Prologue

Wind River Trip, Aug 6-16 2009

Wind River Peak is the tallest peak in the southern Wind River range in SW Wyoming. At 13,192 ft, it is 25 feet higher than Cloud Peak in Wyoming, which the Boy Scouts (my son Patrick included) scaled 3 years ago. Patrick is no longer in scouts, but I was still asked to accompany Venture Crew 93 on a 10-day trip to South Dakota and Wyoming that would combine some car-camping experiences with a 5-day, 4-night backpacking trip in the Popo Agie Wilderness, including a summit of Wind River Peak. So, I was excited to get bragging rights on Patrick. Oh, one more detail - we would rent llamas to help carry our gear. Llamas??

Venture Crew is similar to Boy Scouts, but it allows both boys and girls to participate. I was familiar with most of the participants of 4 scouts and 3 other adults:

Chuck Stampfle, a long-time member of the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and now the Venture Crew. He was there when my son Patrick joined scouts, and has always been a quiet, hard-working presence in the various scout troops for years.

Kayla, his daughter, and president of Venture Crew 93

Michael, Chuck's son, vice president of Venture Crew 93

Nora and Susan, two members of the crew that I did not know well, although I had been dog-sledding with them last winter.

Gary Johnson, whom I describe as my "hiking buddy" to all that don't know him, having planned and organized many of my recent high adventure trips. Gary was the scoutmaster for Patrick for most of his years in Boy Scouts, and helped plan Patrick's major scout outings. Oh, and as an avid photographer, Gary supplied all the photos you see in my blog.

Maggie, Gary's daughter, the adult leader of Venture Crew 93, and a classmate of my daughter Emily from high school.