My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

BigDawwg.....cool stuff there BD.....



We headed south on Highway 191 out of Jackson, Wyoming, followed the meanders of the Snake River, and at the "Y" in the road (which is now actually a traffic circle), we took the highway to the left and continued down Highway 191.....my goal here was simple.....I wanted to view the Wind River Mountain Range.....





The problem that we faced was the rain and the low cloud level.....



Highway 191 follows the flow of the Hoback River as it passes through Hoback Canyon.....



I spotted what appeared to me to be caves along a cliff on the north side of the highway.....we stopped to have a look.....





An interesting roadside sign was located at our stopping point.....



I believe the entire canyon was maybe ten miles.....





We stopped once more as we exited the canyon.....sure wish we could have seen more.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

My desire to see the snow covered Wind River Mountain Range was strong so I decided that we needed to slow down and wait for the bad weather to pass us by.....



We spent the afternoon here watching the sky as it finally began to clear just a bit.....





We hiked up the forest service road and we hiked along several trails that we happened upon.....this was elk country.....and that meant that the hunters were here.....not the best place to be out wandering.....





It was late in the afternoon when we stopped at the BLM office in Pinedale, Wyoming to enquire about Freemont Lake.....our home for the next three days.....this place was crawling with mule deer.....





The following day brought us blue skies.....





This was a good place.....

 

[AlwaysRoaming]

Great pictures as always Jerry. Thank you for taking us along.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Jbynum.....sure thing.....



So the first thing we did after setting up camp at at Freemont Lake was to jump into the Jeep and go hiking .....



I decided to hike on a trail along Half Moon Lake.....a lake to the northeast that was much more remote than Freemont Lake.....



This was Grizzly country.....and once we got out onto the trail I could easily see why.....this place was pristine.....the kind of place that makes you think there's a bear in every valley.....



Of course we didn't actually see any bears that day.....





It was a great day of hiking with amazing views and finally.....the perfect weather was here.....





The next three photos brought a smile to my face.....I had not expected to see Trapper in any of my landscape photos.....but there she was.....

 

[pkripper]

Teton Mountaineering and Images of Nature are my two favorite shops in Jackson. Great to see the team out and about again. Safe journeys!!!

 

[Foy]

I'd wager the caves you found were paleokarst horizon features within the Madison Group, the very same thick limestones in which the ice cave in the Big Snowy Range, the nearby cascade, and the Big Spring near Lewistown emanated. The Madison Group is regionally extensive--(under different stratigraphic names it is exposed and occurs in the subsurface down through CO and into NM and AZ. In MT and WY, Madison Group rocks normally form resistant ridges and cliffs of massive gray thick-bedded limestone appearing a lot like the rocks in the sequence you photographed in Hoback Canyon.
It was enjoyable to follow the cabin build and just as enjoyable to follow the present trip south. Thanks for taking the time.

Foy

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

pkripper.....thank you.....

Foy.....I thought about you just yesterday as I was driving along Highway 191 in northeast Utah. The BLM has signs along the highway depicting what was in the ground. The last sign I saw was right before a massive open mine just north of Vernal, Utah.....that sign said something about phosphate.....I'm guessing that was the mineral that they were extracting ? Thanks for chiming in.....more caves coming.....



We took the Jeep as far up the mountain as we possibly could.....the road ends at the boundary to the Bridger Wilderness Area.....the views along the way looking back across Freemont Lake and beyond to the Salt River Mountain Range were stellar.....



Sometimes I share my viewpoint with Trapper.....



Either way.....like I said.....the views from up there were stellar.....







At 9,200 feet in elevation there's a pull out to view the Wind River Mountain Range.....



We parked the Jeep and walked until we came to the roads end.....





For me.....there's just something so mystical about the Wind River Mountain Range.....the jagged snow covered peaks, the stunning beauty, and its remoteness all factor in.....

 

[Foy]

Yessir, Jerry, phosphate is mined out of the Phosphoria Formation near Vernal, UT. Like the Madison Group limestones, the Phosphoria Formation is present over a huge part of the West, outcropping in MT, ID, UT, and WY. Phosphate mines occur at many locations in the Phosphoria Fm. It also includes highly organic shales which are petroleum source rocks. Some of the Phosphoria Fm has uranium and vanadium values but to the best of my knowledge little production comes from it.
Foy

 

[BigDawwg]

Jerry,,,,, Ok, I've been meaning to ask you,,,, when your in high-density Bear Country with the Dog's, One on a Leash, or both, and is there a Leash-law in Yellowstone, just curious, as here in Alaska, there are Leash-laws in the Anchorage, and Mat-Su area's, but when I'm out and about here in Alaska,,,,,, Murphy's not on a "Leash".... !!!

So,,,,, there was a situation a few yr's back, up off of the Denali-Hiway, up the McClaren River a couple were out walking with their dog on a leash, trail got alittle narrow, they were single-file, Dog in the lead of course, had an encounter with a Sow and cubs, Dog got loose, leash flapping in the wind behind the Dog, Dog leash got wrapped around some pucker brush, Dog was staked-out as Bait at that point,,,,, the Sow was coming back for the Dog, and or the Guy which had just caught-up to where the Dog was wrapped-up, pulled his Hand-Gun and was ready, his wife had Bear-Spray, she was ready, the Sow ended-up Bluff Charging,,,,,, the Dog was taken of the leash at that point, and they worked their way back down the Trail......
My thoughts,,,,,, they got Lucky......
BD in Alaska....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Foy.....open mining sure does suck.....

BigDawwg.....I only carry bear spray with me in Grizzly country cause I prefer people saying "that damn fool even had bear spray and the bear still got him" as opposed to "that damn fool didn't even have bear spray no wonder the bear got him".....I wouldn't stand a chance with two dogs on leash.....

In that last photo of Trapper swimming in Freemont Lake she actually has a sixteen foot retractable leash attached to her. It slipped through my fingers as she lunged for the lake water. I was stressing that the leash would snag on a submerged branch or stump and then I'd be up to my neck (literally) with trouble.....




The Forest Service was in the middle of a controlled burn while we were up there.....



So these places that my mind was telling me would be teeming with Grizzly Bears were not.....







We turned around at the trailhead at the end of the road.....we had done enough for one day.....





.....and we made a few more stops as we descended the mountain and returned to our campsite.....



Tanner so loves the life on the road.....this really is all he knows.....well, maybe a little cabin building too.....

 

[longhorn1]

We loved the Winds, coming from the South. A long and bumpy road to a beautiful view of the lake and Winds. The campground (USFS) was empty and free. The Continental Divide Trail works it's way along the lake.

 

[longhorn1]

Coming from the south in 2016, we stopped at the brewery in Pinedale for lunch and beers, then headed through Cora up around the North end of the Winds to Green River Lakes, camping at the Forest Service campground. The drive out of Cora was bumpy and maybe 1/1/2 hours. For one night the views were worth it. Next time we will stay 3-4 days. One of my favorite pictures is Square Top above the fog as we left Great pictures as usual. Love seeing the dogs swimming. Driving on the East side of the Winds, through the reservation, is supposed to be a good drive.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

JD.....it's an amazing place.....i always wished that I had taken the time to climb Gannett Peak (13,804').....Wyoming's highest peak. It's a 40 to 50 mile roundtrip hike usually taking at least 3 days to summit. No doubt it would have been epic.....



Back at the campsite the dogs shared a single antler that they'd found along the banks of Half Moon Lake.....





They also kept watch for Grizzlies.....here they are mesmerized by a lone chipmunk.....



I chose to stay in the campground during our stay at Freemont Lake.....simple reason.....50 mostly secluded campsites along over two miles of shoreline and we were the only ones there.....



The campground was closed for the season which simply meant no toilets and no water which meant no problem for us.....it was free (typically $12 per night).....



This place was a paradise.....







.....and it was difficult to leave.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We had some great skies during our stay.....waves over the Wind River Range.....



We caught every sunrise & every sunset.....







And everything in between.....





Magical place in every way.....



My favorite moment in time here was without a doubt this sunrise.....





.....and my favorite photo during our 3 day stay was without a doubt this one.....

 

[longhorn1]

Another photo of the Winds. Having the campground to yourself is the best. We sold our camper Sunday and take delivery of an Oliver Travel Trailer with off road capability, but not like the Four Wheel Camper. Our F250 will become your jeep.