MEDICINE BOW PEAK, WYOMING (12,013’)

August 19, 2017

By Tim Briese

3.7 miles roundtrip, 1600’ elevation gain, 4:15 roundtrip time

My wife Teresa and I went on a trip in August to Wyoming to see the Great American Eclipse, an incredible experience. Our destination was Riverton, where we stayed with in-laws whose home was only five miles from the centerline of the path of totality of the eclipse. On our way up to Riverton we decided to go hiking in the Medicine Bow Mountains of southeast Wyoming. We stayed in Laramie the night before and early the next morning drove Highway 130 west into the Medicine Bows. The hillsides were covered with dead beetle killed trees, but we drove up out of them when we neared timberline. When we neared the crest of the range on the highway we turned north on a dirt road and drove a few miles to the 10,400’ Lewis Lake Trailhead. This popular destination was jammed with vehicles on this beautiful sunny Saturday morning. At 830 we headed west with our lab Abby on the trail past Lewis Lake and hiked to a trail junction near Sugarloaf Mountain. Pretty sparkling blue lakes dotted the surrounding landscape.

lewis lake

the trail went right along the lake for a ways

at the trail junction

the slopes up to medicine bow peak.  the summit is at the left

After a short break we took the trail west up to the top of Medicine Bow Peak, the highest summit in this range. The trail was excellent, with numerous switchbacks, some rocky areas, and spectacular postcard views. There were a lot of white rocks as well as a few interesting reddish ones.

a view part way up the trail

higher up on the trail

an interesting colorful rock along the way

rockier slopes closer to the top

picturesque lakes in the basin below

teresa on the trail

Near the top there was a large bank of snow about 100 yards long, followed by blocky talus the rest of the way to the summit. The talus was manageable for agile humans but difficult for our dog.

teresa coming up the snow near the summit

We stepped on top at 1050. There were 8-10 other climbers on top. A chilly wind was blowing from the northwest and the visibility was perfect on this beautiful clear day. I have climbed hundreds of peaks in Colorado but this was my first Wyoming summit! We considered continuing on the Medicine Bow Trail that continues southwest along the ridge from the summit before returning to the basin but decided we did not have time for that seven mile loop hike.

the rocky summit of medicine bow peak

teresa on the summit

a view from the summit

We left the top after fifteen minutes and hiked back down the way we came up. There were a lot more climbers coming up this popular trail now. At 1245 we returned to the trailhead and headed for Riverton.