Day 4 of Lupe’s 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Laramie Range, Wyoming & Beyond!
SPHP got the spare pair of Realtree shoes out of the trunk of the G6. They were old and in bad shape. SPHP muttered while putting them on.
Should have brought these along yesterday, and none of this would have happened!
None of what?
Oh, you know Loop, losing my new boots in La Bonte Creek. The whole purpose of bringing these old Realtree shoes on this trip had been to use them as water shoes for creek crossings. Instead, I forget all about them, then yesterday I manage to lose my brand new 3 day old boots in the creek while trying to be clever and keep them from getting wet.
Well, at least you still have shoes. We’re still going mountain climbing, right?
Nope. Blacktail Peak (8,675 ft.) is out. Not going to risk these old shoes completely disintegrating on me, and having to saunter back barefoot again. Besides, I’m no longer in any mood to ford La Bonte Creek. It looks easy, but the water is too high. You nearly got swept away yourself yesterday. Twice!
So what are we going to do?
Get water at Curtis Gulch campground, then head for Casper so I can buy another pair of boots. Don’t worry, you’ll have a riot barking at all those cows, horses, and antelope again on the way out of here. Come on, let’s get going!
On the drive to Casper, SPHP realized Lupe actually could go mountain climbing today, just not to Blacktail Peak as originally planned. S of Casper was the huge, long ridge of Casper Mountain (8,200 ft.). Lupe had already been to the summit of Casper Mountain once before. However, on the other side of Casper Mountain was another big ridge the American Dingo had never been to – Muddy Mountain (8,300 ft.).
SPHP hadn’t expected Lupe would get to Muddy Mountain (8,300 ft.) so soon on this trip. However, the unforeseen need for new boots was bringing her to the vicinity, so why not do it now? She’d have plenty of time to visit the mountain this afternoon.
After new boots were procured, and lunch was consumed in Washington Park, Lupe and SPHP drove S over Casper Mountain on Casper Mountain Road. The long, partially forested ridge of Muddy Mountain came into view.
SPHP had seen on the topo map that a road went all the way to the top of Muddy Mountain. Driving to the summit wasn’t the plan, however. Too easy. So lame for a peakbagging Carolina Dog! To enjoy the trek and get to really experience Muddy Mountain, Lupe would climb it from the low point in the valley between Casper and Muddy mountains.
This way, Lupe would get to enjoy a remote, lonely backroad trek up Muddy Mountain while gaining over 1,000 feet of elevation. At least, that was what SPHP expected. Reality was rather different. Driving down the S slope of Casper Mountain, SPHP was surprised by how much traffic there was. Casper Mountain Road turned to gravel and became Circle Drive, yet vehicles still passed by at regular intervals.
Not good. The wind was blowing. Getting a face full of dust every time a vehicle went by wasn’t the least bit appealing. The gravel road was no minor backcountry lane, either. Big, wide, and busy, it wasn’t a terribly charming place for a stroll. Lupe was going to have to leave the road and wander up Muddy Mountain through the fields and forests, if this was going to be much fun. No worries, though, that looked easy enough.
SPHP parked the G6 at the low point between the big ridges. A few other vehicles were parked here, too, but no one was around. Nearby, Circle Drive turned W, while Muddy Mountain Road continued S on up Muddy Mountain’s N slope. As SPHP got everything ready to go, more vehicles streamed by raising clouds of dust (2:34 PM, 67°F).
Lupe and SPHP crossed over Muddy Mountain Road entering a giant green field full of purple lupines. The sun was shining. The lupines danced in a lively breeze. Loopster took the lead, sniffing happily. Her destination was 4 or 5 miles away, somewhere along the N rim of the long ridge. Muddy Mountain was going to be fun after all!
NO, IT WASN’T! That sound! Lupe must have passed within 4 or 5 feet of where it was coming from. She was scarcely 25 feet from Muddy Mountain Road when an angry buzzing started as she went by. SPHP looked cautiously around for the deadly source. Oh, yeah. There it was, still rattling down in a small depression, ready to strike. A fairly big one.
Lupe was already a good 15 feet beyond the rattler. She was fine.
Loopster! STAY, SIT! Don’t move! Good girl! Stay right there!
SPHP sounded so serious, Lupe obeyed instantly.
Umm, what’s up? What’s wrong?
A rattlesnake, a pretty big one, you just went right by it. This hike is over, sweetheart! Wait there, I’ll lead you back around the evil serpent. It’s poisonous and very dangerous, even for an American Dingo.
We’re not going to Muddy Mountain?
Yes, yes we are. But suddenly I’ve been seized with a desire to drive every inch of the way to the top. Easy, squeezy-like, and hopefully serpent-free.
Only 10 minutes after starting out, the Carolina Dog was back at the G6 (2:44 PM, 67°F). A nice dusty drive clear to the top of Muddy Mountain ensued. To SPHP’s great surprise, a campground was right at the summit, complete with a big deck overlooking the view to the N. It turned out there was a fairly extensive trail system in the area, too. No wonder the road was so busy! The old topo map hadn’t shown all this.
Lupe and SPHP checked out the view of Casper Mountain from the observation deck.
A couple of large rocks sat a short distance E of the observation deck. They appeared to be the absolute highest point around. The American Dingo strolled over for a super easy peakbagging success. Peakbagging Muddy Mountain turned out to be scarcely any more effort than Prairie Dog Hill (6,400 ft.) had been yesterday.
Checking out the view from the observation deck and tagging the summit hadn’t taken long. Lupe still had one more task to perform up on Muddy Mountain, though. She could go look for the Muddy Mountain survey benchmark. The topo map showed it wasn’t actually at the summit, but at another slightly lower high point about 0.75 mile W.
SPHP drove over that way, parking the G6 along the road slightly E of where it seemed the survey benchmark ought to be. Lupe hopped out. She headed W exploring a narrow strip of open ground between the road and N rim of the mountain. SPHP followed, nervously keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes, while searching for the benchmark.
As Lupe sniffed her way along, she came to a nice view to the WNW.
Lupe went about 600 feet from the G6. No sign of the survey benchmark. The terrain was gradually dropping now, too. The benchmark wouldn’t be any farther W than this. Might as well turn around.
The Carolina Dog headed back E. Again SPHP followed, trying to search more thoroughly. Nothing. Lupe arrived back at the G6. Now what? SPHP checked the topo map again. It was possible the benchmark was a bit E of here.
SPHP had parked the G6 a little W of a few pine trees close to the N side of the road. Beyond them to the E was a nearly level field rimmed by pines to the N. The field, which was full of purple and yellow wildflowers, widened out to the E in the shape of a long triangle. Better go look over there, too.
Lupe scarcely got past the first few pine trees when she found it! The survey benchmark was right there, fixed in concrete, barely 50 feet from the G6 and only 10-12 feet N of the road. Sweet!
Well, that was that. What now? Maybe it would be fun to go take a look at the map of the trail system on Muddy Mountain. The main trailhead was nearly 0.5 mile E at an intersection on the S side of the road. Lupe was fine with going back to check it out, so SPHP drove over to the trailhead. A large map was on display.
The trail system map revealed that Muddy Mountain Road made a big loop from here. A little S of this trailhead was another campground, Lodgepole campground. Several different trails offered a variety of possible loops between Lodgepole and Rim campgrounds. The trails were all relatively easy. None involved more than a couple hundred feet of elevation change, if that.
No doubt there was little danger, but that rattlesnake was still too fresh on SPHP’s mind. Loop was going to skip any exploration of the Muddy Mountain trail system. More challenging things would soon be in store for the Carolina Dog, anyway. In the meantime, she could stop and look at some of the views from Muddy Mountain on the way back to Casper.
On the way up Casper Mountain (8,200 ft.), Lupe stopped for a final look back at Muddy Mountain (8,300 ft.). In the late afternoon sun, the views were beautiful. Off to the SW, light rain showers were seen in the distance. More mountains could be seen beyond the Laramie Range.
Lupe would eventually be headed that way, but not quite yet.
In Casper, SPHP grabbed a couple of cheeseburgers. Lupe shared in the cheeseburger feast on the drive E back to Douglas along I-25. Day ended with a gorgeous evening drive once again SW of Douglas on Hwy 91. Ahead Lupe could see where she would be adventuring next.
Tomorrow Lupe would try to climb both Squaw Mountain (9,313 ft.) and Buffalo Peak (9,387 ft.). Hopefully it was going to be a fabulous day!
Lupe’s visit to Muddy Mountain hadn’t been long or hard, but it had been plenty exciting. Too exciting, actually!
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A Quick Trip to Casper, Wyoming (May 1-4, 2015)
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