We had an unplanned day off from riding. The night before after using our toilet for #1, when I used my foot to press the lever to flush, some little plastic part snapped off. Turns out it’s a pretty pivotal piece in that it’s what opens up the toilet to flush. Well of course we aren’t camped by any big cities so we had to make a day trip to Idaho Falls to buy a new shitter. Luckily we found one in stock and Derek was able to install it with minimal cussing.
With the new shitter installed we hit the trails for another day of backcountry adventure. The ride to Sheep Lake was an out and back ride of only 12.3 miles but had a hefty with 2561′ of climbing and featured a high alpine lake and a waterfall! This ride came recommended by a local and I’m happy we rode it. Again, we saw no other riders the entire time. Honestly, you kind of hope there are more people out here to scare the grizzlies!
The trail starts with a few creek crossings and follows along the lush green drainage. It’s a steady climb pretty much the ‘entire way up with a few switchbacks along the way. There are quite a few technical sections with rock gardens to negotiate and I’d say it overall deserves a black diamond rating. It’s the top part of the trail to the lake that is difficult. It’s steep, rocky, and a bit chewed up, plus you’re at almost 9100’!
But the lake!!!!! What a glorious backdrop for a high alpine lake. It was a bit hazy but still amazing to sit and watch the fish jump. After splitting an energy bar, we hopped back on our bikes for a sweet descent back down. We stopped on the way down to admire the Sheep Creek Falls.
Like all our rides in this area, it’s bear country and we carried bear spray and bear bells. Better safe than sorry.
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