The Trek Returns!
For a number of summers Elk Creek Ranch had a backpacking program, the Trek, that provided ranchers interested the option of challenging backpacks in the high country of NW Wyoming. Waning interest caused us to suspend the program, but a long term staffer, Oliver Kendall, had a different idea. Leading our four-day backpacks for years and seeing the grandeur of the Beartooth and Absaroka Mountains convinced him that the time had come for a renewal of the Treks in the summer of 2024. Interestingly, one of our favorite Trekkers from many years ago got wind of the renewal and her son joined the group this summer.
Meals on the trail
Oliver made sure that worthy culinary offerings on the Trek were provided the hardy and, certainly, hungry crew.
The Absaroka & Beartooth Mountains
The two mountain ranges reach altitudes of 12,000 feet but they are very different geologically. The Beartooths, above, were formed by a huge granite batholith pushed up through the Earth's crust, while the Absarokas, below, are more volcanic. The Beartooth Plateau is lake country with great fishing, but the Absarokas offer better habitat for wildlife, like the Grizzly Bears featured in our previous newsletter. The volcanic rock of the scree fields are the source of moth larvae that feeds hundreds of the grizzly bears during the late summer.
Wildlife Abounds
That's not to say there is no wildlife in the Beartooths, but there are not the sitings of as many different critters, Mountain goats do check hikers out every so often. Surefooted as the goats are, they rely on the solid granite.
