Sawtooths or Medicine Bow, Wyoming

I got except for a 5 month position with the US forestry Dept in Medicine Bow as a volunteer with a small stipend. It will be from May until the end of Sept. I also have an application in with the US forestry Dept in Sawtooth. Im waiting on approval because I will have a dog with me and I will be living in an Alaknak tent. I will be working 4 days a week and backpacking the rest.

I love Sawtooth. Its one of my favorite places in the US to backpack. With Sawtooth I also get to hike the White Clouds and Frank Church wilderness. I have never been to Medicine Bow but I hear it is similar to Sawtooth. With Medicine Bow I get the Wind River Range, Northern Colorado, and The Big Horns and Maybe the Tentons.

Originally was going to Alaska but changed my mine. Also thinking about putting in some applications for Oregon but I dont know much about the area. I know OregonMouse might recommend some national forests

Congratulations Todd. You'll be a long way from home, but I bet you'll have a great time.

I sure hope so. Im sure it will beat the lone star trail in summer lol. The Person interviewing me told me it get hot there. 85 degrees in the Peak of summer but cools off into the 40s at night. I told him Houston is 100 degrees in the peak of summer with 100 percent humidity and it cools down to about 95 at night. Told him I think I will be ok with 85 as the high lol

I've heard the like from northerners countless times, and I'm always amused by it. But, it's really the humidity that gets you, not the heat, as I'm sure you're well aware as a Houstonian. I vividly remember one August Saturday I was staying with friends that lived in Houston at the time. I walked out in the middle of the day, and their packed suburban street was completely abandoned, not a soul in sight, not a sound. It was downright spooky. I lived in the midwest when I was little, and the August Saturday streets in those higher, dryer, latitudes would have been full of people enjoying their summer.

Medicine Bow is a cool area but I would not put it on a par with the Sawtooth area.
Only been to the Sawtooths once and loved it. Been to the Medicine Bows many times and love it as well. I did a page on the range on another site that may shed some light on it for you if you're not familiar with it.
https://www.summitpost.org/medicine-bow-mountains/616371

Northern Colorado will certainly been within reach, the Winds and the Bighorns will take you at least 3-1/2 to 4 hours to reach, with the Tetons a bit farther out.
Good luck!
Bill

Thanks so much. Very interesting read. It looks really pretty there.

I love sawtooth, Its the prettiest place I have backpacked in the US. I think it is Almost as pretty as Banff. I was also just just offered on position off grid in the Wyoming range along the grey river. That would be a great location but I would be living in a tent in grizzly country. Makes me a little nervous. And got an offer just south of Cour D Alene, Id. The only one that hasnt fully committed is Sawtooth.

If Sawtooth doesnt commit I will probably do Medicine Bow. Coming from living in Houston, that isnt a bad place to spend the summer. Im a big fan of camping out next to an alpine lake. Seems like Medicine bow has plenty of them

It is a very pretty area. Not as big, wild and spectacular as the Sawtooths but cool none the less. I'm assuming when you say Medicine Bow that you mean the NF by that name and I'm guessing that you would be working somewhere in the Snowy Range, west of Laramie? And you're right, no grizzlies there. You would have closer access to "civilization" at Laramie, Fort Collins and the Denver/Boulder area if you need it.

The Greys River area is cool and quite remote in terms of access to the fruits of civilization. I'm guessing you're right about griz being in there. I drove the length of the river many years ago, spending about 5 days in there with my family and remote is the operative word.

Don't know much about Cour D Alene other than I've been through there a few times-Big Lake/Lots of trees.

If you do go to Medicine Bow let me know. It's about 2 hrs from where I live. Maybe we'd have a chance to get together for a hike or a beer!
Hope it works out for you.
Bill

Since the Medicine Bow NF now includes northern Colorado's Park Range on the west side of North Park (and east of Steamboat Springs) (the former Routt NF) and the Flat Tops, you might be in northern Colorado.

It's a very large and spread-out national forest and includes the Laramie Mts. east of Laramie, WY, the Snowy Range about 30 miles west of Laramie, the "Sierra Madre" range west of Saratoga, WY, northern Colorado's Park Range (north and east of Steamboat Springs), and the Flat Tops (southwest of Steamboat Springs). The Thunder Basin National Grassland is also under their jurisdiction.

Did they say what ranger district you'll be assigned to?

I dont remember. Its out of Saratoga Wy. I will be living about 2 miles from the CO border but in Wyoming. IM still holding out for Sawtooth. Its my 1st choice

Saratoga means you'll be covering the Sierra Madre range (Continental Divide) just west, and the western part of the Snowy Range, just east. Convenient distance for hiking from both, as well as a very short drive from northern Colorado (or just get on the CDT and hike south!). Saratoga is in the North Platte River valley and is, IMHO, quite pleasant.

I grew up in Laramie, and my parents and I did a 6 weeks horse packing trip in northern Colorado every summer. That was a long time ago, though!

Since you know the area the exact location I will be is Hogs Park Resevoir. I started checking out there area. I have a lot of options for backpacking. Northern Co looks nice too. A lot of pretty alpine lakes to backpack to

Yes, I was there in 2009. Unfortunately, lots of beetle-killed trees, but the Encampment River and the surrounding meadows are beautiful. The beetle has pretty much killed most of the lodgepole pine in all the Rockies. You learn to ignore it and enjoy the parts that are still beautiful (higher altitude).

Hog Park Res puts you just north of the Zirkel Wilderness, a nice area. Many backpacking options in there. The higher peaks and lakes are a little further south but the Encampment Meadows, as Mouse mentioned, are close as are a few lakes with West Fork being a nice one. Don't know if you're into fishing but there's (or used to be) lots of brooks and some browns in the meadows. Bigger fish downstream in the Encampment Canyon.
Not much for civilization with Saratoga and Walden being the big towns. Hot springs in Saratoga are cool.
As Mouse also mentioned, beetle-kill destroyed most of the trees in the area. Be careful where you pitch your tent!