Jackson Hole Dogsledding

Soda Fork Big Springs Camp to Crater Lake Pack Trip with Heart Six Dude Ranch

Wyoming hunting starts with Heart Six Dude Ranch pack trips into the Bridger-Teton Forest up to the Yellowstone River at the base of Younts Peak in early July through September 19th of each year.  In 2017, we headed up the trail from Turpin Meadow and then through the Soda Fork Meadow and up the Soda Fork Trail.  Our first stop is the Soda Fork Springs Camp which is approximately 18 miles into the wilderness.  I would say that this is the most remote hunting camp in the continental United States, but for our next camp.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  The Soda Fork Springs Camp is in the middle of a gigantic flowery meadow and surrounded by mountains.  The entire area is surrounded by huge hillsides that allow for incredible vistas and the ability to spot wildlife from miles away, an obvious great place for Wyoming hunting.  On the way in we saw a Bull Moose in a clearing in the woods.  His coat was as black as coal and he just stood and stared at us as if we were the only people he had ever seen in his entire life.  That night we fished in crystal clear waters of the Soda Fork River and caught some Cutthroat Trout for dinner.  IN the morning we headed up the trail towards the enormous Crater Lake which empties via an underground stream which comes out approximately two miles down the mountain by the side of the trail into the enormous Big Springs which is the source of the Soda Fork River.  The water from the Big Springs is filtered through the volcanic soil of Crater Lake and is an excellent place to fill up your canteen and get an amazing picture.  In my case, Winston, my horse just wanted to stand downstream and drink the entire river, but mind you the river is twenty-five feet wide coming out of the mountainside.  Reaching Crater Lake is amazing all by itself, you slowly gain altitude until you are almost to the tree line and then come over a small ridge which opens into a gigantic volcanic crater this is a great place for Wyoming hunting as the game grazes in the crater.  (to be continued)