Medicine Bow Peak
August 4, 2001
August 4, 2001
Medicine Bow Peak is located in the rugged beautiful mountains of the Snowy Range in
southern Wyoming. It is on the border of Albany and Carbon Counties and is the high point
of each at 12,013 feet. The Snowy Range is indeed snowy most of the year and it can
snow any month of the year in this part of Wyoming. But even when there is no snow the
range is nearly snow-white because it is mainly composed of quartzite. Medicine Bow Peak
derived its name from the Native Americans who first came to the area to cut mountain
mahogany, water birch, and juniper for bow making. When they collected these materials
they also often collected materials for making medicines.
At the base of Medicine Bow Peak are beautiful turquoise blue clear lakes that are
surrounded by beautiful fir and spruce forest. Wildlife is abundant including pikas,
marmots, and mule deer. There are lots of camping and hiking opportunities in this area
with one of the best trails being the 7.5 mile loop you can do that includes the summit of
Med Bow Peak.
I did this hike in August 2001 with Andrew and his friend Archie. We had a beautiful day
to do it, the weather was cool but not too windy, which it very often is in Wyoming, and
the skies were a brilliant shade of blue. We started at Lewis Lake, climbed the peak,
then walked along the spine of the range west and then down to Lake Marie then circled
back to Lewis Lake. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos that I took that day and have
recently dug out of my files and scanned in...
southern Wyoming. It is on the border of Albany and Carbon Counties and is the high point
of each at 12,013 feet. The Snowy Range is indeed snowy most of the year and it can
snow any month of the year in this part of Wyoming. But even when there is no snow the
range is nearly snow-white because it is mainly composed of quartzite. Medicine Bow Peak
derived its name from the Native Americans who first came to the area to cut mountain
mahogany, water birch, and juniper for bow making. When they collected these materials
they also often collected materials for making medicines.
At the base of Medicine Bow Peak are beautiful turquoise blue clear lakes that are
surrounded by beautiful fir and spruce forest. Wildlife is abundant including pikas,
marmots, and mule deer. There are lots of camping and hiking opportunities in this area
with one of the best trails being the 7.5 mile loop you can do that includes the summit of
Med Bow Peak.
I did this hike in August 2001 with Andrew and his friend Archie. We had a beautiful day
to do it, the weather was cool but not too windy, which it very often is in Wyoming, and
the skies were a brilliant shade of blue. We started at Lewis Lake, climbed the peak,
then walked along the spine of the range west and then down to Lake Marie then circled
back to Lewis Lake. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos that I took that day and have
recently dug out of my files and scanned in...
| Andrew perched in a precarious position above Lake Marie |
| You can see Highway 130 down there |
| View looking north towards Kennaday Peak and the Platte River Valley |
| Kudos to this family who made it to the top with small children! |
| Andrew, above, and Archie, below, happy to be on the summit! |
| Andrew and Archie hiking to the top |
| The highest mountain in this photo is Old Main and there used bo be an old fire lookout near the top of it |
| Medicine Bow Peak is about center in this photo taken near Lake Marie |
| This is the junction with the Lakes Trail on which we would hike back on |