Cloud Peak and Back Again: A Hobbit's Tale

    Over the past few days, my brothers and I hiked up Cloud Peak, one of the highest mountains in Wyoming.  Cloud Peak is located in the middle of the Cloud Peak Wilderness, so once you've driven to the area, you've got to get out and hike about 10 miles just to get to the mountain.

    Our trip lasted only two days, although we'd anticipated three.  (I was pretty proud of that pace, since I was carrying almost 30 pounds.)  With a late start in the afternoon, we hiked about 10 miles to the base of Cloud Peak on the first day.  We camped at the base of the mountain in our teeny tent and did our best to sleep through rain and a rock slide.  The next day, we climbed up most of the peak.

 

  

When we were about a mile from the top, the clouds began to darken.



    Heeding warnings about storms, we turned around and made our way all the way back down.  Then we took a brief respite with soup at the bottom.  Determined not to sleep another night crammed in our wimpy tent in the rain, we hiked all the way back to the car, making for about 12 total miles of hiking that day.  And that was my first backpacking trip.

Lake Marion on the way back

    While I enjoy hiking, fishing, and camping, it seems I am a hobbit when it comes to backpacking in the wilderness.  Hiking with all my stuff (sleeping bag, food, rain gear, mosquito spray, etc.) on my back made me wish I'd never left the Shire.  While carrying everything was a bit taxing, I think the real reason was the sense that the extra distance, the extra carrying, and the trekking deep into the wilderness area, were not worth it.  Here's pictures and a comparison between regular Wyoming mountains and Wyoming wilderness to illustrate why:

Regular Wyoming mountain characteristics:                                 Wyoming wilderness characteristics:
- Some people (kids and families)                                                       - Still people (more old people, and even a rare sighting of
                                                                                                            the hipster hiker)
- Trees                                                                                                  - Trees
- Abundance of fish, even if they're smart and won't bite                  - Some fish? (we saw a few in one stream)
- Rocks                                                                                                 - Rocks
- Moose                                                                                                - Moose
- Plenty of forest in which to heed nature's call                                 - Expectation to haul solid human waste with you  (Seriously?  You
                                                                                                               expect us to haul out our own crap on top of everything else?)

    As you can see, the main difference between Wyoming wilderness and the rest of Wyoming seems to be the notion that human waste is not part of nature and must be hauled out with the rest of your trash.  Personally, I'm inclined to think that our waste is one of humanhood's most natural aspects (and that keeping it a good distance from water or trails won't bother anyone), but maybe that's just me.

    Anyway, Wyoming is beautiful.  Especially if you're a moose unrestricted by waste sanctions.