Last night was even colder but the heat of 4 bodies in the tent made a big difference. We all slept soundly with the exception of when Grady sat straight up in bed and said, "I need to go to the store now to buy a handful of meatballs." Which was pretty hilarious. There was a layer of ice on the outside of our tent and pulling ourselves out of warm sleeping bags was certainly a chore. The warm coffee waiting was a motivator.
Jake grilled up a bunch of fat pancakes, bacon and leftover cobbler for breakfast this morning. The boys were in heaven and stuffed themselves. We all made sack lunches while the crew cleaned up breakfast and brought the mules in from the meadow.
We saddled up and headed out at about 11 this morning for what ended up being my favorite ride of the trip. We rode back through the trail we came in on for a couple hours then turned up another trail and ended up at Stockade Lake. This lake is more open than the one we fished yesterday and much bigger. We didn't have as much luck with the fish but we enjoyed trying. Dad and I got a few solid strikes but the fish were a good distance from shore so it took a good cast to get the fly out there. Colby really struggled with it and learned the timeless lesson of patience with fishing. It's not called catching, after all.
We ate parts of our lunch and laid down on the grass to take a little nap. It made quite the picture, cowboys sleeping on the grass with hats over their faces. But the sun felt delicious and the rest was welcomed.
After mounting up and heading down the trail, we came to Losecamp Lake and heard the sounds of laughter. About 5 little boys were swimming in a little lake while their parents fly fished in another lake. We saw their horses tied up in the shaded trees nearby but the scary part is they didn't even notice our line of mules until we were nearly past them. You have to wonder if we were a grizzly bear. This family would later ride through our own camp on their way back to Sawtooth Camp. What shocked most of us was that the mom rode on horseback with a baby in her backpack. Having ridden through that trail and knowing how many times a branch nearly took off my hat, I cannot in good faith recommend carrying a baby on backpack through it. Different strokes for different folks I suppose but pretty risky.
After winding around Losekamp we headed up Tibbs Butte pass, crossing at an elevation of 10,060 feet. It was windy at the top but stunning. We were literally riding adjacent to hanging glaciers and had a spectacular view of the valley where we camped. On the way down, it started to sprinkle a little but not too bad. We meandered down along Little Rocky creek and met up with the rest of the mules in the meadow. Some of them came running over, jingling and jangling.
Just before reaching camp, Colby's canteen fell up of his pack and spooked his mule, who took off up the hill. He was able to get control eventually and rein him in. He claims he wasn't scared but also didn't really know what was happening until it was over.
The rain started again, forcing us all back under cover of the blue tarp again. Thankfully it let up in time for Jake to make dinner, although it took some work together the fire started with a wet fire pit. Thankfully that was the last of the rain for our trip. The one good effect of rain was eliminating the bugs and keeping the dust down.
Jake made a scrumptious pork chop dinner with rice and brown gravy and green beans. We got out the cribbage board and worked with the boys to teach them how to play. They have now become cribbage addicts, asking anyone to play at all times.
The boys are staying in our tent again tonight to help with warmth. It is already really cold as we head to bed. I am sure it will freeze tonight.
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