Wyoming Explored: Pole Mountain Camping

Sometimes you just have to get away, even if it’s just close to home and a quick trip to enjoy the longest day of the year on the Summer Solstice.

This past spring REI put a lot of their tents on sale, so I pulled the plug and got myself a new tent, the Half Dome 3 Plus.  I wanted something a bit bigger than my two person tent, and with a better rainfly.  Over the winter/spring I also got my own camp stove and a sweet new Kelty chair.  And there everything sat… and sat…

Finally I had to change that.  With snow still covering my favorite alpine camping spots in the Snowies, I settled for a little dispersed camping option in the Pole Mountain area of the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern Wyoming.  I tossed my camping gear in the car, picked up some Chipotle to eat for dinner, and headed about thirty five minutes west of Cheyenne on Happy Jack Road.

This area is busy for dispersed camping, and I was attempting to find a spot on a Saturday afternoon, not leaving me with a lot of options.  It was particularly windy, so I was being picky with spots, wanting some shelter from the wind so my tent wouldn’t get extremely battered.  I finally found a small spot off of FR714, perfect for a tent, hammock, and my car.  Woohoo!

My evening was spent finishing up Elton John’s autobiography in my hammock, chowing down on my Chipotle.  As the sun prepared to say goodnight, I hiked up the hill behind my campsite with my chair, and enjoyed a beer and started a new book as the sun set on the Summer Solstice.

I must admit, I didn’t sleep the best as the wind howled, but I survived, cozy and warm in my tent… which did amazing in the wind.  I cooked up some hashbrowns and veggies for breakfast after heating up some water for some coffee.

Short and sweet camping trip, but I finally got out!  Also, this was my first solo camping trip outside of a developed campground – woohoo!  I was only slightly scared of being eaten by a mountain lion 😉