Already planning the next Montana trip via North Dakota in late July. I expect that trip to go much better. I can visit Glacier Natl Park and more on that trip.
The lessons I had to relearn were always keep drinking water (even if you are not thirsty) and camp at the lower elevations for several days until my body can adjust to the higher elevations.
I arrived in Cheyenne, WY on Sunday 6/14 and no problems noticed with the Wrangler JLU. Early Monday 6/15 I visited Vedauwoo Rec Area on the way to Medicine Bow/Routt Natl Forest. I saw some very cool rock formations and there are some very nice campsites inside, but I think most if not all were (first come first serve) no reservations. The Interagency Senior Lifetime Pass covered the entrance fee.
Great weather so far and arrived 6/15 at West Lake Marie Trailhead area to walk around and take some photos. Some of the access roads even in the picnic areas had not been plowed yet and those were blocked by several feet of snow. This limited my walking further back into the areas I visited in 2024. Most of the snow was gone except for residual along some shorelines without direct sun exposure and higher on the peaks. I will post some photos soon, but no spectacular images captured on this abbreviated trip.
Once I left Medicine Bow/Routt I continued towards Bighorn National Forest near Dayton, WY. The roads leading towards Casper Hwy 487 was one of the most isolated paved roads I have traveled. I drove at 70 mph for 2-3 hours and never came up on another vehicle or had one approach me from behind. I did see some traveling in the opposite direction but not many. I would say WY is heavily into wind turbines in that area. I have never seen so many rows in every direction as far as you can see and all appeared to be turning and in service.
On 6/17 I arrived at the Bighorn Natl Forest near Buffalo, WY. I drove the 3 roads that cut across the top and bottom. Hwy 16 to Ten Sleep is a great drive with many types of landscapes ending in the wide and then narrowing canyon. The south side has terraces of tall green trees and the north side is more a brownish desert color with low bushes and exposed rock faces. There is a creek running through at the bottom that can be heard and seen with some effort. I returned direction and headed back to Buffalo, WY and then on to the Dayton area about 50 miles to the north. Hwy 14 splits into two branches, one going southwest towards Greybull and the North section to Lovell. Hwy 14 to Greybull also has many types of landscapes and the route east from Lovell towards Dayton climbs very fast with some impressive views of the valley below before you reach the top.
After the long day of driving and sightseeing I set up camp at Lake Sibley Campground that sits around 7,900 ft. I took the short hike to the lake and sat on a viewing pier there for a bit and then got the Wrangler arranged to sleep inside. The fit of the new sleeping platform and mattress was good, and I felt like I had everything just about how I wanted it. I had noticed on my earlier 2024 visit to Cheyenne that I had not acclimated to the elevation once I started walking around. Not noticeably short of breath but low energy at around 10,000 ft. On that trip I felt better once I returned down to around 7,000 ft at Laramie.
I was tired so I climbed into the Wrangler around 8 pm. It was already cooling off outside and comfortable with the windows down several inches with the screen mesh on them. All was great until around 11 pm when I woke up and I could feel my heart pounding very fast with an irregular beat. My first thoughts were dehydration or maybe high glucose from too much trail mix, so I sat in a camp chair outside the JLU and drank some water and tried to relax. I knew any medical help was at least 1-3 hours away with no cell service available, but I did not want to rearrange the Wrangler and drive down the twisting road in the dark to get to a lower elevation or seek help. I decided to go back to sleep and hope for the best. After a difficult night’s sleep I left the campsite around 4:30 AM and headed down towards Dayton at 4,000 ft. By the time I arrived in Dayton, I had decided to end the trip and return to WI rather than camp another 6 nights in MT and hope the Going To The Sun Road would open soon.
The 15+ hour drive back on 6/17 was a real grind, but I was feeling better at the lower elevations with no reoccurrence. My best guess is a combination of dehydration and elevation got the best of me this time out. Will post a few photos in next 7-10 days.