The Green River Lakes are located in the Wind River Mountain Range in Wyoming. Located not far from the town of Pinedale, this area became our destination for spending a couple days backpacking along the valley of the mountains. This was my first time in the Winds, but my husband had made this trip once before with a group of friends from work. That trip three years ago was life-changing for Matt and he had been itching to get me out to these mountains ever since.

This backpacking trip was different than any other that I had been on. The backpacking we have done in the midwest is never very far from civilization – if something goes wrong, there is never any real danger. This was not the case in these mountains, we were truly in the middle of nowhere and the quiet left us in awe.

Taking the Lakeside Trail we hiked 13.6 miles through the valley passing the Green Lakes on that first evening. Due to a “heavy wind event” about a month earlier, there were a lot of fallen trees on and around the trail. We also guessed that maybe the wind event scared away a lot of wildlife because apart from one mule deer, we did not see any animals at all.

After camping by the river, we woke up to our tent covered in frost. It was so hard to get out of our cozy sleeping bags and into the frigid morning air. Once we did though we pumped water, had an oatmeal breakfast, and then headed back out on the trail. We were doing an out and back trip, but we made it to Three Forks Park before turning around. The view in the Three Forks Park was truly stunning, but after spending some time taking in the views we headed back down the trail the way we had come.

Our plans had to change due to a crowd of people at the campsite area where we had hoped to stay. Instead of camping a second night in the Winds we ended up hiking the whole way back to our car to boon-dock for the night. We clocked a total of 20.6 miles that day. Definitely a one-day hiking record for me and it was very difficult. I think all the hiking we had been doing on this trip had taken a toll on me. It was worth every step though and I would certainly do it again. Being with my husband in the middle of nowhere brings me so much perspective and appreciation for the beauty of creation.

We ended our trip by spending one night in the mile-high city. Denver was such a nice cap on 2 weeks in the West. We Pricelined a bougie hotel, road bikes around the city, and sipped local beer at a brewery. This was truly the trip of a lifetime and I am so happy to have experienced it with my best friend. Now I’m ready for the next one!