Section 10-3: The Dozen Dip Challenge, Cirque of the Towers, and Descending to the Great Basin (19 photos, 3 videos)

Section 10 is a lengthy 165.1 miles long and runs from Highway 26 to Highway 28. This includes the stunning Wind River Range so the section will be broken up into a couple posts.

The third is 52.4 miles long and runs from Mile 1212, through the Cirque of the Towers alternate route, and to Highway 28 with a hitch to Lander, WY. August 19th - 20th.

Below is the extended version:

Or if 15 minutes is more than you can handle right now, below is a shortened 2-minute version:

Day 57, 24.7 miles to Little Sandy Creek & THE DOZEN DIP CHALLENGE

I was rudely awoken by a loud squawking bird and wanted to stay in bed until it warmed up but knew I had a big day ahead and I should get going. I was packed and walking by 7:30 which was a new record for me on this trail. I soon got to the Washakie River which required a shallow ford and it was not fun getting wet feet first thing in the morning. I soon got to the faint turnoff for the Cirque of the Towers alternate route where I planned to do at least another Triple Dip in some of the many large and gorgeous lakes along the path. The actual Cirque of the Tower Peak and its neighbors soon came into focus as they towered above Shadow Lake. The sunlight had just begun to hit the water and warm it up but I felt I just had to make this lake one of my swims, despite how cold it was. I changed into my Space Jam shorts as I gazed up at Wolf’s Head, Shark Nose, Overhanging Tower, and some other jagged peaks. I jumped in Shadow Lake for the icy swim, which was not long lived, and then as I was drying off and getting changed, I had an idea…why not do a Quintuple Dip day? Or crank it up to a Deca-Dip Day and hop in all ten of the lakes right along this alt route? I decided to go for the latter which again meant I had to get moving. Next up, in rapid succession, were Billy’s Lake, Barren Lake, and Texas Lake before having to fly up Texas Pass.

Cirque of the Towers and it’s neighbors casting the shadow upon Shadow Lake.

Looking back at Barren Lake and Texas Lake during my climb up Texas Pass.

There was still a snow patch lingering up top so I stopped for a lunch break knowing I could make a Mio-flavored snowball for dessert. I crested over the notch and saw the backside of the Cirque of the Towers ridge which included the insanely magnificent Pingora Peak. I thought I saw movement up top so I popped on my zoom lens and sure enough there were rock climbers up there! This was immediately added to my bucket list. I then tried to take a shortcut down to Lonesome Lake but didn’t look at the topo close enough to realize there was an extremely steep drop off. That is why the trail was routed in a long loop. Since I hate backtracking…down I went. I fell a couple of times on the loose scree but I soon got to the bottom and went for swim #5 in Lonesome Lake. I scurried up Jackass Pass (real name!) and found a very well maintained but unmarked trail leading to Arrowhead Lake. I wasn’t planning on swimming in this one originally but since the access trail was there I felt I had to. I also had to make an adjustment to my plan of a Deca-Dip wtih 10 swims, and bump it up to the DOZEN DIP CHALLENGE. Adding Arrowhead Lake would have made it 11 dips which just ain’t right, the “11 Dip Challenge” doesn’t have a good ring to it, so I also decided to tack on Little Sandy Lake which was six miles farther out from the closest lake. I’d need to get moving. After going for dip 6, I found a fun trail on the West bank of the Arrowhead Lake that had a lot of boulder hopping and soon rejoined the official route. Another swim in the shallow North Lake and then a big descent down to the gorgeous Big Sandy Lake.

I will stand there one day. Close-up of the climbers.

Prints Available!

Lonesome Lake with Mitchell Peak (left of pass) and Warbonnet Peak & Warrior Peaks (right of pass)

The perfect trail leading to Arrowhead Lake with Warbonnet Peak towering behind it.

I soon took an alt route along this alt route to go by Clear Lake and Deep Lake which looked a million times bigger and prettier than the piddly little Rapid Lake and Miller Lake along the regular trail. Clear Lake sat nestled below the colossal Haystack Mountain and then there was a massive slab of granite connecting it to Deep Lake. On the way up, a rogue tree limb was sticking out at the perfect angle to slip in my GoPro’s headband that was dangling out from my pocket. It slid right out and I didn’t notice it for half a mile until I was almost to Deep Lake. I started to freak out because this big slab had no unique landmarks and it was very hard to retrace my steps as I backtracked to search for my GoPro. I had so much great footage from today! I felt sure I was off course and was started to lose my mind as I realized how slim of a chance there was to find it. Then I saw that pesky tree limb that I remembered walking by so at least I was on the right path. As I got closer, I saw my GoPro dangling there from the sly finger of this wooden pickpocket. What a relief! I galloped back up the granite, took a dip in Deep Lake (#10) and then headed towards Temple Peaks. Temple Lake was stunning and freezing because it sits due North of the peaks and remains in their shadow all day.

The repetitive granite slab where I almost lost my GoPro.

Space Jam in front of Deep Lake in front of Temple Peaks.

At the top of Temple Pass, with daylight about to fade away.

Big drop down Temple Pass and then a 6 mile sprint to Little Sandy Lake to complete the Dozen Dip Challenge.

I took a wrong turn heading up Temple Pass and had some pretty sketchy scrambling to get by, see X:XX of the extended movie. I really started to drag on this third steep pass of the day and the sun was about to duck behind the mountain tops. This made me really dig deep for some energy to hastily hike the final six miles to the twelfth lake and luckily the terrain was smooth sailing. It was a bit off trail but at least Little Sandy Lake is not surrounded by towering peaks and got to bask in the sunlight all day and warm up. After completing my Dozen Dip Challenge, I bushwhacked and boulder hopped along the Western bank as darkness fell. There was then a confusing section of new trail and I soon got to the crazy log jam to cross the gushing outlet of Little Sandy Creek. I ran into Ricky Bobby and Seabiscuit who I was surprised to see since I was slowed down today by all of my swimming. They scrambled to the top of Temple Peak to check out the diving board, an overhanging rock with a 2,300ft sheer drop beneath it! Their photos looked amazing and I added this to my bucket list next time I was in the area. We all set camp, ate dinner, and fell asleep soon after because everyone had quite an exhausting day.

Day 58, 27.7 miles to Highway 28 and a hitch to Lander, WY.

I was the last to leave camp but today looked pretty easy as we left the Wind River Range and descended down to the start of Wyoming’s Great Basin. No more trees. No more picturesque mountains. Just flat sandy earth, lots of lizards, and the beating sun. There were a few nice streams spaced evenly apart at seven miles which created good break points. I took a quick break at the top of the final climb of the day, an easy 700 foot ascent over four miles, then found a cool boulder formation to climb around on. I was making good time on my mileage and could afford some climbing fun. After that you popped out of the last tree cover for almost 200 miles. There were endless windbreak structures along Highway 28 and the sun was right in my face as I began to hitch. I scored a ride fairly quickly to Lander, WY and got dropped off at a local bar called The Forge to enjoy dinner and a cold beverage or three. After a 165 mile stretch that took 6 days to hike, I felt I earned some celebratory brews. Lander graciously lets hikers camp at City Park at the outskirts of town so I headed there afterwards. It was already dark when I arrived and I wasn’t quite sure where the official free camping area was located so I hung my hammock at a playground. It was a kids playground with a facade designed to look like an old Western town. I got some unpleasing looks from morning joggers the next day but it was well worth the photo.