Day 2 of Lupe’s 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast.
Lupe was doing somersaults. A squirrel was chattering away in a tree somewhere outside Lupe’s “tiny house”. Lupe was desperate to go bark at it. She was hurling herself repeatedly against the screen door of the tent, not realizing it was zipped shut. She couldn’t get out. The crazy Carolina Dog was going paws over head, and doing a complete somersault each time she charged the fabric. The whole tent shook. SPHP and Lanis woke up.
Lanis, SPHP and Lupe were camped at Shell Creek in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. It was morning, and clearly time to get up to relieve the American Dingo’s anxiety. After breakfast, Lanis, Lupe and SPHP took a short walk along Shell Creek. Returning from the walk, it was time to leave Shell Creek campground. Someone else had reservations for Site No. 11 tonight.
Where to next? Shell Falls was relatively close by farther down Shell Canyon. About a mile upstream of Shell Falls, there were also some smaller waterfalls just off Hwy 14 where Lupe could go wading. Lupe went to visit both Shell Falls, and the smaller falls.
After visiting Shell Falls and the other smaller waterfalls in Shell Canyon, there was a debate over what to do next. Should Lupe return to Shell Creek campground to see if another site had opened up?
In the end, Lupe wound up going to Burgess Junction instead. Lanis went into the store and bought ice cream bars again, just like he’d done the previous day at Spotted Horse. Lupe liked this new ice cream bar tradition. She sacrificed any concerns over her own health, to help make sure SPHP didn’t get fat.
Lupe, Lanis and SPHP headed W on Hwy 14A. There were two more waterfalls that would be worth seeing. One was Bucking Mule Falls. The other was Porcupine Falls. Both were miles N of the highway along gravel roads, but they were in the same general area. Since SPHP had seen Bucking Mule Falls once before, Porcupine Falls was chosen as Lupe’s destination.
The trail to Porcupine Falls wasn’t very long, but it was steep. Shortly after leaving the trailhead, it went steeply downhill most of the way. Porcupine Falls poured through a narrow gap in a rock wall into a big pool below. It was very pretty and dramatic looking gushing out between the high cliffs.
After seeing Porcupine Falls, and spending some time sniffing around the edges of the big pool below it, Lupe led everyone back up the trail to the Honda Element. Now that the trail was going steeply uphill, it didn’t seem nearly so short as before.
Once everyone was back at the Element, the consensus was that it was time to eat and secure a campsite. Bucking Mule Falls would have to wait for another day. Lupe went back to Hwy 14A. At the Bald Mountain campground, once again, Site 11 was the best one available. Lanis and SPHP pitched the tent and made dinner. After dinner, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP started climbing Bald Mountain. It was a really easy climb up a long grassy slope SE of the campground.
When Lupe was about halfway up Bald Mountain (10,042 ft.), it started becoming apparent that a rainstorm was coming. A line of showers that had been quite some distance away to the W was moving in. By the time Lupe was near the top, rain showers were all around to the S, W & N. Now and then, there was some lightning off in these directions, too.
Within just a few minutes of when Lupe, Lanis and SPHP reached the top of Bald Mountain, the storm hit. A chill wind blew fiercely, and there was a cold stinging rain. The downpour was much harder than expected. With absolutely no cover on Bald Mountain, Lupe, Lanis and SPHP all got soaking wet. The storm wasn’t a big one, though, and would soon pass. SPHP expected to be able to just tough it out.
Suddenly there was a flash of lightning relatively close by, followed by the roar of thunder. There’s no toughing out lightning. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP all hastily abandoned the summit of Bald Mountain. Fifteen minutes later, the storm had blown on by. There was still light rain, but nothing of consequence. The rain had dampened everyone’s spirits, though. Lupe, Lanis and SPHP continued on down back to the campground.
After setting up Lupe’s “tiny house”, SPHP had thrown everything needed for the night into the tent. Unfortunately, SPHP had not put the rain cover on the tent. Most things were now damp. Lanis’ sleeping bag was just plain soaking wet. Lanis was not amused. Lupe and SPHP spent the night in the tent. Fortunately, there were still some dry blankets in the Honda Element. Lanis spent the night in the Element huddled under them, running the heater now and then to keep warm.
Shell Falls is located 14 miles E of Greybull, WY in Shell Canyon. A parking lot and visitor center are right next to the N side of the highway. Shell Falls is a quick scenic stop for travelers on their way W to Yellowstone National Park.
Porcupine Falls and Bucking Mule Falls are located N of Hwy 14A (E of Lovell, WY) toward the W side of the Bighorn Mountain Range. Gravel roads lead to the trailheads. The 0.5 mile hike to Porcupine Falls leads to a large pool at the base of the falls. The trail to Bucking Mule Falls leads 1.5 miles to a scenic overlook from which the falls can be viewed from a distance.
Directions to Porcupine Falls and Bucking Mule Falls: E of Bald Mountain campground, there are two roads going N from Hwy 14A. (The first road is just E of the turn to Bald Mountain campground, the second is 2 miles farther E.) Both roads lead in just a few miles to an intersection with Devil’s Canyon Road. Take Devil’s Canyon Road W 4 miles to the Porcupine Falls trailhead, or 7 miles to the Bucking Mule Falls trailhead.
Advisory: Online information on the Bucking Mule Falls National Recreation Trail indicates that the trail to the scenic overlook of the falls is part of a much longer 15 mile trail. Continuing on beyond the viewpoint, the trail drops steeply 2,000 feet in 2 miles into Devil’s Canyon. One online trip report dating from July, 2013 said there were 5 miles of trail down in Devil’s Canyon choked with dead trees. In some places the trees had fallen 3 and 4 deep across the trail. Lupe recommends checking for current information on the trail’s condition before continuing beyond the overlook.
Lupe returned to Bald Mountain on the first day of her 2013 Dingo Vacation to the Beartooths and Canadian Rockies. Click the red link to view Lupe’s post about her return visit.
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Bucking Mule Falls, Porcupine Falls & Duncum Mountain, Bighorn Range, Wyoming (6-14-18)
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