America’s Great Continental Divide

[moto-treks]

Wow - I thought I'ld take a little break from updating the trip report while visiting Canada but didn't didn't think it would be this long...

Leaving Steamboat we found ourselves travling north along CR-129 to Steamboat Lake and into the Routt National Forrest. Eventually CR-129 curves to the west to travel along the middle fork of the Little Snake River. At the Colorado/Wyoming border you head north into the Medicine Bow National Forrest along NF-801.

CR-129 North of Steamboat Lake

Raising sheep was a big part of Wyoming in the mid to late 1800's. We heard sheep in the nearby woods but didn't see any other than one that was under this wagon.

The famous Aspen Alley in Wyoming

We decided to camp in the Medicine Bow National Forrest while we still had some elevation to avoid the heat in the plains south of Rawlins. Tomorrow we would tackle Rawlins and Wyoming's Great Divide Basin.

 

[Jupiter58]

Great updates again! How much of this do you think would be doable in October November time frame? Other than the higher passes.


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[moto-treks]

That's really going to depend on weather conditions. The monsoon season in New Mexico would be over in October so that's a plus. We drove on several roads that have seasonal closures - meaning gates that are locked regardless of weather. One could plan to always camp near a major road/town and then evaluate the conditions before heading out on the next segment. You can always bypass a segment on pavement. Southern New Mexico should be okay. Colorado would all depend of if a pass/road is open. Check the status of each pass/road to ensure its open before starting on a section. I found this website useful. Wyoming's southern section through the Great Divide Basin should be okay. Up in northern Wyoming/Montana you will want to check road condition. I live in Eastern Washington and have driven all over Idaho and Montana in those months. Sometimes you can have a beautiful Indian summer day. Sometimes snow is blocking the road. I always check the local weather forecast and carry a good supply of emergency food/water when traveling during those months.

 

[moto-treks]

The next morning we took off for Rawlins, Wyoming. Cowboy was suppose to meet us there and rumor was that his vehicle was supporting a working AC. It was a short drive on the country road before it turned into Hwy 71 and pavement. We all aired up and drove into Rawlins at highway speeds.

Along highway 71 we saw our first Continutal Divide hikers heading north. As we speed past them I wondered if they looked at hiking along a highway as a good thing (as in easy) or wished they were back on a remote trial in the mountains. I forgot to mention that we had already seen several of the mountain bike racers back in northern New Mexico. Well, not the front runners as they had already completed the 2,700 mile Tour Divide with the winner, 49 year old Jay Petervary, clocking in at 14 days, 19 hours and 14 minutes. We did meet a racer at Hopewell Lake in New Mexico. He was having leg problems and was just trying to complete the race.

After restocking in Rawlins it was off into Wyomings Great Divide Basin. This basin is an area of land where none of the water falling as rain to the ground drains into any ocean, directly or indirectly. The early pioneers tried to avoid crossing what they called the Saline Plain by either heading north to South Pass or south to Bridger Pass.

Desertification along the trail

Abandoned house at Ferris (ghost town)

What a great picture window

The five remaining vehicles on the "TTT America’s Great Continental Divide" expedition

Our camp for the night at Picket Lake

 

[dylan.h.brown]

Fun adventure!! Excited to see where you head from here.. also, I have always been curious about the Wyoming basin. Looks cool.

 

[moto-treks]

The next morning it was off to find the Mormon Handcart Tragedy of 1856. When I rode the CDT in 2013 I was intrigued by the number of pioneer trails that intersected in this area. There is the California Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail and a few others. Later on the Pony Express used these trails to deliver mail. Each trail is marked with a concret post.

We found a Mormon trail marker that looked like it headed in the direction of the tragedy site. So it was off the find where it went.

As we approached the site we found that the trail dropped into a creek with several fences blocking the way.

Not wanting to backtrack and not wanting to hack our way through the brush surrounding the creek we looked for a way through the fences and eventually found a route through a few gates and onto the road that but us a few hundred feet from the site.

The Mormon Handcart Tragedy of 1856. This site is where the company led by James G. Willie, having left too late in the year, camped and waited for the rescue wagons fron Salt Lake City. 77 members died during their efforts to head west.

One of several gravesites

 

[Foy]

When we drove BLM Road 2302 from Atlantic City to US 287 in July 2015 we encountered a couple dozen pickups and large SUVs bring Mormon re-enactors to the Willies Handcart site. There were several reproduction handcarts headed in on trailers. At the crossing of US 287 and the Sweetwater River, there were several hundred re-enactors camped awaiting their turn to head in. We had no idea what was going on until we talked to some guys on a utility crew and they told us about the annual pilgrimage made by descendants of the survivors, who have revered status within their communities in Utah today.

 

[ITTOG]

The next morning it was off to find the Mormon Handcart Tragedy of 1856. When I rode the CDT in 2013 I was intrigued by the number of pioneer trails that intersected in this area. There is the California Trail, the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail and a few others. Later on the Pony Express used these trails to deliver mail. Each trail is marked with a concret post.

We found a Mormon trail marker that looked like it headed in the direction of the tragedy site. So it was off the find where it went.

As we approached the site we found that the trail dropped into a creek with several fences blocking the way.

Not wanting to backtrack and not wanting to hack our way through the brush surrounding the creek we looked for a way through the fences and eventually found a route through a few gates and onto the road that but us a few hundred feet from the site.

The Mormon Handcart Tragedy of 1856. This site is where the company led by James G. Willie, having left too late in the year, camped and waited for the rescue wagons fron Salt Lake City. 77 members died during their efforts to head west.

One of several gravesites

My favorite type of posts on this site, ones were I learn. Thanks for sharing, I had never heard of this tragedy.

 

[moto-treks]

Next up was historic Atlantic City founded in 1868. Atlantic City was established in 1868 during a gold mining boom and is near two other gold mining towns, South Pass City and Hamilton City. Inside the historic Atlantic City Mercantile (est 1893) there was an old picture of Robert Redford. Not sure if he made a film in the area or was just visiting.

When we stopped for lunch at the Mercantile we were warned that our meal may take awhile because a group of CDT bicyclist had already ordered 3 meals and it didn't appear that they planned on slowing down. The day before we met a solo CDT bicyclist in the late afternoon. When we stopped to see if she needed anything like water she spoke up, "Do you have any soda?" Turns out she was attempting her longest day - 132 miles - and needed an energy boost to get to Atlantic City before dark. it took us two tays to do the same distance. We met this same solo bicyclist several more times along the trail. We had started noticing that every few days we would pass the same bicyclist along the trail or in towns - some of them we first saw in New Mexico.

Carissa Mine

South Pass City

While in South Pass City we stopped for a short hike along one of their informative trails.

Lots of historic sites along this section of the Continental Divide

The segment between Rawlins and Pinedale is the second longest (230 miles) without fuel so we spent one more night on the trail before arriving in Pinedale, Wy. Once in Pinedale most of us checked into hotels for showers and washing clothes. Gus would rejoined us here too. He had taken pavement from Rawlins to visit relatives in Pinedale.

Enjoying a margarita in a to-go container

 

[Jupiter58]

Thanks for the updates and photos! Very cool!


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[moto-treks]

From Pinedale we made our way up Union Pass Road in the Wind River Range of Wyoming toward the Grand Teton National Park.

Union Pass is one of North Americas triple divides. Water flows from here to the Colorado river, the Mississippi river, and the Columbia River.

We ended the days drive at Brooks Lake in Wyoming and decided to stay a few days while we visited Grand Teton National Park

Which, according to the camp host, had the best kept bathrooms of any park.

Grand Teton National Park was a bit crowded with the summer tourists. However, one could get away from the crowds if needed.

and once we had enough of the crowds we returned to Brooks Lake and solitude.

 

[Foy]

That's for sure a Class A crapper at Brooks Lake! Kudos to the Camp Host!

 

[moto-treks]

That's for sure a Class A crapper at Brooks Lake! Kudos to the Camp Host!

I’m not sure what the camp hosts did to stop the odor but the outhouses had zero smell. One could even sit awhile and read one of the books or magazines.

 

[Foy]

Zero odor is amazing. More often I'm trying to see how long I can hold my breath in those NF vault crappers. Reading a book would be a most welcome change!

 

[moto-treks]

The next day we all left Brooks Lake in two groups. One group took off at the crack of dawn and went to visit Yellowstone National Park. The other group had a relaxed morning before heading north to Grassy Lake Reservoir to find a camping spot.

We settled on Loon Lake. This was the first day we started noticing smoke.

After sending our location to the Yellowstone group we setup camp and waited for them to arrive. Early the next morning Gus and Suzan left the group to head to Mexico. The remainder of the group continued to the Big Springs in Island Lake Idaho for fuel and to restock food supplies.

Island Park Siding - Cattle from the Railroad Ranch were shipped from here up until the early 1970's

One hundred and twenty million gallons of pure water a day flow from Big Springs which is also one of the headwaters of the Snake River.

Just north of Island Park we turned west onto South Valley road and entered the Beaverhead National Forest and the Red Rocks Lakes National Wildlife Refuge spending the night at Lower Red Rocks Lake.

The next day we refueled in Lima Montana then drove up Big Sheep Creek Road and worked our way to Clark Canyon Reservoir for the night.