the rockies

fir, cottonwood, aspen, and willow. Sinks Canyon HIGHER AND DEEPER: The road These, together with the riparian 6 miles southwest of Lander on Wyo. 131 that climbs Sinks Canyon provides zone, provide a wide range of wild- an overview of Range n 600 acres n Year-round n Scenic canyon with disappearing river life habitat. , , deer, and geology. From Lander to Switchback n Hiking, wildlife viewing, fishing (license required) bighorn sheep live in the canyon’s Overlook is nearly 4,000 feet of dif- narrow confines, along with mink ferent rock layers. The mountains High in the Wind River and muskrats, rainbow and cut- were formed by uplifting of a block Range, the Middle Fork throat trout, prairie rattlers, and of old granite tilting through Popo Agie River begins 94 species of birds. younger sediments that now dip among glaciers, rock, and basinward on the flanks of the alpine meadows. It is a What to See and Do range, so hiking the canyon takes lovely river, but only one Start at the Visitor Center (Mem. you to older rocks as you climb of many streams pouring Day–Labor Day), but first walk the higher. The trip begins with brilliant out of these well-watered short distance to The Sinks. At its red Triassic shale and sandstone, mountains. What sets normal summer level, the river is yielding to Tensleep sandstone at this one apart is an unex- much smaller than the cavern, and the canyon entrance. The Sinks are pected trick. Having it’s hard not to feel a little spooky formed in Madison limestone, entered a narrow canyon shiver as you stand watching the while farther up-canyon, the road on the east side of the water disappear into that yawning switchbacks through Devonian and range, the river turns darkness. The Visitor Center’s excel- Cambrian sediments before emerg- suddenly to the right and lent displays interpret the under- ing at the overlook among Pre- dives into a yawning cav- ground story in addition to the 312 cambrian granite and spectacular 313 ern called The Sinks. natural history of the area. views of the . Half a mile away, it Next stop is The Rise, located a quietly returns to the half-mile drive down the canyon. A surface in a deep green platform provides a good view of pool called The Rise. the pool. Huge rainbow and brown trout drift like happy whales in It seems obvious the spring water. No fishing is allowed in this stretch of the river, but that The Sinks and The food pellets are available for tossing, and the trout enjoy them. Rise would be con- In spring, the river floods The Sinks and fills an overflow chan- nected, yet it took years nel. You can see this along the 0.25-mile Sinks to Rise Trail, and and several attempts to learn about native vegetation in the process. For a longer self-guided prove the case. Even now walk (just under a mile), head for the Popo Agie Nature Trail near the underground picture the upper campground. A booklet describes many aspects of the remains a matter of canyon’s natural history. conjecture. Tracer dye Treks of greater length begin with the Middle Fork Trail, which poured into the river begins at Bruces Camp parking lot, outside the park, and leads into above The Sinks turns the and beyond. Just 1.5 miles up the trail, The Sinks, fed by glacier melt up in The Rise as ex- Popo Agie Falls marks the head of the canyon. Connecting the pected, but it takes two Popo Agie and Middle Fork Trails is the 4-mile Canyon Trail loop. hours to get there, and the water comes out warmer than it went in. Throughout the park, watch for bighorn sheep. The canyon There is also more water coming out than entering, suggesting addi- should be an ideal wintering ground for them; its south-facing slope tional underground sources and a complicated network of passages stays relatively warm and free of snow, —perhaps a large subterranean reservoir. while the rocks and lack of forest provide PARK TIP: Try boulder hopping Even without its centerpiece geologic stunt, Sinks Canyon would the sort of open, rugged country in which along the seldom visited over- make a worthy state park. Stretched out for more than 2 miles along they feel secure. However, sheep have not flow channel between The the river, it lies sheltered beneath high buff-colored walls of sand- had an easy time here. The original popula- Sinks and The Rise. stone and limestone. Its sunny, south-facing side has elements of a tion died out many years ago. In the 1980s, desert environment, with juniper, limber pine, and sagebrush. The a new herd of 54 animals was brought here from the north end shady, north-facing slope, being cooler and wetter, supports Douglas- of the Wind River Range. Yet they have not thrived, and currently the rockies wyoming

number only about a dozen animals. One problem is their failure In 1867 prospectors found gold near South Pass. The discovery to discover migration routes to summer grazing in the high moun- set off a gold rush that, at its peak, involved thousands of miners, a tains. As a result, they stay year-round on range that cannot provide dozen stamp mills, two stage lines, and the usual assortment of sa- sufficient forage. loons, hotels, promoters, lawyers, and grocers. The only thing lack- Contributing to their decline are the recent increase in human ing was enough gold to support expectations, and by 1875 fewer contact and an outbreak of pneumonia, which killed a third of the than 100 people clung to diminished hopes. Despite several population in 1992. attempts at revival, including one energetic fraud, South Pass never hit the big time. Today, the South Pass City State Historic Site (42 Camping miles S via Wyo. 131 and US 28. 307-332-3684. Mid-May–Sept.; adm. Sinks Canyon has 30 tent and RV sites in two campgrounds. May– fee) protects 27 original, restored, or reconstructed buildings mid-Oct., with limited sites open through winter. Available on a crammed with artifacts. Check in at the Visitor Center, a former first-come, first-served basis. Camping fee. store and warehouse, before exploring the buildings and history of South Pass Avenue. Ask park staff about other historical landmarks in the area, including stations, visible ruts of the , further mining relics, and Willie’s Handcart Site, where Mormon emigrants pulling handcarts to Salt Lake City were caught—and many killed—by early winter storms in October 1856.

Sinks Canyon State Park, 3079 Sinks Canyon Rd., Rte. 63, Lander, WY 82520; 307-332-6333; http://wyoparks.state.wy.us 314 315 Guernsey 1.5 miles north of Guernsey, off Wyo. 26

n 8,602 acres n Year-round n Entrance fee (spring through fall) n Historic buildings n Oregon Trail n Hiking, swimming, boating

Located near the main route of the Oregon Trail, takes in a pleasant, serpentine canyon rimmed with sandstone cliffs and shaded by stands of ponderosa A LIGHTER YOKE TO BEAR: pine and juniper. The North Platte When traffic along the Oregon Trail River, impounded as a reservoir here, was at its height in the 1840s and laps placidly at the base of the cliffs ’50s, emigrants jettisoned a large and offers an inviting respite from the variety of high-quality trash between heat of the Wyoming plains. Fort Laramie and modern Glenrock. During the 1930s, the Civilian The route was strewn with bar-iron Overlooking The Rise Conservation Corps built trails, roads, and steel, anvils, bellows, crowbars, bridges, and rustic buildings through- drills, augers, gold-washers, chisels, Nearby Sights out the park. Much of the CCC’s work axes, trunks, grindstones, plows, Above The Sinks, Wyo. 131 gives way to a seasonal forest road that survives, including the lovely stone- ovens, cookstoves, kegs, barrels, climbs to the head of the canyon. The road wanders through rolling and-timber Visitor Center overlooking clothing, books, and food. Why did country of forest and meadow, past several alpine lakes, camp- the reservoir. people with overloaded wagons wait grounds, and trailheads to Wyo. 28 near South Pass, an important Starting in the 1840s, waves of until this point to reduce their bur- landmark in Western history. Here, emigrants on the Oregon, Cali- Oregon Trail emigrants traveled this den? With the mountains looming fornia, and Mormon Trails crossed the Continental Divide. Despite way as they followed the North Platte ahead, the trail became steeper— the considerable difficulties still facing them, they must have been River through southeastern Wyoming. and the trash piles rose. encouraged to know they had topped the ridgeline of the continent. Just a few miles south of the park, they