Final Thoughts
This was an incredible journey through the heart of the Wind River Range. Though I got a small taste of the northern Winds during the summer of 2006, I was not prepared to see what we saw. My partners, Ward and Reed, were even more blown away than I was as this was their first backpacking trip to the Rockies.
Once again there are many people that have to be thanked for making this a great trip...
Reed and Ward: Without their participation I never would have been able to do the hike. Yumi wouldn't have let me do this solo and with them doing most of the driving, it was like they were taking me along. A sweet deal for the Dorfman! Seriously, these guys knew what they were doing and handled their first mountain backpacking trip like pros.
Reed was the recipient of my numerous planning e-mails and kept the fire burning so to speak, while Ward let me stay with he and his wife Ann when we arrived back in Wisconsin a day early. This saved me another 6 hours of drive time I would have had to do to pick up my son in Janesville. I suppose it was the least he could do considering I fixed his flip flop.
Mother Vaughn: Ward's mom, for letting us use her mini van for the trip. I shudder to think what the ride would have been like in a smaller vehicle, and really shudder when I think of what could have been coming off the trail to a tiny truck. Hopefully we got her cleaned out real nice for you. Enjoy the bird seed.
Mother Judy: My mom, for helping with the kids and running Todd and Matt around in my absence. Love ya.
Of course, Yumi. I'm not so sure my lovely wife was thrilled when I told her about the trip, and probably less thrilled when I was gone. She covered my ass a couple of times, tying up some loose ends I had failed to do. Thanks honey, I love you and hope you had fun at the soccer tournament!
Finally, I've gotta thank my special Winds consultant Onbelaydave/Swimswithtrout for recommending the route. Though Reed wanted to send you a letter bomb as we scrambled over boulders near Peak Lake, he survived and later retracted his threat of bodily harm.
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