Cloud Peak Wilderness 2022

 (written by Grace)

Here is the post you've all been waiting for!! We really enjoyed our first sibling backpacking trip. Here is the report...

The idea for this trip started after we camped in the Bighorn Mountains the first time in 2020. Every so often it would get brought up and by the time we went to the mountains again in 2021, we were scouting and planning for 2022. We spent a lot of time last winter researching gear, food and trails. Just about anytime we were together the conversation would turn to backpacking. 

Testing out tents in the yard:

This was early spring, as soon as there was a bare spot of ground on the South side of the house. The stakes didn't go in very well...

 

 The other two tents set up for seam sealing.

How much food to pack was a big question. Everybody packed their own instant oatmeal, lunch, and snacks. That way you couldn't complain if you didn't have enough. :)

 

Packing snacks -- the best part of backpacking is the snack breaks, right?

We decided to drive through the night, leaving after music night at the town hall. It worked quite well. We switched off drivers and who got the bed in the back of the van. 

 

South Dakota sunrise

 

Day 1: Approximately 5 miles
 

 

 

We started at Hunter Trailhead at about 8,000 ft. We followed the road to the Ditch Trail and were going along great. Then the trail split. One part crossed the stream and the other kept going. After looking at our maps, we decided we needed to cross the stream. We got across but as we went the trail started petering out. However, looking at the maps, it looked like we were on the trail so we kept going. Pretty soon the 'trail' looked like this:

The trees on either side of the ditch were so close together you couldn't walk through them. So instead we scrambled over boulders and trees. 

 

 

By the time we decided that there had not been a trail through there since the last fire (which was some time ago) we had passed the 'point of no return'. It was easier to keep going up than to try and go back down.

 

 

After that first part the trail was good.

 

Walking through Soldier's Park

 

We followed a road up to the Cloud Peak Wilderness Boundary. 

 

 

Then went a bit further, called it a day and set up camp. 

 

 

Day 2: 6.2 miles

We started out strong and didn't take many breaks. By the time we stopped for lunch, we were exhausted so we napped for quite awhile.

We didn't go a lot farther that day. Maybe 1/2 or 3/4 of a mile before we made camp.

Note the flat, open area...   After we climbed up out of this part, we realized that we were getting to the point where there may be mostly boulders and no spot to pitch tents. So we started looking for a spot to camp. Of course, nobody wanted to go back to what could have been a good spot so we kept going. At that point the terrain on either side of the trail was fairly steep. Then we saw a spot that was a decent climb up, but appeared to be level. However, when we got up there it was wet and there were lots of little bushes. Then we looked up above that yet and there was a spot that looked fairly decent. After some discussion, we decided to go for it. "It's not ideal..." It seemed okay until we got our tents set up. The fabric on my tent is quite slippery and when I sat down to take my shoes off, I slid right to the bottom. :) That's when we knew it could be a long night. Some of us tried putting a rock and our pack at the bottom. It worked if you didn't relax your legs! Because of the the slippery fabric Emily and I probably had it the worst. We spent the whole night trying to stay off the tent wall and each other. The problem was that every time you moved slightly, you would start sliding so it was kind of a hopeless case. We didn't get much sleep that night, but we survived and now that is one of the most talked about parts of the trip. :)

 

Matt and Laura climbed up even higher.

The next day, we hadn't gone very far until we found a spot that was nice and flat...

Day 3: 5.8 miles

We started up the switch-back trail through the boulders.

 

SNOW!!

Matt and Silas climbed down to this patch of snow and threw snowballs back up at us, but we were high enough above them that they didn't hit us.

 

Matt brought a piece back up with him.

Florence Pass 10,928 ft

 

 Silas caught Rainbow Trout in Florence Lake

 Silas was trying to get a picture of Nate's fish when it slipped out of Nate's hands. So instead he got this cool picture.

 

 

 Packing up after lunch at Florence Lake below Bomber Mountain. When we were going back out, we realized you could see that patch of snow on Bomber Mountain for a long time.

 

  

 Then we climbed up above Florence Lake to the Golden Lakes. The Golden Lakes weren't much, but we did get up to 11,200 ft. 

 Looking down at Florence Lake with Bomber Mountain on the other side.

Coming back down from the pass. 

 

Just one big rock pile.

 

That night we camped at the spot where we had lunch the day before. The main criteria was that it had to be very flat. :)

 

It rained for a bit that evening so we all squeezed in Nate and Silas' tent to play a game.

 

Day 4: 9.7 miles

  It had rained the night before, but there was sunshine that morning, so we took our time and let our tents dry before we packed them. While we were waiting, we saw a moose cow and calf down by the creek about 200 ft below us. We watched them eat for quite a while while our tents dried.

 

They kept looking our way, but didn't actually see us.

 

When this picture was taken we were all moaning and groaning about our sore muscles that you don't notice until you put your pack back on...

 

 

 

We could have camped one more night before heading out, but after we turned around at the lake and were hiking the same trail, we were ready to get back. Also, our supper that night would have been chili, which sounded good at home, but that day did not sound good to us. Then somebody mentioned that we could keep going and get pizza in Buffalo... At the mention of pizza, Matt (who was still eating snacks) jumped up and took off down the trail, still buckling the straps on his pack. The rest of us decided we better get going. :)
 

While we were hiking that day, there were some scattered showers. Once or twice we ducked in some trees to wait out a brief hail storm. 

 

We stopped along the creek for lunch. The boys put their raincoats on and fished for a bit while we rested under the trees.

  We made it out of the the wilderness!

 

There were some really cool clouds that day. 

Coming back into the parking lot, headed for pizza. We stopped in Buffalo, then headed East to the Wyoming border, where we knew a good spot to camp. We set up our tents quick, slept and then got up early to head back home.

Click here to watch the video that Silas put together from Matt's GoPro clips.

We are so grateful for the opportunity we had to do this together as siblings. Many thanks to Mom and Dad for letting us all go at once and being willing to hold down the farm. Also, a big thank you to all who helped them with chores. We really appreciate your help!