Guest Blogger: Thorofare

Written by Guest Blogger John McCurdy, a backcountry ranger in Yellowstone National Park.

I had been hearing about Thorofare since I arrived in Lake Village, Wyoming. It is an area of lush meadows in the southeast corner of Yellowstone National Park. It sounded like a paradise that was as rich in history as it was in beauty. Said to be the “most remote place in the lower 48,” it seemed like a place I have dreamed about my whole life.

I arrived in May, 2010 and was told we would not be heading into the backcountry until the last week in June. The thought of driving a squad car for six weeks didn’t really agree with me at the time; but when I questioned my boss he merely snorted, “ River’s too high. Panniers start floatin’, the horses get swept away.” Talk about a wakeup call. It started to dawn on me in that moment that the most constant dangers in my job could be the wilderness of Wyoming, not the bad guys.

Two days and seven river crossings later we made it to the Thorofare Ranger Station. I forced myself to live in the moment as we approached our destination, but every part of my body was screaming to get off that horse. The horses knew when they were getting close and they fought the bit all the way to the hitching post at the barn where they stopped abruptly as if to say their day was over. I slid off the saddle, nearly crumbling to the ground. It took a few steps to get rid of my sea legs. I don’t care if you’re John Wayne himself, after 32 miles, your ass will feel like rawhide.

The trails surrounding the ranger station were knee deep on the horses, evidence of 120 years of scarring. I closed my eyes and could almost see the cavalry riding on the same paths (the guardians of Yellowstone before the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916). The ranger station was a modest cabin with a barn, corral and, of course, an outhouse. Fifteen feet of snow has a way of barricading Thorofare from the outside world. It is amazing what seven months of emptiness can do. The pack rats took over the barn. They emptied all the nails and spikes from their respective coffee cans and mixed them into piles all over the barn. Anything leather was eaten and they only saving grace for the horse feed was a 55 gallon drum with a 45 pound rock sitting on it.

The cabin didn’t fare much better. Our 15-foot radio antennae became a chew toy for a grizzly bear. The toilet paper drawer was converted into a 5-star rodent hotel (luckily my special someone made me bring an extra roll). I was quickly introduced to my partner’s weak stomach and a bucket full of cleaning supplies labeled “hanta kit”. The root cellar was filled with seven feet of water. This was the icing on the cake. Sometimes it’s best to admit your defeat and call it a day.

It was not until the next morning that I noticed the famous Hawks Rest Mountain and the stack of log books from generations of Rangers who lived in the same cabin just as I lived that day. Time stood still and life became simple. I will always treasure my time at Thorofare Ranger Station.

John has just returned to Yellowstone to begin his second season as a backcountry Ranger with the park.