Absarokanaut
Member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2014
- Messages
- 702
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
