8/4 - 8/21/06 Western Wyoming Recap - Last Stop on the Great Divide |
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October - Continuing our Wyoming adventure tales...
After leaving the Great Divide Basin, we picked up US287 at Jeffrey City, taking it west, crossing the Divide
again at South Pass. Farther west on WY28 we passed through Red Canyon,
before turning north at Farson on US191. Liz had stayed at Big Sandy
Reservoir previously, so we knew we had a cheap place to camp (free)
with nearby rockhounding locations, including the lake shore itself.
I dug around in the crumbling shale lake bank & found a fossil
fish, about 4" long. Liz found her own fish at a fossil quarry
a few miles away.
Next stop, the Wind River Range only a short drive to the north. Short,
but rough as we took about 20 miles of washboarded Forest Service roads
into the Big Sandy area. We found a nice boondock camp a few miles
below the Big Sandy trailhead, a popular gateway into the "Winds." We
planned to celebrate my birthday by backpacking into Big Sandy Lake & then
day hiking to the Cirque of the Towers.
We left Gypsy, drove to the trailhead & reached the lake in a
few hours. Our campsite overlooking the lake was wonderful, but the
trail to the Cirque turned out to be a little more than we bargained
for. The ascent to Jackass Pass is very strenuous & in places requires
crawling up boulders. We reached the pass, but Timmy was in obvious
distress, not recovering well while we rested. We decided not to push
him, satisfying ourselves with the awesome view of the Cirque that
the pass afforded. Dinner both nights at the lake included fresh brook
trout.
Our next stop was Pinedale, where we stopped to restock our larder & wash
clothes. As we pulled into town, we encountered our filmmaker friend
Mark, the fourth time we had crossed paths this summer. We finished
up our chores & headed up WY352, along the upper Green River. This
was another severely washboarded road, so we opted out of the last
15 miles to the Green River Lakes campgrounds & camped next to
the river. Next morning I took Liz up to the lakes where she headed
off on a solo backpack, her goal to complete the Wind River section
of the CDT (she had done the southern section some years ago). Timmy & I
stayed on at the river, joined by a small fearless bird that started
hanging around, tormenting Timmy by staying just beyond the reach of
his leash. I couldn't identify it, but it acted like a kind of
fly catcher. I think it was a juvenile bird that hadn't developed
fear of people. It would allow me to get within a couple of feet. We
left him behind after a couple of days, heading north to Togwotee Pass,
our arranged meeting place with Liz.
The drive from Pinedale to Togwotee is one of the most scenic anywhere
in the country. After passing through idyllic ranch country, US191
enters Hoback Canyon & follows the very pretty Hoback River most
of the way to Jackson Hole. This is all prelude to the grand views
afforded by the Tetons just north of Jackson, a breathtaking panorama
that extends all the way to Moran Junction. There we took US26/287
east up toward the Divide & Two Oceans Peak. We found a short spur
road with a perfect camp site just ¼ mile from Togwotee Pass.
I left notes at the pass to let Liz know where to find us. She had
about 50 miles of trail to cover, so I wasn't surprised when
she didn't arrive after 4 days. I was a little worried though
since a forest fire that I had first seen to the north of our Green
River camp was now not too far south of us & it seemed a lot bigger.
But she arrived the next day, having gone cross country for a good
part of the way while skirting the fire.
Liz read in online trail journals that some of our hiker friends were
in Dubois, just 20 miles away. Next day we drove over & managed
to find Jim & Ginny plus Sidewinder. One of the fun things about
our CDT summer was keeping track of & catching up with fellow hikers
along the way. The following day we drove to nearby Brooks Lake & took
a day hike into the beautiful Jade Lakes, nestled beneath the sheer
cliffs of the Divide.
Next stop: Yellowstone Park. We back tracked to Moran Junction & continued
north on US191. There is no free camping in the park, so we called
ahead & reserved a spot at Brige Bay campground. We stayed 3 nights,
giving us 2 full days to explore the park. The first day we stopped
by Old Faithful, but we just missed an eruption. We'd both seen
it before, so we headed on around the lower loop, stopping at the Middle
Geyser Basin along the Firehole River & later at the Grand Canyon
of the Yellowstone. The second day we took the upper loop, heading
out the Lamar Valley, stopping at Mammoth Hot Springs & the Norris
Geyser basin. We were surprised at how little wildlife we saw in the
park: one coyote, one bald eagle, one elk, one antelope, no bears!
We saw lots of buffalo. They caused traffic jams frequently, especially
along the Yellowstone River. But it was the lack of bears that really
surprised me. In my youth we visited the park frequently & in those
days, it was bears that stopped traffic.
We headed out the West Yellowstone exit, along the Madison River.
I recall traveling up the Madison back in 1959, just days after the
Yellowstone/Hebgen earthquake, marveling at the swaths in the forest
cut by huge boulders as they fell from the ridges above to end up in
the middle of the river. Those rocks are still there.
Yellowstone Park marked the end of our Continental Divide summer adventure.
We'd have liked to have continued on into Montana, but the corner
of the state at West Yellowstone was as far as this trip would extend.
With financial realities intruding, Liz & I concluded it was time
to return to Phoenix & resume gainful employment. But what an adventure
it was. And there was more to come on the homeward leg.
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