Days 1 & 2 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Bighorn Mountains & Wind River Range in Wyoming!
7-13-18, morning – No doubt about it. Something was in the works – something big! All the signs were there. SPHP scurried endlessly about. As hours ticked by, Lupe gave up on following SPHP around. Apparently whatever was going on wasn’t happening imminently.
SPHP had a present for Lupe! A bag on the front step said a marmot was inside, a dandy gift certain to be well received by an American Dingo. However, SPHP said there wasn’t actually a marmot in it. Disappointing, to say the least. A new tiny house was inside. Lupe’s old one had lacked a rain cover all these years, and was showing signs of wear and tear.
7-13-18, 3:00 PM – Finally! It was on now! Lupe was in the G6 on her pile of pillows and blankets. SPHP turned onto I-90. The Carolina Dog was bound for Wyoming! A bright, shiny, brand new Dingo Vacation was underway!
7-13-18, 6:30 PM – Less than a month after her last Dingo Vacation to the Bighorn Mountains had ended abruptly due to rainy weather, Lupe was back! This time she was in the southern Bighorns at Powder River Pass (9,677 ft.). During a short break from the G6, Loop ventured up to a small rock outcropping S of the pass.
The views were gorgeous! Lupe was inspired to go mountain climbing right this very minute! However, she would have to wait. Getting into position to start for Bomber Mountain (12,840 ft.) tomorrow was all that was on the agenda this evening.
SPHP drove W on Hwy 16. 2 miles past Meadowlark Lake was a R (W) turn onto USFS Road No. 27 at Deer Haven Lodge. No. 27 promptly turned N. 1.5 miles from Hwy 16, Lupe reached a junction where USFS Road No. 24 curved away to the L (W). A sign indicated it was 15 miles to Battle Park. Another sign said No. 24 was NOT an all-weather road.
After Lupe’s escape from Big Pryor Mountain at the end of her last Dingo Vacation, the sign gave SPHP pause. Even so, the die was cast. Looper was at least going to try to get to the Bucking Mule Trailhead at Battle Park. Fortunately, other approaches to Bomber Mountain existed, if this one didn’t pan out.
No. 24 to Battle Park wasn’t so bad, nowhere near as worrisome as the road to Big Pryor Mountain had been. Plenty of potholes and stones, but there were always ways around them. SPHP drove slowly. Lupe rode with her head out the window having a blast looking for squirrels and deer.
After 14 miles in 45 minutes, Lupe reached the Middle Fork of Paint Rock Creek. A small trailhead was on the R 0.25 mile farther on. This was the Middle Fork trailhead from which Trail No. 066 provides access to Lily Lake. A sign said registration was required to enter the wilderness. The station was 0.25 mile away at Battle Park.
SPHP parked the G6. Lupe and SPHP walked to Battle Park. 0.25 mile was more like 0.75 mile. When Lupe finally did reach Battle Park, SPHP was amazed. Expecting solitude, the place was packed with pickup trucks, trailers, people, horses and dogs!
Posted information at the entrance to Battle Park made no mention of any registration station. SPHP finally asked a group of people sitting around a bonfire about it. Oh, the registration station was still farther up the road at the opposite end of Battle Park.
SPHP registered. Lupe visited the Bucking Mule trailhead at the end of the road. Upon returning to the G6, she found a squirrel right away at the Middle Fork trailhead, and watched it until dark.
Although it was only 59°F out, the G6 was warm. Lupe lapped up lots of water, but spent hours panting atop her blankets. The Carolina Dog was tremendously excited, and too wound up to sleep.
7-14-18, early – Despite having spent half the night awake, Lupe was up before the sun. She picked up right where she had left off yesterday evening. The forest rang with shrill, happy barking as the American Dingo rediscovered the same poor, bleary-eyed squirrel. Meanwhile, SPHP was getting ready.
7-14-18, 7:04 AM – The squirrel was going to have a fine day, after all. SPHP had granted it relief. Lupe and the G6 were now at the Bucking Mule trailhead just past Battle Park at the end of USFS Road No. 24. All was ready. The backpack was annoyingly heavy as backpacks are wont to be. This was it! Lupe and SPHP set off into the forest on Trail No. 164.
While Bomber Mountain was Lupe’s ultimate peakbagging objective, the goal today was simply to get to Gunboat Lake near Florence Pass. Lupe had been to Gunboat Lake once before. A nice grassy ridge overlooking the lake had looked like a great place to set up base camp. So that was the plan. SPHP hoped it wasn’t overly ambitious. The weight of the dang backpack was the leading cause of doubt. It was 5 miles on Trail No. 164 just to get to the Solitude Trail (No. 038), and maybe another 6 miles on the Solitude Trail to get to Gunboat Lake.
Looper wasn’t thinking about any of that as she trotted N through the forest. Why, planning things out and carting all that gear around was what she had SPHP for! Her job was just to sniff, run, play and explore. The American Dingo had no intention of neglecting her duties. She gave them her undivided attention.
Trail No. 164 lost a bit of elevation in the first 0.25 mile to a ford at Battle Creek. The water was low. Crossing the creek was a trivial matter.
Easy is good! Always nice when a potential obstacle turns out not to be one. Beyond the creek Lupe started gaining elevation. No. 164 wound NE through forest, occasionally passing near small glades. About a mile from the trailhead, Lupe reached the S end of Long Park, a vast meadow extending more than 1.5 miles N. Elk Mountain (11,321 ft.) was in sight off to the NE.
Trail No. 164 went N through Long Park staying close to the W side near the forest. After only 0.25 mile, Lupe reached the top of a minor rise. The trail ahead curved W down into a drainage. The topo map showed No. 164 would lose 150 feet of elevation before crossing Long Park Creek, ultimately regaining all the loss on the way back E to Long Park.
Maybe there was a bridge where No. 164 crossed the creek, but the creek was divided into two streams up here in Long Park. If both were fordable, Lupe could save the detour W and avoid unnecessary elevation loss. Loop left the trail continuing straight N. Both branches of Long Park Creek proved to be simple rock hops.
N of the streams, Lupe picked up Trail No. 164 again. She came to no further obstacles traveling N through Long Park. SPHP tried to keep an eye out for Trail No. 120 going SE to Lily Lake, but saw no sign of it.
As Lupe got closer to the N end of Long Park, No. 164 made a jog to the W before turning N again. Lupe had been gaining elevation slowly. The pace picked up when the trail entered the forest. Several people on horseback were coming the opposite direction as the Carolina Dog reached High Point 9810.
Reaching High Point 9810 was significant. Lupe had gained 680 feet of elevation since fording Battle Creek. This was the highest point along Trail No. 164. Lupe had a look around. The terrain was pretty flat, but she found a rock that looked like it might be the summit.
In the middle of a flat area, the highest rock at High Point 9810 didn’t have the best view. The best view was from a boulder near the N edge.
High Point 9810 was 3 miles from the trailhead. Still 2 miles to go to reach the junction with the Solitude Trail. Loop and SPHP pressed on.
The Carolina Dog was now about to lose all of the elevation she had gained. During a steady descent through the forest, Trail No. 164 wound generally NE. Occasionally there were clearings off in one direction or another. Looper came to a muddy stream where she took the liberty of helping herself to a drink and cooling off.
The map showed one interesting highlight more than halfway from High Point 9810 to the junction with the Solitude Trail. That was Grace Lake. Trail No. 164 would go right by it.
Grace Lake was pretty! Lily pads grew near the W shore. Forested rocky slopes came down to the E shore. If SPHP wanted a respite from the heavy backpack, Lupe was perfectly content to lay in the shade with a view of the tranquil lake.
With a long way to go, the rest break at Grace Lake wasn’t nearly as long as SPHP would have liked. Lupe had to move on. Crossing the outlet stream, Loop was surprised to meet Jefe and Bailey Cleland.
Jefe and Bailey were from Sturgis, South Dakota, so they were from the Black Hills, too! They were on their way back from a 4 day excursion up to Middle Cloud Peak Lake where Bailey had caught a golden trout.
Jefe was 8 years old, part Labrador, Golden Retriever, and Rottweiler. The story of how Jefe and Bailey came to be together was both sad and heart-warming. Bailey had acquired Jefe after a friend had asked him to take care of Jefe for a month as a favor. The friend never returned for Jefe. Bailey hadn’t had the heart to take him to the pound.
That was many years ago. The day Jefe had been abandoned with Bailey turned out to be his luckiest day ever! Here they were, living the dream together enjoying the Bighorn Mountains wilderness. They were as happy as Lupe and SPHP!
After a nice chat with Bailey and Jefe, Lupe and SPHP wished them well and carried on. N of Grace Lake, Trail No. 164 headed NE to a minor pass before dropping down into Paint Rock Creek canyon. A mile from Grace Lake, Lupe reached Solitude Trail (No. 038).
Loop was now 5 miles from the Bucking Mule trailhead where she had started out. The Carolina Dog still wasn’t any higher than she had been there, having lost all the elevation she’d gained on the way to High Point 9810. There was nothing much to see here. Without hesitation, Lupe headed E up Paint Rock Creek canyon.
The Solitude Trail immediately began to climb. The pace wasn’t difficult, though the backpack made it seem that way to SPHP. The trail stayed up in the forest along the S side of the valley, and never got close to Paint Rock Creek. The trail soon leveled out, and at one point reached a big clearing from which the creek could be seen. That didn’t last long. Lupe was soon right back in the forest.
A mile on the Solitude Trail brought Lupe to a clearing at the top of a small rise. Filling Paint Rock Creek canyon, beautiful Lake Solitude was dead ahead!
Nearly a mile long, Lake Solitude was the largest lake Lupe would come to on this trip. Upon leaving the clearing W of the lake, the Solitude Trail returned to the forest. The lake was seldom visible again until Lupe was more than halfway along the S side. At the start of a large rock slide, a creek plunged down a steep slope S of the trail.
Lupe climbed up on some of the rocks for a better look.
Quite an impressive waterfall was in sight higher up.
Immediately beyond the creek, the views of Lake Solitude really opened up. The rock slide had wiped out all the trees long ago. Crossing the rock slide was no trouble. The Solitude Trail was a well constructed path. No rock hopping or trackless boulder fields to transit at all.
Near the E end of the lake, the Solitude Trail went right along the shore barely above lake level. Once Lupe got past the rock slide and huge rock formations, she was ready for another break at a grassy point next to the lake. Sticking around to enjoy Lake Solitude for a while seemed like a great idea to SPHP, too.
20 pleasant minutes shot by. Better get going.
E of Lake Solitude it wasn’t entirely clear where the trail went. Lupe kept toward the R (S) of a large flat region. Several campsites were tucked back against the pines. None were occupied. From the campsites, Loop followed a fairly decent trail E. It quickly led to a ford of a rushing stream.
Lupe had reached Paint Rock Creek. The water was fast and deep enough to make SPHP leery. The Carolina Dog explored upstream until she came to a place where big rocks made it easier to cross.
Once across Paint Rock Creek, Lupe returned to the trail. After a steep climb, the Carolina Dog arrived at a junction with a better trail. This had to be the Solitude Trail, didn’t it? Somewhere E of the lake, Loop must have gotten off the main track.
The better trail went either gradually downhill to the NE or more steeply uphill to the SW. A brief foray going downhill revealed a footbridge over another big stream by a waterfall.
Lupe was going the wrong way. The stream the footbridge went over had to be the major tributary of Paint Rock Creek which comes down from Middle Cloud Peak Lake. If Looper continued down to it, the trail would take her back to Lake Solitude. At least there was no question now which way she needed to go. Lupe and SPHP turned around and headed back up.
The longest, steepest climb of the day now began. The Solitude Trail turned E going up the N side of Paint Rock Creek canyon. Lupe was soon way above Paint Rock Creek. SPHP’s heavy pack meant the American Dingo had plenty of chances to relax and enjoy the scenery.
As long as the trail remained steep, the views of Lake Solitude back to the W became ever more spectacular. Eventually, though, the trail wasn’t as steep. As it began to level out, Paint Rock Creek was catching up. First, the stream came into view not terribly far below the Solitude Trail. A little farther on, Lupe came to another ford.
No doubt there was somewhat less flow way up here. The water was also spread out much more. The stream wasn’t nearly as deep or fast. Lupe had no problem at all crossing Paint Rock Creek this time around.
Now on the S side of Paint Rock Creek, Lupe continued E on the Solitude Trail. The American Dingo was gaining elevation again, heading for an area she had been to before. Nearly 2 years ago she had climbed Cloud Peak, the highest mountain in the Bighorn Range. Another 0.5 mile would bring Lupe to views of Cloud Peak and Paint Rock Creek Falls.
That 0.5 mile took longer than it should have. Fatigue was setting in. SPHP was pausing frequently. Lupe was still making progress, though. She reached a high point along the trail. Good news! Both Cloud Peak (13,167 ft.) and Bomber Mountain (12,840 ft.) were in view. Getting there!
A little farther on, Paint Rock Creek Falls came into view. Lupe could see the grassy ridge slightly above and to the W of the falls where her old tiny house (tent) had been set up as a base camp.
It was fun to see the area again! The pass leading to Mistymoon Lake wasn’t much farther. The 2 mile long climb from Lake Solitude would be over when the Carolina Dog got to the pass. In the meantime, the view of Lupe’s old base camp for her successful ascent of Cloud Peak served as inspiration.
Onward! Puppy, ho!
Nearing the pass to Mistymoon Lake, Lupe found a snowbank to frolic on. The delightful experience seemed to give her a burst of new energy. Even so, SPHP wasn’t tempted to duplicate her chilly romp. Simply getting over the pass would be good enough. Almost there!
Suddenly, Lupe was there. The top of the pass! Ahead was an easy 0.5 mile long downhill section that would get the Carolina Dog all the way to Mistymoon Lake. Pausing to look back, Cloud Peak loomed off to the NE. Much of the route Lupe had taken to the summit was in view.
Would Looper find a similar route up Bomber Mountain tomorrow? Who knew? Hopefully. From Gunboat Lake 2 years ago, it had at least looked feasible. Either way, the American Dingo was going to find out. Lupe and SPHP headed for Mistymoon Lake.
Lupe really was re-energized! She loves this kind of open country, and roamed well ahead of SPHP. The day had been sunny and warm. Now that evening was coming on the sky had clouded up, and it was comfortably cool. Going downhill, even SPHP picked up the pace. Soon Lupe was on a slope overlooking Mistymoon Lake.
The Solitude Trail passes along the W and S sides of Mistymoon Lake. Near the SW shore Lupe reached a junction with the Mistymoon Trail (No. 063) coming up from the West Tensleep trailhead. Lupe could see part of Lake Marion to the S.
Lupe stuck with the Solitude Trail as it headed E along the S shore of Mistymoon Lake. After a rock hop over the outlet stream, Loop gained 200 feet of elevation on the way up a draw leading to the Fortress Lakes. This was the last significant elevation rise of the day.
The Fortress Lakes were a welcome sight. Lupe was within 0.5 mile of Gunboat Lake!
At last, Lupe was resting on the grassy ridge N of Gunboat Lake! SPHP wearily assembled her new Marmot tiny house. The old tiny house was shaped better. This one was longer than it needed to be, but not wide enough. It would have to do. At least it had a rain cover. Might need it, too! The sky was overcast, though not threatening at the moment.
The tiny house was up! Base camp was established! Lupe had a great view of Gunboat Lake, one of the smaller Fortress Lakes, and the huge ridges leading to the possibly unseen summit of Bomber Mountain. The Solitude Trail could be seen heading NE for Florence Pass. Tomorrow Lupe would be making that trek!
This was a great spot! It had been a long day, though. More than an hour before sunset, Lupe and SPHP crawled into the overly cozy Marmot tiny house to hit the hay. No sunset to miss, anyway. A while back the sun had already sunk into a gloomy, murky haze.
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A typed passenger manifesto? History re-written again. Looks like a computer created that list and the sacred has been trampled once again.