Medicine Bow Peak
Encyclopedia
Medicine Bow Peak is the highest peak in the Snowy Range, a part of the Medicine Bow Mountains
, about 35 miles west of Laramie, Wyoming
. It lies within Medicine Bow National Forest. The summit lies in extreme western Albany County, but the mountain's lower reaches stretch westward into eastern Carbon County
. The summit is more than 12,013 feet (3,661 m) high and is visible from Snowy Range Pass, elevation 10,847 ft (3,300 m), on Wyoming Highway 130
, a Wyoming Scenic Byway. The most commonly used trail to the peak is a four-mile hike featuring switch-backs and a great deal of loose rock. The trails to the peak are usually open from early June to mid October.
The mountain is usually covered with snow from October to late June. During winter the peak can be reached by snowshoe or by skiing. Summer conditions can be extreme, with frequent thunderstorms and hail during the afternoons.
quartzite
ridge that juts above the Snowy Range. It was glaciated until quite recently, and year-round snowfields are still present on its flanks. Periglacial polygons, also known as "stone nets", are located above the timberline. Several glacial lake
s are located at the base of the peak.
Geologic publications have suggested that the Snowy Pass Supergroup at the peak is significantly older than, and unrelated to, the orogeny
of the surrounding Medicine Bow mountains. These publications often refer to the mountain as "Medicine Peak", and its rock as "Precambrian
Medicine Peak Quartzite". The quartzite, which lies unconformably on gneiss
ic basement rock, has been analyzed for traces of Precambrian life. The findings may be pseudofossil
s.
expeditions of 1833 - 1834. Native American tribes such as the Northern Arapahoe, Northern Cheyenne
, Lakota,
Ute
, and Eastern Shoshone
were known to have either inhabited the surrounding lowlands or used nearby canyons and mountain passes as travel routes.
In 1955, United Airlines Flight 409
crashed into the side of the mountain; there were no survivors. Engines and other fragments of the plane are still present at the base of the cliff. During the recovery process, several additional access routes were established, which are still in use today.
A memorial stone and plaque were placed near the crash site, known as "Disaster Wall", in August 2001.
s on the trails leading to the peak include alpine meadows, sub-alpine meadows, and taiga
. Stunted and twisted Krummholtz trees, many of which are Engelmann spruce
, are common at or just above the tree line. The wildflowers along its access trails include Indian Paintbrush
, blue columbine
, gentian
, and harebell
. The peak is located in a Special Botanical Area.
Mammals inhabiting the peak and its immediate surroundings include bighorn sheep
, marmot
s, pika
s, pine marten
s, mule deer
, and dwarf shrew
.
Medicine Bow Mountains
The Medicine Bow Mountains are a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains that extend for from northern Colorado into southern Wyoming. The northern extent of this range is the sub-range the Snowy Range...
, about 35 miles west of Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
. It lies within Medicine Bow National Forest. The summit lies in extreme western Albany County, but the mountain's lower reaches stretch westward into eastern Carbon County
Carbon County, Wyoming
Carbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of 2010, the population was 15,885. Its county seat is Rawlins.- History :Carbon County was organized in 1868....
. The summit is more than 12,013 feet (3,661 m) high and is visible from Snowy Range Pass, elevation 10,847 ft (3,300 m), on Wyoming Highway 130
Wyoming Highway 130
Wyoming Highway 130 is known locally as the Snowy Range Road. It makes its way west from Laramie across the plains, and rises over the Medicine Bow Mountains. The road then turns north through the town of Saratoga, and ends at Interstate 80. The stretch of road over the mountains is a National...
, a Wyoming Scenic Byway. The most commonly used trail to the peak is a four-mile hike featuring switch-backs and a great deal of loose rock. The trails to the peak are usually open from early June to mid October.
The mountain is usually covered with snow from October to late June. During winter the peak can be reached by snowshoe or by skiing. Summer conditions can be extreme, with frequent thunderstorms and hail during the afternoons.
Geology
The peak is part of a proterozoicProterozoic
The Proterozoic is a geological eon representing a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. The name Proterozoic comes from the Greek "earlier life"...
quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
ridge that juts above the Snowy Range. It was glaciated until quite recently, and year-round snowfields are still present on its flanks. Periglacial polygons, also known as "stone nets", are located above the timberline. Several glacial lake
Glacial lake
A glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create...
s are located at the base of the peak.
Geologic publications have suggested that the Snowy Pass Supergroup at the peak is significantly older than, and unrelated to, the orogeny
Orogeny
Orogeny refers to forces and events leading to a severe structural deformation of the Earth's crust due to the engagement of tectonic plates. Response to such engagement results in the formation of long tracts of highly deformed rock called orogens or orogenic belts...
of the surrounding Medicine Bow mountains. These publications often refer to the mountain as "Medicine Peak", and its rock as "Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
Medicine Peak Quartzite". The quartzite, which lies unconformably on gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
ic basement rock, has been analyzed for traces of Precambrian life. The findings may be pseudofossil
Pseudofossil
Pseudofossils are inorganic objects, markings, or impressions that might be mistaken for fossils. Pseudofossils may be misleading, as some types of mineral deposits can mimic lifeforms by forming what appear to be highly detailed or organized structures. One common example is when manganese oxides...
s.
History
Little is known of the mountain's history before the John C. FrémontJohn C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
expeditions of 1833 - 1834. Native American tribes such as the Northern Arapahoe, Northern Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
, Lakota,
Ute
Ute Tribe
The Ute are an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The name of the state of...
, and Eastern Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
were known to have either inhabited the surrounding lowlands or used nearby canyons and mountain passes as travel routes.
In 1955, United Airlines Flight 409
United Airlines Flight 409
United Airlines Flight 409 was a scheduled flight departing from Denver, Colorado to Salt Lake City, Utah on October 6, 1955. The aircraft registration number was , a Douglas DC-4 propliner...
crashed into the side of the mountain; there were no survivors. Engines and other fragments of the plane are still present at the base of the cliff. During the recovery process, several additional access routes were established, which are still in use today.
A memorial stone and plaque were placed near the crash site, known as "Disaster Wall", in August 2001.
Ecology
BiomeBiome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
s on the trails leading to the peak include alpine meadows, sub-alpine meadows, and taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
. Stunted and twisted Krummholtz trees, many of which are Engelmann spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, are common at or just above the tree line. The wildflowers along its access trails include Indian Paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush most often refers to:* Castilleja spp.Indian Paintbrush may also refer to:* Butterfly weed* Hawkweed* Steven Rales' production company, whose productions include The Darjeeling Limited, Towelhead and Fantastic Mr. Fox...
, blue columbine
Aquilegia
Aquilegia is a genus of about 60-70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.-Etymology:The genus name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin word for eagle , because...
, gentian
Gentian
Gentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Gentian family , tribe Gentianeae and monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species, it is considered a large genus.-Habitat:...
, and harebell
Harebell
Campanula rotundifolia is a rhizomatous perennial flowering plant in the bellflower family native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.In Scotland, it is often known as the Bluebell...
. The peak is located in a Special Botanical Area.
Mammals inhabiting the peak and its immediate surroundings include bighorn sheep
Bighorn Sheep
The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...
, marmot
Marmot
The marmots are a genus, Marmota, of squirrels. There are 14 species in this genus.Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Eurasian steppes, Carpathians, Tatras, and Pyrenees in...
s, pika
Pika
The pika is a small mammal, with short limbs, rounded ears, and short tail. The name pika is used for any member of the Ochotonidae, a family within the order of lagomorphs, which also includes the Leporidae . One genus, Ochotona, is recognised within the family, and it includes 30 species...
s, pine marten
Marten
The martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae.-Description:Martens are slender, agile animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere. They have bushy tails, and large...
s, mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
, and dwarf shrew
Dwarf Shrew
The Dwarf Shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming in the United States....
.