| Main | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Wyoming

Lonesome Lake, with Texas Pass on the right.

North Lake with house-sized boulders on the right that have calved off of War Bonnet Peak.

Clear Lake and Haystack Mountain, which is Yosemite-like sleek looking.

All that is left of Temple Glacier, which looks more like a snowfield now than a river of ice.

Temple Lake, which was carved out by a much bigger Temple Glacier, probably before even the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago.

A boulder field atop Temple Pass.

Little Sandy Creek Valley

A group of other backpackers, a few of which are former NOLS instructors who lamented the disappearance or massive shrinking of the glaciers that first saw back in the 1960's and '70's.

This means trouble. Historically mountain pine beetles have only managed to kill off groves of lodgepole pines. But this is a whitebark pine, which is found at higher elevations where colder winters have been able to keep the pine beetle away. Continued warm winters could spell disaster for the whitebarks, which are a critical source of food for the grizzly bear prior to their hibernation.

Historical South Pass City, at the south end of the Winds, is now a state park and a convenient resupply point for hikers who send a supply box.

| Main | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |