September 3, 2015
After a restful night, Andrew was still tired as we began in the morning. Fortunately by this time our food weight had decreased significantly.
From Lake 10828' we descended on the west side through Bonneville Basin.
Looking back
There was an expansive view out to western Wyoming.
Looking down on the lower Bonneville Lakes
As instructed in high route guide we didn't begin our ascent to the pass between Raid and Bonneville Peaks until after we were past the inlet.
We actually ended up going too far east as we went around the corner. This resulted in a steeper climb. Eventually the pass came into view.
Traveling through the talus took additional time and effort.
I ended up on the left side of the small lake in the photo below while Andrew went around the other side which had less talus.
Looking back
There was a great view of the Continental Divide from the pass.
Looking west from the pass
On the top Andrew studied the map for navigating the descent on the other side.
The east side continued to have a significant amount of talus and was also steeper. Look how small Andrew appears in the photo below.
We could see the pleasant hiking awaiting us down below.
There was a nice view of Lake 10566'.
Looking back to the pass.
Lake 10566'
We descended to the small lake to the left.
Free from the talus we enjoyed the easy walking.
After a short break, we continued onward and even found a trail on the way to Pyramid Lake.
Pyramid Lake
From Pyramid Lake much of our off-trail hiking on the route was complete.
The trail passed a scenic unnamed lake.
Looking back at Pyramid Peak
Andrew decided to take the lead as we hiking back in the trees.
Next we came to Skull Lake.
We had considered an alternate route over the Continental Divide at Washakie Pass, but decided to continue the route as described.
Through the trees we could see the Cirque of the Towers in the distance.
We joined the Shadow Lake Trail and decided Shadow Lake would be a nice place to camp. On the way we passed a hiker who was resting a Washakie Creek.
We arrived at Shadow Lake and found a place to set up camp on the western side of the lake with a spectacular view of the Cirque of the Towers.
Surprisingly there didn't seem to be many others camped nearby.
We even managed to take a picture of both of us for our parents by mounting a mini tripod on the top of our tent.
Near sunset there were dramatic clouds to the south.
We enjoyed the view from another spectacular campsite on the Wind River High Route.
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