Day 11 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Bighorn Mountains & Wind River Range of Wyoming!
6:00 AM – Foggy. Too bad. No point in the American Dingo running down to Lower Green River Lake to gaze upon that fabulous view of iconic Squaretop Mountain (11,695 ft.) one last time. She wouldn’t see a thing. Twenty minutes, and SPHP had everything ready to go. Lupe was on her way out of the Wind River Range.
What a difference a good night’s sleep made! Yesterday, worn out and weary, SPHP was convinced it was over. Lupe was going straight home. This Dingo Vacation was kaput! However, as the G6 bumped along the washboardy road from Green River Lakes back to civilization, the fog began to lift. The gorgeous Green River came into view. Skies turned blue. A surge of energy and sense of well-being! Optimism returned.
Lupe still had a couple of peaks on her wish list in SW Wyoming. They were only a few hours drive away. Why not let Looper do them now? Neither involved exhausting backpacking trips like Bomber Mountain and Squaretop had been. Half a day each, if that.
Riding with her head out the window, Lupe kept an eye out for gophers scampering over or alongside the dusty road. A frenzy of shrill Dingo barking erupted each time one came into view. Loop certainly seemed to have recovered. Clearly, she was all for extending her vacation!
Long before the G6 made it back to pavement, a new decision. Home could wait. Lupe was heading for Medicine Butte (8,608 ft.), the Uinta County, Wyoming High Point!
In G6 air-conditioned comfort, Lupe spent the morning exploring new territory on a scenic drive S on Hwy 189 to I-80. Her only complaint was that this region was so deserty that even cows and horses were scarce.
By early afternoon, SPHP was looking for the R turn off Hwy 89 N of Evanston onto County Road No. 108. Although there were no signs for No. 108 until after the turn was made, this was the road to the landfill, and there was a big sign for it.
The pavement ended almost immediately, but County Road No. 108 was wide and well-graded. After a mile or two, the road went over a hill, and Medicine Butte (8,608 ft.) came into view off to the NE. Medicine Butte was nothing more than an over-sized, thirsty-looking, sagebrush-covered hill, itself. Nary a tree in sight on the SW slope, but Loopster could see towers up on top.
The landfill was 3 miles from Hwy 89. SPHP parked the G6 along No. 108 0.33 mile beyond the landfill entrance. (1:09 PM, 82°F) The road began to deteriorate here, but even the G6 could have gone miles farther. That wasn’t the plan. The American Dingo was here to get the full, genuine Medicine Butte experience – 1,700 feet of elevation gain with panoramic views of Wyoming sagebrush territory.
All the action was at the landfill. Bulldozers pushed piles of human-generated debris around. Meanwhile, clouds of white birds that looked like badly misplaced seagulls swirled excitedly overhead. Landfills are inherently revolting, but it was sort of fun to watch the birds, though one wondered whether they were likely to profit by their keen interest in the landfill’s contents, or end up suffering for it.
County Road No. 108 winds all the way to the top of Medicine Butte, a distance of roughly 4 miles from close to the landfill where the G6 was parked. The road climbed nearly the entire way with only one minor dip. It didn’t get steep until near the end, where high clearance and 4WD might be required.
Fearing cactus and rattlesnakes, SPHP persuaded Lupe to stay on the road the whole way. Partway up, cows were grazing on what looked like slim pickings in a ravine N of the road. Loop was interested, but went on by without getting too rambunctious.
No. 108 went E at first, working its way up onto a long ridgeline S of Medicine Butte. It then followed the ridge N. The hike along the open ridge was fairly scenic, amazingly so, for fans of sagebrush.
Getting the full, genuine Medicine Butte experience early in the afternoon on a day in late July probably isn’t ordinarily the best plan of attack. There wouldn’t have been any shade, but the luck of the Dingo held for a while. For some reason, this wasn’t a searing hot day, and a cloud formation hung around providing shade for close to half of the way to the summit.
Nevertheless, the road hike was a little warm for wearing a fur coat, and Lupe hadn’t changed out of hers. As had been obvious from the start, she came to no water at all. Fortunately, SPHP had brought plenty. Periodic water stops were a necessity and helped lighten the pack.
Heading N along the ridge, Lupe passed an initially confusing sign about access, but it became clear that the road actually was legal public access. A lone pickup truck that went by, then came back down an hour later, constituted all the traffic Lupe encountered. An hour and a half after leaving the G6, Loop was on the final steep slope nearing the summit.
The top of Medicine Butte was roomy and covered with an assortment of towers and associated small buildings. The highest point, and apparent true summit, was a pile of rocks close to a white concrete block building.
A search for a survey benchmark turned up only a metal pin painted blue a little SE of the highest rock pile.
Lupe was hot. She plunked herself down on the ground in the shade of the white concrete block building. Ants swarmed up onto her, and for a while she busied herself eating ants. The ants were too numerous, though. Annoyed with the whole situation, Loop moved closer to the building where there weren’t nearly as many.
The towers and small buildings were the only obstacles blocking the views from Medicine Butte. Of course, it was easy enough to move around a bit and see in any direction one wished. Unfortunately, the air was hazy with smoke from distant forest fires. A clearer day would have revealed much more detail, but Lupe could still see a long way.
Although the S slopes of Medicine Butte were treeless, it turned out the N slopes were partially forested. Miles beyond the trees, a big wind farm was in view off to the NE.
Only a few of the turbines were turning. That was surprising. Yes, the air had been calm on the way up Medicine Butte, and only a light breeze was blowing close to the white concrete building when Lupe had come up from the SE. However, when she went over to the NW side of the summit, a 15 or 20 mph wind was coming out of the NW.
Lupe clearly enjoyed being in the wind. Not something the Carolina Dog usually likes, but the breeze felt good on a warm summer afternoon.
Medicine Butte (8,608 ft.) was the highest mountain in any direction for a long way. Nothing close to being as high was in sight anywhere to the N or E. Distant ridges to the W looked about equal in height. Only to the S and SE were higher peaks seen, and they were far, far away.
No one else was around. Lupe and SPHP enjoyed the views for half an hour, then it was time to think about leaving Medicine Butte. One more peak left on this Dingo Vacation before the Carolina Dog really would be on her way home. Little Mountain (9,131 ft.), the Sweetwater County, Wyoming Prominence Peak was a couple hours drive away. Lupe might as well get closer to it this evening.
A final look around, and Lupe was on her way.
The trek back down along County Road No. 108 was easier and went faster, a pleasant time. Lupe felt energetic, and roamed off road a little. Fortunately, she suffered no encounters with cactus or rattlers.
SPHP had left a pair of wet boots up on top of the G6 to dry while Lupe visited Medicine Butte. Worked great. They were completely baked by the time the American Dingo returned. (5:03 PM, 86°F)
In Evanston, SPHP picked up some fried chicken and a few other things at Walmart. Lupe spent the evening enjoying dinner with a “moo”vie in the G6, munching on chicken and barking at big herds of black cattle as SPHP drove E on Hwy 414 down the beautiful valley of the Henry’s Fork of the Green River. By the time the sun went down, she was in Utah with a splendid view of Sheep Creek Bay, part of Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
After Lupe’s huge adventure up Squaretop Mountain in the Wind River Range, Medicine Butte had been the perfect recovery day. Not too long, not too short. Not too hard, or too easy. Solitude and a pleasant trek with panoramic views of Wyoming’s wide open sagebrush country, all sandwiched between relaxing, scenic drives before and after.
Can’t ask for much more than that!
Links:
Directions to Medicine Butte by Edward Earl
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