Wyoming Backroads Exploration

[smallfrye]

Part 1 - May 6, 2018

Spent yesterday morning hiking the Quarry and Nature Trails in Fossil Butte National Monument before heading over to the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge area to check it out.

Quarry Trail














Nature Trail






Along the western edge of the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge area

 

[smallfrye]

The 2nd half of the day it was exploring a portion of Tunp Range and seeing if the routes back to Lake Alice and the Devil’s Hole was open yet as well as a secondary route back to Kemmere Wyoming. Both the Wyoming Backroads book and the Wyoming Benchmark Maps came in handy while back in these area.









You can see the road towards the bottom of the photo that I just came up.






The road back to Lake Alice is still not open yet to 4x4 travel.

 

[smallfrye]

I was surprised to see the road this clear but I'm assuming it was only this clear at the moment due to a logging operation that was going on further down the trail.









The road ahead leads down to Hams Fork but it is not open yet. My original plan was to come from the other side along FS10062 but I think I made the better choice coming the direction that I did.












In the Wyoming Backroads book this route is called 'Hams Folk Plateau' and is a back way to Kemmerer ,Wyoming. I originally missed it using the Benchmark book so the the other book came in handy.


Can you follow the trail as it kicks up the mountain?








At the top of the pass.


The view from where I decided to end my day and head back home.


The road continued on behind me but it dropped down among the aspens on muddy and still partially snow covered trail. I knew better than to continue on since I didn't know what laid ahead in the mess and I didn't want to get stuck.

 

[smallfrye]

Part 2 - July 1, 2018

This is the continuation and completion of the route that I set out to do at the beginning of May but due to snow not all the roads were open at that time. While the Wyoming Backroads book and the Wyoming benchmark maps were some great resources for this trip I think having a FS/BLM map would’ve helped to cover some of the roads that these two did not or did not cover very well.

For this trip I would start out in Kemmerer, Wyoming to complete running the Ham’s Fork Plateau route noted in the backroads book (Dempsey Road) and back over to Cokeville, Wyoming. Then up to the Lake Alice area and back down to the Hams Fork area via the FS roads. Route finding wasn’t all that difficult the backroads book gave some good descriptions of the areas (I think their mileage is a little off or maybe it was just me)and the benchmark map help to fill in some of the gaps up around the Lake Alice and Hams Fork area (FS road map would’ve helped some here since both books had some different FSR numbers). Once you get to Ham’s Fork it’s pretty much a straight shot back to Kemmerer (FS/BLM road, to a county road then to a paved road).

Start of the trail.





Grave along the road.





Nancy Hill grave





Trail marker



Alfred Corum grave







Some additional information I had found on both of these graves while researching the area.

Nancy Hill - http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/trailsdemo/nancyhill.htm[/COLOR]

Alfred Corum - http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/trailsdemo/alfred_corum.htm


After visiting the area and scaring a cow I headed further down the trail to the Emigrant Springs area (some camping spots up near the trees).

[URL='https://teaaronfrye.smugmug.com/Wyoming-Backroads-62918/i-pCvScQg/A']

[/URL]

 

[smallfrye]

Further down the trail nearing my next turnoff.



Here is the cutoff to Cokeville (BLMR 4217) at first I didn’t believe the description or the sign thinking it was a little off so I drove down the road about a mile and didn’t see any other turnoffs so I headed back and down the road.





Reaching the bottom of the road and the valley floor.









Looking back towards the ridgeline across the valley and the road I just came down. The last time here I couldn’t access the ridgeline I was on due to two snow drifts.



To see photo’s from here back to the Cokeville area see my first Wyoming Backroads Exploration post.

From a dirt road back to pavement then back to dirt FSR10162. Last time I was here there was still snow in these areas.

 

[smallfrye]

Hit the cutoff for Lake Alice and Hobble Creek campground and started back.



View of the valley below and the final descent (switchbacks) to the road below.



Stream crossing at the bottom, the first murky section is the deepest and the section though the actual stream isn’t deep maybe 1/3 up the wheels with a track system to cross over.



Decided to head back to the end road to see if I could hike back to two of the mines in the area, but I wasn’t quite up for a 1 mile hike up a steep windy road so I headed back and the following sign I wasn’t comfortable with those if I understood it right you could still hike back past the closed road.

Hiking trail near the end of the road.



End of the road and said sign. Yes, I had to drive across the stream again.





After this is was back to Hobble Creek campground and the trail head for Lake Alice.

 

[smallfrye]

Lake Alice



The one fisherman I saw



Trails further around the lake.



I hung out in the area for a short time before heading back. When I was researching this area prior to the trip the Forest Service site noted that this area show low use and I can tell you that in does. The pithouse up at the lake could’ve been used in a horror film (though I found one up in Glacier NP that was a little creepier)and the tables were in bad shape. The campground I don’t know if I would pitch a tent since most of the sites I saw as I drove though were pretty rocky and probably best suited to a trailer, RTT, truck bed camper or just sleeping in your car. There is a newer pithouse in the area though.

I had originally planned to camp and fish in this area but being under the weather a bit for the past week or so I wasn’t quite up for it. Next time, maybe.

Parting shot of the valley as I reached the overlook again.





Just some more trails as I worked my way back towards the Hams Fork area.







Towards the end of FSR 10060 I believe before starting my descent back down. I really wish the photos of this hill would’ve turned out as the combination of the yellow flowers and the green from the stems and grasses where awesome as the sunny peered in and out of the clouds. I don’t know how many shots I took but these where the only ones that really came out.

 

[smallfrye]

After a left turn a short ways after it was down another set of short switchbacks and into the Hams Fork area. Again, another low use area but there were camps dispersed along the entire section of road.

Last major stop the old Elk Creek Ranger station.











A shot looking back from the now dirt county road and bear filled memorial for someone who died along this section of road, I’m assuming it to be a little kid.




Overall, this was a great trip and either way you decided to go whether up though the Ham’s Fork area (grasses and open valley) or from the Cokeville side (mountains) you couldn’t go wrong as they both offer some great views. If you decide to stay a little long that I did there are also a number of areas to hike and bike and fish.

 

[SubeeBen]

Great pictures & awesome write up, thanks for sharing.

 

[Squaretyre]

Excellent report and pics, thank you

 

[Chris Finnigan]

Thank you for sharing! Excellent report.

 

[darjo242]

Lake Alice



The one fisherman I saw



Trails further around the lake.



I hung out in the area for a short time before heading back. When I was researching this area prior to the trip the Forest Service site noted that this area show low use and I can tell you that in does. The pithouse up at the lake could’ve been used in a horror film (though I found one up in Glacier NP that was a little creepier)and the tables were in bad shape. The campground I don’t know if I would pitch a tent since most of the sites I saw as I drove though were pretty rocky and probably best suited to a trailer, RTT, truck bed camper or just sleeping in your car. There is a newer pithouse in the area though.

I had originally planned to camp and fish in this area but being under the weather a bit for the past week or so I wasn’t quite up for it. Next time, maybe.

Parting shot of the valley as I reached the overlook again.





Just some more trails as I worked my way back towards the Hams Fork area.







Towards the end of FSR 10060 I believe before starting my descent back down. I really wish the photos of this hill would’ve turned out as the combination of the yellow flowers and the green from the stems and grasses where awesome as the sunny peered in and out of the clouds. I don’t know how many shots I took but these where the only ones that really came out.

this is just beautiful country. What does the state of Wyoming get on out of state 3 day fishing licenses?

 

[smallfrye]

No idea on that.