Lupe had already seen deer and wild turkeys on an exciting early drive from Sheep Creek Bay, when she dropped by the dam at Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Last night had been her first in Utah in nearly 3 years, but the Carolina Dog wasn’t staying, just doing a bit of sight-seeing on the way to Little Mountain (9,131 ft.) in Wyoming.
The lake was beautiful. This was going to be a great day! Hardly any clouds in the sky, though. Going to get hot! Lupe took only a short stroll out by the reservoir before returning to the G6.
SPHP drove E over the Flaming Gorge Dam. Hwy 191 wound N, then NW for a while. Before leaving Utah, Lupe made one more sight-seeing stop at Antelope Flats. The name sounded promising, and there was plenty of room for antelope out there, but Looper didn’t see any. However, she did have a distant view of another part of Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
N of Antelope Flats, Hwy 191 crossed into Wyoming. For the second day in a row, Lupe and SPHP were following excellent directions by peakbagging hero Edward Earl. Little Mountain was supposed to be only 10 miles or so from the Utah border, and soon came into view.
As Edward noted, Little Mountain greatly resembles Pine Mountain (9,550 ft.), the Sweetwater County, Wyoming High Point, which Lupe had visited a year ago. Like Pine Mountain, Little Mountain was a large, crescent-shaped mesa with a steep S slope.
Heading E on Hwy 191 just S of Little Mountain, SPHP watched for a sign for Clay Basin Road on the R (S). A couple of small pullouts were close to the highway’s high point less than a mile before reaching the turn. Lupe could have started for Little Mountain from one of these pullouts, but Earl had parked along Clay Basin Road. Lupe and SPHP wanted to start from the same spot, then duplicate Earl’s trip up the mountain.
It would be fun to follow Edward’s footsteps from nearly 11 years ago!
After making the turn, SPHP parked at a big pullout on the E side of Clay Basin Road. Edward Earl must have parked here in 2007.
As soon as SPHP was ready, Lupe started for Little Mountain (9,131 ft.). (8:22 AM, 70°F). The American Dingo followed Clay Basin Road back to Hwy 191, turned W along the highway for a short distance, then left the road heading up Little Mountain’s sagebrush-covered S slope.
Not far off to the NW was a higher escarpment topped by a line of gray rocks. Looked interesting, but this whole region made SPHP nervous. Too much vegetation! Even though Lupe was already close to 8,000 feet elevation, SPHP was still worried about the possibility of encountering rattlesnakes. For a short distance, Lupe followed a level cow path NE to a more barren-looking ridge.
The ridge wasn’t completely bare, but for a long way, it was covered by only short, sparse grasses. Much easier to see what was on the ground here! SPHP felt better about the situation as Lupe turned NW following this ridge toward High Point 8592 on the topo map.
The more barren ridge was a long, steady, upward trudge. Higher up, Lupe stayed W of a stand of bushes. Upon reaching High Point 8592, she was already halfway up Little Mountain. Loop saw several pronghorn antelope from here, but they were much farther up the mountain, and soon disappeared beyond the upper edge.
After visiting High Point 8592, Lupe crossed a patch of yellow dirt on the way N down into a small saddle leading to the second half of the climb.
The rest of the way up, Little Mountain became progressively steeper. Lupe headed pretty much straight up the S slope from High Point 8592, until she was quite close to the top. So much sagebrush grew on these upper slopes, that it couldn’t be avoided. While SPHP was still leery of rattlesnakes, Lupe didn’t come to any. By now she was approaching 9,000 feet, so perhaps there weren’t any around to begin with.
The final part of the climb was the steepest. Lupe angled NW (L) until she finally made it up to the rim of the summit plateau.
The top of Little Mountain was a vast flat to gently rolling mesa. The highest terrain existed as a wide band of open ground along the S edge. To the N, a slightly lower forest was in sight hundreds of feet away. The topo map shows two separate 9120 foot contours on Little Mountain. Lupe had come up between them closest to the larger E contour, which was where Edward Earl had noted that the true summit was located.
The terrain where Lupe had come up was dominated by medium-sized reddish, purplish rocks. However, as she headed E looking for the true summit, the geology changed. Loop only had to go 500 feet to reach a big flat area which appeared to be the summit of Little Mountain. By the time she got that far, the reddish, purplish rocks had vanished. At first glance, the parched barren ground looked light gray.
Upon closer inspection, the summit of Little Mountain was comprised of a conglomerate of a wide variety of pebbles.
Looking back to the W, it was clear that Earl was right. Lupe actually was at the true summit of Little Mountain. The whole summit area was enormous and so nearly flat that no one spot stood out as the absolute high point. Lupe selected a group of slightly larger rocks that seemed to be at least as high as anything else for her official true summit.
There wasn’t a speck of shade here. The Carolina Dog simply laid down on the rocky ground to take a break, while enjoying the magnificent panoramic views on offer toward all points S.
The air was hazy with the smoke of distant forest fires. Despite the haze, Lupe could see the long blue ridge of Pine Mountain (9,550 ft.) more than 15 miles off to the ESE.
The best views were closer by, looking due S. Utah was only 5.5 miles away as the crow flies. Lupe could easily see Clay Basin Road where she had started her ascent of Little Mountain from.
The area over by the W 9120 foot contour was clearly lower. Even so, when Lupe was done at the true summit, she headed that way exploring along the S rim. The map showed that the 9,131 foot survey benchmark was over at the W high point. Edward Earl hadn’t seen it, but maybe Lupe would? A distant view of Flaming Gorge Reservoir might also be available from over there.
As the American Dingo wandered W, she sniffed many clusters of the reddish, purplish rocks that looked like they might mark the position of the 9131 foot survey benchmark, yet Lupe didn’t find it. She went all the way to the W high point, finally stopping a little before reaching a fence.
There was more high ground to the NW, but it wasn’t quite as high as where Lupe was now. She could see part of Flaming Gorge Reservoir, and would have had an even better view of it, if she had gone farther. On a clearer day, that might have been worth doing. However, with the smoke haze somewhat marring the scene, it didn’t seem necessary.
In the end, Lupe headed back E again, still keeping an eye out for that wayward survey benchmark. Like Edward Earl, she never did find it. Loop left Little Mountain (9,131 ft.) starting back down from about the same spot she’d come up.
The Carolina Dog’s return route was about the same until she was below High Point 8592. She then stayed more to the W, hoping to explore the top of the gray rock escarpment she’d avoided on the way up. Going this way, Lupe came to some reddish, purplish boulders covered with bright orange lichens. Their vivid appearance was striking.
The gray rock escarpment itself was a disappointment. Tall bushes and cactus grew in great abundance upon it. Lupe had to retreat, ultimately descending into the dense vegetation E and below the escarpment that SPHP had hoped to avoid. The American Dingo scared up a deer and a jack rabbit, but never even knew it. She wasn’t tall enough to see over all the grass, bushes and sagebrush.
Little Mountain had been a success, but marked the end of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Bighorn Mountains and Wind River Range (and beyond as it turned out!). (11:28 AM, 80°F) All that remained was a scenic, air-conditioned drive home across Wyoming.
By early evening, the low, dark blue ridge of Lupe’s Black Hills of South Dakota appeared on the horizon.
Two summer of 2018 Dingo Vacations were now over. Lupe had enjoyed great times, and explored many beautiful places on both. The American Dingo wasn’t done yet, though! In early August, Lupe would be setting off on her grandest Dingo Vacation of 2018 of all.
She hopes you will return soon ready for action, adventure, and more scenic peakbagging fun!
Links:
Directions & Trip Report by Edward Earl
Pine Mountain, the Sweetwater County, Wyoming High Point (6-15-17)
Flaming Gorge, The Little Hole Trail by the Green River & Spirit Lake, Utah (8-26-15)
Prior Dingo Vacation This Dingo Vacation Next Dingo Vacation
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