01 REST
Location: 40.853942, -110.450535
02 CAMP 1
Location: 40.820963, -110.460698
9.12 MILES, TARP & BIVY
03 PACK
Location: 40.794486, -110.445503
01 First night hotel.jpg
Location: 40.821149, -110.460277
Despite the wind and rain, this spot was sheltered, dry, and padded with pine duff. It was a perfect place to crash.
02 Room service.jpg
Location: 40.820987, -110.460062
Hey, that's me!
03 Smith Fork Pass Lake.jpg
Location: 40.795553, -110.446801
Smith's Fork Pass Lake.
04 East Red Fork Basin.jpg
Location: 40.784863, -110.440707
Looking north down the drainage of the east Red Castle Basin.
05 Wilson Peak another 1000 feet up.jpg
Location: 40.777487, -110.442295
Looking west and 1000 feet up, it's Wilson Peak.
06 King's Peak over my shoulder.jpg
Location: 40.777259, -110.442166
This is looking east to King's Peak. Some day I'll hike there from this approach.
07 Wolf.jpg
Location: 40.802245, -110.449634
I was hiking back down when movement in my visual periphery caught my attention: a white wolf! I've never seen a wolf in these mountains, so I watched for 45 minutes or so.
08 My tent.JPG
Location: 40.821409, -110.46092
This is my homemade Bilgy tent. It has a huge footprint, but in a space like this, it's perfect. Besides, it's very lightweight.
09 Flat Top Mountain.jpg
Location: 40.821214, -110.458345
Looking to the east from my camp.
10 Good night to Red Castle.JPG
Location: 40.821182, -110.464611
I was hiking back to camp after resupplying with water. It was just too pretty to not photograph.
05 Sunset.jpg
Location: 40.821864, -110.462251
I wandered away from camp as night fell. This is looking west.
11 Time to go home.jpg
Location: 40.821442, -110.461864
Last morning and time to go home.
12 The allure of the trail.jpg
Location: 40.837873, -110.461135
There is something about the sight of a trail that just pulls me forward. There's that promise, I think, of adventure, beauty, and learning about myself.
I hiked up to Lower Red Castle Lake the first day--about 9 miles. It was raining for the last part of the trip, which made things harder. I had hoped to go all the way to East Red Castle, but I just got too tuckered out. Besides, I found a perfectly sheltered, flat, soft spot and wasn't willing to just walk on past. The second day I backpacked up to Smith's Fork Pass Lake, hoping to set up camp. But it was just too windy, exposed, and rocky. I stashed my pack, hiked up over the pass, ate lunch and took some photos, and came back to my pack. Not wanting to spend a miserable night in those conditions, I decided to carry my pack back down to the previous camp site. On the way I watched a white wolf along the eastern meadows of the basin. I didn't even know there were wolves in the area. That afternoon was perfect: a nap, no hurry, comfortable temperatures, enough sun and a breeze to dry me after washing, and one of those very slow sunsets that I welcomed with full attention and a few tunes on my harmonica. Moments like those are, for me, the primary allure of backpacking. The next day I just hiked back to my car, listening to tunes on my MP3 the entire way. Usually I enjoy the silence, so that was different for me.
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