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This report covers what was supposed to be a five day backpacking trip through a portion of the Salt River Range in Wyoming. Originally, our group would start at what I call the Smith's Fork Trailhead, head north to McDougal Pass, and then drop down to the North Fork Willow Creek Trailhead. The total distance would be a little over 30 miles. Unfortunately, we had to bail down Crow Creek to the Greys River side of the range on day four, putting our total distance at 22 miles.
Having never been in the Salt Rivers before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I found that I was pleasantly surprised. The scenery was spectacular, and we only saw one other person the entire time that we were in the backcountry. The range is located on the east side of Star Valley, and I'd passed the range many times on my way to and from Yellowstone or the Teton Wilderness. Of course, going in July means plenty of wildflowers, and plenty of mosquitoes too. The wildflowers didn't disappoint, and I bet I had a couple thousand mosquito bites when it was all over - my body was covered with them.
Here are some shots of our trip:
Day 1 - Smith's Fork Trailhead to a tributary of Corral Creek
Overview map
Light blue line was our original route before the change of plans
The drive up was through Evanston and Cokeville. Some of the scenery along the way.
View from Salt River Pass on Highway 89
Lander Cut-off sign at the pass
Heading up the Forest Service road just east of Turnerville
Arriving at the North Fork Willow Trailhead.
The Sube looks lonely. Bob would arrive in a few minutes to pick me up and the whole group would meet at 225 BBQ for lunch in
Afton.
Lunch time!
Best pulled pork that I have ever had! And the smoked mac-n-cheese wasn't bad either.
Smith's Fork Trailhead shenanigans.
Our group which included myself, @Bob, @Chuckwalla, @wsp_scott and wsp_scott's son.
Goosefoot violets were the dominate wildflower of day 1 as they were everywhere
Geraniums were plentiful too
Smith's Fork
Cinquefoil
Looking back after crossing Smith's Fork
Violets everywhere!
Scenery starting to open up on our way to Sheep Pass
Hilly terrain
Phlox
Bob, pondering the moment
Approaching Sheep Pass. Still some snow fields this time of year.
View north from Snow Pass
View south from Snow Pass
Break on the pass
And we are off
Spring beauties
Spring Creek
Shooting star
Trail junction, or so it seemed. We sort of lost the trail we wanted at this point.
Wyoming Range in the distance
Unnamed peak 10,682
View back to Sheep Pass
Trailing the pack
Passing by a tarn
Buttercups
Day 2 - Upper tributary of Corral Creek to a tarn just off South Crow Creek
Breakfast
Views from our first night's campsite in the morning
White Marsh Marigold
Views from the trail
Crossing a stream
Looking down on a tributary of Corral Creek. Paintbrush was plentiful on the slopes.
Horsemint
Lewis Flax
Leafy Jacob's ladder
Bottoming out before climbing up to Corral Lake, Corral Creek is down there somewhere.
Moth on some lupine
Beautiful country
Corral Creek
Ridge to the west of us
179 please.
Climbing now
Falls on Corral Creek
Mountain dandelion
Falls on tributary of Corral Creek
Stickseed
Views heading up to the lake
More falls
Looking down tributary of Corral Creek
Corral Lake and surroundings
Travis, the only other person that we saw on this trip, using the counterbalance method of backpacking. Hails from Logan, Utah.
Now this is a @Bob horse trail! Leaving Corral Lake.
Had to dig in on this one.
Looking back down at Corral Lake
I'm guessing that sometime in August this snow will be gone
Bob, on Bob's horse trail
View north from the pass above Corral Lake
Giving it the thumbs up
Bob's giving it two thumbs up.
Ridge stretching out to the north
Boisduval's Blue
Unnamed Peak 10,689
Wyoming Range way off in the distance
Negotiating a cliff band as we drop down to another upper tributary of Corral Creek
Coming off the cliff band
View down the tributary towards Corral Creek
Trying to find the old trail that goes up and over the ridge. The only way is up.
Northern sweetvetch
Arriving at the top of the ridge with Mount Fitzpatrick ahead
Looking down the South Crow Creek Drainage with the Wyoming Range to the east
Unnamed Peak 10,315
Classic @Bob amidst the buttercups
We'll be making camp down near the tarn
But first another cliff band to negotiate. @wsp_scott above giving it a go.
Gives one an idea of the mosquito issue on this trip
Out tarn for the night
Camp for night 2
Day 3 - Mountain tarn in South Crow Creek Drainage to Crow Creek Lakes.
Day three sort of turned out to be an ass-kicker for our group which caused us to make a change of plans at Crow Creek Lakes. Most of the day was off-trail.
Unnamed Peak 10,689 in the morning sun
View towards Mount Fitzpatrick
And we are off
Heart-leafed arnica
Another cliff band to go down
Fossils on the limestone
Another perspective on unnamed peak 10,315
Strawberry
No, not that way!
Picked up an elk trail at this point. We are heading down into the valley where North Crow Creek lies.
Nasty elk trail
It took us a long time to get down these cliffs
@wsp_scott holds some fragile Fendler's Meadow-rue in his hand.
A ground squirrel congratulates us on our decent off the cliffs
Larkspur was abundant in the valley
Need some calories for the climb to Crow Creek Lakes
Orange sneezeweed, along with Richard's and sticky geraniums
More Richard's geraniums
Time for the climb up to the lakes
Looking back on the cliffs we came down
Steep rocky trail heading up to the lakes
The Wyoming Range
A Mormon cricket
Reaching lower Crow Creek Lake
Cutleaf anemone
Another ground squirrel congratulates us on reaching the lake
Executive decision to camp at the lake tonight instead of heading on to South Three Forks Lakes, about 2.5 more miles to the north
Well that means the celebratory Tony's Chocolonely bar has to be eaten at Crow Creek Lakes instead of South Three Forks Lakes!
This 1/2 pound bar was slowing me down the entire trip.
Things might be going downhill fast at this point @Rockskipper !
Not a big dark chocolate fan I take it.
One of my favorites for dinner though.
We got to watch numerous pikas scurrying around the rocks above the lake while we ate. Looks like some Parry's primrose above
the pika in the last shot.
Day 4 - Crow Creek Lakes to the Crow Creek Trailhead
Just a hot hike down Crow Creek to the trailhead.
@Chuckwalla had a great campsite for the night
Lower Crow Creek Lake in the morning. For those interested, head straight up the ridge to get to South Three Forks Lakes.
Junction sign
Meadow walking most of the way out from here
Does it look hot?
Painted lady on some ragwort
Buckwheat
Crow Creek
Horse bridge over the Greys River
Looking north up the Greys River
At this point, we were hoping to hitch a ride back to @wsp_scott 's vehicle at the starting trailhead. A young man, who had just graduated from the University of Quebec in Canada, having majored in mechanical engineering, pulled up in a Jeep and gave wsp_scott a ride back to his vehicle, but this took about three hours for wsp-scott to get back to us. I decided to walk south along the Forest Service road until he came back because sitting around just made my joints stiffen up.
Looking south down the Greys River Valley
Crow Creek Trailhead
Deer in the burn.
The long road home.
After rounding a bend in the road, I ran into this guy.
From whence I came
Interesting spring and runoff on the east side of the road
The Greys River once again. I believe that is unnamed peak 10,850 of the Wyoming Range in the distance.
Wsp_scott's son pointed this out (some sort of flycatcher) to us at the spot they waited for wsp-scott to return.
Nice views of the Wyoming Range on our drive back to the Smith's Fork Trailhead
We stopped off at the La Barge Guard Station on our way back to the trailhead
An old fence corner among the paintbrush
Part of the Lander Cut-off
We arrived back at the trailhead too late to go pick up my vehicle, so we camped here for night number four.
Day 5 - Headed back to pick up my vehicle and then lunch in Afton, once again at 225 BBQ
As we were driving back up the Willow Creek Forest Service road to get my Outback, a rancher coming the other way stopped us and told us that they were five semis full of sheep that they were going to unload at the North Willow Creek Trailhead where my car was parked. We drove on and at the trailhead there were a couple of trucks and horse trailers parked by my Subaru. A cowboy who was waiting for the sheep told us that he thought we had enough time to get out of the canyon before the semis headed up, so we booked it back down the dirt road. When we arrived at the pavement sure enough, there were three semis lined up with sheep ready to take them up to the trailhead. Good fortune for us because we could have been stuck there for the day waiting for them to unload and herd the sheep up the trail. So then it was on to Afton for lunch.
Dusty times driving the dirt roads
A well deserved lunch
The three meat combo plate (pulled pork, brisket and ribs) with smoked mac-n-cheese and smoked beans as sides
And a Cold Smoke to top it all off.
Well, that about wrap things up on this one. I big thanks to all my backpacking companions on this one. It always fun to spend time in the backcountry with them. And it was nice to meet @wsp_scott 's son. Hopefully in the future he'll be willing to join us on another adventure. Maybe returning to finish off the section that we didn't complete?
While I liked the Salt Rivers, I was surprised that we saw no large animals until we dropped down to the Greys River. I was sure that we'd see some elk or deer back there. We saw plenty of signs, but no animals. I would guess that the range probably dries up considerably in August and September, so Scat, who likes his water, was glad we did this in July so that I could stay hydrated. Definitely worth your time to explore the range for anyone who might have the itch.
The End.
Having never been in the Salt Rivers before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I found that I was pleasantly surprised. The scenery was spectacular, and we only saw one other person the entire time that we were in the backcountry. The range is located on the east side of Star Valley, and I'd passed the range many times on my way to and from Yellowstone or the Teton Wilderness. Of course, going in July means plenty of wildflowers, and plenty of mosquitoes too. The wildflowers didn't disappoint, and I bet I had a couple thousand mosquito bites when it was all over - my body was covered with them.
Here are some shots of our trip:
Day 1 - Smith's Fork Trailhead to a tributary of Corral Creek
Overview map
Light blue line was our original route before the change of plans
The drive up was through Evanston and Cokeville. Some of the scenery along the way.
View from Salt River Pass on Highway 89
Lander Cut-off sign at the pass
Heading up the Forest Service road just east of Turnerville
Arriving at the North Fork Willow Trailhead.
The Sube looks lonely. Bob would arrive in a few minutes to pick me up and the whole group would meet at 225 BBQ for lunch in
Afton.
Lunch time!
Best pulled pork that I have ever had! And the smoked mac-n-cheese wasn't bad either.
Smith's Fork Trailhead shenanigans.
Our group which included myself, @Bob, @Chuckwalla, @wsp_scott and wsp_scott's son.
Goosefoot violets were the dominate wildflower of day 1 as they were everywhere
Geraniums were plentiful too
Smith's Fork
Cinquefoil
Looking back after crossing Smith's Fork
Violets everywhere!
Scenery starting to open up on our way to Sheep Pass
Hilly terrain
Phlox
Bob, pondering the moment
Approaching Sheep Pass. Still some snow fields this time of year.
View north from Snow Pass
View south from Snow Pass
Break on the pass
And we are off
Spring beauties
Spring Creek
Shooting star
Trail junction, or so it seemed.
We sort of lost the trail we wanted at this point. Wyoming Range in the distance
Unnamed peak 10,682
View back to Sheep Pass
Trailing the pack
Passing by a tarn
Buttercups
Day 2 - Upper tributary of Corral Creek to a tarn just off South Crow Creek
Breakfast
Views from our first night's campsite in the morning
White Marsh Marigold
Views from the trail
Crossing a stream
Looking down on a tributary of Corral Creek. Paintbrush was plentiful on the slopes.
Horsemint
Lewis Flax
Leafy Jacob's ladder
Bottoming out before climbing up to Corral Lake, Corral Creek is down there somewhere.
Moth on some lupine
Beautiful country
Corral Creek
Ridge to the west of us
179 please.
Climbing now
Falls on Corral Creek
Mountain dandelion
Falls on tributary of Corral Creek
Stickseed
Views heading up to the lake
More falls
Looking down tributary of Corral Creek
Corral Lake and surroundings
Travis, the only other person that we saw on this trip, using the counterbalance method of backpacking. Hails from Logan, Utah.
Now this is a @Bob horse trail! Leaving Corral Lake.
Had to dig in on this one.
Looking back down at Corral Lake
I'm guessing that sometime in August this snow will be gone
Bob, on Bob's horse trail
View north from the pass above Corral Lake
Giving it the thumbs up
Bob's giving it two thumbs up.
Ridge stretching out to the north
Boisduval's Blue
Unnamed Peak 10,689
Wyoming Range way off in the distance
Negotiating a cliff band as we drop down to another upper tributary of Corral Creek
Coming off the cliff band
View down the tributary towards Corral Creek
Trying to find the old trail that goes up and over the ridge. The only way is up.
Northern sweetvetch
Arriving at the top of the ridge with Mount Fitzpatrick ahead
Looking down the South Crow Creek Drainage with the Wyoming Range to the east
Unnamed Peak 10,315
Classic @Bob amidst the buttercups
We'll be making camp down near the tarn
But first another cliff band to negotiate. @wsp_scott above giving it a go.
Gives one an idea of the mosquito issue on this trip
Out tarn for the night
Camp for night 2
Day 3 - Mountain tarn in South Crow Creek Drainage to Crow Creek Lakes.
Day three sort of turned out to be an ass-kicker for our group which caused us to make a change of plans at Crow Creek Lakes. Most of the day was off-trail.
Unnamed Peak 10,689 in the morning sun
View towards Mount Fitzpatrick
And we are off
Heart-leafed arnica
Another cliff band to go down
Fossils on the limestone
Another perspective on unnamed peak 10,315
Strawberry
No, not that way!
Picked up an elk trail at this point. We are heading down into the valley where North Crow Creek lies.
Nasty elk trail
It took us a long time to get down these cliffs
@wsp_scott holds some fragile Fendler's Meadow-rue in his hand.
A ground squirrel congratulates us on our decent off the cliffs
Larkspur was abundant in the valley
Need some calories for the climb to Crow Creek Lakes
Orange sneezeweed, along with Richard's and sticky geraniums
More Richard's geraniums
Time for the climb up to the lakes
Looking back on the cliffs we came down
Steep rocky trail heading up to the lakes
The Wyoming Range
A Mormon cricket
Reaching lower Crow Creek Lake
Cutleaf anemone
Another ground squirrel congratulates us on reaching the lake
Executive decision to camp at the lake tonight instead of heading on to South Three Forks Lakes, about 2.5 more miles to the north
Well that means the celebratory Tony's Chocolonely bar has to be eaten at Crow Creek Lakes instead of South Three Forks Lakes!
This 1/2 pound bar was slowing me down the entire trip.
Things might be going downhill fast at this point @Rockskipper !
Not a big dark chocolate fan I take it.
One of my favorites for dinner though.
We got to watch numerous pikas scurrying around the rocks above the lake while we ate. Looks like some Parry's primrose above
the pika in the last shot.
Day 4 - Crow Creek Lakes to the Crow Creek Trailhead
Just a hot hike down Crow Creek to the trailhead.
@Chuckwalla had a great campsite for the night
Lower Crow Creek Lake in the morning. For those interested, head straight up the ridge to get to South Three Forks Lakes.
Junction sign
Meadow walking most of the way out from here
Does it look hot?
Painted lady on some ragwort
Buckwheat
Crow Creek
Horse bridge over the Greys River
Looking north up the Greys River
At this point, we were hoping to hitch a ride back to @wsp_scott 's vehicle at the starting trailhead. A young man, who had just graduated from the University of Quebec in Canada, having majored in mechanical engineering, pulled up in a Jeep and gave wsp_scott a ride back to his vehicle, but this took about three hours for wsp-scott to get back to us. I decided to walk south along the Forest Service road until he came back because sitting around just made my joints stiffen up.
Looking south down the Greys River Valley
Crow Creek Trailhead
Deer in the burn.
The long road home.
After rounding a bend in the road, I ran into this guy.
From whence I came
Interesting spring and runoff on the east side of the road
The Greys River once again. I believe that is unnamed peak 10,850 of the Wyoming Range in the distance.
Wsp_scott's son pointed this out (some sort of flycatcher) to us at the spot they waited for wsp-scott to return.
Nice views of the Wyoming Range on our drive back to the Smith's Fork Trailhead
We stopped off at the La Barge Guard Station on our way back to the trailhead
An old fence corner among the paintbrush
Part of the Lander Cut-off
We arrived back at the trailhead too late to go pick up my vehicle, so we camped here for night number four.
Day 5 - Headed back to pick up my vehicle and then lunch in Afton, once again at 225 BBQ
As we were driving back up the Willow Creek Forest Service road to get my Outback, a rancher coming the other way stopped us and told us that they were five semis full of sheep that they were going to unload at the North Willow Creek Trailhead where my car was parked. We drove on and at the trailhead there were a couple of trucks and horse trailers parked by my Subaru. A cowboy who was waiting for the sheep told us that he thought we had enough time to get out of the canyon before the semis headed up, so we booked it back down the dirt road. When we arrived at the pavement sure enough, there were three semis lined up with sheep ready to take them up to the trailhead. Good fortune for us because we could have been stuck there for the day waiting for them to unload and herd the sheep up the trail. So then it was on to Afton for lunch.
Dusty times driving the dirt roads
A well deserved lunch
The three meat combo plate (pulled pork, brisket and ribs) with smoked mac-n-cheese and smoked beans as sides
And a Cold Smoke to top it all off.
Well, that about wrap things up on this one. I big thanks to all my backpacking companions on this one. It always fun to spend time in the backcountry with them. And it was nice to meet @wsp_scott 's son. Hopefully in the future he'll be willing to join us on another adventure. Maybe returning to finish off the section that we didn't complete?
While I liked the Salt Rivers, I was surprised that we saw no large animals until we dropped down to the Greys River. I was sure that we'd see some elk or deer back there. We saw plenty of signs, but no animals. I would guess that the range probably dries up considerably in August and September, so Scat, who likes his water, was glad we did this in July so that I could stay hydrated. Definitely worth your time to explore the range for anyone who might have the itch.
The End.
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