Moments in Dirt and Ink

Wyoming Game and Fish Department, North Platte River Public Access Area ( map link ) There are a number of public access areas along the North Platte River provided by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. They each have varying amenities and recreation opportunities. The one at Treasure Island is well appointed with bathrooms, boat ramp, and a bit of hiking, as well as allowing camping for up to five days. Upon discovering the bit of hiking, I decided I could put some long chores off an hour to explore the place. The parking area is open and rather exposed to the sun. The weather had been pretty stuck on the theme of record heat for all the lower areas since I got to Arapaho, maybe even before but they weren't telling me about it then, so it was hot but cooling in the late afternoon. Panorama of the hills to the south. Land immediately surrounding is private, but the area is a checkerboard of Bureau of Land Management and private and those hills or some like them (check ...

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest (light blue line, map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2 I didn't quite have enough water for breakfast, so packed it all up and got the quarter mile or so up the trail to the next tributary to eat, drink, and make merry. I couldn't help poking around a little and found that there's at least a little bit of use trail going up Jordan Creek, or perhaps it goes on the Drunkard Creek side. I didn't get far, but it seemed to be going somewhere. I didn't really get along the trail until 9AM, which is better for having a little light down into the canyon. The river is still in shadow, but the shadowed rocks of yesterday are well lit. Here comes the sun. Rocky Mountain maples have a collection of winged seeds now and might be colorful later. Getting some high (and wide) ledge time on the trail above the river. I actually spent a little more time taking in the plants than the river as I walked the return.

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest (light blue line, map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2 Okay, so somebody in Saratoga saying they want to do the Encampment River Trail probably isn't the best reason to go and do it, but I only had to go across the road for it so it sufficed. Since the Colorado side of this trail was such a mess, I decided to squeeze everything into the 33L pack instead of the 63L pack. Hey, it saves another pound. It's a tight squeeze, so I went with cold soak meals, saving a little more weight. I packed for an overnight with the goal laid back goal of just seeing how far I got. Since I was doing all this packing in the morning, the start was a little late. The Commissary Park Trailhead has parking, information signs, and a lot of open space. The Encampment River has grown by both the East Fork and West Forks joining. Wandering along in wide, glacial valley. I followed along trails near the river, but it turns out I was off trail. The official one ...

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest (purple line, map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 No frost over my feet this morning. Actually, everything was nice and dry and probably a little warm for that. The lake was pretty in the dawn colors, but more photogenic a little later. Gem Lake from the shore near camp in the morning. So I headed back down to Main Fork Encampment Trail and lost the trail on the way. It was in right about the same place as I lost it on the way up. It's just a bit too thickly covered in trees there. Getting back on track was easier on this second go. Following the trail along the outlet stream back down to the river. The outlet stream gets big on the way down. A random pool along the way down to the river.

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest (blue line, map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 I woke in the middle of the night and celebrated the fact that there was only a little roof over my head by scrunching around to watch the stars for a while. Then I got cold and scrunched back under and tucked in properly again. Good stars, though. Maybe the reason I can't feel any inclination toward any of the tents I've been pondering is that I'm just not a tent person. They're good at blocking winds, but they do it by trapping you inside with no way to just look out whichever way you want. Anyway, I managed to get back to sleep and woke up in a brightening world with frost over my toasty feet. Even cheap down socks are brilliant things. The junction of Beaver Creek Stump Park Trail with Buffalo Ridge Trail. There wasn't quite as early sunshine as I'd hoped to get, but it came and the place warmed nicely. I headed off for the last little bit of trail to the junct...

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest (orange line, map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 I settled on a three day loop plan to see a bit of the Encampment River at the north end of Mount Zirkel Wilderness with an excursion up Davis Peak for a bit of variety of terrain as well as visits to a few lakes. I thought about including some of the Continental Divide Trail, but the odd fat dotted line it follows turns out to mean ATV trail (on the western edge of the wilderness). Pass. I swapped out the Exped Ultra 5R for the Big Agnes AXL Insulated, so camp will look very similar to the picture a couple days ago except the mat matches the bivy instead of the roof. It saves half a pound and if I can't use that "3 season" thing in August, when can I use it? The Encampment River Trailhead might be the only one in Colorado you're allowed to camp at, or maybe someone's just removed the sign. There's a large loop with a few spots and a corral in the middle and a toil...

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest ( map link ) A geocache alerted me to the presence of a nearby waterfall and I put it on my list of things to visit. My hike started at FS-550, a good gravel road running from Encampment to Steamboat Springs. There's actually road running more than halfway from there to the waterfall. The sign benignly states "4WD recommended". The description on the geocache said bring your ATV. I chatted with a local and asked, "So, you gonna drive it?" He laughed and said he had once and it wasn't fun at all. It also says "North Fork Encampment River Trailhead" because, once upon a time, this trail went a lot further. It continued along the north fork to join the Huston Park Trail, now the route of the Continental Divide Trail, below Red Mountain. Now it gets to the edge of the wilderness and what would have been a spur crosses the fork and stops. Good thing that's as far as I wanted to take it. My start. If this f...

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest (red line, map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4 All I had to do was get back to Battle Pass and I was already much closer than my first night's camp. I wanted to add on Red Mountain, but that could only add a mile extra. I expected a lovely day of it, so had a relaxed morning. I even did something I almost never do. I photographed the setup! Camp, set up. Nemo Hunker 2 (AKA "little roof"), Mountain Hardwear Conduit SL (AKA "bivy"), Exped Ultra 5R, Tyvek, Komperdell aluminum poles with shock absorbers. Not visible is the deep purple MYOG summer quilt. Then I packed it all up and got moving. There's a peak to bag! First up, the wilderness high point. I chose a point, pondered it from a different angle, and became very sure it was the exact same point I'd chosen before. If you've hiked this trail and claim the Huston Park Wilderness high point done, I fully support that. I took in the views fr...

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest (orange line, map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4 The day looked every bit like it would be dry and warming like my now two day old weather report predicted. Actually, it might be a little warmer than desired for all the elevation gain that needed to happen a the end of the day. When I crossed the signs on the road yesterday, I noticed that they, like the signs on the trail, were about 100 feet south of where I expected them based on the map. I had spotted that first monument without any reference to where I thought I was in relation to the state line, so wasn't sure how it sat. (My track indicates north of the line drawn.) I had reflected that being that far south could easily have hidden a monument from me when searching for 148 M, but I should still have been able to find 149 M. The first one for today was less than a quarter mile off, so I would look, then get a bit south and look again. There'...

Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest (blue line, map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3  |  DAY 4 There was no drying things out the next morning. It was dribbling again shortly after I woke up and it kept it up as I packed, breakfasted, finished up, and headed out onto the trail. Rather than lifting, the clouds were dropping. Try as I might to get under them, they surrounded me and took away every remnant of view. Bits of cloud are drifting down the canyon from the saddle near camp. I didn't have much left of the wilderness and, since the trail now shortcuts a part of old road it used to follow, I had less than I thought before the last step out. My plans along the state line were increasing. Really, why not take the trail all the way to the crossing and then go cross country to the monument I was aiming at? This would go past a second giving me twice as many chances of actually finding one. Plus "finishing" the state even if I'd just started i...