Part 2 of Day 5 & Part 1 of Day 6 of Lupe’s 2nd summer of 2020 Dingo Vacation to Wyoming & Utah!
7-14-20, 2:19 PM, Wood River valley, SW of Meeteetse –
We really aren’t in Pontiac territory any more, are we, SPHP?
Heh. Kind of on the ragged edge of it, Loop. Would sure be nice if the G6 can get us a few miles farther, but I don’t know. We’ll see.
You never learn, do you, SPHP?
Oh, of course I do, silly Dingo! But time goes by, and I unlearn it all again.
We’re in agreement then, because that’s sort of my point.
1.5 miles back, after passing the Brown Mountain campground, which was closed for some reason, USFS Road No. 200 had become narrow, rough, and quite steep. Not 4WD or even high clearance territory yet, but the engine temperature gauge was climbing as the G6 chugged up the skinny road dodging rocks and potholes. No. 200 was about to level out. When it did, SPHP stopped to let things cool off a bit.
From this high spot, Lupe could see a meadow flanked by mountains of the Absaroka Range. Farther up the valley, bushes and forest almost completely hid the Wood River, which the road had been following for miles now. Somewhere 2 or 3 miles from here, a trail headed up one of the steep side valleys to the W.
The Meadow Creek trail was the long way to Francs Peak (13,153 ft.), the high point of the entire Absaroka Range, but was supposed to have the advantage of being accessible to vehicles like the G6 without high clearance. However, like Lupe, SPHP was beginning to have doubts.
So far, everything had gone smoothly. After lunch in Meeteetse at a little park with a statue of 2 black-footed ferrets overlooking the Greybull River, Lupe and SPHP had taken Hwy 290 SW out of town. 6 miles later, shortly after a bridge over the Wood River, there had been a sign on the L for Wood River Road, a/k/a County Road No. 4DT, which was blacktop.
5 miles S of this junction, Wood River Road had turned to gravel after crossing another bridge over the Wood River. 2 miles later there had been a sharp R turn onto USFS Road No. 200, which immediately crossed the river again. No. 200 had then been good, smooth gravel for 12 miles all the way to the Brown Mountain campground.
Returning to the G6 to continue on from the high point, No. 200 began dropping almost immediately. SPHP pulled off on a side road just before a steep dip that bottomed at a stream ford. This was Jojo Creek. Lupe and SPHP went down to check the ford out.
Jojo Creek wasn’t very deep even on Lupe, only up to her elbows. The bottom of the clear-running stream was rocky and firm. A few larger stones to watch out for, but the G6 ought to be able to manage this easily enough. The ford was a go!
Piece of cake! The G6 easily got through Jojo Creek. However, this was only a temporary reprieve. 0.25 mile later, after crossing the sagebrush studded meadow SE of the Double D ranch, No. 200 led to a second ford, this one of the Wood River.
No way! The Wood River was 200 feet wide. Again abandoning the G6, Lupe and SPHP went over for a closer look. If wading across wouldn’t work, the Carolina Dog’s Francs Peak hopes were kaput.
The Wood River wasn’t really 200 feet wide. It was just that the river was braided, and one of the channels had completely taken over a chunk of the road. A deep pool was right at the start where USFS Road No. 200 entered the stream. Beyond this pool, a long stretch of water rippled gently as if only inches deep. The river looked deeper at the far end, but precisely how deep was not possible to tell from here.
Lupe could wade across easily enough; SPHP was certain about that. In fact, SPHP was surprised to see that the G6 might actually be able to get through, as well. The whole riverbed seemed to be composed of smooth, smallish, loose stones. By staying to the L along the edge of the first pool, the deep part could be avoided. The only question was what the far end looked like.
I can’t believe we’re doing this, Looper!
Don’t look at me, SPHP! This was your idea!
Staying L at the first pool worked. The G6 reached and splashed through the shallow middle section without any trouble at all. Only inches deep, as expected. Moment of truth! The deeper, faster moving part at far end was just ahead.
Didn’t look too bad. The far bank was sort of steep, but only a couple of feet high. Giving it a little more gas, the G6 charged through. Made it!
Beyond the Wood River, No. 200 was a mix of smooth road and sections full of moderate-sized rounded stones. Rough, but not too bad. As the G6 crept along, the rough patches became longer and more frequent.
After close to 2 miles, a second ford of the Wood River appeared ahead, again at a spot where the stream was braided. This time, SPHP didn’t even stop. The G6 crossed a number of minor channels on loose, smooth stones. When the far end of the river came into view, the last channel held most of the flow. Definitely swifter and deeper than the first ford.
Onward! G6, ho!
Uh-oh! 2 feet deep! Bigger rocks! The G6 forged ahead, but suddenly started to bog down. Disaster in the making! SPHP stepped on it. Something grabbed. The G6 surged forward, clawing its way up the far bank.
Close one, SPHP!
I’ll say! Better not rain while we’re back in here, or we’ll never get out again.
Oh, lovely! Another Big Pryor Mountain!
Heh. Let’s hope not, Looper. On the way out, though, think we better stop and take a closer look. Maybe we can avoid the worst of that next time?
No fair using a brain cell, SPHP! Where’s the adventure in that?
At least that was the last ford. The G6 bumped steadily onward. A new worry. Dense forests on both sides of the road were interrupted by areas where bulldozers had simply pushed the forest over creating gigantic messes. Why, was not apparent. The Meadow Creek trail was supposed to start somewhere along the R side of the road only 0.33 mile or so from that last ford, but what if the trailhead couldn’t be found? It might have been wiped out.
Not the case. SPHP was getting close to giving up, thinking the trailhead had been overshot, when a small opening appeared on the R. A couple of vehicles were parked here, a good sign. An even better sign was the rusty metal one over by a path heading NW into the forest. “Meadow Creek Trail”.
7-14-20, 3:13 PM, Meadow Creek trailhead – The Meadow Creek trail did not inspire confidence. It looked faint even here at the trailhead, but at least it was certain that Lupe had made it to the right place. Francs Peak was miles away and nearly 4,800 feet of net elevation gain higher, so nothing more was going to happen today. The American Dingo had the rest of the day off.
Might as well do something, though. Proceeding beyond the trailhead, Lupe and SPHP strolled farther up USFS Road No. 200. After 0.5 mile, a big opening appeared on the L that went clear over to the Wood River. Wandering over there, Loop cooled her paws off and got a drink. The river wasn’t as big here, but perhaps some of it was underground? This whole region was floodplain.
Returning to the trailhead, Lupe explored a short section of the Meadow Creek trail. 100 feet from the start, the trail was so faint it was already getting hard to follow. Loop kept sniffing, though, and after another 400 feet, the trail curved L toward a steep bank and could be clearly seen starting up it. Over at the bank, the trail proved to be in much better shape. It made a sharp L turn onto what appeared to be the start of a long switchback.
Encouraging! But this was far enough for today.
Returning to the trailhead once more, vehicles could soon be heard. 2 big ATV’s with tires and clearance that made the G6 jealous appeared. The ATV’s stopped, and one of the drivers spoke to SPHP.
Are they still doing the bear thing?
Dunno. What bear thing?
A gal was passing out GPS units to see how close hikers were getting to the grizzlies.
Where was that?
Right here at the trailhead.
SPHP explained that Lupe had arrived only a little while ago. Hadn’t seen anyone until the ATV’s had come along.
Are you planning on taking this trail up to the cabin?
Yes, how far is it?
3 miles.
Do you have any idea what kind of condition this trail is in?
Oh, you won’t have to worry about that. About 15 years ago some bigwig Fed came out here to see the area. Before he got here they did some major improvements. It’s a good trail now all the way to the high country.
And with that, the drivers waved as both ATV’s roared off.
Are we going to stay at the cabin, SPHP?
Hah! No. Didn’t know there was a cabin until he mentioned it.
What about the grizzlies? Are we heading into grizzly territory?
Oh, yeah. Francs Peak is grizzly territory alright. Practically everyone that’s written a trip report I’ve read says they saw at least one. Usually multiple grizzlies, even as many as a dozen. So Loopster, if you happen to see a humongous squirrel tomorrow, restrain yourself and don’t go racing over to give it what for, OK?
By the time the evening was over, Lupe had gone to inspect that last ford the G6 had struggled with. She’d even made a second journey way back up the valley to the big opening where she’d waded in the Wood River after getting here. Now it was time to sleep in the comfortable safety of the G6. After all, the Wood River valley must be grizzly territory, too.
7-15-20, 6:17 AM, 35ºF, Meadow Creek trailhead – Daylight in the swamps! Sunlight was already filtering through the forest when Lupe set off on the Meadow Creek trail. The trail seemed a bit easier to follow this morning, since she’d already explored this part yesterday evening. Soon she was nearing the slope where the switchback began.
The switchback proved to be the first in a long series. Loopster trotted back and forth many times on the steep, forested SE facing slope of the mountain S of the start of the Meadow Creek canyon. The ATV guy had been right. The switchbacks were all in great shape.
The American Dingo had already gained hundreds of feet of elevation by the time she came to a rocky curve at the end of the last switchback. The trail turned NW here, finally venturing into the Meadow Creek canyon. Almost immediately, Lupe reached the edge of the forest. Ahead was a huge rock slide. Happily, the rocks weren’t big, and the trail could be seen continuing right across it.
The trail led up to a stand of trees unaffected by the landslide. Meadow Creek could be heard down in the V-shaped lower valley on the R (N). The whole canyon was now slowly, but steadily curving W. Ahead was another smaller landslide. A much more level section of the Meadow Creek trail crossed it before entering the forest at the far end.
Entering the forest, the trail dropped 40 feet before resuming its climb. Meadow Creek could occasionally be seen down below off to the R, but most of the time Lupe wandered among trees and flowers without much else in sight. She eventually came to an open spot providing clear views of the towering mountains on both sides of the canyon.
After a while, the Meadow Creek trail angled off to the L. Lupe found herself on the back side of a small ridge where she couldn’t even hear the stream. Before long, she was climbing more quickly, even coming to a switchback or two. About the time Loop was getting back to where she could hear Meadow Creek again, she came to two items of interest in rapid succession.
The first was a tuft of grizzly fur.
Get a good whiff of that, Loop! First sign of what might be ahead.
Lupe sniffed, but exhibited only mild curiosity. The rest of the bear seemed to be missing.
Not impressed, aye? Well, just remember to stick with me. And for pity sake, growl or something, but don’t raise a ruckus or go charging off if that odor suddenly gets a lot stronger.
So what makes Francs Peak such a popular grizzly hangout, SPHP?
Moths.
Moths? Do you seriously expect me to believe that? You’re nuts!
Be glad! I attract more squirrels that way. And yes, according to what I’ve read, grizzlies like to hang out way up on Francs Peak turning over rocks looking for moths, or maybe moth larvae, I forget. Supposedly they are quite nutritious.
Are you kidding me? How many moths would it take to support a grizzly bear?
Several, I’m sure.
Add 4 or 5 zeros!
I’d go along with that.
Loop had barely gotten beyond the grizzly fur when what was left of the cabin appeared.
Have we gone 3 miles, SPHP? Is this the cabin the ATV guy mentioned?
Not sure, Loop, don’t think so, not even counting all the switchbacks, but I suppose this has got to be it. Guess we can be thankful we didn’t rush up here to take advantage of these luxury accommodations last night.
On a scale of 1 to 5, I’m giving it 0 stars, SPHP.
All this firewood doesn’t count for anything?
No. We never make a fire.
5 minutes past the cabin, Lupe received a bit of encouragement, her first good look at the high ridge she needed to get to at the upper end of the Meadow Creek drainage. It was still a long way off and a lot higher, but at least it was now in sight.
Hurrying on, the forest soon started thinning out. Different flowers were growing up here. Bluebells and Indian paintbrush! The Carolina Dog paused now and then to sniff and enjoy the perfumed air.
Half an hour beyond the cabin, the Meadow Creek trail divided. Hmm. Unexpected. The more heavily used route turned NW, heading down to cross Meadow Creek. It was still visible on the other side going up a grassy slope. The other choice was a barely discernable route that went straight ahead, still S of the stream and well above it.
Which way? The far more heavily trafficked route crossing the stream seemed like the way to go, but when SPHP consulted the topo map, the Meadow Creek trail (No. 670) was shown staying over here on the S side of Meadow Creek Basin. The map did mention that the location shown was approximate, but it couldn’t be that far off, could it?
Ignoring the better route, and without even thinking about what the ATV guy had said yesterday about the trail having been improved upon 15 years ago, SPHP encouraged Lupe to follow the faint trail leading W.
The faint trail soon became the non-existent trail. The American Dingo promptly came to another trek across a landslide. Should have gone back to the better trail then and there, but the rocks weren’t too bad. SPHP stubbornly persisted. Onward! Puppy, ho!
Foolish! The landslide was passable, but SPHP was slow as molasses. The rocky trek went on and on. Over on the N side of the valley, Lupe could see grassy meadows and scattered stands of pines. Gah! Should have been over there. This was both the scenic route, and a complete waste of time.
Of course, despite all the rocks, eventually there was an end. Loopster got to where she could see meadows and forest ahead. Alright. No real harm done. Might as well press on.
Finally reaching a grassy slope, Lupe climbed a little along the edge of some trees, then passed through a short section of forest. The news was good when she emerged from the trees. Scads more open territory ahead. Continuing to stay toward the S, progress was rapid.
Above treeline now. The meadows were decorated with all different kinds of wildflowers. Looper got to sniff them to her heart’s content, as SPHP repeatedly paused to gasp for air on the long march higher.
The Carolina Dog also came to a cairn. 2 of them, actually. SPHP was joyful. Not the only dunderhead to come this way! Self-flattery, perhaps, because whoever built the cairns wouldn’t necessarily have had to cross that last landslide, which was quite a long way back now. And speaking of landslides, another one eventually appeared ahead.
This last landslide became much steeper than any of the others had been. Rocks began shifting with each step. Lupe aimed for a small stream that came into view where the terrain wasn’t so rocky, and wound up having to cross a snowfield, too.
Fortunately, all went well. Loop finally got over there, and had a chance to rest near the merrily gurgling stream, meltwater from another big snowbank only a little farther up the slope.
Noon. Lupe and SPHP both took a break. The merry stream wasn’t the only thing that was here. The Meadow Creek trail was, too. It had been visible again for some time on the N side of this drainage. Should have gone over to it much sooner. Never should have left the well-beaten path in the first place.
10 minutes, that was it. Still a long way to Francs Peak. Many hundreds of feet yet to be gained just to reach the big ridge W of the Meadow Creek Basin. Lupe had to press on.
The trail went SW rounding a corner and headed up a narrower ravine. Following the trail, Lupe crossed to the S side of this ravine’s stream, and began climbing a steepish slope full of diminutive wildflowers.
Before Lupe got much farther, the trail just seemed to disappear. SPHP had missed a switchback, but didn’t realize it at the time. Hardly mattered. The Meadow Creek trail was soon destined to turn S, eventually passing over the huge ridge ahead between HP11930 and HP12104. Francs Peak (13,153 ft.) was practically the opposite direction.
The Carolina Dog needed to leave the trail and head NW now, anyway.
Dropping back down into the ravine again, Looper crossed a snowbank at the bottom, and started NW up the grassy slopes beyond. The idea was to aim for the saddle along the huge ridge just N of HP12064.
The long grassy slopes leading up to the saddle made SPHP stop to gasp for air numerous times. It wasn’t until a little after 1:00 PM that Looper reached the 11,980 foot saddle N of HP12064.
The saddle was enormous, a nearly flat plain of gritty loose soil and small rocks sparsely decorated with clumps of yellow and pinkish-purple flowers. The American Dingo trotted over toward the NW side where she could see many distant peaks farther W.
Considerably closer, but still more than 2.5 miles away, stood another mountain off to the NNW, illuminated by the bright July sun.
So is that it, SPHP?
Yeah. That must be it, Loop. Francs Peak (13,153 ft.), mightiest of the entire Absaroka Range.
Lupe sighed, and headed N.
Links:
Next Adventure Prior Adventure
Francs Peak, Absaroka Range, Wyoming (7-15-20) – Part 2: HP12064 to the Summit
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