Kevin – Monday. After a few days hiking and driving around, we have the opportunity to get back on the bikes and head west out of Farson. The route takes us on the north side of Big Sandy River or, as some call it, Big Sandy Creek. Which it is depends upon your feelings about small creeks being called rivers. It’s disrespectful towards ‘real’ rivers, no offense to our Wyoming friends intended.
We’ve been using Wyoming State Road 28 for the past week to access remote trail segments, but today, WY-28 essentially IS the trail. Oh, true, the swales do wander a tad north and south of the highway, but in general, the modern highway was just barely an improvement over the pioneering route of the mid-1800’s.
Since it’s supposed to start getting hotter this week, we’re out the door by 7 AM and I take the first 5-mile segment. Denny comes up and trades off. The bike rack repairs didn’t try to fix the parts that restrain the bikes to the rack. That’s a different problem which we’ve used bungee cords to work around. But, at highway speeds today, my bike decides to jump ship when the bungees proved to not be up to the task of a 40-miles per hour breeze. (sigh)
I pick up the pieces, try again to secure the bike (relatively undamaged except for the handlebars) and rush to catch Denny. She had made it to Simpson’s Hollow Historic Site, where in October 1857 the ‘rebellious’ Mormon’s Nauvoo Legion caught wagon master Lewis Simpson’s wagon train. The train was carrying supplies for the Army’s Utah Expedition (‘Expedition’ my eye). While the LDS raiders could easily have killed all the teamsters, Lot Smith convinced Simpson to surrender his group. Simpson plead for a couple of wagons so the men could make their way back to safety. Smith granted the request and released the men.
In 1997, as part of the commemorative wagon train event, a reenactment of the wagon burning took place with President Hinkley addressing the crowd about the historic events. Personally (being from Florida, not Utah), I find this a hilarious event to commemorate, but hey, I’m biking and hiking the Mormon Battalion detachment route – with my wife – so who am I to quibble?
Link to ArticleThe schedule originally had a 34-mile day planned but Denny was concerned so I revised the plans into two 17-mile days. When I got to my 15-mile mark, I asked Denny how far she wanted to go for her second segment. She was up for another 5-miles, “… as long as there aren’t any big hills.” OK!
We stop at the Pilot Butte overlook with interpretive signs. The trail literally comes within a few feet of the turnout and it can be seen for quite a distance. After taking photos, I head back out again on my third segment which gets us to 25-miles.
At this point, the cottonwood trees along the Green River are visible. Denny catches me and by the software measurements, it looks like she has less than 2-miles to reach the Green. While she bikes, there’s a great bluff overlooking the valley, so I scamper up it for a few photos.
Denny is at the bridge by the time I scamper back down and we catch some more photos of the pretty and PROPER Green RIVER. Still on the small-ish side of a RIVER, but I’ll concede the point.
Some of the Battalion boys had been sent express from the larger detachment group from the Mormon Ferry at Casper to try to catch Brigham Young’s company. They did so here at Green River on 4 July 1847 a few miles south of the bridge.
William Clayton, with Brigham Young on the afternoon of 4 July, recorded: "At 2:30 PM the brethren returned from the ferry accompanied by twelve of the Pueblo brethren from the Army. They have got their discharge and by riding hard overtaken us. They feel well ... Brother Walker was with them but has gone back ... to meet his wife. The spot where we are now camped is opposite to the junction of the Big Sandy and Green River.”
George Albert Smith added the following information: "About three p.m. twelve of our battalion from Pueblo came into our camp well armed and mounted. They had left their company at North Fork crossing. A Lyman is with them."
Amasa Lyman was returning to report to Brigham on the Pueblo groups and decided to bring some of the men with him. The Battalion express group made the approximately 208 miles in seven days - averaging 30 miles per day.
And who would suspect pelicans habituate the Green River?
We will turn south here tomorrow and head up into the deserty hills for about 12 miles. We ‘may’ get some stretches with the bikes but I suspect it will mostly be hiking.