PONY TAIL
We got up fairly early on Saturday morning. I had a bagel with cream cheese, an orange, hot coffee (courtesy of David), and an iced coffee for breakfast. It was my last chance to eat well for nearly two weeks. Then we finished packing before driving over to the Boulder Basin trailhead at the Southfork work center. The trailhead is directly across the river from the Deer Creek Campground, but getting to it required driving north 5+ miles on Southfork Road to the bridge and then driving back south another 5+ miles.
We could have started from the Cabin Creek Trailhead at the end of Southfork Road, which would have shortened the first and last days by 2+ miles. However, that approach would have required wading the river after only a mile or so. The trail crosses the river where it is braided, but it still would have been a major ford. I only had flip flops as water shoes, and they would not have been adequate for a crossing of that magnitude. I knew I would get wet boots eventually, but I wasn’t eager to do that right away. Plus, the crossing might have been sketchy with a heavy pack.
The Trailhead is a half mile south of the South Fork Work Center, but there is no parking where the trail starts. It begins at a gate leading into a ranch, at a small corner of National Forest land. The trail goes up and around that ranch, before dropping down to the river, where it meets the trail that originates at Cabin Creek. Oddly, the trail passes through another parcel of posted private property before it reaches the river, but signs indicate that passing through is ok as long as you stay on the trail.
I was under the impression that the South Fork Shoshone River Trail was popular, particularly with horsepackers. However, there were only two other cars in the parking lot near the Work Center when we arrived - on a Saturday in late July. We did our final packing there and took the obligatory selfie before shouldering our packs and walking on up the gravel road.
Dave and I
The scenery was great from the very beginning
We reached the first of several gates and headed up the trail through sagebrush. The first few miles were shadeless, and it was a sunny day. Fortunately it was only mid-morning and not too hot. We climbed a very noticeable hill as we circled around the ranch before passing through another gate. The scenery was fantastic from the very beginning, with great views of the rugged Absaroka Mountains surrounding the valley.
Already solo
We parted ways, and I continued through yet another gate on my way towards the river. A bit later I saw another person. Well, almost. To be accurate, I saw part of a person. OK, let me be specific. What I saw was a pony tail, a pair of hips in blue jeans, and the back end of a horse. It was definitely a female – the person, I mean, not the horse - but she disappeared over the crest of the next hill right after I saw her. To be clear, the horse also disappeared. It would have been super weird if she had disappeared but the horse had still been there.
I figured that there was a group of horsepackers ahead of me. A couple of times I thought I heard voices, and I thought I might catch up to them if they stopped for a break. I never saw them though. In fact, I didn’t see a single other person for the first 4 ½ days of the trip, not counting the pony tail.
My trail finally merged with the trail that starts at Cabin Creek, at a vague, unmarked junction that I was likely to miss on the way out (I did). The trail stays fairly close to the river along here, but far enough away that there are only a few views of it. There are also some brushy stretches of trail, so I got to practice making silly noises to scare off any bears (and all other wildlife) that might be loitering near the trail. I reached Aspen Creek a little bit later, where I stopped for water. By that point it was really clouding up, even though it wasn’t quite noon. Rain looked imminent, so I decided to have an early lunch. I have an aversion to eating lunch in the rain for some reason, so I decided to be proactive. It was a pretty exciting lunch, too. An actual ham, turkey, and cheese sandwich. I would have to rely on my nut butter packets and pita bread for every other lunch after that.
It started raining shortly after I resumed the hike. It was just enough to convince me to put on my rain jacket and pack cover. I resumed the hike, and the rain immediately stopped. I stopped and took off the rain jacket, but left the pack cover on as a deterrent against future showers.
The first four miles of the hike had been pretty easy, but the next 3 miles were TOUGH. The trail climbed onto a series of benches high above the river, which runs through a deep, narrow slot canyon far below. There are numerous steep ups and downs, and the trail traverses several scree fields. Despite the challenging terrain, the trail is well-designed and it was in good shape.
The South Fork Shoshone River
The lower slot canyon
I crossed a small tributary and glanced upstream at the perfect moment to glimpse a huge waterfall. Wait, what? I checked the map, and sure enough, there was obviously a monster waterfall a short distance upstream. I checked my watch. It was only early afternoon, and I was only planning to hike a few more miles. Yeah, let’s do this.
Initially I thought it would be pretty easy to follow the creek upstream, but the stream banks were all loose rock and crumbly dirt. The rocks were slippery, and the canyon was narrow. I was about halfway when I decided to ditch the pack. I don’t like leaving my pack unattended in bear country – what could go wrong? – but I also don’t like carrying 13 days worth of food and gear while scrambling and bushwhacking. I figured that it would only take me a few more minutes, but that was wishful thinking. It took another half hour to reach the base of the waterfall and return. The view from the bottom was nice, but when I got there, I found myself wondering if the view would be better from the cliff above. I checked the map again, and it looked like it would be pretty easy to get there. I decided that I would consider it if the route looked as good as the map suggested when I got there.
I returned to my pack, which had not been molested by bears or any other creatures. From there I continued back down the creek and resumed the hike. It only took a couple of minutes to reach the optimal point to head up to the cliff overlooking the waterfall. Incredibly, that point was in a meadow. How could I pass it up?
I headed up through the meadow, and for once, the route actually was as easy as it looked. I ditched my pack again (!) and continued up a wooded, steep slope. From there I was able to pick my way down to a great viewpoint of the waterfall. My vantage point was on the cliff directly across from the waterfall. It offered a great view – much better than the base of the falls. From the bottom, the falls are diminished by the viewing angle, and the upper part is out of sight. The view from the cliff reveals the entire waterfall in all its glory.
Unnamed tributary waterfall
The map suggests another waterfall upstream. There is a major game trail continuing up the ridge, so I decided to follow it. I thought it might lead to a good view, but the mountainside is heavily forested farther up. I climbed to where I expected a good view, but there were too many trees in the way.
I noticed that the clouds had thickened, and thunder rumbled. My pack (and rain gear) was way down below, so I hurried back. By the time I reached my pack the storm was nearly on top of me. I hurried back through the meadow and returned to the trail. I paused there briefly, as there was an obvious route down towards the slot canyon that the S Fork Shoshone River runs through. I really wanted to see that, but it was very exposed. I wanted to check it out, but I also really didn’t want to get hit by lighting. Instead, I hurried up the trail until I reach a thick stretch of woods right before another open area. I stopped there, and the storm finally hit a minute or two later. I decided to wait it out, and watched it pour for 30 minutes or so. Eventually it seemed like the storm was passing, but it was still coming down hard outside of the shelter of the woods. Eventually I walked out there, and I found that the rain wasn’t as powerful as it looked. It was really coming down, but it barely got me wet. I guess it was a dry rain. Only in the Rockies…
The dry rain eventually passed, and I continued up the trail. After a short distance I reached a view of a small stream cascading down the mountainside on the far side of the canyon. From there it wasn’t far too the most spectacular waterfall of the day. Falls Creek is a much larger stream, and it drops over a series of waterfalls before one final, stunning plunge into the depths of the slot canyon below. The waterfall is visible from the trail, but I put some effort into finding a better view. That was completely unnecessary, as there is a great viewpoint easily accessible from the trail a short distance beyond. I took a break there before continuing on to a series of cliffs with another amazing view up the valley. It’s an incredible spot, and only 5 ½ miles from the trailhead. It would make a great destination for a dayhike.
View up the South Fork Shoshone River valley
Fall Creek Falls
Old mining cabin
A refrigerator?
I continued a short distance to Needle Creek. I thought I might continue on another mile and camp near Saddle Creek, but Needle Creek made me pause. Needle Creek was raging whitewater. The trail crosses at a fairly narrow point. It was hard to judge, but I’d guess that it was thigh deep, with a powerful current. Could I wade that without being knocked off my feet? I had my doubts. I looked upstream but didn’t see anything more appealing. Downstream the creek braided, but almost all of the water went to the left. That might be a little better, but probably not a lot.
It was almost 6pm and I was tired. I decided to find a place to camp and save the Needle Creek problem for the next morning. I backtracked a short distance and then headed into the woods away from the old cabins. I quickly stumbled upon a fire ring and a good spot for the tent. Unfortunately the fire ring was very close to the tent site, and cooking and eating close to where you sleep is a bad idea in grizzly country. I wandered around for awhile, considering my options. Finally I decided to use the obvious tent spot, but I cooked and ate in an open area close to the trail. That spot was comfortable, and it had a nice view of the surrounding mountains. The tent spot was great, too, as I could clearly hear the cascading creek from there.
Camp 1
View from the cooking area
