Cloud Peak Wilderness

Although it's crazy to me that I might be hiking in August and it's July 2nd, and I still have no idea what I'm going to do, I... well, I'll probably be hiking in August for a week and I still have no idea what I'm going to do. What I'm leaning towards strongly now is the Cloud Peak Wilderness in the Bighorn Mountains of Central Wyoming for about three or four days followed by a couple of days of scenic roadtripping around the Bighorn Basin. (I had thought about going back to the Uintas, but I really want to branch out; I've spent way too much time in that range while other locations should have been commanding my attention for more diversity of experience.)

The Bighorns are kind of like the Wind Rivers little brother; on the other side of the basin, no grizzly bears, similar scenery, but just a tad more subdued. It also comes with the benefit that it hasn't become a hiker/climber magnet, so it's a place of likely solitude other than some hikers and fly fishersmen who are most likely locals. 

Another contender was the Lost Creek Wilderness in southern Colorado, which has a very unique look to it. That's a short-lister for a late September or early October hike, if the weather cooperates. Maybe even this year! (Sigh. I have two weeks of vacation that are unaccounted for and I don't want to waste it frittering away my time on the computer, or watching TV or something stupid at home. Especially if the rest of the family are going to be here all over the house anyway.)

Whether I take any of my sons with me remains to be seen, but it's looking somewhat unlikely, at least for this first trip. My oldest son will have a new baby, will be moving, and working. My next oldest will still be in NoCal on his mission. My youngest wants to come, but his availability due to his job is iffy. Plus, he doesn't really want to backpack so much as he wants to do the scenic roadtripping portion of the trip. Which is fine, because the two portions might end up being close to a 50/50 split. But his availability is still iffy.

Anyway, I have the Trails Illustrated map on order, but it will come in while I'm out of town, so I won't be able to look at it until about the 20th of July. Less than a month before I actually go hiking, I presume. Yikes. I tend to like to be more prepared than that, but then again, why? Why not show up with only a vague idea of where I'm going and do what I'm feeling like? What I really need to spend more time on is figuring out what to see while driving around in the basin. For the backpacking, I'll probably just head up to one of the "popular" destinations, like the Pouch Lake area or something, and play it somewhat by ear.

Anyway, while I won't be posting while out of town, I'll probably have some posts to make as I wrap up my preparations for the trip, and of course, after I come back. More activity on this blog is coming soon...