OUR 2019 WIND RIVER RANGE TRIP Day 2

October 4, 2019 (from Jackson Hole KOA to Pinedale (via Green River Lake)

After a quick stop at the McDonald’s in Jackson, we were on our way south by southeast and a visit to the Wind River Range, a spectacular but very remote group of mountains in the western part of Wyoming. When you look at a map of Wyoming, especially if it is a topographic map, you notice a large square at the upper northwest corner of the state. This is Yellowstone National Park. Directly south of the famed, first national park, is a roughly oblong shaped area named for the Teton Mountains. Those mountains run north to south for about forty miles. If you consider this western area of the state to be a large “R” with Yellowstone being the main body and the Tetons being the left leg, then the right leg, jutting out for roughly one hundred miles, running northwest to southeast, is the group of mountains known as the Wind River Range.

There are over forty peaks, in the Wind River Range, that top 13,000 feet, with Gannett Peak, at 13,809 feet, being the tallest mountain in Wyoming. Grand Teton, of the Teton range, which is second at 13,776 feet, is the only other non-Wind River mountain in the top ten. In fact, nineteen of the twenty tallest peaks in the state are in this mountain range.

On the approach from the Hobach Junction KOA to Jackson, cottonwoods and aspens lining the Snake River corridor and foothills of the Snake River Range have not peaked, with the exceptions of those on high ridge outcroppings, but they are transitioning very, very nicely. Furthermore, the foothills to the west of US 191 between Hobach Junction and Jackson are, in many places, absolutely carpeted with aspen.

It was a beautiful morning, that Friday, October 4, 2019. The sun was out with a little scattered cloud cover. From Hobach Junction, we took US 189 in a southeasterly direction to Bondurant and then to Cora. The drive took about an hour to cover the fifty-five miles or so. The upper portion of this route follows the Hobach River. The first thirty-four miles of the drive, in Laurence Parent’s Scenic Driving WYOMING, is known as Drive 7: Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway (South): Hoback Junction to the Rim.

As we were driving, a  small group (8-12) of very young female and small bighorn sheep, some of which had short, thin, slightly curving horns with no tines crossed the road in front of us. Their horns definitely lacked the mass and full curl of bighorn Rams. This is a signature trait of bighorn ewes.

John Hobach was one of three trappers, all of whom were from Kentucky, who guided a party funded by John Jacob Astor through this area one year before the United States began the War of 1812 with Great Britain. This party of “Astorians” was dispatched to find a route through the headwaters of the Columbia River to Oregon, where headquarters for the Pacific fur company would be established. They were the first white men to visit this area.

As we approached Bondurant, the valley floor began to widen and flatten out somewhat. Bondurant is at an elevation of about 6,600 feet. The impressive mountain range to the east of US 191, which extends from Jackson to several miles southeast of Bondurant, is the Gros Ventre Range. Many of the peaks top out at over 11,000 feet. Doubletop, at 11,720 feet, was the tallest of these pinnacles which were currently carrying a significant snowpack.

When our friend Becky was here just a few days earlier, we were forced to cancel trips to Glacier National Park, as four feet of snow fell on the east side, and even our plans to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks were shelved due to the weather forecast of 9-12 inches of snow for Yellowstone National Park. And the Wind River Range was under winter weather warnings. They did receive some snow, however, but not nearly as much as we feared. It was enough to make the mountains that much more spectacular but not enough to create hazardous driving conditions when Doug and I drove through there.

As my brother noted: in articles pertaining to fall-foliage destinations in the Rockies, emphasize the brevity of the season and the fact that timing is of the essence. The delicacy of aspen leaf stems, combined with wind conditions here, can terminate the fall foliage color with the mercurial speed of a shooting star transitioning the night sky. When the weather “gods” cooperate, however, fall in the Northern Rockies is nothing short of magical.

An interesting feature of vegetation patterns in some areas of the route between Bondurant and Cora is an abrupt transition from sagebrush, which covers most of the valley floor, and large stands of aspen at slightly higher elevations.

From the junction of US 191 (to Pinedale) and US 189 south, which goes to Big Piney and, ultimately, Kemmerer, Wyoming, the northern portion of the rugged Wind River Range come into view, particularly as you travel east on the eleven-mile stretch of US 191, which heads due east from the aforementioned junction to Pinedale.

Six miles west of Pinedale, we took Wyoming State Highway 352 north (through Cora, Wyoming) for a total of a little over twenty-one miles. At least for the first few miles north of the turnoff to Cora, this road proceeds through cattle country that is extensively carpeted with sagebrush. Fifteen miles into our northbound traverse of WY 352, we slowly begin to gain altitude and stands of aspen began to appear on the slopes of nearby foothills. Nineteen miles into this stretch of highway, the route takes you through extensive stands of aspen on both sides of the highway. Color in this area is fairly uniform and near peak. Most trees are still fully foliated and yellow, with accents of orange here and there.

At the 24 mile-marker, at Gypsun Creek Road,  there was a pull off that affords a classic fall foliage vista: large stands of golden aspen, immediately bordered at higher altitudes by starkly contrasting conifers, against the majestic backdrop of the snowcapped peaks of thenorthern Wind River range. And we still had yet to reach national forest land, let alone Green River Lake. The pavement ended and we entered Bridger National Forest after 25 miles. It appears that there is a conveniently located outhouse right at the point where the road turns to gravel and enters national forest land. As of October 4, 2019, this bathroom had not been locked for the season. Note: ladies, if you have an aversion to pit toilets, which this one was, get over it. Bathrooms in such remote portions of the northern Rockies are few and far between, so use them when you can.

Much of that portion of Green River Lakes Road, which traverses Bridger National Forest land, transits surprisingly gentle terrain, despite its gradual elevation gain. The snowcapped peaks of the northern Wind River Range do not reappear until you are within a couple of miles of Green River Lakes.

We had traveled forty-two miles when the iconic image of Squaretop Mountain finally came into view. Two miles later we reached the Green River Lakes Campground entrance; There was a bathroom a short distance from the entrance;  it was still open.

To actually view the Upper Green River Lake, with Squaretop Mountain at its head, take the boat launch road from the Green River Lake Recreation Area entrance.

According to Doug’s notes: “the Green River Lakes area was, if memory serves me correctly, the site of at least one fur trade rendezvous. Contemporary visitors will find the view just as rewarding. Green River Lakes Campground and Recreation Area are forty-four miles from US 191 and fifty miles from Pinedale, the nearest town. Visitors who have the privilege of beholding this signature vista of the Northern Wind River Range are standing on some of the most remote, not to mention, spectacular terrain in the lower 48. The Snake River Overlook, the signature vista in Grand Teton National Park, is far more accessible and, thus, much more heavily visited.”

The elevations of the Upper and Lower Green River Lakes are, 7,968 and 7,961 feet, respectively while the summit of the distinctive Squaretop Mountain is 11,695 feet. Although Gannett Peak, at 13,804 feet, is much taller, Squaretop definitely stands out amongst its fellow mountains.