Pacific Creek Pack Bridge Project

“Pacific Creek Bridge Photos

Pacific Creek Pack Bridge Project
Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming

This project was a joint effort between the Continental Divide Trail Association, Blackrock Ranger District (USFS) and Volunteers. It involved removing the existing structure, building a new pack bridge over Pacific Creek, as well as general trail maintenance and construction. No power tools are allowed in the wilderness and the majority of the materials would be from onsite. The time schedule to complete the project was ten days; two days to hike in and out, seven work days and one off day. The hike in was seventeen miles and the job site was two miles from our camp.

General Notes . . .

The bridge was a 15' span over Pacific Creek approximately a 1/4 mile from "The Parting Of The Waters." At this point along the Continental Divide you can stand in Two Oceans Creek at the exact point where the creek parts and flows to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It bridge was constructed from Lodgepole Pine which is native to the area.

The site is six miles from the southern border of Yellowstone National Park and pretty much due south of Yellowstone Lake. When the park burned in 1988 this area burned as well. The area is Lodgepole Pine forest surrounding long expansive meadows making it ideal for horses and mules. Horses and mules outnumber people 10 to 1.

It is home to elk, deer, moose, eagles, sandhill cranes, beaver, badger, otter, birds to numerous to name and the highest concentration of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states. Each morning on the hike to the job site we encountered fresh bear tracks, some the size of dinner plates.

The actual removal of the old bridge and construction of the new structure took four days. The remaining three work days was spent constructing trail. Ten people were on the project initially; two USFS employees and eight volunteers. Two of the volunteers would leave on the third day because of health concerns.

The only building materials hauled in were the planks used for decking, reinforcing steel and nails. The timber used for the sills, stringers and approaches was cut onsite. The rock was found and pushed to the site using bars and manual labor. The gravel for the fill and approach work was hauled from the creek using mules outfitted with special panniers that would open at the bottom with the pull of a rope, releasing the gravel. Once dumped at the site it was spread by hand.

Sorry the photos are out of sequence. The Webshots program failed to download them in the order I entered them. Still, I hope you can get a feeling for how the project progressed.”

“Looks like fun Geezr, even with the work involved . . . great pics too!

If the water in Two Oceans Creek flows to the Atlantic and Pacific after it parts, which way does it officially flow before it parts? Inquiring minds need to know . . . you know so I can sleep tonight! :)”

“Gforce, the drainage is actually North Two Oceans Creek and begins at an unnamed lake approximately three miles north of the parting of the waters. Until it parts, I imagine it just flows aimlessly like you and I. ;-)”