There’s something about certain country that stirs the heart. If a person is lucky, once, twice, or maybe many times in the course of their life they will be able to look out across a scene of mountains, valleys and forests and see a vision of something that takes them away, far away, to a place of imagination and long-forgotten memories. The stretch of country that constitutes the Snake River-Thorofare Wilderness is such a place. Many hearts have been stirred here and, thanks to its remoteness and protective legislation, the area promises to stir hearts and trigger imaginations far into the future.
Yellowstone’s Snake River-Thorofare Wilderness holds the distinction of being part of the largest, wildest and most remote wildland complex in the lower forty-eight United States. Here lies a chunk of the Rocky Mountains over two million acres in size where nature has been allowed to reign supreme. Seemingly endless forests blend with high peaks, lakes and remote, broad river valleys to create some of North America’s richest wildlife habitat. Adding value to the area is the fact that the Yellowstone section, of which the Park Service recommends over 403,000 acres be designated wilderness, adjoins two other equally wild areas: the Washakie and Teton Wilderness Areas, which, with a combined total of nearly 1,300,000 acres lie just to the east and south, respectively, of Yellowstone. These large tracts, along with another nearly 300,000 acres of Bridger-Teton and Shoshone National Forest roadless land, combine with the Park acreage to form this, the largest piece of wild country in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Within this area, at a spot just outside the Park boundary deep in the remote southeast corner of Yellowstone, lies the farthest point from a road anywhere in the United States outside of Alaska-over thirty miles.
This wilderness is unique in that it surrounds much of Yellowstone Lake and the southern arms of the lake provide a watery wilderness experience unmatched in the lower forty-eight states. With limitations placed on motorboats, the remote arms of this awe-inspiring lake are open only to the hardy paddler, hiker or horseback rider. Whether approaching these bodies of water by canoe, kayak or hiking one of the long trails, much planning and preparation must be put into the journey. Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake in North America above 7,000 feet in elevation and when a summer storm blows in conditions can become very dangerous very fast. It is no accident that the only hospital within Yellowstone’s borders sits directly on the lake. Combine this weather hazard with near-freezing water temperatures, long distances, grizzlies prowling the shoreline and dense, almost impenetrable forests and you have a recipe for high adventure.
Proof of the wildness and biological health of the region can also be found in the fact that a gray wolf, an animal that was thought to be long-missing from the Yellowstone ecosystem, was shot by a hunter in the Teton Wilderness Area just south of Yellowstone’s border in 1992, before the wolf reintroduction program even existed. Biologists assure us there was no viable wolf population in the area at the time and this wolf was purportedly leading a pack of coyotes, an odd fact that seems to support the theory of there being no other wolves around. But, where did this one come from? Whether it was a lone traveler all the way from Canada, a domestic wolf set free somehow, or a member of a shy, reclusive native wolf population is a mystery only nature knows the answer to.
Besides being wild and remote, the Thorofare is also a region steeped in history. Mountain men from John Colter to Jim Bridger used the area, especially the Thorofare Valley, which gained its name due to the number of trappers, traders and explorers traveling its broad course, a route through the mountains that was the best for miles around.
All these factors combine to make this area one of the most precious in our nation. Here a person can travel for weeks, witnessing the play of nature in all its aspects, and all of it occurring just as it has for centuries. A journey into the Snake River-Thorofare Wilderness is like a trip back in time.
