Tele Jon and I have been talking about kayak touring on the Green River Lakes, in the Wind River Mountains of western Wyoming since I first saw pictures of the area this spring. This weekend we made it happen.
We set off from Salt Lake around 4 pm on Friday, armed with detailed maps showing an overlay of BLM land. Our plan had been to camp just north of Big Piney on BLM land off US 189 Friday night and continue our drive Saturday morning.
We pulled off the road just after 5 p.m. in Evanston to pick up some beer and grab a bite at an ice cream/sandwich shop on Evanston's Main Street. Pushing north, the typical southern Wyoming landscape came into view -- namely, a whole lot of nothing. Only sage brush grows on these windswept high plains, and we sped past miles of giant turbines spinning slowly on wind farms and through towns like Kemmerer and La Barge that would force me to slit my wrists if ever forced to live in them. Skidog and Tcope called from their campsite at Lake Catherine, between Brighton and Alta, to report that it was snowing.
Arriving at our planned turnoff just north of Big Piney we encountered a sign indicating that these were Wyoming Trust Lands and that overnight camping was forbidden. ](*,) Grabbing our maps we quickly regrouped and found ourselves on the east side of Fremont Lake (on the road to White Pine Ski Area [obligatory ski content]). I pitched my tent as darkness fell and Jon rearranged the back of his Honda Element for himself. Rainfall began, forcing us inside our respective sleeping quarters for the night.
It was cold and overcast when we awoke, but it was clear that rain was about to move in again.
We quickly broke camp, finishing just as a steady drizzle arrived. We headed into Pinedale to fortify for what was now looking like some miserable weather.
After some blueberry pancakes and bacon at the Wrangler Cafe in town, some maps and replacement batteries for Tele Jon's headlamp we headed north through Cora into the Bridger National Forest. The steady drizzle continued the entire time, even as we unloaded Jon's truck at the boat launch at the lower Green River Lake and prepared our kayaks for a weekend of touring.
The drizzle varied in intensity but never truly stopped as we paddled southeast along the lower lake's western shore.
Even through the weather we could see the lake's beauty. Utah's lakes are almost all dammed reservoirs, and it was a pleasant change of pace to be paddling a natural lake. We beached on the sand at the south end of the lake to shed a layer and eat some food before turning our kayaks into the Green River at the lake's inlet and crossing into the Wind River Wilderness Area.
At first we made headway against the ~3 mph current, but about halfway up the river the current became too strong for us to overcome. We portaged for about 100 yards before setting back in and resuming our effort to paddle upstream. After about a half mile of river we found ourselves skimming across the final rapid and into the upper Green River Lake.
If the first lake was beautiful, the second lake was positively gorgeous. The water was a translucent azure. Crossing the lake, the steady drizzle intensified to a torrential downpour.
It made no sense to try to make camp in that weather, so we opted to continue paddling past the lake, further up the Green River where we continued until we could go no further. At that point the rain stopped and the skies cleared enough for our first stunning view of the imposing Squaretop that would dominate the skyline for the remainder of our trip.
We headed back downstream, paddling with the current this time and back into the upper lake, where we made camp along the southeastern shore.
It never rained again this weekend, although it often threatened. And the temperature plummeted as the sun dipped below the mountain guarding the western shore of the lake. After a steak and baked potato dinner we opted for a dusk paddle around the lake, taking in still more views of Squaretop before it was again enveloped by cloud that it seemed to be creating itself.
I bedded down for the night, cozy in a -15 dF bag and awoke from my tent at the bright-and-early hour of 9:30 a.m. After a breakfast of hot coffee and oatmeal we broke camp, packed the boats and again crossed the lake to its outlet at the Green River, where we beached and bushwhacked west to hike to Porcupine Creek Falls.
The falls also provided a vantage point for a view of the Green River that we would paddle down to reach the lower lake.
We returned to our boats at the mouth of the river and resumed our paddle.
After a fun and fast paddle back down the stream that stymied our efforts to paddle up it, we spilled back out into the lower lake.
After a few minutes floating along the southeastern shore to pause for another bite to eat, we paddled into the headwind across the lake to return to the boat launch, this time with far better views than when we arrived.
The Wind River Mountains are stunning, towering rock spires right along the Continental Divide. They present a plethora of recreational opportunities that Jon and I both swore that we'll return to again and again.
Then when I got home the dog that we're foster parenting for a few weeks left me a welcome home gift:
We set off from Salt Lake around 4 pm on Friday, armed with detailed maps showing an overlay of BLM land. Our plan had been to camp just north of Big Piney on BLM land off US 189 Friday night and continue our drive Saturday morning.
We pulled off the road just after 5 p.m. in Evanston to pick up some beer and grab a bite at an ice cream/sandwich shop on Evanston's Main Street. Pushing north, the typical southern Wyoming landscape came into view -- namely, a whole lot of nothing. Only sage brush grows on these windswept high plains, and we sped past miles of giant turbines spinning slowly on wind farms and through towns like Kemmerer and La Barge that would force me to slit my wrists if ever forced to live in them. Skidog and Tcope called from their campsite at Lake Catherine, between Brighton and Alta, to report that it was snowing.
Arriving at our planned turnoff just north of Big Piney we encountered a sign indicating that these were Wyoming Trust Lands and that overnight camping was forbidden. ](*,) Grabbing our maps we quickly regrouped and found ourselves on the east side of Fremont Lake (on the road to White Pine Ski Area [obligatory ski content]). I pitched my tent as darkness fell and Jon rearranged the back of his Honda Element for himself. Rainfall began, forcing us inside our respective sleeping quarters for the night.
It was cold and overcast when we awoke, but it was clear that rain was about to move in again.
We quickly broke camp, finishing just as a steady drizzle arrived. We headed into Pinedale to fortify for what was now looking like some miserable weather.
After some blueberry pancakes and bacon at the Wrangler Cafe in town, some maps and replacement batteries for Tele Jon's headlamp we headed north through Cora into the Bridger National Forest. The steady drizzle continued the entire time, even as we unloaded Jon's truck at the boat launch at the lower Green River Lake and prepared our kayaks for a weekend of touring.
The drizzle varied in intensity but never truly stopped as we paddled southeast along the lower lake's western shore.
Even through the weather we could see the lake's beauty. Utah's lakes are almost all dammed reservoirs, and it was a pleasant change of pace to be paddling a natural lake. We beached on the sand at the south end of the lake to shed a layer and eat some food before turning our kayaks into the Green River at the lake's inlet and crossing into the Wind River Wilderness Area.
At first we made headway against the ~3 mph current, but about halfway up the river the current became too strong for us to overcome. We portaged for about 100 yards before setting back in and resuming our effort to paddle upstream. After about a half mile of river we found ourselves skimming across the final rapid and into the upper Green River Lake.
If the first lake was beautiful, the second lake was positively gorgeous. The water was a translucent azure. Crossing the lake, the steady drizzle intensified to a torrential downpour.
It made no sense to try to make camp in that weather, so we opted to continue paddling past the lake, further up the Green River where we continued until we could go no further. At that point the rain stopped and the skies cleared enough for our first stunning view of the imposing Squaretop that would dominate the skyline for the remainder of our trip.
We headed back downstream, paddling with the current this time and back into the upper lake, where we made camp along the southeastern shore.
It never rained again this weekend, although it often threatened. And the temperature plummeted as the sun dipped below the mountain guarding the western shore of the lake. After a steak and baked potato dinner we opted for a dusk paddle around the lake, taking in still more views of Squaretop before it was again enveloped by cloud that it seemed to be creating itself.
I bedded down for the night, cozy in a -15 dF bag and awoke from my tent at the bright-and-early hour of 9:30 a.m. After a breakfast of hot coffee and oatmeal we broke camp, packed the boats and again crossed the lake to its outlet at the Green River, where we beached and bushwhacked west to hike to Porcupine Creek Falls.
The falls also provided a vantage point for a view of the Green River that we would paddle down to reach the lower lake.
We returned to our boats at the mouth of the river and resumed our paddle.
After a fun and fast paddle back down the stream that stymied our efforts to paddle up it, we spilled back out into the lower lake.
After a few minutes floating along the southeastern shore to pause for another bite to eat, we paddled into the headwind across the lake to return to the boat launch, this time with far better views than when we arrived.
The Wind River Mountains are stunning, towering rock spires right along the Continental Divide. They present a plethora of recreational opportunities that Jon and I both swore that we'll return to again and again.
Then when I got home the dog that we're foster parenting for a few weeks left me a welcome home gift:
