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JJ McGinnis

Stewardship Training and Outing Schedule: Summer 2021

Updated: Jun 24, 2021

Wyoming Wilderness Association (WWA) is excited to connect you to some of the most pristine mountain and desert wild lands in the country this summer. Our annual outings program gives you the opportunity to explore a wide variety of terrain on FREE hikes led by local experts in the field. Join us on ventures into wild landscapes and on backcountry stewardship projects to maintain recreational opportunities and care for our public lands.


All hikes at this point will be limited to a maximum of 10 participants with spatial distance protocols practiced. They are grouped into the state location areas and marked with a difficulty rating to help you choose your adventure. Members of WWA get priority registration for our outings, so please join or renew today!

NOTE: All outings followed by an *Asterisk are part of the WWA citizen science-based stewardship projects for Rapid Campsite Assessments and Solitude Monitoring.


Sign up! Please email outings@wildwyo.org or call WWA at (307) 672‐2751


Bighorn Mountain Area Outings:


Saturday, July 10 (Location TBD) | Wilderness Rapid Campsite Assessment Trainings Cloud Peak Wilderness | Moderate *

Planning to go backpacking this summer? Help us gather data about recreation sites in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. Learn the protocol and how to use the app Survey 123 to help Bighorn National Forest meet their Wilderness Stewardship goals. Attend one of the above trainings –or- sign your backpacking party up for a small group training. Then go backpacking and gather data along the way!


Monday, July 12 | Coney & Stull Lakes | Cloud Peak Wilderness | Difficult *

7.2 miles round trip

Take a Monday off from work, log some trail miles and join us in putting those campsite data gathering skills to work! WWA will take you into the Cloud Peak Wilderness conducting rapid campsite assessments to practice our data collecting skills. Coney lake, a small picturesque lake tucked high under impressive lesser known peaks will spark additional conversation around Wilderness preservation and protection. Bring your fishing rod as well!


Tuesday July 20 | Ringbone & Long Lakes | Cloud Peak Wilderness | Moderate *

5.4 miles round trip

Take a Tuesday off from work and join us in putting those campsite data gathering skills to work! From the Circle Park trailhead, WWA will take you on this very popular route to these high elevation lakes (bring your fishing rod!) sitting below Bighorn and Darton Peaks. We will be conducting rapid campsite assessments to practice our data collecting skills. Due to the popularity of this area, additional conversation and education around Wilderness preservation and protection will also be part of the day.


Friday, September 3 | South Rock & Balm of Gilead Creek

Rock Creek Recommended Wilderness | Moderate

We will depart from the historic HF Bar Ranch on a hike into Rock Creek’s geologically rich backcountry with unique spires, canyons, peaks and the Wild and Scenic Eligible South Rock Creek. We will spend the day exploring the heart of Rock Creek Recommended Wilderness via the Balm of Gilead creek.


Teton Area Outings:


Sunday, June 27th | Bitch Creek | Jedediah Smith Wilderness | Difficult *

Located in the northern part of the Teton Range within the Jedediah Smith Wilderness, Bitch Creek is a low traffic trail that is sure to inspire all who venture there. Lead by WWA Associate Director, Peggie dePasquale and our partners from the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, this hike will also serve as the second in-person training for our citizen science stewardship project, Solitude Monitoring.


Saturday, July 3rd | Table Mountain

Gros Ventre Wilderness accessed from Curtis Canyon | Easy *

(Please note that this is not the Table Mountain in the Jedediah Smith Wilderness)


If you enjoy views of the Sleeping Indian from the Jackson valley, you’ll be amazed by the up close and personal perspective from this incredible jaunt up Table Mountain in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. This unmarked trail is hard to find on your own, so don’t miss your chance to join this guided hike with BTNF Wilderness Rangers and WWA. This hike is another installment of our Solitude Monitoring training schedule, where you will be deputized as a citizen scientist in WWA’s fastest growing stewardship effort!


Friday, July 9th | Dry Ridge | Jedediah Smith Wilderness | Moderate *

Don’t let the name scare you off, this hike will amaze all who attend as it gains and explores a remote ridge line located on the West Slope of the Teton Range. Learn from CTNF Wilderness Rangers about their work to manage this backyard Wilderness area while also getting trained in Solitude Monitoring, a citizen science stewardship project organized by WWA. When all public land users play a role in caring for the wild world, our chances of ensuring it for future generations become a lot greater. Please get involved with this user-friendly data collection, and do your part.


Saturday-Monday July 10-12 | Turquoise Lake (overnight)

Gros Ventre Wilderness Difficult *

There are few places more worth the trek than this beautiful alpine lake tucked high in the Gros Ventre Range. Join the Wyoming Wilderness Association as we backpack on this scenic overnight in the name of solitude! This backpacking trip is an installment in our citizen science stewardship project aimed at empowering volunteer driven data collection on the opportunities for solitude within our backyard Wilderness areas!


Wednesday, July 14th | Tin Cup Trail (Andy Stone)

Jedediah Smith Wilderness | Easy *

This out and back day-hike will offer an enticing glimpse at one of the most worthwhile backpacking trips on the West Slope of the Tetons. A trail often utilized to access high Alpine Lakes in upper North and South Leigh Canyon; the Tin Cup trail takes users on a beautiful meander through conifer forests before opening into a spectacular collection of high mountain meadows. Wildflowers and Teton Views will ensure there is never a dull moment.

Along the way, WWA will also offer detailed training on Solitude Monitoring, a citizen science-based stewardship project.


Friday, July 16 | Sheep Mountain

Gros Ventre Wilderness | Difficult*

Sheep Mountain aka Sleeping Indian is one of the most spectacular mountain summits accessible from Jackson Hole. With awe inspiring 360-degree views, this long climb is surely worth every step! While the Teton Range to the west has never looked more impressive, the peaking wildflowers in mid-July arguably steal the show. Sheep Mountain is one of several data collection areas for a National Forest solitude monitoring effort supported by a WWA organized citizen science stewardship project. Don’t miss this opportunity to be involved in an incredible hike, while also learning one of the easiest ways to support your land managers!


Friday-Saturday, July 30-31 | Moose Lake Basin (overnight) | Difficult*

One of the most easily accessed Wilderness trailheads in the Northwest corner of Wyoming, also happens to be the starting point for one of the most spectacular overnight trips in the entire Teton range, Moose Lake Basin. This year WWA is excited to cap off our Solitude Monitoring training in this backcountry paradise. Learn to carry out the protocols that enable our National Forest partners to maintain opportunities for that thing called “solitude”, and don’t forget to pack a swimsuit.


*All outings followed by an Asterisk are a part of the WWA stewardship program, Solitude Monitoring. Solitude monitoring is required of both the Caribou-Targhee and Bridger-Teton National Forests (CTNF and BTNF) through a program called Wilderness Stewardship Performance. Forests that manage designated Wilderness areas are scored on how well they address different elements e.g., solitude. Both the CTNF and BTNF need our help gathering more data so they can increase their score, and so they can better understand the user experience within the Wilderness areas they manage. Please join one of these outings so stewardship opportunities are around. Please note that all participants who take part in a training are asked to return to the location where they were trained just ONE additional time in order to contribute a data collection on their own before the end of September 2021. Many hands, or in this case feet, make for light work!


Red Desert Area Outings:

Saturday, June 26th Steamboat Mountain Area of Critical Environmental Concern Red Desert | Moderate

You’re invited to join the Wyoming Wilderness Association and the Citizens for the Red Desert while we explore the Steamboat Mountain Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Steamboat Mountain plays a vital role to successful mule deer migration and serves as a calving ground for what is perhaps the largest desert elk herd on earth. Join us on this out and back hike to the top of Steamboat Mountain which offers sweeping views of the Red Desert, the Wind River Range and beyond.


Friday, August 9 | Hike with Sarah | Shoshone National Forest | Moderate

Friday August 9th: Join WWA Policy Coordinator Sarah Walker in Dubois for a hike on the Shoshone National Forest. Discuss natural and cultural history and ongoing opportunities to keep the Shoshone's wildlands wild. Exact location TBD, sign up to get more details as the date approaches.


Saturday, September 25 | Run the Red Desert Trail Run | Difficult

On Wyoming’s Public Lands Day, join Run the Red dedicated to conserving the vast, rugged, and historical landscape of the Red Desert. Distances include a half-marathon, 50k and 100k. Runners of all races will experience one of the last undeveloped high desert steppe ecosystems in the country. Registration is open! RUN THE RED (runthereddesert.com)


Fall (Date TBD) | Honeycomb Buttes Wilderness Study Area | Red Desert | Easy

Join WWA and outdoor photographer Ben Kraushaar on a photography outing to the Honeycomb Buttes Wilderness Study area. The Honeycomb Buttes WSA represents nearly 40,000 acres of colorful desert badlands, canyons, buttes and alcoves and offers unique and diverse photographic opportunities. Ben will offer pointers on composition, exposure, and photographic storytelling as we wander the valleys and ridgelines searching for subjects that catch the eye. Date TBA, fall 2021. Sign up to get the details as the date approaches.


Sign up! Please email outings@wildwyo.org or call WWA at (307) 672‐2751


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