I just got back from the windy city...

Labor Day weekend was an adventure.  I decided sometime between the hours of 11pm and 4am that I was going to go to the Wind Rivers with Brent rather than meet up with my family in Island Park.  I would say that the adventure started quickly as Randy, Brent and I were driving up to Park City to meet Billy.  We were in Randy's new Subaru with Buddy in the back. (Buddy is a 1 yr. old chocolate lab for those of you who don't know). Buddy was a bit excited though and despite the task seeming to be impossible with the amount of packs blocking the trunk to the front of the car, Buddy decided he wanted into the drivers seat.  So there we are going 80 mph up Parley's Canyon while a large dog is crawling over seats, packs, and more seats to muscle his way to Randy's lap and the driver's seat.  I certainly couldn't stop him because A. I don't like to touch dogs at all and B. I was laughing so hard I was about to pee my pants.  Eventually Brent was able to pull Buddy onto his lap. Below is a picture of the end result that gives no justice to the previous events. I know that what a long story that isn't that good since you weren't there but just try to picture it in your head and you will be happy.

Our plan was to camp around the trail head to the Cirque of the Towers Saturday night, hike 9 miles to the cirque, camp up there Sunday night, and hike back down on Monday.  Despite finding a great little camp site the first night, things first started looking a little sketchy when we realized we only had one tent.  Billy had a mosquito net and Randy had nothing since he thought that if Billy was married he would have at least a two man tent. Wrong.  What really stunk (other than Buddy's tooting) is that we had another perfectly good 2 man backpacking tent at home in the closet.  The next morning we woke up to a lovely day and a not so lovely flat tire.  Luckily a flat tire isn't too hard to change.  Eventually we got started on our hike.  The first 5 miles were flat, easy, and lovely.  Then we started up Jackass Pass and the adventure really started.  I'll sum up the rest of the trip for you. 

steep inclines. large boulders. scrambling. incredible views. 40-60 mph winds. sunglasses blown off brent's head. sunglasses found. miracle. hat blown off brent's head. hat found. miracle.  me being blown off rocks. brent catching me. miracle. incredible views. 40-60 mph winds. only 1 tent with cold and wind. hiking back down. 18 miles. high winds. full packs for no reason. large boulders. steep inclines. one day. 47 degrees at the car.  billy and randy starving and freezing. billy's one liners. burger king in rock springs - never tasted so good.  arriving home at 2 am. 

Despite the summary, it was a great trip.  The pictures are the only way to describe the beauty. Billy had some great ones too.