Monday 9-9-24 to Wednesday 9-11-24 Hiking at Sibley Lake Recreation Area

 

Sibley Lake

During our stay at Sibley Lake the morning temperatures were in the 40's and the highs were in the 70's. Our site was super with pine trees and power. All the sites were very roomy and had a picnic table, grill, fire ring with a grill and a tent pad. The camp hosts Mary Beth and Dixon were very nice and kept the bathrooms and sites clean. Every evening I walked around the two loops to get my steps. We did three outstanding hikes on the cross-country ski trails for a total of 13 miles. They all were challenging and fun. We barbecued once and had pancakes or waffles for breakfast. We sat in our chairs and read. Deer walked through the campground. The lake was gorgeous.

The first hike was on Monday morning for 3.75 miles. We hiked the Prune Creek Loop, which was a 2.5 mile loop. The trail was a moderate trail and had blue triangle markers for the trail. There were trail maps posted on trees when the trail Y’s. This was great because it helped keep us on the trail and not on another trail. The trail took us up the mountainside and through the forest. There was a lot of down trees but they were on the side of the trail or under the other trees. Parts of the trail was a little swampy so you had to figure how to get around the wet part or use the fallen trees as bridges. We used a few bridges to cross Prune Creek, which flows next to the trail at places. We didn’t see any wildlife but we did see hoof tracks (elk, deer and horses). We were the only ones on the trail. We hiked to a gorgeous warming hut with a lot of cut wood. It had tools for people to use to chop more wood. There were two wood burning stoves. There were benches on all three walls. There was an outhouse close by. The trails in this area are all cross-country snow ski trails. We started our hike by the day area and ended it at the boat ramp. It was a gorgeous hike through the forest and got your heart pumping at time.

 

Beautiful meadow we hiked

 

Trail through the trees

 

Warming hut for skiers

 

Stocked up for the winter at the warming hut

 

The second hike was on Tuesday morning for 5.25 miles on four different trails, which were Tie Hack, Prune Creek, Dead Horse Park and Flume. All the trails were marked blue so they were moderate. We started at 8,000 feet and hiked up to 8,515 feet. We walked to the lake, where we picked up Tie Hack (.3) mile trail. There was a trail sign, we could either go to the warming hut or Dead Horse Park Loop (3.9 miles). We took the Dead Horse Park Loop to The Flume Loop (1 mile). As we hiked Dead Horse Park we hiked through a marshy meadow. We had to be careful not to step in the creek. Our shoes still got wet but they dried fast. It was a beautiful trail. They had made a few bridges from huge logs for the cross-country skiers to get over the creek. We hiked through the trees. As we were hiking Dead Horse Park we stopped and talked to two hunters. It is archery season for elk. They said they didn’t see any but it’s early in the season. They were very nice. We wished them luck and continued our hike. We hiked to the Y and picked up The Flume Loop (1 mile). Then we were back on Dead Horse Park the way we came. It wasn’t as wet because the sun dried the moister off the plants you still had to watch for the creek. Then we picked up Prune Creek trail by the lake. We hiked it for .75 mile back to the campground. When we got to the lake, the lake was flat and there were no fishermen. We didn’t see any wildlife but we had a great hike.

 

The creek that runs by the trails

The third hike was on Wednesday morning for 4 miles. Before the hike we saw three young bucks walking through the campground. On the way to the trailhead we saw them again going towards the lake.Our hike started at the trailhead by the boat ramp, which was Prune Creek. We only hiked it for a half mile, then we picked up the black trail, which was Blue Creek Loop (3.4 mile loop). The first mile and a half we hiked through a field of tall grass. As we were hiking this part we were wondering why the trail was black, which means more difficult but it was easier than the hike we did Monday. While hiking the filed we saw where wildlife had laid down and fresh droppings (probably elk). One sign for the trail was in the middle of the field and Larry thought maybe it was best we continued along the trees because at places the field was soft. He made the right choice because we joined the main trail at the other end of the field. We hiked through trees and up a steep hill. We probably went up 500 feet, now we knew why the trail was a black. As we were hiking in the trees we scared a big herd of elk, they ran through the trees. They were bedded down and grazing. It was beautiful to see them run. The hunters yesterday were on the wrong trail. We continued hiking through the trees to the top of the hill where we hiked an old logging road for a little bit. Then we went back into the trees. We crossed over Blue Creek a few times, twice using bridges and other times rocks and logs. One time we were going to cross the creek using logs but on the other side it looked soggy so we found a way through the trees. We climbed over a few boulders and went down hill a bit. We hiked along side of the highway. As we got close to the campground road we saw a school bus parked and the kids were collecting branches. The kids sounded like they were having a great time. We didn’t see anyone else. The last quarter of a mile was the campground road. We had a super hike. 

 

One of the bucks checking us out

 

A couple more on the hill

 

Everyday after our hike we relaxed with a book and enjoyed the campsite in our chairs. We had a great time at Sibley Lake Recreation Area in the Bighorn National Forest.