Wind River Range Day 3: Coming Down....

Ok, ok, I've finally got a minute to write about my third day in the Wind Rivers.

I woke up earlier than the previous day; I've got ten miles to get to my car and I'd prefer not to have to drive home in the dark. I quickly pack up my bags and start to look for the trail. There's supposed to be a three-way trail junction at the lake... but I'm seeing nothing.... Eventually I work my way in the direction that should be my car and find the trail. The hiking has more rolling ups and downs but with less lakes and more big open meadows.



There's a crucial intersection along the way and the first time I come to a sign it points out all the trails in question but has fallen over giving no good indication of direction (they go about the same way). I pick the one that feels right and chug along when about half an hour later I get to an intersection marked with the exact same trails..... Strange..... I fiddle around with my compass and conclude that I'm sane and not going in circles. I keep going the way I planed. Fortunately, this intersection didn't show up a third time.... It's strange how as I get closer to civilization the trail signs are getting more random... eh, no worries.

Eventually I got down into the trees which was still pretty nice:



Later in the morning I passed my first group of humans in more than 24 hours. There's 4 guys and six horses. I'm carrying all my stuff on my back. These guys have it spread over six horses. What did they BRING? There's not outlets for that big screen buddy.... My descent gets steeper and steeper and I eventually drop into the basin where I started. Another quick 2 miles along the lake brings me to my car.

This day was relatively uneventful but that's alright because my legs were tired and the easy hiking was an enjoyable break.... All in all, the Wind River Range was awesome. Big mountains, little crowds, quality trails. I dig it.