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9 days in the Winds

...Well I guess mother nature must have overheard us laughing in the tent because she got pissed.


The tail end of that front whipped us good and the time tested and proven design of the tee pee was put up against some pretty mean gusts.


Things were quiet in the tent that night. We all just laid awake and listened to the steady drum roll of ice pelting our shelter and wind trying to gain enough purchase to claim our tent and steal it away…then it happened.


First it was a little sniffle, then another and another. Someone cracked.


The tough fishing thus far, the unrelenting weather and being as far from home as one could seemingly be piled up and broke my little one.


I pulled his pad close to mine and he wrapped himself around me. I told him I felt the same way and if tomorrow wasn't a better day we would pack up and head down.


It was looking like this trip was about to end.
 
Day 6: Morning


The sun finally rose on day 6… not that you could see it through the clouds and misting rain.


I lost one kid during the night and the other wasn't too far behind. It was time to cut our losses, accept defeat and drop down to a more hospitable elevation for 1 last night before bugging out and calling it quits.


We started breaking everything down and packing up for the hike out. We took our time about it and eventually the sun poked out through the clouds to add insult to injury and send us off feeling weak and beaten.




Next: The Chief Has Spoken
 
Day 6: The Chief Has Spoken


As we packed the sun secretly went to work on us. As things got warmer and drier and brighter and bluer a shift in attitudes began to take place.




The Cheif stood, looked up at the sky then back at the pass, then up at the sky and back at the pass.


The Chief spoke: "We should not leave. We came here to do something we should not leave until it is done."






I was floored! I've had some proud moments as a father but this one really took me back.


2 of us were on board and my youngest, all be it hesitantly at first, gave a sly little smile and a nod to make it 3. Now instead of going down we were climbing higher!




A worthy chief indeed.
 
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Day 6: Hailey's pass




Geared up and ready to take on the pass we headed south back to the Pyramid lake, Hailey's pass split and began our ascent.

Getting up close and personal with Pyramid
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Directly across from our camping location at Maes.
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sunsignarcher said:
Day 6: The Chief Has Spoken


2 of us were on board and my youngest, all be it hesitantly at first, gave a sly little smile and a nod to make it 3. Now instead of going down we were climbing higher!
.
Click to expand...

I retract my former statement about it being well written - still a great story! haha
 
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Twin lakes nestled atop the divide
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Marmot?
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Last look back. That thin blue haze underneath the clouds is Wyoming's western plains reaching out to Utah.
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Our first glimpse over the divide
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Twin lakes again
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Atop the continental divide

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East side of Mt Hooker
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This is what pyramid and hooker looked like a few days ago
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If you take a look at that last set of pictures atop the divide the boys posture and they're clothes plastered to their skin hint at the conditions. The winds rippin at a steady 60mph and its dangerously cold.


From just below twin lakes on I was more than a little uneasy. This terrain had zero forgiveness written all over it and and the conditions were begging to take you out. One wrong step here and no ones getting to you in time.


Things had gotten serious and I was having real doubts about being up here with an 11 and 13 yr old.
 
sunsignarcher said:
If you take a look at that last set of pictures atop the divide the boys posture and they're clothes plastered to their skin hint at the conditions. The winds rippin at a steady 60mph and its dangerously cold.


From just below twin lakes on I was more than a little uneasy. This terrain had zero forgiveness written all over it and and the conditions were begging to take you out. One wrong step here and no ones getting to you in time.


Things had gotten serious and I was having real doubts about being up here with an 11 and 13 yr old.
Click to expand...

Well, obviously you all lived!!!!!!!!
Get on with it, the suspense is killing me!!!:thumb:
 
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This view from atop the divide shows the Popo Aggie Wilderness area below and the Wind River Indian Reservation beyond.


Pretty right…now take a look at the trail going down.






ARE YOU SHITIN ME??






How in the hell I'm I gonna get two exhausted kids down that triple black diamond joke of a trail in one piece.


Did I mention we have to come back this way?


Thats two hours of elevation gain being erased in 50 yards. They shoulda named this pass "Death on a Stick".
 
Right about now Im feeling like the worlds most irresponsible dad. I should have seen this on the topo. Ive been pouring over topos in half a doz. different states for nearly 20 years searching out new hunting areas, stand locations and routes how could I not know this was here.


I guess when its placed adjacent to Pyramid peak, Mt Hooker and whatever's to the north its not gonna look too bad on the map. lesson learned.


The only sane thing to do here is call the divide conquered turn around and head back the way we came. With only two planned days left only a complete douche would take their kids down that pass and expect them to be able to climb back up it the next day. IF the weather even LETS you come back.
 
SSA -

This is a great post and really have enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing and congrats on what appears to be a great experience with your boys.
 
Nice report. One of the tough things about outdoor adventures is knowing when to bail. Don't ask how I know that.
 
I am loving this post. Glad I checked back in to NEFF in time to read this outdoor adventure story, in serial form for maximum suspense.

I'm sort of dying to know what happens though. Could you just sort of stop whatever you're doing and finish the story? The more detail the better.

Unless you ended up eating your kids to survive. In that case, you might want to be kind of vague about it. For legal as well as aesthetic reasons.

Awesome post. Those are / were some lucky kids.
 
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