05/02/2026
Yes, it’s been a very long time since I have posted.
My apologies to all my die hard fans.
And no, I don’t expect everyone to read the entire trip report, lol. I haven’t even hit half the day and it’s longer than a gnats attention span so feel free to read, not read, or just enjoy the photos and not know what the heck they are about. (Yes, I came back and entered this paragraph mid post as I know it will be a doozy, lol)!
This was intended to be a post centered on the opening of the Yellowstone National Park East Gate entrance for 2026.
Well, plans changed as they often do. You see, I had made plans for my wife and I to visit Yellowstone and I even made reservations for us to stay in the Old Faithful Lodge in one of the rooms of the original 100+ year old wing!
Plans changing, yup. It turns out May 01,2026 coincides with the setup of the Greybull, Wyoming High School prom! So I made the tough decision (really not that tough as I prefer nice stays WITH my wife!) to cancel the reservation.
My new plan? I removed the passenger seat of the CaRV and installed the bed platform, loaded the toilet and shower and kitchen and such for a slightly different solo adventure to Yellowstone.
I let Mikelle know that I would be leaving around 5-6 am to get in line for the 8am opening. Little did I know that I would have yet another change of plans!
The next morning, May 01, after awaking at my pretty much normal time of 2:30-3:00am I was researching yet again and it hit me that it was the opening day for the Buffalo Bill Dam as well. Digging in a little more, I saw the Chamber of Commerce was putting on a free breakfast!!!!
The free food sealed the deal! It also meant I didn’t have to leave as early so I meandered it way out the door at a late in the day time of 7:30am!
First stop, 50 miles to Maverik in Cody to fill up the Ford Fiesta CaRV tank. It took a whopping 5.4 gallons! It’s a 10 gallon tank so that was good for around 400or so miles!
Just down the road I had to park a block away from the Chanber of Commerce for a free community breakfast of pancakes 🥞 and bacon 🥓 with coffee ☕️. It was beautiful sunny morning so I sat on a rock out front and just enjoyed the meal. I did make sure to thank the volunteers who served me as well as went into the chamber and thanked them for being here.
I have driven around the Buffalo Bill Reservoir a few times on my way to Yellowstone and had never stopped at the dam or explored the Buffalo Bill State Park. I planned to change that on this trip.
I pulled into the Dam Visitor Center parking lot and a nice retired gentleman greeted me and offered a free shuttle via golf cart to the Information Center. I humbly accepted and climbed into the back seat.
As he drove the 400 year or so distance to the center, he talked about the dam and when it was built. It was truly too short of a drive for a guided bus type tour and was still touching and personal.
There is a path you can walk across spanning the entire width of the dam and you can literally look over the rail straight down to the small looking stream below!
I must have spent close to an hour in the Information Center taking in the several displays and the video presentation in the small “theatre”.
Being opening day, there was free coffee and cookies which made a nice snack after breakfast and the drive to the dam.
I chose to walk the return trip to the parking lot so I could just take in the beauty of the entire area.
There is also a nest information kiosk in the parking lot with multiple displays and informative boards near the car if you do not have time for a full Information Center experience.
Back in the car I turned left out of the parking lot and drove 4 miles West to the State Park office to purchase my yearly State Park sticker. I did drive the campground loops just to check it out. Thinking out loud I would definitely suggest reserving a site on the water side of the road with unobstructed views of the reservoir.
Another left onto Hwy 14/16/20 and to the West end of the lake where you turn left again(don’t worry, we will turn right at some point)! There’s another campground and group area worth checking out if it works for you and yours.
I carried on over the river and took the next….. wait for it…. Left turn! This takes you around the other side of the reservoir headed back on the opposite side. Not more than a mile down the county road, you will see yet another campground with storage shed type cabins on the LEFT! Don’t turn that way, it’s now the right time to turn RIGHT, right? You will know this because of the sign that says “Sheep Mountain Trailhead” on the RIGHT side of the road.
This is an unimproved, uneven drive 1/4 mile or so to the trailhead which has a sign saying that high clearance vehicles are required. Yeah, about that… I drove my Ford Fiesta in so I suppose that classifies as high clearance now. But seriously, if you are an experienced driver, you should have no issues with the drive in dry conditions.
In the interest of time and length, I will just say that out of shape, inexperienced, first time, walking across the Walmart parking lot is too much for me type folks should just turn around and drive to a state that has more than one elevator and 2 escalators, hahaha. Seriously, this is not a beginner friendly trail.
It starts out fairly steep the first 1/2 mile or so and I stopped for a few micro breathers myself, even stopping on the open sun since there is not much shade at the start. Then it tricks you by flattening out for a few dozen yards.
Now is the reality check! As you enter a box canyon to your right, it gets very steep! Seriously, this is hands on your knees pushing your legs down as you go steep! The good news is in the canyon, there is plenty of shade. The canyon walls are cliffs around 500’ high and there are pine trees all around as you ascend the canyon. Did I mention that it is steep?
And another thing, if it’s been wet in the last few days, it will also be muddy and slick. So wet, muddy, slick and steep! Turn around now if you don’t have a super adventurous spirit! Thankfully it had been a couple days since any precipitation so there were just a few kind of wet, watch your step type spots that had a fairly dry crust over top of them.
About the time you think this is a very stupid idea climbing up this canyon; out of breath, legs exhausted, sweating profusely, well it opens up into an alpine meadow and flattens out.
The information at the TH said it’s 2 miles to a cabin and then you can take your choice of unofficial routes to some of the higher peaks.
Before the cabin, I same an old galvanized water trough and some sawn lumber laying up on a hillside. The ground coming down from there had an odd reddish tint to it.
I explored a little closer and found many red brick type rocks leading up to the trough and it was a natural spring. I envisioned somebody filling the trough with spring water many years ago and bathing there, lol. More likely based on the amount of cow manure in the area the free range cattle were given a water course using the trough.
Not too far up, I came upon. The old log cabin. It definitely would no longer keep you dry in a rain storm. It would provide a bit of shade if you were not concerned about the entire building collapsing upon you.
That 2 mile section took me 1 hour and 7 minutes which is roughly 40% slower than my average previous hikes.
Not knowing the area or what they meant by “various routes to peaks”, I decided to follow the trail straight up the valley and see what became of it.
Not long after I came upon a barn wire fence and decided to turn right, yup, right, as opposed to so many lefts already taken today, hahah.
There is a large chimney rock feature at the top of the peak to the LEFT of what I would call a butte capping off the mountain. Again, this is another VERY steep section with switchbacks.
Oops, I said I would keep this short perhaps? Anyway, another strenuous section rising 600-1000’ above me to the top! The trail isn’t well marked at this point in places and several rock cairns are there to help guide you. I did find the cairns appear very much shorter going up due to the steepness and perspective and missed a couple then backtracked and saw them.
At the top is a panoramic view 360° around! You can see the Buffalo Bill Fam and reservoir as well as Cody and beyond to the East.
Turn West and you see a faint track which is the highway leading to Yellowstone and the Anatole mountain range. More mountains South and North.
Every difficulty in getting there was definitely worth the effort. Any experienced hiker will appreciate the challenge and experience this phenomenal view!
It’s all down hill from here back to the car! (See, there’s the short part of the article).
