Wind River Range

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Location: Dickinson Park, West of Lander, WY
GPS:   42d 50m 19.83s    -109d 7m 57.46s
Map / Satellite Image: Google Link
 

Travel Directions:
From Lander drive 14 miles NW on US-287 to Hines General Store, turn left on Trout Creek Road and go 4.5 miles to end of pavement. From there on it is a dirt road which winds up two different groups of switchbacks gaining 4,000' (1,220 m) of elevation in 15 miles. Leave with a full tank of gas and spare tire. This scenic 35 mile drive across the Wind River Indian Reservation into the Shoshone National Forest usually takes 1.5 hours from Lander; from Riverton add another 45 minutes.

Remarks:
The Wind River Range, located in western Wyoming, is one of 17 mountain ranges mentioned by Annie Proulx in her “Catalogue Aria” [1] of locations where Ennis and Jack spent time together over their 20 years of “high-altitude fucks.” [2] The western slopes of the Wind River Range lie within the Bridger-Teton National Forest, an area of more than 3.4 million acres (5,300 sq. miles; 13,800 sq. km). The eastern slopes lie within the Shoshone National Forest, an area of nearly 2.5 million acres (3,786 sq. miles; 10,000 sq. km).

The Wind River Range spans a distance of nearly 100 miles (160 km), from near Dubois, WY, in the north, to near Lander, WY, in the south. The Wind River Range lies on the Continental Divide. Rivers west of the Divide flow into the Pacific Ocean. Rivers east of the Divide flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The Wind River is east of the Divide; water from it eventually flows into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.

Gannett Peak, 13,804' (4,208 m), is the highest peak in Wyoming. It is in the Wind River Range, about 70 miles (112 km) southeast of Grand Teton.

Both Dubois, to the north, and Lander, to the south, are convenient starting points for anyone wishing to explore the eastern slopes of the Wind River Range. Motel accommodations are readily available in both locations. Allen’s Diamond 4 Ranch, located in the Wind River Range west of Lander, can provide week-long accommodations, and, for the extreme adventurer, guided horseback and overnight pack trips into the mountainous back country. For pictures taken during a day-long horseback ride, see “Riding the Wind River Range” in Albums.

See:
http://www.holidaylodgelander.com/
http://www.diamond4ranch.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_River_Range
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide

Important:
You will need a tribal fishing license to use the road to Dickinson Park. These can be purchased in Lander at the Exxon station, in Dubois at Whiskey Mountain Tackle, in Crowheart at the Crowheart Exxon, in Riverton at Rocky Mountain Sports, or in Ft. Washakie at the Sinclair Station before driving up. The road is dirt / gravel with many switchbacks and hairpin turns; it is also in an area that is very isolated. If your vehicle can’t stand it, don’t attempt to drive it.

[1] “Years on years they worked their way through the high meadows and mountain drainages ... Salt River Range, into the Wind Rivers over and again ...” Brokeback Mountain - Story to Screenplay by Annie Proulx, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana (Scribner) ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-9416-4, page 17.
[2] Ibid., page 21

Pictures of surrounding area:

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www.FindingBrokeback.com

  Revised 22 March 2011