Get out: Escape to Pinedale

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

By Robyn Vincent

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Summertime, and the livin’ is… pretty damn busy. The summer months seem to require many of us work far more than we, as adventure-seeking Jacksonites, ever intended.  But alas, a restful off-season waits around the corner so we must pocket financial opportunity until the monster RVs, camera-clad tourists and families uniformed in identical T-shirts check out. 

Indeed, this all-work-and-little-play lifestyle makes two days off from the ole 9-to-5, 5-to-3 or whatever your ‘superior’ has you working these days, rather precious. So after much deliberation, I chose to spend my 48 hours of freedom at an oft-deserted camping and climbing spot in Pinedale: Stonehenge.

On a recent scorching afternoon I headed out with a group of three to the high desert. Needing to cool our sweaty, sticky flesh, we got sidetracked looking for the “jumping tree,” a spot to plunge into the Hoback via a lop-sided, over-hanging tree.
An hour later and with no sign of the tree – its whereabouts being difficult to pinpoint from the road – we settled on a decent looking swimming hole marked by a boulder on a wide shelf of rock.

Those with backbones wasted no time catapulting into the Hoback’s ice-cold waters, while others (me) fearful of clumsily slamming into the rock shelf below, chose not to jump. Truth be told, I regretted that decision for the remainder of our sweltering journey.

On our way through Pinedale, we came across what looked like an ordinary little ice cream stand. The sign read only one word: Hamburgers. Bound for the middle of nowhere, the group agreed this place would do just fine. We sat outside and wolfed down what turned out to be some truly fine burgers, and I tossed around the idea that my next hamburger craving might land me all the way in Pinedale for this modest haven known as the Sugar Shack.

Our bellies brimming with juicy meat cakes – mine sloshed together with saucy mushrooms and gooey Swiss – we ventured about 30 minutes south of Pinedale until the flat fields of sagebrush gave way to a smattering of copper-colored boulders.

As we drove further in, mammoth rocks grew larger and more dramatic.
We set up our tents right in the midst of an amphitheater of stones, some leaning so close together that they formed small, mystical caves or overhanging shelters, perfect to seek refuge under during a rainstorm. 

Stonehenge’s sharp granite rock offers ample bouldering, as well as a few moderate sport routes and more difficult trad climbs, all on the shorter side but very interesting to attempt.

As a relatively new climber, I was able to complete only two of the less challenging routes, but there was plenty of bouldering and scrambling to play on as well. Many of the climbs can be top-roped via a scramble up the backside of the various rock walls. And even if you’re not down with huggin’ rock, the humbling terrain, sweeping open land and views of the Wind River Range are reason enough to spend some time in this dry, magical country. JHW

photo by RANDY SHACKET
Dry earth and not a soul for miles, this is the land of Stonehenge.


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Get out: Escape to Pinedale | Planet JH News Article: Sports & Recreation

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