Adventures in the Bighorns

A little over a week ago, my friend Jess and I took an extra day off from work to go with my family out to the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming for a "weekend" camping adventure. We packed up on Monday and headed out after I got off of work late in the evening. After a three-plus hour car ride, we stumbled into the Day's Inn located in Buffalo, WY to rest before rising bright and early to drive the final hour and a half to our campsite at West Tensleep Lake.

The Bighorns were gorgeous, as we drove through the park we watched granite and slate peaks rise out from lodgepole pine forests. Aspens and birch were scattered throughout, and we saw moose were grazing in the willows by the creek. On the way in we saw brilliant wildflowers, a hawk resting on a pine tree, and beautiful scenes at every turn.

As we drove up the mountainside, the air thinned as we gained elevation, reaching almost 9,000 feet at the campground. We followed the windy gravel road to its end, passing by private cabins and scab-campsites.

Since we were car-camping, we were able to pack thicker sleeping mattress, fresh food, and other comforts that wouldn't be possible if we were backpacking. We set up camp and studied the map before deciding to hike trail 065 to Mirror Lake. Looking at the legend, we estimated it to be around a 3 mile hike round-trip. Wrong. Forest service maps are very misleading, and there are no accurate measurements (as we found out multiple times throughout the trip). The hike turned out to be closer to 7 miles total, but was definitely worth it.

The trail was a gradual incline for the most part, following the ridge line for a while before dipping by the creek bed. Yellow asters, bee balm, pussytoes, fresh strawberries, and white phlox lined the trail. We took a wrong turn after we met some other hikers and ended up following the river for a bit on a deer trail before realizing that we could no longer see any blazes. We turned around and found the right path before we got too lost.

After a long upward stretch, we were all feeling the elevation. Our fingers were swollen, I was starting to get a headache, and my mother (the retired nurse) reminded all of us to drink more water to fend off elevation sickness. We continued onwards after a snack break at the top, loosing height as we walked down to a beautiful valley where the river bent around the mountainside.

We plodded ahead as the trail turned upwards again. Just when we were about to reach our breaking point, Jess exclaimed "If the lake is not around the next corner, I swear...." and we stumbled down through some trees right into the view of Mirror Lake.

We literally gasped at the sight, as Mirror Lake lived up to its name with beautiful mountains in the background reflected in brilliant blue waters below.

After admiring the scenery, we decided to turn back and made it back to camp before it started to get dark. I built a fire where we grilled hot dogs (vegetarian and regular) and roasted vegetables in tin foil over the coals. Food always tastes better after hiking, we all agreed, and the meal was gone in minutes.

After dinner, Jess and I decided to take a quick dip in the Tensleep Lake. Oh my goodness, spring fed lakes are COLD! The bottom was all clay and silt, which is not the most pleasant thing to squish between your toes. We both went all of the way into the water, but jumped out of the lake before hypothermia set in.

Exhausted but satisfied, we tumbled into our tents for the night.

The next morning, we rose and used the peak stove to make oatmeal for breakfast. During the night it rained, but thankfully the tent cover protected us from most of the onslaught. The local squirrel, however; was a constant nuisance as he chattered from dusk till dawn on the tree directly above our tent. Murder was almost committed, but the rain saved the fellow.

We decided to go on another hike, this time on trail 063. We only had the campsite for the night, so we had to move out before 2pm. Looking at the map, we estimated another 3 mile hike, this time to the 9,200 ft border where fires are no longer permitted. Again, we were wrong about the distance and went almost 3 miles one way and still didn't end up making it to the boundary. Again, it was worth it. Trail 063 hugged Tensleep Lake for the beginning, and then followed the river for most of the way. There was one large river crossing where the water was flowing above the rocks, so jumping from stone to stone was not an option. My parents attempted to step on the rocks only slightly in the water, but the rocks proved to be too slippery to provide sturdy footing. My parents ended up soaked to the knee, wringing out their socks on the other side of the river while Jess and I decided to de-shoe and wade across barefoot.

We met a lot more hikers on this trail, for many people take trail 063 to get to Cloud Peak, the highest point in the Bighorns.

As we neared the two-hour point, my father called it good enough and headed back to camp, while the three gals and dog decided to go for twenty more minutes. When our time limit was reached, we gave up the hunt and stopped for a break before heading back.

As we rested, I went to cut an apple in half to split with Jess and disaster struck. My buck knife slipped and I gouged about an inch out of my left hand. It was the first time my mother has heard me curse, and quickly she grabbed the first aid kit and did a quick patch job on my hand.

To my dismay, my mother deemed the cut deep enough to need stitches, something we didn't have access to where we were at. The closest medical station was back in Buffalo, almost three hours away after factoring in the two hour hike back to camp.

We booked it back towards civilization, stopping for a quick picture at the Cloud Peak Wilderness sign. I tried to keep my hand held above my heart to prevent blood flow, and kept pressure on the wound as well. We met up with my father and made it back to camp with no further injuries.

After quickly packing up everything at camp we drove the hour to Buffalo where some very nice nurses cleaned up my hand and sewed a couple stitches. Not the most pleasant experience, but it could've been worse.

We didn't have reservations for a campground for the night, so decided to try our luck and went to a walk-in campground closer to the east side of the park. The campground we stayed at the second night was Tie Hack. After setting up camp, the weather took a turn for the worst and the skies opened up just as we settled down for dinner. We huddled below the rain shelter as the wind whipped through the trees and thunder boomed above.

My dad packed the miniature gas-fueled oven, and we made Krusty's Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies to go with our breakfast burrito dinner.Those cookies were some of the most delicious, luxurious things I've tasted.

The storm abated for a while right before we went to bed, but rained off and on for the rest of the night. The squirrels struck again, this time adding the crime of chewing up the dog's food bag to their record.

After breakfast, complete with several cups of coffee, we broke camp and drove to the Tie Hack Lake to hike before we departed. We looked at the map and decided to try trail 107, with the goal of walking from one end to the other, and estimated 2.7 mile hike. My father dropped us ladies off at the lake and then drove to the other end of the trail near the YMCA camp. The plan was for him to meet us along the trail and then we'd all head back to the car together.

Proving Murphy's law, several things went wrong during the hike. First off, we took the wrong trail and ended up walking to the dam face by the lake and not the actual trail. Backtracking, we found the proper trailhead tucked into the side by the day-use parking lot. The trail marker was brown and white, attached to a tree. Not the most obvious thing in the world.

We went down the trail, dipping into a misty forest where the trees and rocks were still slick with dew and rain from the previous night. All three of us slipped at some point during the trek, from wet rocks, moss, and logs. We got to an intersection by a small creek, where two paths could be seen on either side of the river. One had two bright orange blazes on it, so we decided to go that way. However, after a couple of minutes in, we discovered manure and lost sight of the trail, leading us to believe the path we picked was in fact a stock trail. The dog wasn't bothered with the detour, for she found a very fresh deer leg and was quite content. As we turned back, the dog heard something and stopped dead in her tracks.

Her head tilted to catch the sound of a whistle, and then she bounded off into the trees. The whistle rang again, and we shouted in response to the call. My father was across the river, on the correct path. We bushwhacked to his location, and managed to stay on the proper trail for the rest of the hike.

That hike marked the end of our adventures, and we drove back home to South Dakota. Overall, the trip was amazing, filled with gorgeous views and wonderful hikes. All were longer than predicted, but each trail offered something special. Everyone was glad they had come, each person leaving with new tales to tell. I made it out alive with three stitches, twenty mosquito bites, a lot of photos, and memories that I won't ever forget.