thwarted

Two years ago my dad and I camped up at Esterbrook, then hiked partway up the Laramie Peak trail the next day. We only hiked up to Friend Falls, about two miles up the trail, since I was still recovering from an ugly sprained ankle.

This weekend, Steph and I drove from Laramie up to Rock River and then across the gravel to Friend Creek Campground (right at the trailhead to the peak trail), then attempted the summit yesterday morning.

Thwarted, again.

This time, it was snow drifts still across the trail, big enough and slick enough that we decided we didn't want to bother with it. If I owned some gaiters and was smart enough to bring them along, it might have been a different story, but as it was, we ate some cheese and crackers and pistachios just below Friend Falls and then headed back.

Despite a relatively good forecast for the overnight, we ended up driving through an hour-plus of muddy slick roads to get up to the campground. Then sat through a pretty awesome sheet-lightning storm, hoping not to get lit up. The trip back, Saturday afternoon, was clear and dry, though, and we stopped to look in the windows of an old ranch house along Esterbrook Road.

Here's a photo that Steph took as we were headed out across the sage into the rugged country:

And here's a picture of me after our fancy pre-camping dinner, at Rock River's finest eatery:

Oh aich why!