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| Hiking | 12.23 Miles |
1,950 AEG |
| | Hiking | 12.23 Miles | 4 Hrs 32 Mns | | 2.80 mph |
| 1,950 ft AEG | 10 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Lee was heading out on his three week road trip to Banff & Wyoming and asked if I wanted to join him. I tried recruiting the others but it didn’t work out and I decided to head up solo & I’m glad I did. I bought my plane ticket less than a week before I would fly out. Ultimately, I would spend a week in Wyoming. I did a mix of solo day hiking and met up with Lee & a few other people for an outstanding backpacking trip to the Wind River Range.
I flew out of Mesa Gateway on the 6:10am flight to Idaho Falls. It was early but this gave me time to adventure after arriving. The flight went extremely well and I rented a car and stopped for groceries and then headed for Wyoming. I went to buy Bear Spray but everything is closed in Idaho Falls on Sunday! The drive to Alaska Basin took just under two hours and I started hiking around 11am Az time.
The going is very easy as you follow a well developed trail that has a slight incline. There were plenty of people out but the area was not crowded. I passed a couple of people on horseback and continued in. I kept a moderate pace and enjoyed the cool mountain air. I kept at it and started encountering snow around 4-5 miles in. The snow levels quickly increased and travel became more difficult. I was tired after the early wake up time and the flight. I went a little farther and encountered a wet crossing through swift water. I looked for a safe way across and didn’t like my options so I decided to turn around.
After turning around, I climbed up and off trail to a nice vantage point where I took a break and ate some snacks and soaked in the views. I was out here two years ago with the guys and I passed through about a mile from here. Unfortunately I couldn’t get to that point because of the snow. Regardless, I was so happy to be back in Wyoming. The air was cool and comfortable!
I eventually started my return and flew down the trail. Along the way I saw a solo female moose about 100ft off the trail. I took a few pics and continued down. I arrived back to the rental car and loaded up and headed to my hostel, which was close by, for the night. I was off to a good start. My plan is to drive around to the east side of the Tetons the next day to do some day hikes before meeting Lee. |
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