Rattlesnake Hills, Wyoming

Today I made my way from Cody, WY to the Rattlesnake Hills, WY. Left behind the comforts and trappings of the KOA and I am now “dispersed camping” on Bureau of Land Management Lands (BLM). The drive south through Wyoming was stunning. The area just south of Cody is breathtaking and reminded me a lot of Iraq, just with better infrastructure and less garbage. I went through the Wind River Canyon which reminded me very much of the Awaspi River canyon at Qara Dagh in Kurdistan.

So I said I was on BLM land. In the US land is administered by a number of government and non-governmental bodies. Federally administered lands include those administered by the Department of Agriculture (typically Forest Service land), Department of Defense (bases, training areas and ranges), Bureau of Reclamation (some reservoirs and other such infrastructure), National Parks Service (the parks and pretty bits) and a host of others I’m likely forgetting. There are then state lands such as state parks, easements around state highways and other assets such as reservoirs. County lands are typically found as easements around county roads. Non-government controlled lands are termed “Private” and are held by members of the public. 

BLM lands are common throughout much of the western United States and are best described as land that nobody else wanted. In other words all of the other possible administrative bodies were uninterested so it falls under the watchful eye of the BLM. The good thing about BLM lands are access is easy and free. The lands are “for the people” so you can camp where you want, drive where you want, and to a limit, take what you want. I can, without any permits remove I believe 650lbs of rocks each year.

The Rattlesnake Hills are a mix of BLM and private lands. Unfortunately my ArcGIS license expired and I cannot access my land map. I suspect I’m on private land but could plead ignorance if somebody challenges me. Here’s a photo of my campsite and sample location. 

The rocks in the foreground are Proterozoic foliated and lineated diorites. Just past the truck, in the trees, are Cambrian sedimentary rocks of the Flathead Sandstone. The foliation in the diorites give the area a very interesting appearance with “fins” of diorite sticking out of the ground. Here’s another general photo of the Rattlesnake Mountains.

Getting to the sample location was difficult. I ended up in the same situation that lead to the death of that fellow in States some months ago. The GPS navigation system turned me onto a somewhat disused track, which I blindly followed enjoying the opportunity to off-road the truck, until it ended at a river with a very dysfunctional bridge. Here are pictures of the track and the bridge.

After an hour of searching about for a safe way across that wasn’t likely to result in me burying the truck in bottomless muck, or breaking it somehow, I gave up and decided to backtrack to the main road. My pulse quickened somewhat when the truck refused to start for the return trip. Thankfully I quickly diagnosed a case of vapour lock which is easy to rectify and I was back on my way.

I was once again sampling and describing the Flathead Sandstone. In the Rattlesnake Mountains it looks much like it did in Cody. Lots of beautiful cross lamination and bedding makes for quite pretty rocks.

Interesting black and red spots found throughout the sandstone. They appear to be staining associated with the breakdown of some accessory mineral. I’ll bring a sample back and see what it turns out to be. Here’s a photo of the spots. It looks like chicken pox.

Just to prove to my wife that I can eat well, even when I don’t have anybody else to cook for here was my dinner tonight. BBQ chicken and red pepper on a multigrain ciabatta with tomatoes. Looks pretty good doesn’t it?!?!

Saw a beautiful sunset this evening. Managed snap a shot of the sky just before the sun was engulfed by some clouds on the horizon.

Finally, I have made a few logistical changes. I froze to death the first night and was uncomfortable the next two nights due to the cold. Granted the first night was a snowstorm and the second night it was nearly snowing but last night was beautiful and I still froze. So I went to Wal-Mart this morning and bought a super cheap sleeping bag to add to the one I already had. Hopefully this solves the cold problem as tonight looks cloudless and I’m at twice the altitude of Calgary (2400m). I also bought a tub to store food in. If fits nicely on top of my cooler. I just need some better straps to hold it down. It got free today and went bouncing around the interior when I was getting excited off-roading. I think I simultaneously dented my barbecue when one of my 28L water jug got free and landed on it. The BBQ still works, just a little more used looking.

I am missing my family a lot today and I had to spend the big bucks on a satellite phone call home. Should be back with internet tomorrow. Already thinking of ways to speed things up so I can get home as soon as possible. Gotta get the data though.