The Frontcountry

Absarokanaut

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The Frontcountry

This thread is like all of them in any true forum; for everyone. Sharing is encouraged. How specific the information you share is up to you. I expect that if someone does not wish to reveal certain details that no one else “lets the cat out of the bag” within the thread. I will always share important location details in strict confidence through private correspondence and I hope you will too. Beyond locations it will also be nice to share information that can help make “car camping” and day outings easier and more enjoyable for all of us. I am a fan of dispersed car camping but understand some of us don't have all the opportunities I do so if your base is a developed campground that's of course great. Just take us there.

I’ve been to conterminous America’s deepest wilderness. I’ve backpacked wonderful backcountry on 4 continents. I’ve had many a night well beyond the asphalt and gravel. I love the backcountry. I however have not done more than a handful of backpacking trips since 2008. I am older, fatter, and simply not as enthusiastic about putting that heavier pack on as I used to be. I am grateful to all the folks here and elsewhere that enable me to visit old memories and live vicariously with daydreams of fabulous futures. Despite how sedentary this current phase of mine is “I’m not dead yet.” I still have backcountry bag nights left in me. As athletes that don’t achieve the pinnacle of sport often tell themselves there’s always next year.

As a younger man I’d often ridicule people in massive RVs for missing out on the camping experience. Despite my passion for conservation and the knowledge indulgent personal excess exacerbates mounting global problems as a man now on the back side of 50 the thought of a warm, dry, and roomier place at the trailhead appeals to me more and more every less than stellar outing. I’m not an RVer yet, but the day could come however much my former self would be disappointed.

I have always loved car camping and day hiking. I’ve owned 4 different pickups over the years, all with camper shells. From the Gila to the Bozone I became acquainted with some of the most exquisite boon docking there is. Outside of Grizzly Country I’d often sleep cowboy style under the stars whether on the ground or with my head on the tailgate. There’s always a tent in the back of my truck, but I hardly ever use it. With apex predator concerns here in Greater Yellowstone not only do I like being in a hard sided vehicle as a practical protocol I have always appreciated not having to pack up if not dry out so much stuff; and when the rain or hail is too loud on the roof of the cab or the shell there’s always alcohol.

As a boy I was very fortunate to be a snowbird near Kelly, Wyoming. I horse packed Southern Yellowstone, the Teton Wilderness, and what became the Gros Ventre Wilderness extensively through college. I climbed most of the Teton peaks, kayaked and rafted area waterways, and became acquainted with most of the landscape treasures of Northwest Wyoming West of the Continental Divide. I know a great deal about dispersed camping in the Bridger-Teton and Caribou-Targhee National Forests and will share in time or when asked. I could start anywhere but I guess I’ll start with my favorite area on earth, Wyoming’s Southern Absaroka. Before my freshman year of college my cousin who’s parents raised me bought a then small Ranch outside of Dubois, Wyoming. The summer after my freshman year I helped him clean up and do a bit of remodeling and did a fair amount of weekend exploring around the Wind River Ranger District, in my admittedly biased opinion the jewel of the world’s first National Forest, the 2 plus million acre Shoshone. At the end of August I returned to school and he had his first hunting season on the Ranch. The following Spring I returned to be the head Wrangler for his inaugural season as a Guest Ranch. He soon married a wonderful woman and together they operated they operated the Ranch for 25 years as a family destination. After a couple of years I settled into a full time life in Colorado and made all few too trips back to Wyoming. That all changed after 911. From 2002 to 2012 I spent about six months a year on the Ranch, and in 2012 I gave my winters in Colorado up and moved to Jackson, Wyoming. I continue to enjoy truck nights on the Shoshone and expect I always will.

Let’s take a break from the verbosity and let me share a few photos. Here is the view from my 1993 SE V6 Pickup 8 or 9 years ago.


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The road to this lake is often rough but well worth it. It runs through extremely dense Grizzly habitat and I've seen literally thousands of elk from it over the years. Well below this scene a seasonal pond can be accessed without the bumps, but with rain the road in can like many across this landscape of volcanic remnants turn to soup.

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Two major drainages to the West from the roads and car camp sitses around the Brooks Lake Recreation Area its easy to see how Teddy Roosevelt was moved to lobby for the Shoshone to be our first National Forest when Brooks Lake was a stop of the Old Yellowstone "Highway."

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The high point of the right ridge line above Brooks Lake here is Point 11,040'+, known to some as "Brooks Mountain, Brooks Lake Mountain, or Top of the World." That cliff line is the crest of the Continetal Divide with the Bridger-Teton National Forest to the West. I call this mountain its original European-American name, Mt. Sublette. On your map the shorter Peak to the left is Sublette Peak. Don't confuse the two; while Mt. Mt. Sublette has a wonderfully benign Class I route on the backside of it's 1,000' cliffs Sublette Peak is treacherous to say the least. Mt. Sublette is most conveniently hiked from US HWY 26/287 near the summit of Togwotee Pass with the route entirely within the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Let's see some of what Mt. Sublette has to offer the day hiker.

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The image above looks to the Northeast into the Washakie Wilderness over the high cliffs you saw from the East in the previous image. The hike is a magical 7 mile loop I like to do counter-clockwise. In that direction the hiker rises a bit over 1,500' in just under 3 miles. After taking in the sensational summit one heads west along the Teton Wilderness Boundary atop a plateau that can put on fantastic wildflower displays like the one below that I chose for my avatar here.

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Looking down on the battleship of Sublette Peak from the Summit of Mt. Sublette/Peak 11.040'+.

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The above photo shows the Breccia Peak Massif as I rise up Mt. Sublette in my counter-clockwise loop. My direction makes for a steeper ascent but in so doing it facilitates a magnificent crest walk downward.

Absaroka Tetons From Breccia Divide.jpg

Here we see Wyoming's most famous Mountain Range [Sorry Wind Rivernauts] from the downward crest walk I've mentioned.
 
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003.JPG I got to Brooks Lake on October 1 and back up on Mt. Sublette this past Saturday. Fall's been magic here in southern Greater Yellowstone.

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The view from Mt. Sublette shows the previous Buck Mt. in the distance with the rest of the Teets south of Mt. Moran. Right in front of Buck Mt. is Mt. Leidy, and awesome hike for younger families.

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The Pinnacle Buttes.

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The crest of the Continental Divide traces the cliff tops, West to the left and East to the right.

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Final easy push to the summit of Mt. Sublette.

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After a wonderful hike with it closing this coming weekend I decided to drive the Inner Park [GTNP] road one last time.

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Nice photos. As one who is soon to be on the south side of 70, I can see why one would steer towards a hard sided camper and front country experience. That said, I still hate camping anywhere you can actually drive too and even in our off-road adventures, the gear is always in the backpacks and those get used at the end of the Jeep trail. Just such a better experience away from roads and it doesn't even need to be too far. A mile is usually more than sufficient.

I will admit to a bit of uneasiness with respect to Urus artos while tent camping and those critters are just about everywhere I like to be these days. But with the canines (hopefully a bit of early warning especially at night), fully bear aware mode, and with both a Plan A and a Plan B, I think it's covered. I'm not ready to buy an electric fence yet or give up the tent.

Just yesterday I ran across a box of slides I hadn't looked at since we last moved 11 years back. A lot of trips (primarily Beartooth's) from the 70's through mid 90's. Who the hell are those young people?:roflmao: Also some interesting gear in the photos, some with the Svea 123 in use. It worked. Not near as well as the Dragon Fly, but it did the task. Besides, it occasionally had a two burner mode-the second from the fill cap vent.
 
Thanks for stopping in John. I guess I should note that my day hikes take me well beyond the asphalt and gravel like the one I shared photos from a few days ago. I understand your preferences. I can say as much as I've always enjoyed the beauty of truly deep backcountry and look forward to getting back there sooner than later I've also immensely enjoyed being able to get in my truck or leave the Frontcountry quickly when horrific weather has descended upon me. I also like the refrigeration of my cooler and the kinds of foods and beverages that are not practical for the backcountry (on foot) that for me needs to be more than the proverbial stone's throw from the truck. I am of course willing (in private) to divulge boondocking locations that just might alleviate your extant consternation for vehicular camping.

I do understand your points, several friends agree with you. It's up to us to hike our own hike. Keep your stick on the ice John,

John

For fun: Who can name the Frontcountry Summit to the right and below the wolf head-like snow field configuration in the background? Hint: It is on Department of Interior managed land.

Avalanche Peak Wolfe Face.jpg
 
OK. To give folks a hint. The name of the peak sounds a lot like that of a ball manufacturer and this is another view from where the above pic was taken.

Avalanche Peak To Tetons 2.jpg
 
Well Absaroka... Looks like the Tetons in the background, maybe, but that can't be Jackson Lake then in middle ground. Could it be Yellowstone Lake? Anyway I have no idea on the peak.

BTW did you know we have a thread, two actually, called Guess the Spot and Guess the Spot: Maps Edition for this exact type of game. You will certainly get more guessers if you contribute over there :)
 
On the original thread.... Thanks for the tour. I am going to go walk your loop. Looks great! Probably will make it a backpack though.

I am, unfortunately, a weekend warrior somewhere between you and John's age. So I don't get to do as much car camping (my name for camping in what you call the front country) and backpacking as I would like. I DO get my 40 nights on the ground each year, god-willin' and the creeks don't rise, if you will. I eagerly count each and everyone of those car camping days since they are just as valuable and important for me to be out under the stars no matter where it is at. My pure car camping preference is for backcountry, informal 4wd truck camping and only stay in a developed campground out of desperation once every decade or so.

Since I am a weekend warrior, I would do your loop as a backpack probably because that area is far enough from my home in the mountains above SLC that to visit requires vacation time and if I travel that far on a vacation I am going to plan to be w*a*y away from the road most certainly. I love the big alpine meadows featured in your semi-TR above so I look forward to those. Sounds like you live around Jackson? Now that is just close enough to weekend visit. Maybe we should try for a car camp/day hike adventure together next year. The way this autumn season is it is starting to look like autumn will last until Xmas - even in the high country. October in Utah was way above normal in temperature and had nearly-zero precipitation. I should have been shoveling here at 6,700' by now.

So, what did you intend for your thread? A philosophy discussion? A car camping sharing thread? I am not quite sure and others may also be not sure.
 
I will admit to a bit of uneasiness with respect to Urus artos while tent camping and those critters are just about everywhere I like to be these days.

John, I say thank goodness! Although it does cause us quite a bit of extra risk, effort and inconvenience. That's Ursus arctos horribilis. I only say that because I like to type the name. Especially the subspecies "horribilis" :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_bear
 
Nice post! As far as I'm concerned, it's ALL good in regard to spending time in the outdoors. I'm usually seeking beautiful scenery more than anything else on my trips. Sometimes that means backpacking, sometimes car camping and day hiking, and sometimes even campground camping. I prefer privacy, so campground camping is my least favorite of those options, but sometimes it's the most convenient option. When I travel anywhere 8+ hours from home I almost always make a reservation in a campground so I know I have a place to be at the end of the day. I'd rather spend those precious vacation hours out on a hike rather than searching for a campsite. While I have never camped in an RV, and part of me will probably always feel like it's not real camping, if that's what it takes for me to still get out when I'm old, so be it. Spending time in nature is what's important, no matter how you get there or where you lay your head at night.
 
Awesome post @pixie1339 You summed up the spirit of the "hike your own hike" mantra perfectly... which is basically the hiker variation of "live and let live". Words worth living by imo.


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the purpose of the thread was to hopefully get others to share some great spots too, dayhiking or car camping. I do a lot of four wheel drive camping but call it Frontcountry. Backcountry for me involves hiking or horseback to locations at least a few miles from the vehicle. If you overnight my loop there are good backpacking sites near treeline not far from water on both ends of the ridge walk. There is a lot of car camping/dayhiking in the area I'll stack up against any I've done from the Gila to the Bozone, including a really nice site about a mile from this hike's "trailhead."

I will refrain from the game here now that I know where the big one is at. That peak below the wolf-like snowfield configuration is Hoyt Peak. Pics taken from summit ridge of Avalanche Peak above the East Entrance Road near Sylvan Pass.

I hardly ever sleep in a developed campground. Greater Yellowstone fortunately has more than 16 million acres outside the parks where Frontcountry locations are essentially up for grabs. Although the Upper Wind River Valley is the gateway to my favorite place on Earth I also love car camping in the Gros Ventre, Salt River, and Wyoming Range areas. And I've car camped a lot in Colorado where I lived for a long time. I really love the Sangres, IMO the best of Colorado is all South of HWY 50. My experience in SE Utah is more limited, but I've certainly found some magical parking spaces out there too.
 
I will refrain from the game here now that I know where the big one is at. That peak below the wolf-like snowfield configuration is Hoyt Peak. Pics taken from summit ridge of Avalanche Peak above the East Entrance Road near Sylvan Pass.

No offense intended Absaroka, I just thought you might have more participation and thus more fun on the other two threads. Looks like you stumped us here. The other two threads are kind of in a lull at the moment and we could use some help with @Kullaberg63 's challenge yesterday on the Maps Edition thread.

(So I guess it IS Yellowstone lake in the middle ground :) )
 
No offense taken man. Yeah, that's Yellowstone Lake. Let me know if you want to see more pics I'll send you a facebook link you do not need to log on to facebook to see. Just don't want to post it in thread.

I should note that if I do not move out of the region in the coming months I have a few extra cans of bear spray to lend folks.
 
Abs,
Your photos of the wild Absaroka country make me want to throw my gear in the car and start west on I-80. If only it were that easy! Keep the Absaroka pics coming. Simply spectacular!
 
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