20.6 Miles
Green Lake Campground
This morning started off wet. It rained right when I was ready to get up so I slept in a bit and got out of camp by 8:20. It was wet going around the lake though brush but it was fantastic watching the sun hit the most over the lake to the east and the meadow to the west. We hiked around the lake and then up through the woods over to wide open sagebrush plains. I decided to take the Ley route through the center of the plains up to a lake for about a mile instead of the official trail which wound uphill and far over to the left. About two-thirds the way in we hit willow bushes in a meadow which meant wet muddy feet and the willow was wet from last night so we ended up soaked and then had to hike up a bit to the lake. I wasn't terribly happy I had to get my feet wet but Spins was a bit more unhappy. She hates bushwhacking because it ends up being difficult and a mess(and sometimes slower then taking the actual trail). This one was definitely a mess. We took a snack break at the lake then continued up through some woods then back out again and made it about a mile before Gunsight Pass where we took lunch.
After lunch is when the showdowns began. As we climbed up towards the pass large herds of cattle appeared and they were hostile at best. I picked up a rock to arm myself against any cow ballsy enough to think about charging. They were all on trail and as we approached ran off trail and started aggressively moo-ing. Dark clouds appeared overhead and thunder was starting so I didn't really have the patience for them and motored past. Up at the lake right before the pass more cows appears and the rain started. We did our little showdown dance just like earlier with them running off them moo-ing all aggressively again. We made it up gunsight pass with lightning and thunder cracking over on distance mountains and across the valley on the ridge we could see the closed trail and thousand of scorched acres. The rains from the past two days and the work of wildfire fighters out out almost all the fire but the trail was wrecked and the chance of charred trees falling down kept the trail closed. The detour was a threeish mile hike thought the valley due west of the burn then a twoish mile hike down south across a river onto a dirt road for three miles which led back down to the trail at Green River campground.
During my way down to the detour flashes of light from thunderbolts filled the sky intermittently and loud, close, booming thunder echoed. Thankfully I was in the trees and losing elevation but it was thrilling watching the lightning hit the mountain peaks in the distance. The detour was't marked except for a stick arrow and faint track of grass that had been walked on. After about a half mile it became a trail and followed the creek over until we headed down into the next valley which is home to the Green River Lakes and Squaretop and Flattop mountains. When the sky clears and the clouds parted it was a pretty sight. We crossed over the roughly 40 ft wide Green River and walks the road down the camp sight but not before seeing a buffalo!!! My first of the trip and be was a big old guy just resting in a grass meadow chopping around. We made it to the camp sight around 7:30 and couldn't resist the fine luxuries of privies, picnic tables, and bear boxes so we called it a day.
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