Pearson revisits cross-state pack trip on 40th anniversary

It was the adventure of a lifetime for a Wyomingite – a 95-day cross-state horse pack trip to celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial – and it might never be duplicated.[caption id="attachment_11593" align="alignright" width="300"] Jeff Pearson relaxes next to a campfire in Sunlight Basin with his companion Bicen during his U.S. Bicentennial cross-state pack trip in 1976. The trip took 95 days to complete.
Courtesy photo[/caption]Jeff Pearson, then 26 years old, rode across Wyoming from east to west with his friend Mike Alley of Laramie and Alley’s nephew Joe Robinson that summer, covering an estimated 800 to 1,000 miles and riding through numerous Wyoming mountain ranges.Pearson gave a talk and slide show of his adventure last Thursday night, Aug. 25, at the Bighorn Canyon NRA Cal S. Taggart Visitor Center in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the ride, the 50th anniversary of the founding of Bighorn Canyon and the centennial celebration of the U.S. Park Service, one of many programs taking place across the country on that day.“I was 26 and he (Mike) was 27,” Pearson said. “I wanted to do something major for the Bicentennial.”The two prepared for weeks, assembling gear, maps, tack, food and animals, including a young dog that went along for companionship. They even cached some food to be found along the route. Pearson had a saddle built for him by Earl Wallace, and he also acquired a horse and two mules for the journey.The trio assembled at a ranch on Sybille Creek northeast of Laramie and between Bosler and Wheatland and departed June 1, Pearson said, working their way north along the western flank of the Laramie Mountains to the Laramie Peak area, where they lingered for a few days. The going was slow at first, he said, because their stock kept running off at night.They then headed west across the southern part of the Shirley Basin to the Freezeout Hills (near the town of Difficulty) and the Shirley Mountains to the Miracle Mile of the North Platte River, west through the Seminoe Mountains and Ferris Mountains to Whiskey Gap. Around this time, rather hungry, the trio killed and ate a porcupine, which Pearson said wasn’t very good tasting.[caption id="attachment_11594" align="alignright" width="300"] The 1976 U.S. Bicentennial cross-Wyoming pack trip took Jeff Pearson and his traveling partners to some spectacular places, including the Cirque of the Towers, pictured here, in the Wind River Mountains.
Jeff Pearson photo[/caption]“It snowed for two days – in June,” he added.Continuing west, the trio rode through Muddy Gap and along the Green Mountains near Jeffrey City, along the Antelope Hills and across the Sweetwater River to Atlantic City, where Pearson said he met some very interesting people.“They were kind of like refugees from the 60s,” he said. “I really enjoyed them.”Cirque of the TowersPearson and Company continued west along the western flank of the Wind Rivers to the Big Sandy Campground, where they camped with friends for the Fourth of July. A lover of mountains, Pearson took a little detour at this time to hike through Jackass Pass to the spectacular Cirque of the Towers in the heart of the Wind River Mountains.When Pearson returned to the main camp, he found that his mule was missing and after a search he gave up trying to find the animal. (It was later found in a pasture near Jeffrey City). The group continued northwest on the Highline Trail with Pearson on foot to Monroe Lake, where Pearson said the fishing was fantastic, then reached Pinedale, where he bought a new horse.Pal Harold Befus of Riverton joined the trek for a time as the trail took the riders through the spectacular Green River Lakes region and on to Dubois. While fishing on Hay Pass Lakes, the riders caught a rare Golden Trout, and when they encountered 27 tents near Island Lake in the popular hiking country, they moved on, eventually passing through the Green River Lakes, then over Gunsight Pass and Union Pass to Dubois, then lingering for a time at Bliss Creek Meadows.Shortly after reaching Dubois, Alley and Robinson left the expedition, and Pearson continued on with his two horses and the dog, Bicen. He crossed over Deer Creek Pass to the Thoroughfare region and spent four or five days at the Thoroughfare Meadows, calling the area “one of the most spectacular places I’ve been to.”He continued west to the southeast corner of Yellowstone, then turned north and took Eagle Creek Pass to Pahaska.Pearson then rode north along the North Fork of the Shoshone River to Crow Creek and northeast to the famous Camp Monaco, where Buffalo Bill hosted Prince Albert of Monaco in 1913. Pearson saw the tree engraving made at the time of the prince’s visit, which was moved to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in 1994 after the tree was killed in a forest fire in 1988.Pearson and Bicen continued east to Hughes Creek and over Galena Pass into Sunlight Basin, then followed the Clark’s Fork to Edelweiss and Clark. He rode east to Piney Creek between Frannie and Warren, which he called the longest, hottest day of the entire trip. He rode up into the Pryor Mountains to Crooked Creek and made his way to the Horseshoe Bend Marina, then run by Dutch and Doris Hoffman, finishing his trip on Sept. 2.Questions about the tripDuring the ensuing question-and-answer session, Pearson said the trip never saw a grizzly but did see a couple of black bears. He noted that the travelers had to take down, cross, and then put back up dozens of government fences, an estimated 60 or 80 times during the trip.“It would be hard to do now,” he said of the pack trip. “Back then, the ranches were owned by Wyoming people, and the people we met were local. Things are different now. It might be difficult to do now.”Asked what his favorite part of the trip was, Pearson replied, “I liked the Wind Rivers for looking at but the Thoroughfare was a great place to hang out.”He said he enjoyed the pace of the trip, noting that the riders were always busy taking care of the stock, fixing things, fishing, exploring and the like. He said the trio didn’t take a water filter and never got sick, something that might be impossible today. He said the trip put him in the best shape of his life.“I went from 185 to 158 (pounds),” he said. “I felt great for a long time after that. We ate a lot of trout and rice. I still don’t like trout today.”Looking back, he said he still marvels at the experience, noting, “It was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my life.”

By David Peck