Brooks Lake area to Younts Peak via the Continental Divide

[sagebrush]

Some more photos from this area for everyone...
...Wild and Nice Younts Peak
Just a few photos from the area ... Enjoy! Good Wild Country as it is meant to be. Wishing Everyone the Best!

Not only are the images spectacular, but fascinating to see Younts and other areas at different times of the season/year and with various amounts of snow cover. A thoroughly enjoyable experience and feast for the eyes.

 

[Langdon Greene]

In the upper stretches of the South Fork of the Buffalo, there are several drainages that come down into the South Fork from the Buffalo Plateau ... all of these drainages have old routes or trails up them made by the outfitters from long ago. Have been on some of them. One of these goes up a drainage, first one down from the pass of the South Fork with Cub Creek ... this goes up the drainage then also goes on down the other side - Crescent Creek to the head of the South Fork of the Shoshone. There is also a very nice pond - small lake offtrail right south down the slopes off of Crescent Mountain that have looked down upon a number of times.

Wow. How did I miss seeing this thread before?!?

For a while now, I have been in awe of @Kmatjhwy 's narrative description of this region, not to mention her photos at her other site. (and I have been amazed at the locations of those photos, realizing how incredibly far any of those are from any established trail / route. She has really covered an immense amount of real estate!


@Kmatjhwy , I would love to spend an afternoon (or three!) just listening to you talk about the route knowledge you have in your head. You are an amazing resource, and I thank you for all you have contributed here.

In that quote above that I excerpted, you mention unofficial outfitter trails down most of those drainages of the S.Fk Buffalo.... Which is interesting, because a while back I was messing around with CalTopo, seeing if I could come up with [non-official] travel routes off the divide that I could talk my wife into backpacking with me, without [hopefully!] ruining my marriage. ;-) (My wife is NOT fond of scree, bush-whacking, and off-trail route-finding in general.)

So I was focusing in on the Wall Mountain - Crescent Mountain section of the divide..... [see maps below]

I thought that one particular drainage on the south / west of the continental divide, starting at the saddle where Marston Creek's headwaters start and flow in the opposite direction, might be a feasible route down to S.Fk. Buffalo. It's the one I have marked below in blue dots (the red lines are 'official' forest service trails.) Might that canyon / drainage be one of those you alluded to above, with outfitter paths in it? [reference note: South Fork Shoshone trail is on the far right; Marston Pass / Ferry Lake is along the top edge. Bottom right trail is the Crescent Creek trail, coming up to the divide from S.Fk. Shoshone.....]

The sattelite photos of the area suggest the west/north side of that creek might have the best terrain to pick a route through. But that was before I read this thread where you suggested that there might already be an outfitters path down through here.

Here's another map shot of the same area, with the slope angle shading I used to help me pick this drainage. Despite the steepness of the canyon walls, it suggests a fairly graded route all the way down to the trail at S.Fk. Buffalo....

 

[Jackson]

Wow. How did I miss seeing this thread before?!?

For a while now, I have been in awe of @Kmatjhwy 's narrative description of this region, not to mention her photos at her other site. (and I have been amazed at the locations of those photos, realizing how incredibly far any of those are from any established trail / route. She has really covered an immense amount of real estate!


@Kmatjhwy , I would love to spend an afternoon (or three!) just listening to you talk about the route knowledge you have in your head. You are an amazing resource, and I thank you for all you have contributed here.

In that quote above that I excerpted, you mention unofficial outfitter trails down most of those drainages of the S.Fk Buffalo.... Which is interesting, because a while back I was messing around with CalTopo, seeing if I could come up with [non-official] travel routes off the divide that I could talk my wife into backpacking with me, without [hopefully!] ruining my marriage. ;-) (My wife is NOT fond of scree, bush-whacking, and off-trail route-finding in general.)

So I was focusing in on the Wall Mountain - Crescent Mountain section of the divide..... [see maps below]

I thought that one particular drainage on the south / west of the continental divide, starting at the saddle where Marston Creek's headwaters start and flow in the opposite direction, might be a feasible route down to S.Fk. Buffalo. It's the one I have marked below in blue dots (the red lines are 'official' forest service trails.) Might that canyon / drainage be one of those you alluded to above, with outfitter paths in it? [reference note: South Fork Shoshone trail is on the far right; Marston Pass / Ferry Lake is along the top edge. Bottom right trail is the Crescent Creek trail, coming up to the divide from S.Fk. Shoshone.....]View attachment 76573

The sattelite photos of the area suggest the west/north side of that creek might have the best terrain to pick a route through. But that was before I read this thread where you suggested that there might already be an outfitters path down through here.

Here's another map shot of the same area, with the slope angle shading I used to help me pick this drainage. Despite the steepness of the canyon walls, it suggests a fairly graded route all the way down to the trail at S.Fk. Buffalo....
View attachment 76574

I had very similar questions about the next canyon to the west called "Turner Fork" two years ago. Didn't end up attempting it while I was out there, but aerial imagery seems to show trails in places through Turner Fork and the one you asked about. For the drainage you mention, it sure looks like a trail at 43.8727091, -109.8748211. It's hard to tell otherwise though. I'd bet there may be a bit of bushwhacking, but there's also probably some semblance of a trail for a lot of it. The South Buffalo Fork has trails on both sides for most of the way. When my friend and I passed the drainage you mentioned, we were on the south side of the creek, unfortunately, so I didn't get a visual on any forks in the trail on the north side. I'm going to go back through my photos to double check for any evidence though.

 

[Jackson]

No helpful photos with regard to that fork, unfortunately. But they may at least be inspiration for you to get out there. I'm dying to get back, myself.
This is a view of the fork you asked about, taken from right around 43.858405, -109.886537.

And here is the report.

 

[Kmatjhwy]

Now for some information, I personally have not been up or down this one side drainage with the blue dots marked on the map. But the drainage that I have been up and down is the next one to the east or right up the drainage that is coming down that has the fork of two drainages in its upper reaches. One year I came off of the north of the two forks, camped down near where they came together, then leisurely strolled on down on a good trail to the upper South Fork of the Buffalo. I have also been in the upper reaches of the other fork on my journeys when up and down across the Buffalo Plateau along the Divide. But it is nice all thru out in here. But the north fork of this side drainage which I strolled down is nice and has NO Scree! It was a leisurely hike down off of the Buffalo Plateau and C. Divide thru grassy meadows with an old route. Then near where the two forks came together, I ran into a good route / trail which ran all the way down to the Upper South Fork of the Buffalo. It came out to the South Buffalo Fork just a short ways up from where this side creek entered the South Fork.
It is all amazing country in here. One could camp here and there, hike here and there, spend every summers here and there in these Absarokas and one still would not see it all. Now hope this helps. It is now April and this white stuff is melting. The next summer is coming and hope everyone is ready!

Langdon, Thanks for the compliment! Wishing Everyone the Best!