Day 1 ~ August 2, 2006 ~ Hike to V Lake, Camp 1                                     

The plan was to meet at the Big Sandy Opening Trailhead today around 7:00pm. Rick and I made the drive from North Denver in about 7 hours and arrived right on schedule. I'd only exchanged voicemails with Jack over the past several days. He had been in Wyoming for several weeks doing multiple backpacking trips into other parts of the Wind River Mountains and Tetons, as well as spending time with friends in Jackson. He was not at the trailhead when we arrived. Rick and I began organizing and packing our gear. We decided that we'd each carry enough gear to be totally self-sufficient - tent, stove, water filter, etc. This meant heavier packs, for the time being. But we thought that once we met up with Jack, we'd have the option of stashing the extras if it worked out that we could share certain gear items. This ended up being a wise decision... 

By 8:00pm there was still no sign of Jack. And due of the lack of recent correspondence we weren't positive if/when he'd arrive. So we drafted a note with our itinerary for the next 2 days and posted it in the window of Rick's truck next to the ubiquitous CNP oval sticker. Jack was sure to see it! (And he did...) Then we set out on the short ~2 mile hike to V Lake where we would camp for the night. It was dusk. The air was cool. And we were excited to begin our journey.

We hoisted our packs, heavy with camera gear, and left the trailhead at 8:30pm. The trail leaving the Big Sandy Trailhead is actually called the Meeks Lake Trail (the closest lake to the trailhead). The trail starts out with a cool forested stretch along the Big Sandy River. Soon it opens up into a large meadow. At the far end of the meadow, the 3/4 mile mark, you reach the junction to Meeks and V Lakes. We stayed left, on the Meeks Lake Trail, and worked our way up a short hill, back into the trees, and on to Meeks Lake. By this time is was fairly dark, so we didn't stop at Meeks Lake. We switched on headlamps as we strode through the thick forest and the last light of day slipped away. We arrived at V Lake and found a suitable campsite around 10:00pm. Camp was set by 10:30pm and I was asleep soon after. The night was cool and quiet except for a 5 minute bout of rioting coyotes.

Total distance traveled: 2.3 miles, Total vertical: 340 feet   ~   Download route: GPX, Google Earth