Muddy Mountain Road s(u)
Muddy Mountain is a tree lovers paradise in the sea of
dessert around Casper. It belongs the northern end of the
Laramie Mountains. Here this range does not have the
scenic low rocky peaks with billowing rock outcrops, like
further north around Laramie Peak. Instead these are
sweeping plateaus with a thick, still healthy pine forest
on top. Unlike many of the other forests, the pine beetle
seems to have limited reach here up to now (2015).
It seems like many things are called Muddy in east central
Wyoming. There is an abundance of Muddy Creeks, even if it
really does not rain very often.
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1.(mile00.0,5660ft)START-END
WEST: jct Wy487 - Circle Dr
2.(mile13.4,8010ft)profile turns right onto Muddy
Mtn Rd; left goes to ski area
3.(mile12.4,8290ft)TOP
4.(mile15.6,7620ft)profile turns right down plateau
5.(mile16.3,7170ft)START-END EAST-ALT: jct with
Piava Lake Rd; profile turns right
6.(mile27.9,5470ft)START-END EAST: jct Piava Lake Rd
- Wy253
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Approaches
From South. Circle Drive, a good dirt
road climbs from Wy487 past a red cliff and a Cheney Ranch to
a grand dirt road boulevard intersection. This is also an
unnamed pass. Let's call it Circle Drive - Beaver Creek(sh).
Going straight heads back down to Wy253 on a extremely
cyclable ranching road through public land.
The two other options climb steeply. The one to the left
connects to paved Wy251
on top of Casper Mountain. The profile takes the only
option left, on the right, a climb on a wide gravel road
heading west to Muddy Mountain and its campground. The road
climbs the plateau in one sweeping turn. On the way a high
meadow with views in two opposing directions and a host of
semi dead trees and rock outcrops is the most inspiring
location on this ride. Looking down, the plateau has a thin
harder layer of caprock at about half height, giving the table
a picturesque second rim.
From here the road climbs only intermittently and a few
feet at a time. Entering the Muddy Mountain area, there is an
astonishing amount of infrastructure, considering how remote
this area is: a developed campground, appropriately named
Lodgepole, hiking trails through the forest, a plethora of
educational tablets, a porch constructed from wood to look out
over the north and its far reaching spaces.
I
have a short conversation with a couple resting here with
their two haute couteur miniature dogs. The woman tells me how
much Casper has changed from 25 years ago, when she moved
away. We talk about the spacious. wide streets of Rawlins.
"Yes, some streets are so wide they painted white lines
on the sides, just so that the bicycles have a extra
space", her husband adds. Yes - that really is a nice
idea.
My map shows trails or roads going down the east side of
this mountain to make a connection with Wy253 and eventually
Casper. I check out one of the trails. But it leads me in a
loop back up to Muddy Mountain. Along the way I encounter a
big truck parked next to a makeshift tarp camp, surrounded
with coolers, plastered with Coors Light logos. It's a mystery
how this truck got here. One direction is a two track trail,
which is closed to motorized traffic, the other direction is
so deeply rutted you could not drive down here.
I check out one more of all the unsigned turnoffs. It turns
to sand and leads to many more unsigned forks. But there is a
nicely developed road back down on the north side, immediately
before entering the Muddy Mountain developed facilities. That
is the route on the profile, and the junction is also the
highest point.
From
North. (described downwards) This road quickly descends to
the rim at half height, and then follows it back to the west.
Here I see the only person on a bicycle on my rides in the
Rawlins area, and that includes several miles along the Platte
River multi use path: a woman climbing the route on a mountain
bike. This is indirect evidence that there is a ski area
nearby.
This track forks. One option allows connecting back to the
southern approach at half height. But the profile takes a
right through a gate and connects to the "extremely
cyclable ranching road through public land, connecting to
Wy253" mentioned above. Most rides will turn left here
and head back up to the Circle Drive - Beaver Creek(sh). But I
continued the profile on this side to the point where the road
connects to Wy253.
Dayride with this point as highest summit:
COMPLETELY UNPAVED ROADS AND TRAILS:
( < CR505
Casper Mtn Rd - Circle Drive(sh) | CR67
Slip Rd northern summit s(u) >
Muddy Mountain Rd s(u) , Circle Drive - Beaver Creek(sh) ,
additional out and back : a short distance up Circle Drive
> Circle Drive - Beaver Creek(shp) > up Muddy Mountain
Rd > loop on unmarked trails on east side of mountain >
around Muddy Mountain Loop road with short additional out and
back > Muddy Mountain Rd s(u) > down unmarked road on
north side <> out and back on road following Beaver
Creek downvalley to turnaround point aproximately 480ft below
junction >> Circle Drive - Beaver Creek(sh) > back to
starting point on Circle Drive: 35.8miles with 4045ft of
climbing in 4:32hrs (Garmin etrex30 m5:15.7.29)
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