Regional Correspondents » Wyoming Travel

Horse Packing Into Wyoming’s Wind River Range

Story and photos by Shauna Stephenson



My love affair with the Wind River Range came at first sight. It is a short affair but ardent, an unspoken tie to the granite peaks that lifted up so many years ago when the world was in geological turmoil. We glance out toward those distant peaks as the horses are saddled, bridled and packed. Behind us we leave the Diamond 4 Ranch and thankfully, civilization. Ahead of us are four days of wilderness: boots, hats and chaps, wild trout on a fly, moonlit nights, a seat atop a little sorrel horse named Ruby. So we ride, hoping to find adventure. There are those who still feel the call of the wild, and this place satisfies that call. Good horses, good country and good people — there seems no better answer to the question of “Why do we go?” Now, as we perch high atop a sunny pass and gaze down into the belly of the mountain range, there is a sense of relief that comes to everyone who has ever been held hostage by the world around them. We know that somewhere in the glittering lakes and wide grassy meadows there is a freedom that we cannot find within the confines of a modern society. Like the explorers who came before us, we are awestruck. Read more

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