July 23, 2022
- Start: Cliffs above Double Lake
- End: Bomber Basin
- Distance: ~ 8.5 miles
Yesterday’s health scare was pretty alarming. Not just for me, but for the NOLS instructors and for my fellow students. Even after my heart rate dropped back to normal, my body was just so tired. So I rested in the tent for the remainder of the evening hoping that the lack of activity would keep my heart rate from surging again.
Emily and Prashant cooked beans and rice for dinner, but I was too tired to even eat. I just had nibbled on a snack bar and tried my best to avoid more bug bites. The mosquitoes were pretty thick inside our tent, which meant I was stuck back inside the soft coffin (bug bivy), trying to ignore that claustrophobic feeling that it always brought on.
I made it through the night, which was decidedly unremarkable. My heart rate never surged. And despite my fatigue from the day, I only got fits and spurts of sleep as Emily repeatedly checked in with me to make sure I was doing ok.
When the dawn ultimately arrived, I checked my heart rate yet again. It was 74 bpm. Higher than my typical resting rate of 55-65 bpm, but still very much within the range of what was considered “normal.” Whatever caused my crazy cardiac episode yesterday seemed to have resolved itself. And so, I wandered outside to take my first real look at our scenic campsite on the rocky cliffs above Double Lake.
Having forgone dinner, I was starving now. But with nobody else was awake yet, I didn’t feel like digging through all the Ursacks to figure out which food bag belonged to my team. After about 15 minutes, I was joined by Tobi. Thank goodness for another early riser in our group. He said he was going to make some coffee, and asked me if I wanted to join him. The suggestion of a hot coffee sounded just about perfect.
MITIGATING THE RISKS
After breakfast, I huddled with the NOLS instructors and assured them I felt completely fine now. My heart rate seemed normal again, and there’d been no problems in more than 14 hours’ time. I really wanted to stay with the group and hike out of the Winds under my own power. I knew it wasn’t my call though. Judd was the group leader. He would have to decide.
Lucky for me, Judd assessed the risk of continuing to be fairly low. Nearly half our team was WFR-certified and Bea was a registered nurse. The NOLS headquarters already knew about the situation, and they’d gone through a ‘trial run’ of their evacuation drills yesterday. Plus, we really only had one more day of hiking left.
Our plan was to hike to north past Burro Flat and up to our final mountain pass at near 11,000 feet. Beyond those initial three miles of ascent, the remainder of the day would be all downhill to our next campsite in Bomber Basin. And that was just two miles from the trailhead where we’d be extracted tomorrow.
So with the exception of the our climb to the pass, we really did had an easy day ahead of ourselves. The instructors would keep the entire group of 12 together today, just in case something happened and we had to reshuffle the teams on a moment’s notice. But all those little things seemed to mitigate the risk enough for Judd to allow me stay.
TAKING IT SLOW
Prashant and Emily had been team players during on this whole thing, and both of them offered to carry even more of our shared gear to minimize the stress on my body. They also thoughtfully turned last night’s leftover beans and rice into some burritos for my lunch today. What a duo!
Our hike up to the pass was more leisurely than normal. Even I found it a bit too slow and easy, but I didn’t complain. We were just ambling along with nothing to do by take in the sights, while I tried to remain attuned to how much stress my body was enduring. If my heart rate surged, I wasn’t going to suffer in silence this time around.
A carpet of purple and yellow wildflowers met us at the top of the pass, and it was evident that the terrain was changing here. We would soon be leaving the alpine features and heading to the northeastern edge of the Bridger Wilderness.
The most majestic part of the Winds were behind us now as we dropped down toward the area north of Torrey Peak and Arrow Mountain. Tall pine trees rose up beside the trail, and before I knew it, we were back below treeline where the forest enveloped us once again.
As we reentered the forest, the next few miles seemed to include a million switchbacks. I was leading the group, so I picked up my pace hoping to make these knee-crushing downhill miles go faster.
Even the flowers seemed to change as we continued to drop in elevation. Lovely white columbine flowers lined the trail in one section. Then it transitioned to vibrant fuchsia and purple blooms.
One of the instructors pointed out Whiskey Mountain, which was directly ahead of us on our descent. The trailhead for that popular peak was only about 7 miles south of Dubois, making it a very trendy and easily accessibly hiking spot.
But the peak’s real claim to fame was that it was home to a huge concentration of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. We wouldn’t get to see any bighorn sheep on this hike though, as we’d be hiking well below the mountain. That experience would have I’d save for my upcoming hike of a different state high point instead.
We rolled into Bomber Basin around 3 pm, and got to work doing our camp chores. When all the tents were set up and we had a good bear hang established, it was time to head down to the river to soak our feet in the icy cold water while just hanging out as a group.
BOMBER BASIN
We out our final dinner out of this 8-day trip, then sat around a campfire sharing the many things we were grateful for on this trip. We went around the circle one by one, and when it was my turn, I shared how grateful I was to get to summit my 45th state high point.
Wyoming is revered within the highpointing community as having one of the hardest peaks to summit because of its technical nature. So getting the chance to tick this climb of Gannet Peak off my list and witness how beautiful the Wind River Range was left me feeling a lot of gratitude.
A few more people later, it was time for Judd to share what he was thankful for. He looked me dead in the eyes and said that he was grateful I hadn’t decided to die out here. Everyone laughed in response, and I had to chime in that I supposed I was glad for that outcome too.
I hadn’t experienced any issues with my heart rate all day. And honestly, I was feeling pretty confident that whatever caused the cardiac episode yesterday was just some sort of fluke. It was still worth checking out with my doctor after I got back to Oregon, just to be safe. But I wasn’t especially worried now.
Our final night in the Winds was drawing to a close. In the morning we’d hike out of Bomber Basin to the trailhead. Tomorrow’s goal was slightly different though. We’d leave the wilderness one by one, rather than as a group.
This approach would allow us each some time to reflect upon our trip and to enjoy the last few miles as a solo hiker. Each person would get to take in their natural surroundings in a meditative way before returning to the busy trappings of the front country once again.
And I couldn’t think of anything better than that!
