Headline: Anniversary Spent on "Snake Mountain" Ends Safely!

We have a "tradition" or maybe it is more like a thought, that each year one of us will plan our anniversary trip as a surprise for the other.  This year our anniversary approached quickly with neither one of us giving it much thought, so we were very excited when we were invited to visit Micah's older sister and her significant other in Lander, Wyoming.  Lander is one of the outdoor Meccas of Wyoming.  It is nestled up against the foothills of the Wind River mountains. You can hike, backpack, camp, climb, and much more, so we knew we would have an adventure packed weekend.  

Once we arrived in Lander we didn't waste any time starting our adventures.  We drove up the Canyon to see the run off of the Popo Agie, a rushing mountain river, that flows out of the Wind River Mountains and through the Canyon. Halfway down the canyon the river abruptly turns into a large limestone cavern, and the crashing water "sinks" into cracks at the back of the cave.  The river is underground for 1/4 mile until it emerges down canyon into a large calm pool called "The Rise" and then continues into the valley below.  

The Popo Agie river.

The "sink" where the water begins it 2 hour journey underground. The water was exceptionally high at this particular time.  

After visiting the "Sink" and "The Rise" we drove up the Canyon further until the road closed.  We then hiked the Popo Agie Falls trail.  This was probably one of the most beautiful hikes we have ever been done. While hiking up you could see the River flowing down into the Canyon. The mountain sides were covered in blooming flowers a variety of colors.   The view was amazing and at times breathtaking.  When we reached the "top" there was an area where you could see the waterfalls flowing over the mountain.  It was a great way to end our Friday evening.  

Toward the top of the hike.

Beth and Micah enjoying the view.

Saturday morning we headed toward Thermopolis where we would partake in some whitewater rafting.  Before we headed out rafting we stopped by the natural hot springs and walked around the park.  

Beth, Zach, Micah and SaraJane at the Hot Springs of Thermopolis before our adventure of rafting!

We headed back just in time for our trip to depart.  We had signed up to complete a two hour trip through the lower canyon where we would have the opportunity to enjoy the towering cliffs of the Wind River Canyon while experiencing some rapids with names like: Reverend Pugh Waves, Sacajawea Straits, Chimney Rock, Screamin' Lizzard, and Washakie Falls. SaraJane was pretty nervous because she had never been rafting before.  The pictures around the shop, like one included below, make the trip look really intense.  These photos only increased her nervousness.  So we left for the river and after getting on the water found out that the water level had decreased significantly since the previous day, making the ride a little more mellow.  Needless to say, we all stayed in the raft and survived the two hour ride with our short intervals of paddling.  We did get a little wet but enjoyed the opportunity to cool off in the hot weather.  

Sunday morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast burrito made by Zach himself.  After filling our stomachs we headed back to Sinks Canyon for a day of climbing.  The Canyon is filled with tons of great climbs and has a beautiful view.  We headed out around ten o'clock and as we were hiking up to the base of the cliff Zach came across a rattle snake coiled up on the trail.  It was fairly small, but enough of a snake to startle us all.  The remainder of the hike up went well-meaning we didn't come across anymore snakes-which we were grateful for. The weather was perfect and made for an enjoyable day of climbing.  Micah was really excited to be climbing with Zach, getting in as many climbs as possible throughout the day, along various parts of the cliffs. It was getting to be early evening and our stomachs were starting to growl.  SaraJane ventured off to "take care of business" and while she was gone we saw another rattle snake slither across the trail.  This snake was larger than the previous and raised feelings of unease. We decided to move further down the canyon to get to "The Block" where we planned on ending our day of climbing.  We had the option of taking the long way down, using the trail, or switch backing along the side where we currently were.  We decided that it might be best to avoid tall grass with the recent sighting of rattle snake.  As we turned around to head back toward the trail, Zach was leading and within the first minute of hiking jumped back because a very large bull snake was crossing our path.  We were reassured by Zach, who seemed to have no fear, that we could just go down a little further through the grass to bypass the trail.  As soon as he started to move through the grass, and we are not exaggerating, he saw a very large rattle snake.   At this point we turned around in a little bit of panic (or maybe a lot), only to realize that we either had to go down through the grass or we had to cross paths with the snakes.  Our hearts were definitely pounding and the thought crossed our minds in panic that we might not be able to make it down safely.  Thankfully Zach doesn't have the intense fear that Beth, Micah and SaraJane have and he reassured us that if we just stayed on the trail we would be fine.  So we put Zach on "Snake Awake" since he is reading about how to be "Bear Aware" and for what felt like the next two hours followed him silently down the trail reminding ourselves to breath! As we were nearing the end of the trail, ready to approach the road, Micah saw the grass moving up ahead and sure enough Zach crossed paths with yet another snake.  By this time our nerves were so jittery that we felt a decrease in hope and had an overwhelming sense of despair that we wouldn't make it.  To ease the tension someone mentioned how it must be the time of day (snake o'clock) and that we wouldn't (hopefully) experience something like this again. We joked how our experience was like that movie, Snakes on a Plane, only our version would be Snakes on a Mountain. Needless to say we made it all the way back to the car with no more encounters and were able to breath deeply...finally.  

SaraJane finishing her "little" climb, while Zach and Micah prepare for another big climb.  

Micah belaying while Zach leads a climb. 

So despite our intense day with the snakes we had a great anniversary and were happy to have spent it with Beth and Zach.  There was no better way to spend it (unless you removed the snake part) than being outside enjoying the view, the flowers, the smells, the climbs, the sound of the raging Popo Agie and the good company.