The DeTour Trip Report - As Told by Blackdawg

[keane]

Really enjoying this read. All the snow is making me wish it was fall already. As the group I camp and wheel with try to get out a lot in the early winter to camp and explore in the snow.

 

[Blackdawg]

Really enjoying this read. All the snow is making me wish it was fall already. As the group I camp and wheel with try to get out a lot in the early winter to camp and explore in the snow.

oh cool. I like a bit of snow wheeling. But this was not the fun kind haha mostly due to the mud. not a fan of sloppy mud.

Its snows too much around here most the time for fun snow wheeling.

 

[Blackdawg]

Chapter 8: A Plan at Last​

We woke up fully prepared for everything to be wet as hell again as had become the normal. To our relief and surprise, it had not rained on us! In fact, our random spot on a hill in the badlands was rather pretty and refreshingly sunny in the morning.


2017-09-25 - 00001 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00002 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


There was a heavy dew though but compared to everything we were used to it was fine. The sun was out anyways and though it was a bit chilly, it was a good chill. We even took the time to all prepare a normal breakfast for once and take in the beautiful morning light.


2017-09-25 - 00003 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

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DeTour-25.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00010 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00011 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

DeTour-26.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00012 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

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DeTour-28.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_3644 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3646 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-27.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

Haven’t been to a ghost town yesterday, we had hoped there would be more around here as it was an old mining place. There were hints of old structures in the distance..


2017-09-25 - 00008 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


Our bellies full of warm food, our gear dry, way drier than “normal”. We decided we would check out the area before continuing south. As we rolled out of camp, a large fenced off something caught our eye and we of course had to stop at it. Especially once we saw what it was.


IMG_3648 by mike digirat, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00013 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


The old grave yard was fenced off but not locked out. The gate was open and walked around the site in a soleum curiosity.


DeTour-29.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_3649 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-30.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-31.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-33.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


It was when we really looked at the dates we realized that almost all of the sites were for children..


DeTour-32.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00014 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00015 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

DeTour-34.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-36.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-37.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_3651 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-38.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-39.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-40.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00016 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

Life was hard out here a hundred years ago. Amazing how things have changed in that amount of time.


Fully curious on the area more. Now we continued on another random road stopping to read some signs with more ruins showing their place.


IMG_3653 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3654 by mike digirat, on Flickr


Was a pretty big operation at one point.


DeTour-41.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Had to stop at check out the houses now.


DeTour-42.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_3656 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-43.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-44.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_3655 by mike digirat, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00017 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


The houses were cool. All the same yet little different. Wandering around we all noticed different things about the yards and buildings.


DeTour-45.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-46.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00018 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00019 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

DeTour-47.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

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IMG_3658 by mike digirat, on Flickr


Fire are some point burned out the floor.


2017-09-25 - 00021 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

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IMG_3659 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3660 by mike digirat, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

We enjoyed wandering around in the mostly dry weather.


IMG_3662 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-48.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

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Snow..was still in sight..


IMG_3664 by mike digirat, on Flickr


Derp was happy to be in just a Tshirt!


DeTour-49.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-50.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-51.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-52.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


So was I.


2017-09-25 - 00025 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


We then made our way over the hill to the two smelting sites. Much much is left of these ruins other than the massive foundations.


IMG_3665 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3669 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3668 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-53.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-55.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-56.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-57.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

Dan noticed that instead of rebar they had used big cable for the concret. Pretty interesting way of doing it.


DeTour-58.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

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The base of a smoke stack. This thing was huge, probably 8’ in diameter.


DeTour-59.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Black chip pile.


DeTour-54.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Was a pretty cool area hidden away. Only complainte was the criss crossing power lines everywhere.


DeTour-60.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


I had told the guys about Thermopolis the night before though which had the worlds largest hot spring. And we were anxious to get further south. So we headed for the highway having already spent way more time than we thought we would in the town of Gebo.


DeTour-61.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Could help and stop at this massive blower though.


DeTour-62.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-63.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-64.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Soon we were on the highway and a short drive later on the edge of Thermopolis and overlooking the hot springs. The sun had really come out now and the weather was glorious.


DeTour-65.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

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IMG_3670 by mike digirat, on Flickr

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DeTour-66.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

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[Blackdawg]

Im not sure Derp and Mike were impressed..


2017-09-25 - 00033 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

Either way, I asked if they wanted to stop there and walk on the boardwalks. With no real agenda at this point everyone said yes and we drove to the top of the springs and walked around.


DeTour-67.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00034 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

IMG_3672 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3673 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3674 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-68.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-69.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00035 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

DeTour-70.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-71.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-72.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-73.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-74.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-75.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

The water used to flow over here but is constantly changing due to water output and mineral build up.


DeTour-76.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


It was weird almost to be in civilization and sunny with green grass. But we really liked it.


2017-09-25 - 00036 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


Our last stop was the source of all this water.


DeTour-77.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_3681 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-79.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Some great history here too.


DeTour-78.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


With that it was time to hit the road again. We all wanted to eat lunch, but I promised that lunch at the Granite Grill in lander would be well worth it. I also texted Marc and Brett to see if they could join us for lunch, two more tacoma buddies who had been unable to make it this year.


A few hours later we drove through the Wind River Canyon, a beautiful drive, and the desert to get to Lander.


Amazingly Brett and Marc all showed up right as we did. We had a full table with Marc and Jen plus their new born baby Calvin. The food was VERY worth it and we were all happy and telling tails of the journey so far.


Marc and Brett told us that Shoshone Lake was probably a no go. It had been snowing on and off the last few days as it had been all over the state. That trail being very rough, Id imagine traction would be a big issue. So that was vetoed as was Christina lake. We decided to make our way to the Killpecker Sand dunes on the high plains instead. Then from there turn further south and run into Moab. We would take the Kokopelli into Utah as its a fun trail and I happened to still have the GPS data for from Mike’s and I trip last year. From there, we would wing it.


A plan in place that would at least get us through the next few days, we said a very fond fairwell to Marc, Jen and Brett. Little did we know it would be our last meeting before Marc and Jen moved back east. I’m sure we will see eachother again soon though @SconnieHailer.


Plan set we drove off over south pass and up onto the high plains.


It was supposed to be fall here too. But winter came early with vengeance.


DeTour-80.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


We were taking a new route that none of us had ever done before. Naturally I passed the turn off. But we all got there and aired down for a long drive to the dunes.


DeTour-81.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-82.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00038 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00040 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


Mountains looked cold in the distance.


IMG_3682 by mike digirat, on Flickr


Was chilly here though, we were still at 7000-7500 feet with storm cells rolling all around us.


IMG_3684 by mike digirat, on Flickr


Dan found the wing dump interesting.


2017-09-25 - 00039 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


The game and fish use this to track a lot of info about the birds being harvested. Their age and sex can help determine reproduction rates. Kind of cool.


We set off down the smoother dirt road, a lot of miles to do in a shot amount of time. We werent’ driving long before we saw some movement.


DeTour-83.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Elk!


2017-09-25 - 00041 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


It was mid hunting season too. Not that we were hunting. Was cool to see though.

 

[Blackdawg]

Then a while later. More elk!

IMG_3691 by mike digirat, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00042 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

DeTour-84.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

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2017-09-25 - 00044 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


Then it got muddy again. Sadly.


DeTour-85.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


The mud out here was classic Wyo mud. Thick and sticky.


We came to an overlook and decided to stay up high and take a road that cut across instead of diving down. Though looks like you could go fast!


DeTour-86.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00045 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr


No tire was safe in this crap.


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IMG_3695 by mike digirat, on Flickr


But we weren’t getting rained on and the view was nice.


IMG_3696 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3697 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3699x by mike digirat, on Flickr

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IMG_3704 by mike digirat, on Flickr


We then made our way to Tri Territories monument. And on the way saw another herd of Elk. And then at the monument, another.


DeTour-87.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

IMG_3706 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3707 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3708 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-89.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

I was raving mad I’d left the elk bugle in Frankenstein. Oh well.


We checked out the old monument and watched as the evening sky light up in full show around us, rain threatening to find us in the wide open land.


2017-09-25 - 00049 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

IMG_3717 by mike digirat, on Flickr

DeTour-90.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-92.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-91.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

DeTour-88.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

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IMG_3713 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3714 by mike digirat, on Flickr

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IMG_3716 by mike digirat, on Flickr


There was really some wonderful lighting going on. Which kind of hid the fact it was getting super cold and we still didn’t know where we were sleeping tonight.


IMG_3722 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3722 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3723 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3725 by mike digirat, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00052 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

2017-09-25 - 00051 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

DeTour-94.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

We dove off the high plateau in hope the sand dunes were near. The decent was kind of sketchy in spots as it was so slick stopping was not really an option. But only a few spots were like that and we didn’t have any issues.


2017-09-25 - 00053 - The De-Tour - Day 09 by Dan, on Flickr

IMG_3726 by mike digirat, on Flickr


Some sort of power plant way out there..


IMG_3727 by mike digirat, on Flickr

IMG_3728 by mike digirat, on Flickr


When we did get down, the road was horrid. It was as sloppy as Hunt Mountain road. They had been grading the road when all the moisture hit so it was a mess. I was glad to have tires that didn’t poke out so far now. Mike accidently slipped off the road into the ditch. And for a breif moment I thought we’d have to do another muddy recovery. But he pulled himself out with some nice driving and all was well.


DeTour-95.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


By now it was dark. We had no Idea where we were or really even where we were going. The GPS said we were on the main road at least and so we just took the next turn off which took us amazingly into sand. We drove around in the dark for awhile until finally just pulled off up onto a Dune to sleep.


It was super cold out now. I got the fire going as fast as I could while everyone setup camp. It would be Marc’s last night with us sadly. He had to hit the road early to get back to Jackson for work. He didn’t not have any navigation equipment though and was worried about going out in the slop alone and getting stuck. He only had a CB so couldn’t even call us if he did get stuck. We showed him the route out on our tablets which was easy enough. And we were going the same way, so if he did get stuck we would just be there to get him.


That settled, we enjoyed our last fire with our friend Mark then crawled into out tents for a cold night of sleeping.

To be Continued..

Chapter 9: South Bound

Enjoying the De-Tour story? There's more - @turbodb also wrote up a version. Check out his version of this chapter here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...db-september-2017.562116/page-2#post-18494547

Read the full story:
As told by @turbodb: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8]

As told by @Blackdawg: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8]​

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Another great continuation! Sadly this year due to a work " emergency" I missed my annual Wyoming trip, including Cody and Thermop. It was great to relive a little through your images.

 

[Wilbah]

I always enjoy your writeups and the pictures are just awesome. Thanks for taking the time to share them all with us! So great to see these areas "through" your eyes.

 

[wild_Goose]

Always dig your stories. Thanks!