The Lewis & Clark Explorer Pack Trip
5 Days & 4 Nights
Standard Itinerary
(Monday through Friday departures available. Guides will modify each trip based on guest preferences and mountain conditions)
DAY ONE
8 a.m. Check in at our Willow Creek Horseback Rides location (9500 S. Bryan Flats Rd, Jackson, WY)
9 a.m. Drive from Willow Creek to the Horse Creek Trailhead (20 minute drive)
10:30 a.m. After loading gear and becoming familiar with your horse, group departs trailhead on horseback for “Spike Base Camp” (total ride is approximately 3 1/2 hours divided by a lunch stop into two ride segments)
3:30 p.m. Arrive at Spike Base Camp, get settled into your wall tent and enjoy the surrounding area wildlife & scenery.
7 p.m. Dinner is served! Your camp cook prepares traditional cowboy meals on-site, which you may enjoy in the dining tent or by the campfire. After dinner, roast marshmallows over the campfire and making smores (because is it actually camping if you don’t eat smores?).
Retire to your tent whenever you’d like; there is no “lights out” time, but experience tells us you’ll be ready for a good nights sleep!
DAY TWO
Morning – Afternoon: After breakfast, we will load up our gear and go over the Pinnacle and down to our Granite Creek camp. This ride isn’t for a nervous or timid rider as it will be roughly a 6-hour ride where we take a rugged trail over a high mountain pass from the Spike camp to our Granite Creek camp. The scenery is breathtaking and the views from the top are amazing as you can see for miles and miles in all directions.
Evening: The second night will be spent at our Granite camp. Dinner will be served in the dining tent or enjoyed out by the campfire.
DAY THREE
All Day: This will be a free day to do whatever you want. You can enjoy the day off lounging around camp, fishing in Granite Creek and the beaver ponds near camp, go for a hike or we can saddle up and take a horseback ride on one of the mountain trails. There are several mountain passes with breathtaking views that we can ride to from camp. Wildlife is plentiful and there to see on a regular basis (don’t be surprised if you wake up to a moose meandering through camp or a doe deer looking at you through the trees.
DAY FOUR
All Day: On day four we will load up and head towards our main camp in Horse Creek. After a backcountry breakfast the wrangler will have the horses saddled and ready to hit the trail around 9 am.
We will stop by Turquoise Lake for a lunch break and some fishing along the way. It will be roughly a 5 – 6 hour ride this day. Because we don’t have to load up camp to take with us, we can travel light and enjoy more time exploring the backcountry. We will arrive back at our Horse Creek base camp in the afternoon. After arriving at camp, you will get settled into your wall tent and dinner will be served in the dining tent.
DAY FIVE
All Day: We will have a good breakfast to start the final day of the trip. Horses will be saddled and ready to hit the trail by 11:00 am. We will have a short 2 1/2-hour ride from the Main Camp to the Horse Creek trailhead where we started from a few days prior. We will arrive at the trailhead around 2:30 pm. We will take you back to your vehicle at the Willow Creek trailhead or to your motel in Jackson whichever you need.
Packing List
Your guide & camp cook will provide all meals, snacks, tents, sleeping bags, cots, horses and fishing gear*
Please bring the following personal items in a duffle bag with a total weight of no more than 20 pounds
- Long pants & closed toe shoes (required for riding)
- Rain gear
- Loafing shoes for around camp
- Hat and/or sun glasses
- Warm coat and jacket; dress in layers (early morning and evening temperatures often dip into the 40’s)
- Change of clothing (including 2-3 extra pairs of socks)
- Personal toiletry items, chap-stick, aspirin/medication, sunscreen, bug spray, washcloth, etc.
- 2 water bottles (at least 32 oz)
- Swimming suit & lightweight towel
- Camera (or phone for taking pictures; note that cellular service is mostly unavailable)
*If you prefer to bring your own sleeping bag & pillow, please let us know ahead of time. If you plan to fish, a Wyoming fishing license is required and may be purchased at various retail stores in town or online at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/apply-or-buy
Meet Your Camp Cook
For the past 20 years, Barry has been serving up authentic Western-style meals, all prepared on-site in his wilderness kitchen. If anyone in your party has special dietary needs, please let us know at least a week in advance and Barry will be sure to accommodate!
ACCOMMODATIONS
Camp accommodations include comfortable wall tents, cots, air mattress pads, lanterns, chairs, and even carpet on the floor!
Each two person tent is a spacious 10′ x 12′, and our 14′ x 16′ family tent has space for 5 guests traveling together.
For guests who prefer not to completely rough-it, a shower tent with hot water may be available upon prior request.
MEALS
Western-style meals are prepared by your Camp Cook in the dining tent and sack lunches are provided on the trail.
As expected, a typical dinner includes meat & potatoes, and of course smores by the campfire, and the smell of breakfast in the fresh morning air is something that every city slicker should experience!
ACTIVITIES
Although for some of our guests, being surrounded by nature IS the activity, there are plenty of options for how to spend your time while in the wilderness.
Fishing, horseback trail rides, hiking, and yes, even napping are all popular choices. And be sure to bring a camera as wildlife sightings such as moose, deer, and even eagles are frequent!
