While watching fireworks the night before, my father and I planned our trip for the next morning into the Bridger Wilderness. We wanted to get in farther than I had on my day ride. We also wanted to check out an approach to a different way into the wilderness, and assess which way would put us in Elk country the most efficiently.
We packed just what we could carry on horseback. My list of what I carried in my saddlebags
was basic but essential.
- Rain gear, the new Kuiu Chugach rain pants and jacket.
- Under Armor cold gear tops and bottoms
- Pair of wool socks
- Filson Wool Shirt
- Poly fleece vest
- 1 pair lightweight synthetic pants with zipoff legs
- Jetboil stove
- 30 degree Western Mountaineering Long Sleeping bag
- Ti-Goat Ptarmigan Bivy
- 2 Mountain house Dehydrated meals
- 2 Packets of Oatmeal
- drink powders, and instant coffee
- Ti spork
- MSR water filter
All of this filled my saddlebags to the brim. In addition I tied my Thermarest pad and my UA Jacket on behind my cantle. A nose bag with 10 pounds of alfalfa pellets hung from my saddle horn, and I wore my Badlands Reactor pack with a 45 oz Camelbak reservoir. On my belt was a .357 revolver in case we needed to euthanize an injured animal. My 10×42 binos were slung across my chest as well.
We were only spending the night so I planned to wear my same shirt and pants. I picked a Patagonia synthetic shirt for it’s quick drying properties. I wore good ol’ Wranglers and my Cabelas Alaska Hiker boots.
We left late in the morning and spent a good part of the early afternoon exploring the country above what is an Elk Feedground. We eventually made it back to the government trail after travelling an extra four miles. The day heated up and the mosquitos were merciless. This trail was proving to be steeper and rougher tan what Ihad ridden before. we had to stop multiple times to let the horses blow on the tough climb up the plateau.
We continued . Up and up and up. after nearly 11 miles of riding the trail flattened out and we entered thick patches of lodgepole pines littered with deadfall timber. As we would look for ways around the deadfall some times we would begin following an elk trail and end up way off the trail. Numerous times we had to back track, and look for blazes on the trees and previous cut logs from earlier years of trail work to find our way. there were no other horse tracks, and only occasional human boot tracks on the trail. we were the first stock on this trail in 2011. The only other tracks were deer and elk , and I hoped to spot a live one.
After 13.1 miles and 2823 feet of elevation change, we arrived at our mountain lake at 5:00 pm. We tied up the horses and Dad got out his collapsible spinning rod he brought along. Within 15 minutes we had fish biting. I caught the first brook trout, and then we alternated turns until we had both caught about three apiece. We kept three good sized ones to eat.
Dad with one on the line…
We figured we had a good dinner so we made plans to spend the night there. We stripped the saddles off of the horses and gave them a feed of pellets. There was not much grass at this lake so they never got a chance to graze. That is the worry with an early season ride in the alpine, whether the meadows will have much grass. The horses grudgingly munched their dry pellets while we gathered fire wood for the pre constructed fire ring with evidence of past campers with flat spots nearby. before long I revelled in my one match fire.
We seasoned the fish and wrapped them in foil to bake in the coals and boiled water for the Mountain House dehydrated meals. As they simmered I laid out my bed under the stars while Dad set up a 6×8 tarp over his bed. A passing thunderstorm brought a few drops of rain and I was starting to regret no tarp until the storm passed us by.
After a fish and a half and a Mountain House apiece, we turned in as the horses swished away mosquitoes and blew them out of their nostrils. I didn’t even stay awake long enough to admire the stars.
