We Conquered the Rock Wall!

We're way behind in getting travel posts published because we were having way too much fun traveling! So we won't be confused about when each "wandering" happened, we'll start each blog with its actual date.

July 22, 2023 

We have been blessed to get to stay at Ryan Park Campground in the Snowy Mountain Range of Wyoming for five days. This area is only open for a short time in the summer, and we were lucky to hit that window as we made our last stop in Wyoming this summer. So what were we going to do on our last day in this area? We're going to conquer a hike that conquered us when we were here a couple years ago.

There are several hikes that start in the Sugarloaf Recreation Area, and one of them heads north along Lewis Lake. It was perfectly calm this morning, reflecting Sugarloaf Mountain and Medicine Bow Peak like a mirror.

We've already wandered God's wonders, and we just started this hike!

A short hike in this lovely alpine setting brought us to more snow-covered mountains. This was the Snowy Range, and these mountains keep their snow throughout the summer.

In fact, we were standing on a big snow bank as we surveyed the second lake of the hike--South Gap Lake.

The water was perfectly clear, so we could see the rocks lining the bottom all the way across.

To get around South Gap Lake, hikers must cross a section of big boulders. These rocks are Denisa's hiking nemesis, as they are tough for her. But she has gotten some good practice on them this summer.

We've worked out a system where sure-footed Mark hikes in front, and Denisa hangs onto his backpack for extra balance on these rocky or steep sections. That gives her more confidence, and this method has gotten us up and down some steep and rocky hikes over the years.

We crossed more snow, and we had to wonder why it was red. A google search gave an explanation for this phenomenon that is sometimes called "watermelon snow."

Red snow happens on mountains that have a certain type of algae growing under that snow. Watermelon snow is common in the summer in alpine areas that are 10,000 to 12,000 feet in elevation. The green algae produces a red pigment during the warm season, and that literally bleeds through into the snow bank. During all that talk about red snow, we had hiked over the ridge for our first look at more red snow above our third lake--North Gap Lake.

This was where we stopped last time. Because to go further would entail scaling a massive wall of that loose rock that Denisa hates. She remembers sitting by North Gap Lake two years ago, watching hikers struggle with that wall of rock. So last time she decided that she had gone far enough. But today she was determined to conquer that rock wall!

Mark bounced from boulder to boulder like a gazelle, while Denisa slogged through it. It was steep, the rock was loose, and there's no good way to get through this section. We saw a couple groups turn back when they tried it. So it was a personal victory to get all the way up . . . and then over the wall.

That allowed us to continue the hike on to a row of Shelf Lakes that we hadn't seen before.

Denisa was sitting in the lower right hand corner of the picture below. She was enjoying the solitude of this group of lakes because fewer hikers will make it here.

We continued up the mountain to get a view of the Shelves from above.

We pondered the idea of trying to pick our way through the tundra to make this into a loop hike. But there were too many boggy areas and cliffs between us and the other trail. While Denisa has followed Mark through some crazy loop hikes, this was high elevation tundra that would make it more difficult. 

So we enjoyed the view from above the Shelf Lakes, as well as the yellow arctic lilies that were peeking through the ground that was covered with snow just last week.

The mountain blue bells were especially lovely.

So we turned around to head home, knowing that awful rock wall had to be crossed again.

We stopped to enjoy North Gap Lake on the way back, while we procrastinated starting up the rocks just a little while longer.

We made the climb successfully, feeling like we had conquered Denisa's fears. Since this was our last day in the Snowy Mountains Range, we were soaking in the beauty and taking it slow. We stopped to hike on a glacier on the way back.

The old compacted snow had some deep crevices, that had a glacier-blue tint.

It's a special wonder to enjoy a walk in the deep snow in the middle of a very hot summer!

Have we mentioned that we wandered into God's wonders here in the Snowy Mountain Range of Wyoming?

While we were hiking back, Mark noticed some movement in the green grassy area between the lakes. So we got out the binoculars . . .

to see the three moose down below us.

The three bulls were grazing in the meadow, putting on quite a show for the hikers down below.

We hiked the next section in record time. We had to hike around the lip of the mountains where we could no longer see that meadow where the moose were hanging out. But when we came out into the lower clearing, we could see them better.

The moose had moved into the bushes, where they were munching on the tender twigs.

We're late enough into the summer that the bulls are sporting some impressive racks. We read that their antlers can grow a pound per day this time of year.

Mark took a picture of Denisa, seated on a rock watching the moose. She could sit and watch moose all day.

She took way too many pictures, so you'll have to endure a few more. It certainly made the last part of the hike last much longer than this same section did this morning.

When Mark finally pulled Denisa away, we finished up this 5.75-mile hike. It was a great one! We got all those alpine views with just 700 feet in elevation gain because we started the hike at over 10,000 feet. We conquered the rock wall and saw some beautiful scenery and wildlife. What could possibly top that? As we drove out of the Sugarloaf Mountain recreation area for the last time, we saw a little movement to our left. Almost hidden by the willows, our fourth bull moose of the day was munching on the bushes. It was a nice send-off from one of our favorite places! We have been blessed again!