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This is a modern highway, crossing the historically most significant divide in the American west. It was discovered, lost and rediscovered. And then it changed the history of westward migration. In order to do that it has to be a small and gentle crossing. People who seek out mountains for the sake of being great mountains come much later. You could even argue, that calling it a mountain pass is stretching the meaning. But actually, today's highway between Lander and Farson has more elevation gain than many other small summits in these pages, and it is extremely bikable in my opinion, unless you pick a windy day, of which there are a majority here.

1.START-END EAST:jct US287-Wy28, south of Lander 2.lower jct with Red Canyon Rd 3.upper jct with Red Canyon RSd 4.lower jct with Dickinson Ave 5.upper jct with Dickinson Ave 6.TOP: South Pass, 8440ft 7.jct with South Pass City Rd 8.jct with Lander Cutoff Rd 9.START-END WEST:jct Wy28-US191, Farson

Red Canyon Rd is a much quieter ride. But I think the better views of all those slanted reddish rock layers is actually from the paved road. This part has a nice shoulder until it is replaced by a climbing lane for cars. Usually this works out fine. But cars will pass cars regardless of how close a cyclist is, trying to squeeze to the side. This part is also often the windiest part of the climb.

Just before the gravel road up Red Canyon rejoins Co28, the paved road takes a relaxation break too. From here on there is a good bikable shoulder again. It looks like it is only one more long sweep around a protruding cliff shaped like a long ship's hull, and the top is reached. But what looked like campers on top of the hill, turns out to be somebody's junk back yard. And it becomes apparent that that this large ruffled blanket of high sage has a still higher rumple ahead.


At the bottom of these two high rumples is a paved turnoff onto what my map calls Dickinson Ave. Signs call it Wy28. But then what is it turning off from. South Pass is also Wy28.  Anyway, these ~5 miles detour around a mine tailings lake on the new Wy28 and are probably the nicest part of this pass ride. Countless gravel road opportunities exist towards the south and South Park City. Shortly after Scenic Wy28 rejoins regular old new Wy28, a last short straight climb into a dense forest signals the summit is near. It is actually located immediately after the Louis Lake Road turnoff. A large parking lot and a sign commemorating something different than the pass mark the spot.

History

The Fur Trapper Period: The first thing worth pointing out may be something that confused me for a long time before I bicycle toured in this area. South Pass is not really historically important because it is a relatively gentle pass. It turned out to be so consequential because at the time it was easy to cross with the help of horses. These days it's easiest to stay on I80 and never get out of the car, as people hurry from one coast to the other. For drink they stop at convenience stores for a dose of sugar with chemicals. During the Fur Trapper period you needed water, and the dessert to the south of this pass was a much more hostile environment, even if it was devoid of mountains. It was a dry dessert. So how did people stumble across South Pass?

The Astorians (<Teton Pass|>) During the winter of 1812 the Astorian explorers were in a demoralized state. Congregated at their fort on the Columbia river in Oregon territory, they had to head back east to tell their fur company CEO the sorry state of things. Hunt's 2000 mile reconnaissance of the west over Powder River Pass, Union Pass and Teton Pass was as useless for transporting fur back east as the original detouring route of Lewis and Clarke over Lemhi Pass, Lost Trail Pass and Lolo Pass. Also, a ship that had been used to reach their company fort on the west coast, the Tonquin, had been attacked and destroyed. In the end four of the crew blew up the ship themselves with attacking Indians still on board.

During June 1812, four bearers of the bad news, led by Robert Stuart left Fort Astoria to convey the bad news to fur king Astor. On their way back they would by accident, make the most consequentlal pass discovery of the Wild West period.

Not really impressed by their own previous course west, they met a Snake Indian, who had previously guided the Astor group under Hunt on their way west. Apparently there was a shorter way to the south. Corroboration of this rumor came later when they met three trappers from the original Lewis and Clarke group: Hoback, Robinson and Reznor who had been roaming the west since then. With them was also Joseph Miller, who was homesick for Pennsylvania and agreed to guide them over old Hoback-Robinson-Reznor territory. They made a wide detour around their orginal Teton Pass, as far south as the broad valley of the Bear River in Utah. After having crossed Salt River Pass they decended into Star Valley. In order to find the Green River, as prescribed by their guide, they crossed the highest most difficult point yet, Sheep Pass at around 10 thousand feet. However what they found on the other side, turned out to be Greys River. And so they decided to follow it down and take the next best alternative into the mountains to the north again. This was the wrong direction. But the suspicion of Indian problems to the south made them decide that this was preferable. Along the way they passed today's Palisade reservoir and the area around Jensen Pass. They ended up crossing Teton Pass and "The Rim" again, as they had on their expedition west, in spite of their best intentions, They arrived in today's Kendall, Wyoming after a detour of 250 miles over 26 days. In the following days Crow Indians stole their horses, another member's sickness caused them to wait five days, they suffered from hunger, so that the proposal to eat each other was floated (but rejected) and later on they hunted a buffalo, part of which was eaten raw.

All that just as a setup: Two days later Snake Indians on Pocket Creek told them of a shorter route to their intentions, and on October21, 1812 they camped in a clump of aspen, a few miles to the west of South Pass.

At this point it is worth pointing out, that South Pass really refers to a line over several miles on this gently flat bread mesa. They could hardly discern a grade. They estimated that the route lost 17feet to the mile in the east, and 37 feet to the mile in the west. The only mountains they could see were the two buttes, Oregon Butte and Continental Butte. These are also the most impressive landmarks on a bike ride across here. But the experience regarding the grade is very different on a bicycle, which is four miles to the north of their pioneering track, and two miles south of the future historic hiway, the Oregon Trail.

Unfortunately in subsequent days they were diverted much further south than 4 miles. Their guiding river ended in the Sweetbater Basin, as is their habbit in this fascinating closed drainage. The group ended up in an area known as Muddy Gap, between the Ferris and Green Mountains. One hundred miles to the east of South Pass they rediscovered their true guding river, the Sweetwater.They followed it to the North Platte, and wintered near today's Torrington, Wyoming. Soon after April 1813, Astor finally got the bad news. This coupled with the fact that the War of 1812 with England made the idea of supplying a fort on the north west coast from New York a seemingly impossible task. He allowed Fort Astoria to be sold to the competing British North West Company, operating out of Canada.

Ashley's Rocky Mountain Fur Company. (<Granite Pass|>) It was not until February 1824, some eleven years later, that South Pass entered back into the consciousness of fur company moguls, because beaver hats were still in fashion. The first two years of the company lead by William Ashley, a Virginian who was lieutenant governor of Missiouri, and whose knowledge of beaver trapping  was confined to what was on his head. These things were the affair of Major Andrew Henry, who was instrumental in exploring Reynolds Pass.

Ashley's trappers had had problems with Blackfeet and other Indians, that had cost the lives of several trappers in the upper Missouri Basin. Now two separate groups were tasked exploring further south around South Pass. Each of the groups was led by a person, whose name is now attached to many famouns landmarks, Jim Bridger and Jed Smith. Smith's group approached the area via Granite Pass in the Bighorn Mountains. After trying to cross the other option in the Wind River Mountains, Union Pass, and then retreating because of snow, a group of 11 ascended the Popo Agie beyond Lander and crossed the pass again. They reached the mouth of the Big Sandy into the Green River and began trapping for beaver immediately.

By 1825 General Ashley had taken a much more hands-on approach to his western exploration. He found himself in northern Colorado north of Red Feather Lakes, heading north, later crossing Rattlesnake Pass and Bridger Pass on the way west. After that he crossed South Pass for the first time himself. The days were cold and difficult. But this only motivated him to continue exploring towards the Uinta mountains.

By the late 1820s., three quarters of the route of the Oregon trail was standard. In 1832 wagon wheels in quantity rolled over the pass for the first time in the form Captain Bonnevelle's twenty wagons.

Fremont (|>Monument Divide(Co): Long after South Pass had become a thoroughfare for trappers to their place of work, in 1842, South Pass got its first formal description by the topographical engineers for the US government. This official inspection took place. at the hands of Colonel Charles Fremont. Fremont's decisive qualification for the job was that fact that he was Senator Charles Benton's son in law, who in turn was the prime motivating power behind American expansionism. Hoping to map, then settle the west, which should lead to the conquering of Spanish California, he sent Fremont west to map the Oregon Trail.

And so this pass became a central part of westward migration. More than a thousand people traverled over it during 1843.

Dayride with this point as highest summit

COMPLETELY PAVED:

( < FR300 Louis Lake Rd s(u) | Union Pass > )

South Pass x2:, Dickinson Ave(sh)  upper jct Red Canyon Rd - Wy28 > Wy28 north > Dickinson Ave south west  > Dickinson Ave(sh) <> out and back on Atlantic City Rd to turnaround point at 7920ft >> Dickinson Ave south west > Wy28 north > South Pass > Wy28 north << turnaround point ~19miles before Farson >> Wy28 south > South Pass > back to startingpoint at upper jct Red Canyon Rd - Wy28: 83.1miles with 5200ft of climbing in 6;48hrs (garmin ertrx 32x r4:23.09.10)
Notes: contains minute amounts of non paved roads, but they are just short exploratory out and backs. But one of those out and backs towards South Park City made a point on Dickinson Ave a shoulder summit.