When in Wyoming....Numerous times I've been to and driven through much of Wyoming on my way to the NW wilderness. I've been to the Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP's on more than one occasion. In the spirit of looking for something new I decided to explore some of the national forests surrounding much of western Wyoming. On this last trip, after driving up and into the frontier town of Pinedale on 191 N I thought I would play the tourist and visit the Museum of the Mountain Man. Well, I must say it was a real treat especially since I had started reading various mountain man books on that trip like biographies about explorer/trapper Jim Bridger, Hugh Glass, Joe Meek and Liver Eating- Jeremiah Johnson. I also read Undaunted Courage about the Lewis and Clark expedition. OMG,This museum was the best type on that subject that I ever did see. There is a tremendous amount of things to see here including the largest privately owned collection of repeating Winchester rifles. There are early western paintings and bronze sculptures by Charles M. Russel and many others. Such a plethora of stuff to see. Sadly I lost many of those pictures from inside the museum except for just a few. But here is the link. http://museumofthemountainman.com/
There is also in Pinedale the local ranger station for the Bridger-Teton NF. I asked for advice on places to go and I was rewarded with one of the valleys rich with wildlife and made well known by mr. Bridger himself. It's actually the headwaters of the Green River that flows on down into Utah. This NF road takes you into armpit of the Wind River Range. (Using Benchmark Road and Recreation Maps pages 63 & 53 follow orange line on map) Just outside of Pinedale, turn north onto WY 352. At the end of the pavement one can find access to the Upper Green River Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail as well as Bridger-Teton NF road 650. Just a few miles up from the start of 650 you'll come across the Whiskey Grove CG. Great spots along the river. Huge amount of wildlife, as I saw Red Fox, Moose w/calf, 3 Bald Eagles fighting in mid air, elk, Dall Sheep, beaver, otter etc.. There's a decent amount of dispersed camping spots along the length of the river and I scored a spot just outside of the Green River Lake CG. There was no one around and I had a huge part of Wyoming all to myself. The road was definitely rough with lots of potholes but the end result was amazingly worth it.
More from the Green River headwaters; Whiskey Grove CG, which sits between the Gros Ventre and Bridger Wildernesses. The sites were all immaculate and stocked with fresh cut spruce and fir.
