Bureaucracy .” Nevertheless interesting since none of our horses were branded .
Our chores finished , we drove on some twenty miles north and east from Big Piney on hard surfaced roads . Then continuing more than forty-five miles on bumpy , winding , corrugated dirt roads , we followed the Big Sandy River to a huge alpine meadow , shown on the map as the “ Big Sandy Opening ,” and situated in the heart of the Wind River Mountains . At this point the U . S . Forest Service has wisely posted signs prohibiting wheeled vehicles , of any kind , from further encroachment into the
primitive area .
Without delay we unloaded and saddled the horses . Next the three pack horses were fitted with pack saddles and loaded with approximately seven hundred and fifty pounds of camp gear , canned goods , other food supplies , bed rolls , cameras , fishing equipment , a tent , camp stove and a dishpan , allotting approximately one third
of the cargo to each horse .
SEPTEMBER , 1966
With diamond hitches securely tied on the packs we mounted and set forth on the last fifteen mile lap toward our destination . During the first few minutes on the trail the horses were restless and anxious to work off the nervous fatigue of the long truck ride . They soon settled down to the task at hand as we ascended the steep , rocky trail , carved by the U . S . Forest Service through a maze of fallen logs , massive boulders and granite cliffs . We climbed steep mountainsides , then descended into equally precipitous canyons . The trail took us through dense , conifer forests , past picturesque lakes , around swampy bogs and over delightful alpine meadows , profuse with a wide variety of semi-acquatic plants in full flower .
We forded the East Fork River three times in ice cold water , lapping at the horses ’ bellies . The horses cautiously picked their way through slick algae-covered boulders imbedded in the river bottom sand . Finally , we passed a huge waterfall cascading over the ever present granite boulders , to emerge into a vast , open meadow through
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