Day 65-67: Cirque of the Towers

August 25-27; Mile 959-1014

Day 65

In the pitch-black of morning, I pulled on my sodden socks and pants. Coyotes howled in the distance, and I paused in my packing to listen to their chorus. With thunderstorms forecasted to begin at noon – and two steep passes to get over – it was going to be a tough day. 

I hiked through the haze in my mask, sending two herds of cattle running at the sight of me. After two miles I found Handy, and with the forecast he was thinking of skipping the Cirque of the Towers alternate to stay lower on the actual CDT. It was only 11 miles to get over the first pass and down to Lonesome Lake, and I told him my plan was to wait out the storms there and then only do another 6 or so in the evening. 

Lark was also committed to doing the Cirque, and so we all decided to go for it. 

I pushed myself along the flat trail past lakes and streams, through meadows tinted rosy by the smoky sunlight. I was sucking air through my mask and panting in order to hike fast. We had to ford a river not long after, and I carelessly plowed through instead of scouting for an easier crossing; everything was already soaked. 

I came across Mamacita and Karate Kid staring intently at a patch of mud. “That definitely looks like a Merrel print,” he was saying. “The treads on his shoe are a lot thinner and he turns his feet in slightly,” Mamacita responded thoughtfully. She was trying to determine how far ahead Stew was; the trail was turning us all into amateur trackers. 

We all hurried along toward Texas Pass, and the views of the Cirque only improved from there. I paused at the many lakes to watch the reflection and marvel at the walls of granite all around us. 

After Barren lake I stopped to get water near the outflow of Texas lake. It was time for the big push to the top. First I had to scramble over some car-sized boulders along the edge of the lake. It reminded me a bit of the route toward Asgard Pass back in Washington. 

Next was a slog straight up crumbly dirt winding between talus. It was more a climber’s path than a trail, and I gasped for air as I climbed above 11,000’. 

Two men were ahead of me on the ascent, and at one point they kicked down a rock the size of a large sweet potato without any warning call. I watched the rock bounce down before finally stopping about thirty feet above me. Without a helmet, a direct hit from something even apple-sized can seriously mess you up. I hurried up to get ahead of them, wheezing for air through my mask. 

By now the air was looking a bit clearer. I ripped off the mask and did some pressure breaths to get more oxygen. Much of the climb I did with rest steps: letting your weight rest on your skeletal frame with each step to give your muscles a break. Halfway up I noticed the giant clouds forming past the peaks all around me. I paused at the top for a few photos, including a look back down toward the lakes, before hurrying downhill. There would be time later to reminisce about meeting my first CDT hiker six years ago at that very spot, once I was back below the tree line. 

Thankfully the south side of the climb had a well-defined path after I had walked down the slabs of grippy granite near the top. I met a hiker stopped halfway up, debating between continuing up or turning around. I told him the forecast I had heard and wished him well. 

The trail led through a recent burn scar, before heading around the eastern shore of Lonesome Lake. I made sure to fill up on water from a little stream coming down the side of the mountain; the lake had almost 400x the allowable level of E. coli when it was last tested in 2022. At least it was pretty. 

The cirque was magnificent, but the thunderstorm was brewing. I found a good spot to set up my tent and then dithered. It was only about half a mile more to the top of Jackass Pass. If I left now, I might be able to make it over before the storm started. The mountains were still in sun, though dark clouds peered over their shoulders. I decided to at least see how far I got. 

It was about two-tenths of a mile, and then the rain started. No thank you, I had been soaked all yesterday evening. I hurried back down to the spot I had found earlier and set up my tent. I had dumped out some of my water – stupidly – and now I set up a little water collection system using my mug, a plastic bag, and the edge of my tent. 

I had been inside for about half an hour when I heard calls in the distance. Strix and Lark showed up and began setting up their tents, while Mamacita and Karate Kid continued on toward the pass. They were already soaked through. After an hour I got out my quilt. We were probably going to be here for a while. 

Around 2pm the thunder seemed to be abating. I packed up my gear to head out at 2:30, but it began to rain and there was more distant thunder. I joined Strix under the rock overhang to continue our wait. 

Finally at 3:30 we were good to go. Strix and I headed up Jackass Pass with Lark just behind us. I kept my gaze on my feet and huffed up the steep hill. The trail was good and it wasn’t as steep as the climb up Texas Pass. However, on the other side after a short descent there was another climb. It had nice views of the Cirque, but my legs protested the extra gain. 

At the inlet for the next lake, I paused to wait for Strix. Pikas scampered across the talus field nearby, digging up grasses and stuffing bundles of plants into their tiny mouths before disappearing back into the rocks. They called out from beneath the rocks – “meep!” – and the call was deeper than the ones I was used to hearing back home. 

Traversing around the lake was tough, with sections of rock scrambling and some tricky navigation. But thankfully we were soon descending on smooth trail down to Big Sandy Lake where we passed several groups of backpackers set up for the night. Strix and I continued on and began a brutal climb up the Rapid Creek drainage before ascending up to Temple Lake. 

It was cold in the high country, and small piles of hail lined the trail from the recent thunderstorms. There was quite a group at the spot: Handy, Steam Engine, Mamacita, Karate Kid, and a new person named Beef Cake. 

I ate dinner and quickly got into my quilt. It was quite chilly up high, and I hoped for a calm night.

Day 66 

The sky had clouded over by the time my alarm went off. It was surprisingly warm given that we were camped at roughly the same altitude as the summit of Mt Baker. 

Beef Cake left first, then me. I hiked across the sodden ground and climbed up a rocky outcropping. The trail continued down to the lakeshore, but the route was kind of cliffy; I ended up down climbing the fifteen feet on wobbly legs still waking up. 

The next fun challenge was finding the route up Temple Pass. I skirted around the boulder field and started up the loose rocks and dirt. I still didn’t see a trail, though allegedly I was right on track based on GPS. At one point Handy passed me off on the left, and I traversed over to where he was. There was a faint dirt track heading upward, but soon we were in the boulder field. Back off to the right we spotted a better track, and soon we were ascending up the steep dirt ribbon mixed with patches of hailstones. 

The sun broke through a bit and lit up Temple Peak, and I stopped near the top to marvel at the surroundings. As I crested the top of the pass, the dirt track petered out into a boulder field. I scrambled across the rocks, some as big as cars, and thankfully all were stable but one. I spent a little time wandering around the pass looking for the way down, but the hail actually helped highlight the track on the other side, and soon I was sailing down the much nicer grade. There was one short section where the trail turned to loose dirt at a steep angle, and I carefully picked my way across, but otherwise it was enjoyable trail. And the views, oh the views. 

Near the bottom of the descent the trail disappeared and I went cross country through the heather to the outlet of the lake, where I found a faint path leading down the river valley. 

I followed the river for several enjoyable miles, paralleling the massive wall of granite peaks on its other side. Speaking of the other side of the river, I spotted a bed frame perched above the water, and laughed at the absurdity of dragging that into the middle of nowhere. 

Soon I came to a lake where I startled three elk and watched them sprint off into the trees. The next section had been hit by a big storm a few years ago, but thankfully someone had rerouted around all the blowdowns. It made for some tricky navigation through the trees. But there was usually a cairn right when I needed to determine which way to go next. 

Some of the other people around me had worse luck. When I got to the next water, Beef Cake was just packing up. “I got lost about four times in the trees back there.” Meanwhile Handy caught up and said he had wound up in a pile of logs after getting off-route. 

The trail led past Little Sandy Lake before climbing back up steeply. I came to a gate and passed back into sagebrush; it felt like the official end to the Winds. 

I paused for lunch near a river and was joined by Strix, Karate Kid, and Handy. Strix was running low on food, so I gave her the rest of my sesame sticks and the only vegan bar I had. And then I almost left my cook pot in the woods after setting it on a log to dry off after lunch. 

There were still miles to go before camp. I hiked onward along the gentle track through tunnel-like alleys of young lodgepole pines, through trail crammed on either side with sawed-off deadfall, and past a trailhead with a sad little register. After signing it, I located entries for the usual suspects: Baba Yaga, Steamy and Panty Pirate, Scurvy, even Sprinkles and Dad!

A day hiker walked by just as I was about to get going, and I proceeded to follow her at the same pace for the next mile or so. It felt like I was stalking her, and tried to hang back a bit. 

There were a few short ups and downs before camp, leading out of the forest and into sagebrush dotted with the occasional pine. At the top of one of the hills I spotted a lightning bolt arc down from the dark clouds in the distance. Thankfully it was too far to hear the thunder. 

I ran into Strix and Karate Kid at the water before camp and hurried past after collecting 2 liters. Finally I found Handy at the flat spot and dropped my pack. During dinner it began to rain, and Strix and I hurried up to get inside our tents.

I sat in the dark tallying up all the miles I had hiked to see how many remained before I would cross the 1000 mark. As it was, I had actually crossed it that afternoon without ceremony or notice. 

Day 67

It poured all night. During a short respite in the morning I hopped outside and folded up my sodden tent. I had tried to do my morning stretches inside the cramped space, and now I ended up repeating them in a gentle sprinkle. 

The trail led out into the open sagebrush just as the skies opened up once more, and I was absolutely drenched. I scared off a few herds of cattle, and then proceeded to check my phone repeatedly to avoid getting lost on a cow path. In the downpour the screen was hard to use, and I had to shelter it with one hand in order to see my map. Everything had turned to slick mud, and a small river was coursing its way down the middle of the trail. 

I plowed through the next creek crossing instead of balancing on a slick log. My rain pants and jacket kept me warm if not dry, and the steep uphills also helped in that arena. Finally the rain began to let up, and my pants and jacket could begin to dry. It was still cold though, and I kept them on until town. 

As I passed onto forest road, I sighed in relief. I was free of the muddy, crisscrossing paths through the forest. Plus, there was just enough cell service to call my parents ahead of getting to town. 

Before long I caught up to Strix, and we walked the final miles to the highway together. She was completely out of food, and we were both ready to be in town. 

Sadly, the cars driving by did not take pity, even when the rain returned. We waited an hour and a half before a car pulled over to drop off a hiker and offered to take us to Lander. We hopped in, and soon we were on our way to hot food, cold drinks, and the great indoors.