Greetings,
June 17, 2011 – Esterbrook to Marshall Wyoming – Our trip today took us through the high alpine country north and west of Laramie Peak. Last night it stormed and the day dawned clear and cold. It was 44 degrees in the van this morning. Cindy and I took both Frank and Whiskey out and we both rode the first 28 miles of the ride today. We climbed from Esterbrook to 8,000 feet on the trail and it was windy and cold the whole way. A few days ago we were warm but today it was windy and quite cold. As usual, I have all of the clothes necessary to make the conditions pleasant, but those closes were in the van. I was wearing a polo shirt, turtleneck, and a wind shirt. Adding a fleece vest would have been nice. Even so, the alpine meadows were spectacular. As we came around to the west of Laramie Peak, we could see the Medicine Bow Mountains south of Interstate 80 and the Never Summer Range in Colorado. The Never Summer mountains are still covered with snow. We descended to the Shirley Basin and we are camped at a ranch in Marshall Wyoming.
The owner of the ranch is in his early 70s and is a true Wyoming rancher. His family homesteaded the area over 100 years ago, but the ranch house was at a slightly different spot and the ranch is technically not a Wyoming Centennial Ranch. In the 1950s, there were sixteen families and a school in Marshall, now there are two families. He and his father drove school buses and used horse-drawn sleighs to fetch the school children in the winter. He talked further about the winter conditions and he mentioned that he got his truck stuck in a drift on January 20th this winter. He did not free the truck until April and used a snowmobile to get to the ranch house.
Tomorrow we will cross the Shirley Basin.
Best Regards,
Tom N
June 17, 2011 – Esterbrook to Marshall Wyoming – Our trip today took us through the high alpine country north and west of Laramie Peak. Last night it stormed and the day dawned clear and cold. It was 44 degrees in the van this morning. Cindy and I took both Frank and Whiskey out and we both rode the first 28 miles of the ride today. We climbed from Esterbrook to 8,000 feet on the trail and it was windy and cold the whole way. A few days ago we were warm but today it was windy and quite cold. As usual, I have all of the clothes necessary to make the conditions pleasant, but those closes were in the van. I was wearing a polo shirt, turtleneck, and a wind shirt. Adding a fleece vest would have been nice. Even so, the alpine meadows were spectacular. As we came around to the west of Laramie Peak, we could see the Medicine Bow Mountains south of Interstate 80 and the Never Summer Range in Colorado. The Never Summer mountains are still covered with snow. We descended to the Shirley Basin and we are camped at a ranch in Marshall Wyoming.
The owner of the ranch is in his early 70s and is a true Wyoming rancher. His family homesteaded the area over 100 years ago, but the ranch house was at a slightly different spot and the ranch is technically not a Wyoming Centennial Ranch. In the 1950s, there were sixteen families and a school in Marshall, now there are two families. He and his father drove school buses and used horse-drawn sleighs to fetch the school children in the winter. He talked further about the winter conditions and he mentioned that he got his truck stuck in a drift on January 20th this winter. He did not free the truck until April and used a snowmobile to get to the ranch house.
Tomorrow we will cross the Shirley Basin.
Best Regards,
Tom N
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