Distance: 6.8 miles. One wayHiking time: Roughly 5 hours
Elevation gain: 2,250 feet, tops out at 10,550 feet
Season: Late June through September
My youngest son Joshua and I decided to take a little camping trip to the Shoshone National Forest as a last summertime hurrah before Joshua was scheduled to go back to school. We scheduled our trip for the last week in July because being from Arizona school starts on the 9th of Aug. Lastly we needed a destination. After a short conversation with my uncle Cale Case (more of a brother than an uncle) it was determined that Stough Creek Basin would be a great father/son pack trip and Cale was going to ask his son George to come along.
Ok a short history: Lander, Wy is my home town and where I grew up the first 18 years of my life. The Shoshone National Forest was what we considered our backyard and like most kids growing up in that area we spent a lot of time up in those mountains. Worthen Meadow Reservoir located inside of the Shoshone National Forest is about 45 minutes from Lander. Our goal on this trip was to go to the Stough Creek Basin, which was named after Charley Stough a tough as nails local sheriff in Lander back in the early 1900's and best remember for the hanging of a horse thief named James Keefer in 1903. Keefer was so popular no one wanted to be the executioner, so special arrangements where made by the sheriff (Stough) so that a bucket of water with a hole in the bottom would activate the trapdoor when the bucket drained. It was a great idea; however, the audience started using the bucket as a spittoon and tobacco plugged up the hole. Keefer eventually got tired of waiting and finally said to the sheriff "Charlie, for God's sake, cut the string!"
We arrived at a beautiful Worthen Meadow Reservoir early so we would be able to find a good place to park. Trust me, you may not think it; but Worthen in the summer time is a very popular place for the locals and tourists alike and there are days that traffic on that one small road going in and out of Worthen Meadows almost feels like a monday morning I5 in LA. So if your backpacking over a long weekend go early if you want the good long term parking spots along the tree line.
The trip into Stough Creek starts with signing the register at the Roaring Fork trail head, just slightly to the southeast of the parking lot. Once signed in it is only about a 1/2 mile hike to the Roaring Fork Lake. The trail will fork as you get to the lake so stay to the right. At the northwestern corner of the lake you will find your first main obstacle, the Roaring Fork river and No Bridge. Yes you will have to wade across it and as Joshua and I found out, a set of light weight water proof Crocs are a life saver on the feet. Now if they could just do something about the ice water flowing down the river. Special note: occasionally you can find a make shift log bridge just a little ways down stream from the lake; however, removing the boots and walking through is not bad as the water is only about knee deep and the rocks are all nice and smooth.
From the river you will climb west on a rocky single-lane path for about 0.9 miles till you reach a large walking platform spanning a marsh. After the marsh the trail swings to the left (west) and starts it's gradual climb. If your resolve is to be tested on this trail it is either here or with the mosquitoes. My youngest son Joshua went with me on this trip and spent the entire assent up to the saddle saying "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?" "Are we there yet?"
This is what the next roughly 1.7 miles looks like as you make your way to a series of switchbacks on the way to the top of the saddle.
As we got to the top of the Saddle (the northern end of Roaring Fork Mountain) Behind us we could see where the car was parked back at Worthen Meadow Reservoir.
And ahead of us the Wind River Peak rose up imposingly to the highest point inside the 101,000 acre Popo Agie Wilderness section of the Shoshone National Forest.
From the top of the saddle there is about 3.2 miles left of pretty easy going trail as the path turns south and drops into Stough Creek Basin.
Overall Stough Creek Basin was great and highly recommended; however, mid august till the area closes for the winter is best, if being a blood donor to half a billion mosquitoes bothers you. Else grab a few gallons of Deet and the mosquito nets and have a great time.
Joshua and I taking a mosquito break while Cale and George go fishing.
Cale and George Fishing.
