of the higher lakes on the western side of the Stough Basin. The walking was fairly easy but there was a little exposure while walking up one large rock slab. These lakes do not have names according to the Beartooth Press map.
The second of the two hikes was a walk to the west from the Deep Creek Lakes. There was some bushwhacking, rock scrambling, micro-route finding through some rocks. The effort lead to a different perspective of some of the recognizable big-name peaks in the area. The weather was threatening so there was no time to consult the map to identify all the landmarks.
Wind River Peak.
Lizard Head Peak in the shade of a cloud just right of center.
Black Joe Lake.
East Temple and Temple Peaks.
Notes, observations, remarks:
* The walk occurred September 1 through 7, 2014.
* The lowest low temperature was 30 degrees F and the highest minimum was 39. In tent temps were 4 to 7 degrees higher.
* Daytime temps were mostly pleasant; I have no numbers.
* The wind was strong and relentless, day and night, especially the first few days.
* One evening there were two snow flurries lasting mere seconds each.
* It rained at least a few drops every night. The daylight hours were free of rain except for one evening.
* Maximum attained elevation 11,700 feet.
* There was an unusually good flower display for this time of the year, both in variety and quantity.
* The whortleberry crop was excellent and was peaking in sweetness as we left.
* I was buzzed by two mosquitoes (surprised to see any), eight flies, and some gnats.
* The mushroom quantity was the best I have observed in my 14 to 15 years of backpacking there.
* A first for us was camping without a good nearby water source. We pulled some tannic water out of a meadow pond. It tasted fine after filtering.
* Another personal first was the sighting of bear scat. I have been phasing out the carrying of bear pepper spray in recent years. This evidence will not change my recent actions.
* We ran into some goat packers. One goat had gored another goat. The wound, described as "pretty bad", was dressed in part with a tee shirt which fit well on the wounded hind quarter.
* It was very difficult to start wood campfires in the wet and windy conditions. Solid fuel tablets plus the stove windscreen were invaluable.
* Despite my tent, a Solomid, being pitched in the trees, the wind was strong enough to rip two of the shepherd hooks out of the ground and fling them to hither or maybe it was to yon. I later recovered one of the hooks. Even one of the groundhog-like stakes showed evidence of considerable loosening. I usually use four of the "hogs" and two hooks. Rocks were thereafter placed on the hook stakes.
* Some hikers were using names for some of the "unnamed" lakes. Apparently NOLS and Pallister have assigned names to some of the lakes.
* One night a deer(?) chewed completely through the waistbelt of the pack of one of our group members. It was sewn back together with tippet. This person had to leave the group (planned ahead of time for other reasons) so I do not know how well the fix worked. The animal also munched on his hiking pole straps. After that we hung our packs along with the food sacks while we were away from base camp. I keep my pack and poles in my tent at night.
