We wound our way down to the mouth of the canyon where Washakie Creek empties into East Fork River and began hiking up the creek toward Texas Pass. The Cirque of the Towers was on the other side of this 11,400 ft pass and completely blocked from view.
The entire high route was somewhere around 20 miles long and we knew we would have to camp above 10k ft. If we made it over all 3 passes we could find camp in a canyon stretching to the south and shelter ourselves from the fast west winds roaring through the mountains. This seemed very plausible as none of the passes were nearly as technical or as tall as Knapsack. Blueberry was still with us and we were all feeling very good.
We surveyed the pass from below and began to climb from the shore of Texas Lake. Much to our surprise, an established trail led us all the way to the top with relatively little scrambling. We paused only a few times, looking back over the lakes behind in the early morning sun. The wind was getting stronger near the top but no clouds were in sight.
As we topped the pass, the entire valley came into view. It looked like something straight out of Middle Earth! Numerous peaks towered thousands of feet over Lonesome Lake below, fiercely rugged and barren against the hazy blue sky. This was one of the most beautiful valleys I had ever seen! We descended to find a place for lunch along the lake shore.
We ascended Jackass Pass next. The mountains caught and funneled the wind directly at us, blowing sand and gravel into our faces tearing at our clothes. The relatively short pass was more gradual than the last, but keeping our footing against the strong gusts was far more exhausting. After a few quick summit photos we hurried down the other side into the next valley and the protection of the canyon walls. The breathtaking peaks and ridges stretched out ahead leading to Temple peak and our final pass of the day.
Miles and miles later, as the sun sank toward the horizon, we began to see Temple Pass clearly as we passed Miller and Temple lakes. At just over 800 ft tall, this would be a relatively easy final climb for our now tired legs. We were completely taken by surprise.
The actual trail over the pass was often faint and difficult to follow. We chose instead to climb the talus, scrambling our way over the terrain as the sun fell below the ridge to our right. The frigid air was still blowing hard and several times I hunkered against the rocks, waiting for gusts to subside. We picked up the trail after some searching at the summit and began a slow descent on a slippery, pea-gravel trail down the mountain toward Frozen Lakes and the canyon below.
Finally over the last and hardest pass of the day, our bodies protested all the way down the canyon to camp. We ate and crawled into bed, exhausted but thankful for the shelter of the trees and canyon as the wind howled through the night.