After saying goodbye to our friends and the climber's fest in Lander, we decided to make an unplanned stop in Ten Sleep Canyon, where supposedly a "mecca" of climbing on tall limestone walls was located. The rumors ended up being true, and we found endless walls of world class climbing on routes over 100 ft. tall in most places, and limestone that mimicked European style rock. Needless to say, Brady was in heaven... The approaches were steep, for me at least! The hiking was worth the exertion though, and the scenery of the canyon was gorgeous. We continue to find that pictures just do not do our experiences justice.
The lighting at sunset hitting the canyon walls folds out in to every color of orange and pink, and the smell of sage dominates your senses here.
We found tons of free camping and a huge community of other climbers, all around our age, and all carrying one of the coolest guidebooks we've seen yet. One group that camped near us let Brady take pictures in their book with my iPhone of the walls he wanted to go to so he could get on the right routes. His goal was to on-sight (a climbing term meaning you've never climbed the route before, and you make it to the top without falling) all the "classic routes" in his range of each wall we went to. Classic routes are usually the most fun to climb, and since we were only going to spend a few days there, and there are thousands of routes to climb, it was best to be selective and climb what most agreed were the superior routes. We spent time in the "French Cattle Ranch", "Mondo Beyondo", and "World Domination" areas. I am not a climber myself, so I do the belaying at the bottom (which means I hold the rope and catch Brady if he falls!). I have been belaying with an ATC, but with the height of these routes, Brady needed his ATC to take up with him so he could rappel down. After a lesson from Brady, and a group lesson with some other climbers one day, I am now proficient with a "Gri Gri"- which is a much more reliable belay device. Brady on-sighted a number of 5.10's, 5.11's. and 5.12's before he started to feel an accumulation of his injuries from the past few years ganging up on him. His body needed a break so we decided to move on to Yellowstone. Below are the photos from our week in Ten Sleep Canyon, Wyoming...
Leaving Worland, Wyoming we spotted a huge rainbow lighting up the canyon, like a beacon calling our name, saying this place is worth your while... It's in the photo above the top of the steering wheel. This is one of those "photo won't do it justice" moments!
Ten Sleep Canyon is located between Worland and Buffalo, just outside of the town of Ten Sleep (population 206!). Highway 16 is a beautiful drive that takes you through the Big Horn Mountains. We camped near the peak of Powder Pass, with an elevation of about 9,600 ft.
Along the way to Ten Sleep, we drove through the Big Horn Indian Reservation, which is a huge canyon with an elevation gain of 2,500 ft. from the floor to the top of the canyon walls. There are thousands of routes within this canyon that would be world class climbing, but you can't touch it! The Indians own all the rights and trespassing could get you killed. The indians need to get something going with the climbing community here- they could charge for the level of climbing located within their territory!
We briefly stopped in Thermopolis at the Hot Springs State Park along the way. Everything was closed however so we didn't get to participate in any of the mineral soaking in the natural hot springs. The rock formations are really weird here, I had never seen anything like it! The rock above was formed over millions of years from a spring that ran down it like a waterfall at 127 degrees into the river. The flow from the spring has significantly decreased (no more waterfall!) since the 1900's but there are still mineral pools everywhere you can soak in at temperatures between 103-110 degrees.
There is a fountain of hot water coming out of this huge rock at the top. These are everywhere in the park and were formed by the mineral deposits coming out of the water over millions of years. Dinosaur bones were also discovered all over this part of the country, offering a fascinating bit of history to our trip!
We drove through 3 arches the highway runs through in the canyon, pretty cool!
This is the beautiful skyline of the big city of Ten Sleep, Wyoming! The people are extremely nice here. We had wood fired pizza and locally brewed beers at the Ten Sleep Saloon one night. We actually tried to go on a Friday night after climbing, around 9:00 when it got dark, and they had closed down the kitchen. They told us good luck at finding anything else open here. The thought hadn't occurred to us that 9:00 PM was too late! We went back Saturday night around 6:00 and had some of the best pizza ever!
This is where we camped the first night in the canyon. That's me sipping on my morning coffee below by the van.
These are the pictures Brady took of the guidebook showing some climbs he wanted to do.
We were trying to catch the sunset behind us for this photo... Oh well, at least van living is still bliss!
The second day we discovered the camping area all the other climbers were at. This was our set up for the next few nights. It was hard getting the van level on the terrain up there, and sleeping at an angle can be miserable! I'm sure some of the campers thought we were silly every evening watching us move inches up, back, then feet away, in hopes of getting a level spot to park!
I love being outside, relaxing in nature with a good book! I got to read while Brady took rests between climbs.
Some climbers we met who had been in the canyon for a month told us about a spot on the creek with a sandy bottom that you could swim and hang out in. I finally got to wash my hair after almost 2 weeks!!
Look at her beautiful point! Jazz was keeper of the chipmunks at the camping area!
Enjoying our hammock at the camping area.
Brady spotted a waterfall in the canyon that had a climbing route running up right next to it. It was a really awesome sight to see, as well as climb. The hike up was way too steep for me though and I hated every step of it! Sorry Brady, I was a party pooper that day!
Lazy Dogs!
Just us, being silly!
That's all for now. We stayed in Ten Sleep from Monday July 16th, to Sunday July 22nd. Next stop, YELLOWSTONE!!
