South Pass, WY - Wind River Range trip - Aug 2013

[macmcintire]

Headed out to South Pass, Wyoming for a brief, one night camping trip. Traveled 515 miles round trip. Stopped first at the historic town of South Pass. This is a well-preserved mining town in the top of the Rocky Mountains right on the Continental Divide. The entrance fee is only $4 ($2 for Wyoming residence) and is a great bargain. If you are there on a Saturday in the summer the fee also includes a tour of the Carissa Mine if you get a tour reservation (see pictures in next report entry). The buildings have the period furniture in them; much of it original to that building. One can get a real feel for how these hardy mining families lived.

Here is what the town looks like now:









This is one of three hotels the city once held. This one had nine rooms on the second floor and three on the first floor, plus a restaurant, bath house and laundry.

















One of many saloons in the town. Everything in this bar is original.

[macmcintire]

The largest mine at South Pass was the Carissa Mine. The day we arrived (Friday) they just started giving tours of the mine. We were on the very first tour. The grand opening actually wasn't until the following day, but since so many people asked for a tour on Friday they decided to give a pre-opening tour. How is that for good luck?

The tour is actually of the mill rather than the mine. The actual mine is flooded. But the one and one-half hour tour of the mill was very interesting. I have visited many abandoned mine sights (see my personal gallery for many pictures of mines in Nevada) and have often wondered how the stamp mills worked. I particularly wondered why they were always built on the side of a hill. Now I know since the Carissa Mill is restored to working order.

The Carrisa Mill is a ball mill versus a stamp mill. I wonder which is louder: stamps pounding the rocks into smaller rocks or metal balls in a cylinder crushing the rocks.

This is the lift house, lift pump and trestle where the one-ton ore cars were hoisted out of the mine and then pushed along the 400-foot trestle track to the mill.









This is the first separation step where the ore rocks are dumped into this separator machine which makes the rocks smaller.



Here are some pictures inside the mill:









This is the Assayer's table where the ore was tested:



This is the ball press. The cylinder contained hundreds of solid metal "cannon" balls that rolled around crushing the rocks into sand. If the rocks came out too big, the rotating auger on the left took the rocks back up to the ball press to crush the rocks again. Remember, this has been restored to working order so this tumbler was very noisy. They gave everyone ear plugs before they turned it on.



This is the shaker table that separated the gold flecks from the sand that came out of the ball press.



Here is the cyanide vat, which was the last step for separating the gold from the other minerals. The type of gold found in this mine was "pinpoint gold." They had a sample. The gold looked like a gold small pinpoint on a large piece of rock. Unless you have a sharp eye, you would never see it.



Another lift house at a mine about a mile from South Pass City

[macmcintire]

Next to South Pass City is Atlantic City. It too is an old mining town, but this town is still inhabited. The buildings in this town are just as interesting as the ones in South Pass. It would be wonderful to see what they look like inside.



While in Atlantic City we decided to take advantage of the fine eating establishment called the Miner's Grubstake. The ambiance was interesting and the food was good. Great steaks and hamburgers. And, for those so inclined, there is a bar. The locals must like each other because they sit together. There is another bar next door too; just in case you need another drink on the way back to your car.

[macmcintire]

In between South Pass City and Atlantic City on Highway 28 is a turnoff to Forest Road 300 heading north into the Wind River Range. Most of the Wind River Range is a wilderness area. This is the only road into this part of the Range. The road is 19 miles of dirt and 16 miles of pavement heading northbound. Shortly after the road turns to pavement there are some very scary switchbacks that descend into Sink Canyon State Park. Half of the Sink Canyon has been destroyed by a forest fire. It's sad to see the north side of the canyon is a blackened waste while the south side is plush pine trees.

The road northbound out of Atlantic City has very severe washboards. It rattled us horribly at 10 miles per hour. After 8 miles the road gets better just past Louis Lake. Since the road is pretty much one lane, travel is slow anyway since you have to watch carefully for oncoming cars.

This whole area is absolutely gorgeous. There are several lakes and quite a few campgrounds and picnic areas along the route. Plus one can boondock camp almost anywhere, including right next to a lake. The fishing in this area is also supposed to be good. Make sure you have a Wyoming fishing license.

Here are some pictures of the road in. The geological rock formations in the area are amazing.







We camped at the Louis Lake Campground. It has pit toilets, bear boxes, picnic tables, fire pits and trash cans. The fee is $10 per night. There are campsites right on the lake, but we got there too late to snag one of those. The furthest campsite is about 150 yards from the lake.















There is a small lodge with rental cabins at Louis Lake. They rent cabins, kayaks, canoes, small boats and horses. They also have a store and showers.

[macmcintire]

North of Louis Lake is Fiddler's Lake. All of the campsites at this lake are lakeside.







Here are some sights along the road. We could see lots of fish in the streams. We also saw a moose with her small baby moose.









We stopped for breakfast in Lander, Wyoming, at the Maverick Hotel and Restaurant. My wife decided to order a small breakfast of two eggs, bacon and one pancake. She thought she would get two slices of bacon. She got four thick slices. And the one pancake was 12" wide.





This was a great trip. We highly recommend the area to anyone who likes mountain camping.

[86Scotty]

Very nice Mac! Thanks for the photo tour.

Eric

[twogone]

Very Cool!

[Pschitt]

Thanks for the nice picture report !

[BogusBlake]

That looks awesome!
I've been a hunter of old mine sites in AZ and CO for years. That's a good one. I'm headed to the area next weekend but that's just a little too far off my route for this trip. Now South Pass is on the list...

[rob_gendreau]

Well dang...now I don't have to go!

Seriously, thanks. Any tips for staying longer in the area? And was the lake the closest camping to South Pass?

Rob