NARGS Emerald Chapter

This past Saturday (February 12), we were lucky to have Christine Ebrahimi from the Columbia-Willamette chapter of NARGS as our speaker for our meeting at the Corvallis Library. She’s a terrific speaker, and her photos (and some from fellow C-W chapter member Dave Dobak) of the Bighorn and Beartooth Mountains of northern Wyoming were excellent. I am definitely putting the Bighorns on my must-get-to list of places to visit. Christine has been kind enough to share with us her wealth of information on traveling and botanizing in the Bighorn and Beartooth mountains. Below is her terrific advice on visiting this gorgeous area. And for those who didn’t get a slide list or want to see the names of some of the beautiful plants that were shown, here is the slide list: Wyoming slideshow.

WYOMING – BIGHORN MOUNTAINS

We visited in mid July (13-19) in 2008. In the northern Bighorns, it was a perfect time because all the roads were open and the alpine flowers were at their peak bloom. The southern Bighorns are higher in elevation (at least in the Cloud Peak Wilderness) and some of the trails were still closed due to high water stream-crossings.

Northern Bighorns

Lots of good campgrounds, but we chose North Tongue (7,900 ft. – just N of Burgess Junction with 12 sites along a creek, $12/night, water pump). This campground is centrally located, by the Burgess Visitor Center and near Burgess Lodge for groceries. We found the showers at Arrowhead Lodge, 4 mile E of Burgess Junction, were better and less expensive. A prettier campground was Bald Mountain (near Medicine Wheel), but at 9,200 ft it would have been very cold at night and there were LOTS of mosquitoes.

Almost everything is off Hwy Alt14 and 14 and just driving these roads is LOVELY! Specific places to visit:

Medicine Wheel Native American site – an easy 1.5 mi hike along a gravel road. Lots of alpine flowers and there is an interpretive building and person available to ask questions.

Bucking Mule and Porcupine Falls – Two short hikes into very nice waterfalls both off FS Road #14. Bucking Mule is a 2 mile moderate hike to a high rocky viewpoint of a lovely falls. Here you see lower elevations species that grow in the pine forests and on basalt rock outcrops (Eriogonum, Arnica, Castilleja) and woodland species. Porcupine Falls is a very short (¼ – ½ mile), but VERY STEEP hike!!

Shell Falls and Interpretive Center – right along Hwy 14 is interesting, but will be under construction for a couple of years, so this may be closed.

Black Mountain Lookout – 2 mile hike into this very nice lookout with great views. ATV’s are allowed on this trail and we passed one group, but the hike and views were well worth it.

By far the best flowers were found on two quiet roads that just wound over the high open country.

Sheep Mountain Road (FS Road #11) goes N of Hwy Alt14 and by Duncum Mountain (9,830 ft). I could have spent all day exploring off of this road. There were fascinating rock formations, snowfields, open meadows filled with alpine flowers and beautiful views!!! Lots of great habitats with wonderful flowers. We continued until the road went down in elevation near Cold Springs and we were out of the alpine zone. THIS IS A MUST!

Hunt Mountain Road (FS Road #10) goes S of Hwy Alt14 and by Hudson Peak (10,162 ft). This is a less traveled road and not as well maintained, but well worth going as far as you can. Near Hudson Peak we saw huge areas of Eritrichium nanum and Aquileja jonesii. Farther down we came upon Basque shepherds and fields of wildflowers. There are lots of areas to walk around and explore and more great views.

We also took the loop drive from Burgess Junction to Sheridan and then back via Hwy 335 and FS Road #26. The drive was nice, but nothing spectacular. We preferred the alpine areas, although there were some interesting historical sites related to logging; an old splash dam and tie flumes along Road #26.

We did not explore much in the Granite Creek/Shell Creek area (junction Hwy 14 and FS Road #17). My brother didn’t mention anything specific in this area, but it looks interesting.

Not worth your time is FS Road #15, which is entirely in the woods and boring.

Southern Bighorns

Lots of good campgrounds, but we chose Sitting Bull (8,600 ft, in the trees and near a large meadow, just N of Meadowlark Lake, 42 sites, pump water, $12/night). Again, this was centrally located although most of the lodges in this area were closed, so stock up on food.

The two main areas to explore in the southern Bighorns are around Meadowlark Lake and the Circle Park area. Both provide access into Cloud Peak Wilderness. We were kept from too much wilderness hiking due to high water streams, however we did do several drives/hikes all off of Hwy 16 including:

Crazy Woman Canyon – a fascinating drive with deep canyon walls and large rockfalls which winds down a narrow canyon along Crazy Woman Creek (FS Road #33) This road is not very good, but if you keep going you will see some very interesting rock formations. It is quite low in elevation, so the plants are very different and it is a good contrast to the alpine flora.

Sheep Mountain Lookout – a nice drive and good views of the overall area.

High Park Lookout and summit of Big Horn Ski lift – this is one of the prettiest lookouts that I have ever visited (and I’ve been to lots of them). The lookout is just S and E of Meadowlark Lake on FS Road #429. The trail is only about ¼ mile, but it goes by some remarkably large rocks covered with gardens. At the lookout we found Telesonix jamesii, Kelseya uniflora and Penstemon spp. Once you visit the lookout, take the small road (FS Road #433) just after the cattle crossing to its end, which is also the top of Big Horn Ski Area. Here you will end up on a large rocky area with Meadowlark Lake below you, Cloud Peak Wilderness beyond and great alpines at your feet.

We didn’t do as much hiking in the southern Bighorns. The trials into Seven Brothers Lakes and the numerous lakes in the Circle Park area are all suppose to be very nice according to my brother. He specifically recommended Seven Brothers Lake. The stream crossings were too high when we were there, but we did make it into Lily Lake and Lost Twin Lakes.

Lily Lake – a short hike (1.5 miles one way) into a very picturesque lake. The drive up to the trailhead (Battle Park at the end of FS Road #24) is very nice and we liked the short hike, except for the ATVs. Like many of the trails, this one has ATV traffic, which causes noise and destroys moist areas along the trail.

Lost Twin Lakes – if you are up to a fairly long hike (5.5 mi one way) this is the one I would recommend. This was a beautiful trail!!! There is much to see and the cirque lakes at the end are spectacular and surrounded by several 12,000+ foot peaks! We took lots and lots of pictures and it was the only place that I found Primula parryi. The trailhead is just north of Meadowlark Lake at the end of FS Road #27 (West Tensleep Trailhead) and the trail goes into the Cloud Peak Wilderness (so there are no ATVs!). If you have time, TAKE THIS HIKE!

Check out my brother’s book Backpacking Wyoming: From Towering Granite Peaks to Steaming Geyser Basins (Douglas Lorain). There are lots of additional trails he recommends.

References:

USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region
Download copies of trails/campground and other useful info.

Order copy of Bighorn National Forest map ($10)

 

Fabulous limestone rock formations along Sheep Mountain Road

WYOMING – BEARTOOTH MOUNTAINS

We didn’t do as much off-the-road exploring in the Beartooth Mountains, mainly because many of the roads were impassible and some areas were closed due to grizzly bear (a camper had been attacked and mauled at a campground some 15 miles from us only 2 days before we arrived).

We stayed at Hunter Peak Campground along the Chief Joseph Hwy some 6 miles southeast of the junction with the All-American Hwy (#212). There are 11 sites, a water pump and it is close to the small commumity of Prairie, which has a general store.

Chief Joseph Hwy is a beautiful drive! If you come through Cody, WY on your way back from the Bighorns it is the best way to get into the Beartooth Mountains. Although we didn’t have time to stop along this road, there are lots of interesting places that likely have great plants! The substrate rocks changes considerably along this drive, so the plant life is interesting.

Although we were close to Yellowstone, we wanted to avoid the crowds and preferred the more remote drive to Beartooth Pass (10,000 + feet). The views from this marvelous road just can’t be beat!!! There are loads of places to stop and explore or take off on a short hike. Don’t miss Clay Butte Lookout, (which is now a small visitor’s center) right off of Hwy 212. It is not open every day, so you will need to check. However, the walk up (if the gate is closed) is only about 1.5 miles and well worth it. There are lots of great plants in the open areas by the lookout and along the road. If the day is clear, you can see some magnificent views of the Absaroka Mountains!

We also enjoyed the Top of the World Store on the drive to Beartooth Pass. It has all sorts of interesting things. About 1 mile farther east past the store you will come to the lovely Island Park Lake with a campground. This is definite grizzly bear country and chances are very good that in the meadow just south of the campground (gated road #149 with a GRIZZLY BEAR WARNING sign), that you will see a grizzly. Every time we past here there were 1 or 2 grizzlies feeding on grubs and roots.

One hike that I would highly recommend was a 6-mile round trip into Beauty Lake from Island Park Lake. We had to remove our boots/socks to cross an outlet stream at Island Park Lake, but the views and scenery on this trail were spectacular!!! This was one of our favorite hikes and I saw lots of great flowers!

Of course the best drive, views, and flowers were on the drive to Beartooth Pass and at the summit. TONS of great alpines to see and marvelous views! We took this drive 3 times, never got tired of it, and each time I found some sort of new plant.

FOREWARNING – there are grizzly bears in this country and they HIGHLY recommend that you have bear spray before going out on any trails. The stuff is really expensive if you buy it there ($50), so I recommend that you get it in Cody where it was apparently much less (maybe $30).