The Western USA is rife with epic stretches of singletrack lacing the high mountains. Views and endless downhills abound, but if these historic trails aren’t maintained, they can fall into disrepair. And when they inevitably do, the riders drift off elsewhere to find newer trails to ride.
Getting deep into the backcountry to maintain these historic trails is a massive undertaking. The time commitment required is much more than even diehard volunteers can be expected to handle. That’s where Wyoming Pathways comes in.
Wyoming Pathways has brought $2.5 million in trail investments into Wyoming since the organization’s inception in 2017. They’ve worked on a variety of projects across the state, and one of the most exciting is a recent rehabilitation and reroute of the Togwotee Pass section of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).
One of the best high-alpine rides in Wyoming
The section of the CDT running from Togwotee Pass on US Highway 26 to Jade Lake might just be among the best high alpine mountain bike rides in the state. One of the most experienced local riders has exclaimed, “I don’t know why we’re not all coming over here to shuttle this thing every weekend. There’s nothing like it in the Tetons for the views and the length and the challenge.”
This section of trail is also known as “Sublette Pass,” as the singletrack crosses an alpine pass below 10,391-foot Sublette Peak. The stretch of the trail running from Togwotee to Jade Lake measures six miles one-way, with about 850 feet of climbing and descending in each direction. However, once at the lake, riders can connect to several other bike-legal singletrack trails, creating even longer shuttle-served descents or the opportunity to pedal a gorgeous 14-mile lollipop loop.
The trail itself is “very old school singletrack” with a narrow trail tread, according to Michael Kusiek, Executive Director of Wyoming Pathways. Despite being old-school in style, Kusiek rates it a blue intermediate trail. “It’s rockyish, but I wouldn’t call it technical. There might be a couple of things you’d have trouble cleaning going uphill. There’s certainly nothing bermed, but it flows well. It’s not flow trail, but it flows well.”
More than the trail itself, the environment that riders pedal through is the true appeal. “The views are spectacular,” said Kusiek. “Honest to god, I mean, being from here since the 70s, I’d say it’s the prettiest part of Wyoming — that Sublette Pass/Brooks Lake area. It’s spectacular, and it’s fun to see it on a bike. It’s fun to be at that elevation in that beautiful zone with those vistas on a bike.”
The terrain is also formidable. “[Starting] right in front of Sublette Pass [is] this massive wall of rock that goes on for maybe a little over a mile as you’re riding next to it.”
“It’s high alpine, it’s grizzly bear country. […] It’s primitive.”
For riders looking to soak in the alpine grandeur, the Brooks Lake area offers several campgrounds, as well as luxury digs at Brooks Lake Lodge.
How has Wyoming Pathways improved Togwotee Pass?
Wyoming Pathways began work on this section of the CDT in 2022, and since then, they’ve transformed the quality of the riding in this area. Much of their work has consisted of building 10-12 switchbacks on the trail to make the grade more manageable on what used to be an eroded fall line. In addition, they’ve added drains and fixed some sections of benching. “Everything was about water shedding. Everything was about longevity of the trail,” Kusiek explained.
Lower down, Pathways rerouted a boggy section and installed a bridge to cross a stream and another boggy area. They also built reroutes and retaining walls near Jade Lake while building better climbing trails.
“And then on Lower Jade Lake, we had a critical edge issue for quite a bit of that Lower Jade Lake exit,” said Kusiek. “And so we moved it uphill in many places. Again, we did some water management issues. […] We had to avoid this rocky section next to the bottom of the lake that was just crumbling into the lake. We brought that uphill and then kept the rocks at the end for anchor points.”
Most of the work was laborious and time-intensive. “It all had to be hand work, except one section, they allowed a machine to come in,” said Kusiek. “So it took a long time to dig those switchbacks.”
Future trail improvements are at risk due to federal budget cuts
Wyoming Pathways has invested about $350,000 so far into the trail as part of a five-year maintenance agreement with the US Forest Service. However, four years into the project, their future work plans are in jeopardy due to federal funding cuts.
“Prior to the budget cuts, the plan was every year to either inventory, trail plan, set alignment, rebuild, [and] close out the whole system,” said Kusiek. “We had that on the docket for the future use of that money, and hopefully, somehow, it comes back.”
“We might get a bunch of CDT money next year, we hope,” Kusiek continued. “But there’s not going to be anything from the Forest or the BLM for us to challenge cost share on, which is how we raise all of our money — by doing projects.”
Whether or not Wyoming Pathways’ excellent work in the area can continue, this revamped section of the CDT now offers one of the best alpine rides in Wyoming. All it needs is more tires!
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