On and About the Bighorn Mountains

We left Colorado in route to Wyoming and the Bighorn Mountains. Our first stop was at Kaycee, Wyoming. After passing the Hole in Wall Bar, Butch Cassidy Motel, etc., we asked if the Hole in Wall, site of the one-time headquarters of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was actually nearby. The answer was, yes, it was a place easy to get to.

I have been trying any number of years to visit the Hole in the Wall, to see where Butch Cassidy and his pals hung out. The first time I attempted it was years ago, but what with obvious four-wheel drive roads, and my Oldsmobile compact car, it was obvious that I was driving into an untenable situation.

This year, we now had four-wheel drive, high clearance, and lots of time, it seemed an opportunity to try again. It turns out, it is not an easy task to visit the Hole-in-the-Wall. Although everyone in the Kaycee area is very proud that this is Butch Cassidy country, and nearly every other motel, bar, or restaurant is either has Hole-in-the-Wall or Butch Cassidy in the name, actually few people can give you accurate directions how to get
there.

The first day we set out, with what we thought were clear directions. After driving about 30 miles on dirt road, we took a right on a road to "Hole in-the Wall' Campground. Well, after driving several miles on dirt roads, we found no campground and no Hole-in the-Wall. We finally drove by a rancher's wife getting mail from her mailbox. After inquiring we found that we were on the way to the Dull Knife Battlefield, but Hole-in the Wall was the other direction.

We reversed our way, and followed new directions. Our road passed through private property, with lots of warning sides to stay on the road. . The road deteriorated to a track, demanding four-wheel drive. We drove up the side of a mountain, avoiding deep ruts and high stones in the road. We eventually found a sign to the "Outlaw Cave". We got out and walked about, and finally peered down to the bottom of a canyon, where we could see a steep trail leading to a series of shallow caves. The Outlaw Cave - probably; ---- Butch Cassidy's Hole-in-the-Wall -certainly not. We drove about a bit, saw some
badly vandalized Indian pictographs in a shallow overhang, and started to return home. As we went down the mountain, we looked across the valley, where there was a long red cliff, extending some miles, both north and south. Thus we concluded was the Red Wall, where the Hole-in-the-Wall might be found. However, there was no public road or any other obvious to get to the Red Wall to search for Hole-in-the-Wall. By this time it became obvious that the location of the site in the atlas was in error.

Back to camp, we returned for further inquiries to get new directions. The new directions were that Hole in the Wall, could only be reached by an entirely different series of roads, which would entail a 40 to 50-mile trip (one-way), most of it on dirt road, with about 15 miles requiring a high clearance vehicle, 4-wheel drive, and not under any conditions to be attempted after a rain (would get stuck in the mud). Furthermore, we were told, once we reached our destination by car, a 3-mile one-way hike would be required to get us to the
Hole-in-the-Wall. Being adventurous, Madeline and I decided to attempt the trip.

Sure enough, there was a long trip over prairie, hills, grassland, rocks, ledges and desert. Finally we reached the end of the road. There was a trail, which we assumed would lead us to our destination. We hiked up hills, over very dry grassland, and over some dirt roads. (Why we wondered, could we not drive down those roads?) Finally after about three miles, we approached a point where two red cliffs of the Red Wall joined in a bundle of rocks. At this point the trail petered out. This, as we discovered later was the Hole-in-the wall. At the time, Madeline was not convinced, so did not climb up on the rocks. I was positive this was the place, so I started climbing. However, my sense of balance has diminished to such a point, that I finally decided I had gone about as far as I safely could. There is an attached picture showing how far I got. However, the “trail” is much steeper than appears in the picture. We decided, we had probably done enough and began our journey home.

After we had gotten about a quarter of a mile away, the most astonishing thing happened. Buses and trucks went down the dirt road we had walked along, and drove to a parking lot and dislodged a huge group of people. Most of them just stood around, but perhaps 20 people then hiked to the Hole-in-the Wall, and climbed (rather nimbly, I am afraid) up the cliffs and rocks, I had attempted, to the top of the wall, and I suppose went on to see, what is said to be, a lush valley behind the Red Rock Wall. Later we concluded that
the dirt road was a private ranch road, which allows periodic guided tours in to view the Hole-in-the-Wall.

I suppose there must be other ways to get into the valley behind the Red Wall. From what I have read since our visit, I gather the location of the Hole-in-the -Wall, was fairly well know in Butch Cassidy's time and before. It was known as an outlaw hangout, and there were occasional gunfights and murders in the area. I can see how a horse trail could be carved out of the jumble of rocks, but I dont see how a horse could get up through it today, nor can I see how a herd of stolen cattle could be taken up through there.

Anyway, I have seen the Hole-in-the Wall, but did not quite make it through
the Hole to the other side.

While on our road trips in the Kaycee area we saw many, many pronged horned antelope grazing along the side of the road. In fact while driving, one had to keep close watch to be sure they did not dart out in front of the car (or RV on the Interstate). We also saw quite a few horses on open range. On Friday night we went to a local rodeo in Kaycee. It seemed to be a rather local affair, and I think many of the cowboys and cowgirls were trying to get experience, as many of the calves and steers did not get roped at all. There were special event for kids, which involved tying a handkerchief on the tail of a goat (for the youngest or throwing and tying a goat (slightly older kids0. it was a lot of fun.

We have continued our trip to the Bighorn Mountains. We are now at about 8,000 feet, and it is quite chilly at night and in the early morning. We are doing some hiking --- perhaps the most interesting so fat up Black Mountain to a Fire Station that is no longer manned. The flowers are in bloom, with the floor of the forest and the fields pretty much covered with purple lupines, and lots of other flowers too. Madeline’s favorite is the intensely blue forget-me-nots.

Yesterday, we drove down the west side of the mountain on a day trip to Bighorn Canyon. The canyon has largely filled with water, due to a dam on the north side of what now is a lake. The area about the canyon is quite dry and rocky. The high point of the trip was seeing big horn sheep. We saw mothers with their young. We understand the maless are all up in the mountains now. We were very excited to see the bighorns, as we have been trying to see them in the wild for several years!