Exploring the backcountry of Wyoming's Gros Ventre Wilderness
Loring Woodman was instrumental in pushing for legislation that would eventually become the Wyoming Wilderness Act, which protects over 300,000 acres of the Gros Ventre Wilderness and roughly 600,000 more acres across the state.
The fall of 2019 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Wyoming Wilderness Act and the 55th anniversary of the national Wilderness Act, which today protects 758 wilderness areas totaling nearly 110 million acres nationwide.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Loring Woodman takes a break during an afternoon horseback ride near the head of the Gros Ventre River, high in the Gros Ventre Wilderness on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014. "I'm a kind of down to earth matter of fact person," Woodman said. "I'm not religious or spiritual or whatever but I think it's a miracle that this country has managed to put aside wilderness areas for people like us to be able to enjoy." (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
The warm glow from a tent signals the end of a day’s work in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. The wilderness area, part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, encompasses over 300,000 acres protected by the Wyoming Wilderness Act.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
"Public lands of the Western states are what preserve the democratic classless society that we have enjoyed in the West," said Loring Woodman. Woodman, who ran the Darwin Ranch in the Gros Ventre Wilderness for 50 years, was instrumental in the passing of the Wyoming Wilderness Act.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
The setting sun casts its last rays on the cliffs of Darwin Peak in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. The wilderness area, part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, encompasses over 300,000 acres. which The Wyoming Wilderness Act protects the are from roads, buildings, industrial development and motorized or mechanized vehicles.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Loring Woodman plots a route for an afternoon horseback ride through the Gros Ventre Wilderness. After spending his youth in New Jersey, Woodman made his home in the Gros Ventre, running the Darwin Ranch and outfitting hunting, fishing and sightseeing trips for 50 years before selling the ranch in February.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Wrangler Eric Schneider leads a string of horses through a high-country meadow of the Gros Ventre Wilderness in 2014 below Blacks Peak.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Loring Woodman tries to classify a flower he encountered on an afternoon horseback trip in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. Woodman, who ran the Darwin Ranch in the Gros Ventre Wilderness for 50 years, was instrumental in the passing of the Wyoming Wilderness Act, which protects some 900,000 acres across the state.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Eric Schneider, a wrangler from Hoback, dries his wet boots from the previous day's trip in the Gros Ventre Wilderness.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Wrangler Eric Schneider's beaver hat found a resting place atop a sapling at the camp, roughly 10 miles into the Gros Ventre Wilderness.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Loring Woodman, right, and his wife, Melody Lin, pause to rest during an afternoon horseback ride in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. "Melody, if you're looking for someplace to dispose of my ashes, spread them here in these flowers," Woodman said to Lin earlier in the ride near the base of Blacks Peak.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Following a five-hour rainy ride into the Gros Ventre Wilderness, riders leave their pack saddles out in the air to dry.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Wrangler Eric Schneider heads out of camp to gather horse saddles on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014, in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Loring Woodman leads his horse in the high country near the head of the Gros Ventre River, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014 in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. Woodman, who ran the Darwin Ranch in the Gros Ventre Wilderness for 50 years, was instrumental in the passing of the Wyoming Wilderness Act, which in October 1984 protected some 900,000 acres across the state. (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
"Public lands of the western states are what preserve the democratic classless society that we have enjoyed in the west," said Loring Woodman. "I would be very sorry to see the public commitment for that waver." Woodman, who ran the Darwin Ranch in the Gros Ventre Wilderness for 50 years, was instrumental in the passing of the Wyoming Wilderness Act, which in October 1984 protected some 900,000 acres across the state. (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Loring Woodman takes a break during a horsepack trip into the Gros Ventre Wilderness on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. "I'm a kind of down to earth matter of fact person," Woodman said. "I'm not religious or spiritual or whatever but I think it's a miracle that this country has managed to put aside wilderness areas for people like us to be able to enjoy." (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Wrangler Eric Schneider stokes the dying fire with his hat on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Loring Woodman ends his day by the campfire on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014, in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
The sun peaks above Sportsmans Ridge at first light on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014, in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
As morning light breaks, the sound of hooves and horses whinnying nearby brings Dan Smitherman quickly to his feet. A rockslide the night before had spooked the horses, and 10 of 13 broke through their fence and spent the night wandering and grazing in the Gros Ventre Wilderness.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Wrangler Erich Schneider, right, and outfitter Dan Smitherman catch their breath after gathering a group of six horses that had run away after being spooked by a rockslide the previous night on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014, in the Gros Ventre Wilderness. (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Dan Smitherman, an outfitter and Wyoming representative for the Wilderness Society, shares a laugh while packing up camp following three days in the Gros Ventre Wilderness on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014. (Ryan Dorgan, Star-Tribune)
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Dan Smitherman, an outfitter and Wyoming representative for the Wilderness Society, stuffs panniers outside Pinedale as he readies a team of horses for a pack trip more than 10 miles into the Gros Ventre Wilderness.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Loring Woodman and his wife, Melody Lin, enjoy a beer on returning to the trailhead following three days in the Gros Ventre Wilderness in early August. Woodman, who ran the Darwin Ranch in the Gros Ventre Wilderness for 50 years, was instrumental in the passing of the Wyoming Wilderness Act, which protects some 900,000 acres across the state.
Loring Woodman leads his horse in the high country near the head of the Gros Ventre River in August in the Gros Ventre Wilderness.
The whitebark pine, which is a food source for grizzlies, is “likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout its range” without further interventions, officials say.