Passing Through The Pass
After lunch we kind of headed the opposite direction, leaving the lodge and heading south and then west—this was the part of the trip where we jumped on the groomed trail (Forest Road 515) for a little while. We jumped off the trail Wind River Lake and headed toward Sublette Pass, which sits literally in the shadow of Sublette Peak (10,537 feet). It snowed early in the afternoon but then stopped and the clouds lifted so we could not only see Sublette Peak but also Brooks Mountain. The pass goes between Brooks Mountain and Sublette Peak. What a great and fun place to ride. It wasn’t overly technical but thankfully we were with Bell and he knew how to navigate off the mountain through a field of car- and truck-sized boulders. The snow was soooo deep.
At day’s end, we had 32 new miles on the odometer and had climbed past 10,000 feet.
We were pretty tuckered out but only that much more excited for day two.
More new snow overnight and fewer clouds made day two even more spectacular than day one’s ride.
On day two, Brooks Lake Lodge general manager Adam Long rode with Bell and I. We again crossed the lake (which is 234 square acres big) and headed straight toward Brooks Mountain, which is more of a long north/south mountain ridge than a single peak. We rode safely away from any avalanche danger zones but it still towered over us as we rode along the base, poking in and out of the trees. Again, the snow was near perfect with plenty of powder. Our afternoon ride was much the same but we ventured farther north as far as Upper Jade Lake, which is tucked away in the trees at the base of Brooks Mountain.
The Pinnacle Of Views
There were plenty of places we got out of the trees enough to see across the high mountain valley to The Pinnacles across the way. The afternoon ride was full of elevation changes, small drainages, tree running and a couple of pretty good stucks. One time we stepped off our sled on a hillside above Upper Jade Lake and sunk to our chest in the deep powder.
One of day two’s adventures was on a ledge above Brooks Lake that had a several hundred-foot drop on one side and tight trees on the other. It wasn’t really a sled-width wide where we were trying to get through but Bell managed to mountain goat us through this stretch. Good times.
At the end of day two we dialed up about 30 miles and lots of memories.
As mentioned, we did bring our own sled but Brooks Lake Lodge offers Ski-Doo and Polaris snowmobile rentals. The lodge is pretty much all-inclusive, meaning all meals are included in the price, as are the snowmobile and ice fishing guides. The lodge has seven rooms and there are eight cabins (we stayed in one of the cabins) on the property. There is also a spa, dry spa, 20-plus person hot tub and workout room.
The main lodge, which was built in 1922 by the same company that built Old Faithful Lodge, is the hub of activity on the property. That’s where the check-in desk, bar, dining room, tea room (tea and treats are served every day at 4:30 p.m.) and lodge rooms are. You may have heard there was a fire at the lodge this past summer (July 28) but Long told us it will all be fixed and ready for the winter season, which begins Dec. 20. “The dining room and tea room were affected,” Long said. “But that should be functional for the winter season as long as construction and Mother Nature all work out.”
We wish them good luck because the lodge is a big part of the snowmobile experience in this area. It should be noted, even if you’re not staying at the lodge, the dining room is open to the public for lunch (11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.) every day. Several riders stopped at the lodge for lunch during our two-day visit.