Great Divide Basin HMA does not get nearly the love and attention it deserves... and there is a selfish part of me that loves that as I adore lonely places and I deeply love this stunningly big and the almost untouched wildness of this land.

It is an incredibly vast land with terrain that varies from flat pancake dirt with scattered spiky greasewood, long rolling hills of tall grasses swaying in summer breezes, sand dunes that sparkle under the sun while green rabbitbrush and greasewood shrubs give shelter to desert lizards and other wild things, high desert buttes that cast incredible movie style vistas, and the colorful badlands of the Oregon Buttes - ALL of these things belong to the horses of the Great Divide Basin HMA.

And these wild horses are threatened by the same RSGA [Rock Springs Grazing Association] demands that threaten the Salt Wells Creek and Adobe Town wild horses.

So... typing out Great Divide Basin repeatedly is a lot of words, and most often it is simply called GDB, Divide Basin, or even just Divide by those that know it at least a little, I will try and keep it consistent here as Divide Basin but reality is I will probably use all three of the shortened nick-names for this HMA!

Divide Basin is one of the largest HMAs you may explore, with 778,500 acres that are mostly BLM (561,213 acres), a bit of state land, and a chunk of privately owned lands.

The private lands here are mostly found in the southern area of the HMA as part of the checkerboard of private and BLM lands, and they are mostly owned by ranchers that are members of the RSGA, which is why RSGA has pursued lawsuits that would have all wild horses permanently removed from this area.

And with that knowledge I want you to keep in mind that not everyone out here is friendly to us wild horse peeps.... most of these ranchers consider the horses to be pests with no value, so be cautious in your travels, be respectful and observant - not everyone out here is unfriendly and you may even find another wild horse friend, just be aware of your surroundings and be cautious when speaking with someone that may view wild horses as a problem that they want gone.

At the moment of writing this blog it is unclear if GDB will lose its status as an HMA for wild horses.... Return to Freedom, AWHC, & other parties have brought lawsuits to challenge the 2023 RMP that permanently removes GDB and Salt Wells as HMAs and significantly reduces the size of Adobe Town - the Cheyenne court found in favor of RSGA and BLM's removal plan, but then the 11th Circuit Court in Denver remanded the case back to the lower court - the details of which I am not going to get into here as this blog is not about the legalities of it all, but neither can it be completely ignored.

In threatening a zeroing out of the horses of Divide Basin the threat extends immediately to the HMAs of the Red Desert Complex, the HMAs of Lost Creek and Antelope Hills share miles of directly connected borders with Divide Basin, I have spent the last few years learning these borders and observing horses from Divide Basin and the Red Desert Complex HMAs move back and forth across them - recently another person familiar with these areas verified that they also observed the same thing - in this vast land wild horses are wandering so much more and in much bigger ways than is discussed or admitted by anyone.

This was the most motivating factor for me when I agreed to be included in the Return to Freedom lawsuit against BLM's action to zero out Salt Wells and Divide Basin - in my mind one cannot exist without the other, if BLM and RSGA are successful in zeroing out Divide Basin, it will only be a matter of time before they then pursue zeroing out the adjacent Red Desert Complex HMAs.

And if you understand the border of Divide Basin and Salt Wells Creek then you know it is not possible to zero out one without zeroing out the other.... it is like a terrible game of dominoes - as one falls so do all the others.

The fight is to keep all of the HMAs standing and intact.

Available maps of GDB vary by site, with some BLM information pages already showing it in the zeroed out HA status, which is what is shown below, fortunately I was able to find other maps with the HMA still in place - we hope for a win that will ensure the future of this HMA and its wild horses, but it is a long and ongoing process at this moment, with an uncertain future.

**It took a couple of months to work on this blog and as of right now there are no current BLM maps showing Great Divide Basin as an existing HMA, thankfully I had downloaded some maps before they were changed and am able to still reference where the borders should be found.

I really truly cannot say it enough... this HMA is BIG! Massive! Vast!

Beyond the incredibly vast acreage, the varying terrain makes it a fair challenge to explore.... and even though I have been exploring here off and on since 2013, with more frequent and consistent visits over the last few years, I still am often turned around and lost for at least a few hours of the day - and that is even with my GPS app tracking my travels - every time!

Inevitably I try a new road (there are SO many roads to explore here!), thinking that I can take it across and connect back to a main route, or even just double back to where I started, but no.... every dang time I take one too many turns, am tempted by at least one 2-track, and am then completely and utterly lost and trying to figure my way out and back to civilization before the day is done and night claims the landscape.

So... when you are preparing for this adventure make sure you have a very full gas tank and bring an extra can of fuel if you can! Also make sure to bring so much water for yourself you feel silly.... all the fixings for sandwiches and extra snacks!

When you are all packed up and fueled up and ready to head out you will be able to enjoy your adventures without worrying too much about being lost and out of gas or dehydrated and hungry - trust me, when you get deep into Divide and realize the road you are on is not at all going in the direction your map told you it would, and now you are also headed in the very opposite direction of any highways, and every road you cross for several miles does not have a sign for any kind of direction or hint of where you are or how to get out - you will appreciate having that extra!

I know, because there might've maybe been one or two times I had half a tank left and so totally turned around I did not know which road I was on or where it was taking me... with all of my landmarks backward from where they should have been!

Yikes! Obviously I made it out... and thankfully on that same tank of fuel, but there was some very nervous conversations with myself about paying more attention and figuring out which the heck was the correct road to get out on!

Maps are your friend here.... and a GPS app on your phone, or a GPS anything, is your best friend! And please - do not think that means running Google maps while you are driving - you want something that will help you decipher if a road goes though to another main road, or if it dead ends in about 5 or 25 miles!

Some of this of course is trial and error.... a really great looking road can (and often does) dead end in a marsh or sand dune!

And even the most expensive GPS may be incorrect when finding the best route to where you are trying to go, but it helps a lot when you know your fuel is limited, storms are blowing in, and you need to find your way back to some kind of well traveled road!

I almost always carry a paper map to use along with my GPS app when in the field, especially in a new to me area, it helps me orient where I am when I have lost sight of landmarks, and at minimum figure out which direction I need to follow my compass to the nearest traveled highway.

Above is a map of Divide Basin HMA in Google Earth and below is a Divide Basin HMA map from BLM Hub, they give you some idea of the terrain and landscape names you might find on any maps you are using while out on the range..... you will also notice the three HMAs bordering this Divide Basin - which is something that is not discussed nearly enough when considering the plans to 'zero out' this HMA of all wild horses.

The above map zooms in a little bit to show where the Red Desert Complex HMAs of Antelope Hills and Lost Creek border along northeastern Divide Basin HMA.

After the years of driving roads that had me terribly lost - those days of getting lost and unlost taught me seemingly random things, that now help me better understand the horses and their land as a whole, I now have a much better understanding of their HMA borders, where there is maintained fence that may keep horses in their respective HMAs, where there is poorly maintained fences - or no fence at all - and the horses wander with no restriction across these man imagined borders.

Reality is that even where there is a maintained fence line mustangs may cross in varying situations: when winter snows are drifted and packed hard enough for cattle guards to be easily crossed, when snows are deep enough horses go over a fence-line in their travels as they look for forage in bitter winter months, when fences are damaged and down for other reasons, and sometimes there are just really weird spots where a fence randomly ends.

Understanding these man imagined and created borders, the land and its seasons as nature leaves it, varying wild life that inhabits the land, as well as the wild horses with their individual temperament and herd migration, is necessary but completely abandoned by BLM management.

Along the southern border of Divide Basin HMA, the part that borders the I-80 freeway, is a stretch of Salt Wells Creek HMA.

Crossing back and forth here is not easy... the freeway is a pretty formidable barrier, along with fences and other barriers that would be too intimidating for a wild horse under normal circumstances.

But.... there are a couple of places where a wandering wild horse could find themselves traveling underneath busy freeway traffic - mostly I think this would be unusual but I do not think it impossible, maybe a few extra curious wild horses have made this trek from one direction or the other, I suppose if a horse liked one area enough they might make it a habit of traveling back and forth, or just outright moving to the other HMA.

That is not something I can say with certainty as I have only a few times been in the very southern edge of Divide and have never personally documented a horse crossing from one to the other HMA.

Other people have.... but that is their experience to share, not mine.

One day - if these two HMAs are not destroyed by the demands of man, when I am no longer tied to working a 40hrs office work week, I will spend time observing this area more.... I hope I get that chance!

Okay... it is time to get to the point of exploring - are you ready?

Lets get you started finding your adventure in Great Divide Basin!

There are a LOT of ways to find your adventure in this land... and I am not even going to try and direct you to all of them, I don't know all the ways!!

Because I don't know all the ways in, out, and around - and it would be an extraordinarily long and exhausting blog for me to share the ways I do know in and out, I will instead keep it as simple as I can, using the more well used and easier to follow roads into and through Divide Basin.

We are going to start this adventure with the easier ways in, the least likely to get lost on the way, and the ways that allows you to jump immediately into Divide Basin!

We are going to start along the southern border of the HMA, using the exits off of I-80 between Point of Rocks and Red Desert - using these two small towns on the map as points of reference along the way.

If you are driving west on I-80 from Wamsutter you will pass by Red Desert; a place that is really nothing more than a building and a sign telling you that it is marked on the map as an established community - there really is nothing more than a building or two, do not expect to find a gas station, or even the smallest of ranch restaurants!!

The only reason you really want to take note of Red Desert is that from there it is then about 12 miles west to the border of Divide Basin HMA, on the north side of I-80.

You could hop on the dirt road going north of Red Desert if you really wanted to go explore just for funsies.... it eventually takes you into wild horse country but it is quite a ways in and is not super exciting, what I remember most from the day me and the hubby drove it was hitting a giant mud puddle that resulted in my rig becoming drenched and coated in mud - literally - people were staring at us the whole drive home that day because we were a total mud-caked mess!

Would you find horses if you go up the road from Red Desert? Maybe... the horses wander around down here for sure, it is a land that is kind of kitty-corner to Divide Basin and Lost Creek HMAs, so yes they do wander through, but I would not assume that they consistently stay in the area.

As you keep driving west on I80 [from Red Desert] until you find the Divide Basin HMA border [12 miles west of Red Desert] you will find a few dirt roads to drive - and remember, it is possible to see wild horses along the freeway, not frequently, but they do wander along here!

As you are driving along, once you are at the Divide Basin border, keep an eye out for exits from the freeway and if one of the dirt roads leading into GDB looks into interesting - go explore!!

And don't worry if you miss an exit, you have 22 miles of freeway running along the edge of Divide Basin and there are a few exits leading to dirt roads where adventure in wild horse land can be found!

If you are driving east on I-80 from Rock Springs you will pass by the small community of Point of Rocks, from there it is just about 2 miles east on I-80 to the border of Divide Basin, as it runs along the north side of the freeway.

Divide Basin stretches almost 22 miles along the freeway and there are a few different exits along that stretch where you can leave I-80 and explore in Divide Basin HMA.

Even if you don't have much time to explore and you are on your way to somewhere else, you now know to look for horses along the way.... and you just might get lucky and see one or three wild horses grazing not terribly far from the freeway!

If you are here with time to explore then my best advice is to find a dirt road that is calling to you and go find your adventure.... I have taken a few roads over the years, some were really VERY boring, and some were a lot of fun!

You want to remember that everything within a few miles of the freeway is checkerboard land, meaning it is mixed BLM public lands and privately held lands, with most private being owned by the RSGA ranchers, or another rancher held grazing association - most of these folks are not friends of wild horses and they like wild horse advocates and photographers even less than they like the horses, so be cautious and do your best to not trespass.

It can be a bit challenging as the horses cross back and forth freely from BLM to private land here, if they happen to be on the privately owned lands just keep to the main dirt road and enjoy their company at that distance... it has been my experience here that the wild horses are pretty chill with humans and they may actually wander closer to you out of curiosity - I suspect they see enough of us around between ranchers, recreationists, and energy field workers that they are not terribly bothered by our presence - so long as we don't try and wrangle them!

If you have never been in the area and are hoping for an idea of which roads are best to try I have only a couple suggestions... not because I think one is any better than another, but they are easier to find, should be fairly decent to drive (dependent on weather), and will allow you to explore as deep into Divide Basin as you like.

My first suggestion is a road I have not actually driven.... I know it because a friend shared with me about seeing wild horses while she was out in this area, and after studying the maps I realized it was within the HMA!

So it is actually on my list of roads to explore some fine day.... I have been in the area where this road will take you as I came in from the north on one of my adventure days, it was very pretty in a western movie kind of way, and I was lucky enough to enjoy the company of wild horses, so I think with a little bit of luck you will too!

Point of Rocks / Bridger Power Plant into Divide Basin:

You are going to start at Point of Rocks, just a few miles east of Rock Springs you exit off of I-80 into this tiny little town, if you find yourself with extra time and curiosity of the old American west history there are some things here you may enjoy.

There is also a gas station / truck stop where you can fuel up your rig and grab some snacks before heading out on your adventure.

You are going to start by driving east on the I80 Service Rd / Hwy 15, follow that for a few miles until you are in a big curve and the road splits, you keep on the main road that is curving northward - if you cross the railroad tracks that is okay too but not where we are going right now.... instead stay on the main road as if you were going to the Jim Bridger Powerplant - our goal is not to visit a power plant... but you will kind of meander your way through the area, sticking to the main road, until you find the other roads branching off that will take you deeper into Divide Basin.

I am not able to tell you exactly when or which roads to turn on as I have not been through the actual power plant area (am studying google maps as I type this out), I played to the northeast of this area, and I remember those roads had signs telling me how many miles to the Jim Bridger power plant or to I-80, so I know that they do connect and allow you to go deeper into the HMA.

Once you have started along the connecting roads here you will be able to travel across miles of Divide Basin and explore for days.... or weeks, or even months!

You do want to be mindful of your direction, too far to the west and you are leaving Divide Basin HMA proper, the above map gives you some idea of the HMA border, but there are a lot of miles and terrain to explore, so just have fun!

Bitter Creek Road to Divide Basin:

Next suggestion is the really easy to spot exit from I-80 for Bitter Creek Rd, it is the same road that if going south on you enter into Salt Wells Creek HMA, remember this is wild horse territory on both sides of I-80, but today you are going north to play in Divide Basin so lets stay focused there...

Because it can sometimes be confusing between maps, it is also called CR 4-19, which may be important to note as you travel out here, there are a few well maintained roads that intersect each other, and taking note of their names and marking on a map as you go will help you decipher in which direction you want to continue as you cross through various intersections.

As you travel north on Bitter Creek you will pass through oil field country and have to decipher which roads go through or which ones dead end at a well, or get a little lost in the maze of roads between the wells, and any other 2-tracks that are winding around the hills.... I would not expect to find wild horses immediately after leaving the freeway, but we never know what may be happening on their range, and they may surprise you!

I have not been down this road to I-80 in a VERY long time, but I have travelled more recently along it several miles north where it intersects with other roads, and have had good luck finding wild horses along creek and other water drainage areas - understanding where to find good water is key to finding wild horses in Divide Basin!

If you explore here long enough and are able to decipher maps, you will find that you can come into Divide Basin from Bitter Creek Rd - and after traveling about and finding your adventure with wild horses - take an entirely different route out of Divide Basin either through Lost Creek to the east or out to Hwy 28 to the west - it does take a bit of time and willingness to be in a very remote land, but the adventure is worth it!

Bar C Rd / CR Rd 4-21 into Divide Basin:

The next possible way in would be to find the exit to Bar X Rd or CR 4-21 - I am not sure at all what the exit may be called from I-80, it is a few miles to the west of Tipton, and I sort of remember taking this road randomly MANY years ago, I would not expect that you will find many horses along this route, but then again things are changing daily as we go deeper into drought, their behavior and migration patterns are changing rapidly and it will very much depend on if they find a reliable water source along here.

This route is much like Bitter Creek Rd in that the county road 4-21 will take you deeper into the HMA and cross with other reasonably maintained dirt roads that you can easily travel.... and for the adventurous you can find a different way out - including across to Bitter Creek and back down to I80 if you have only limited time.

If you have nothing but time, a good off road rig with plenty of fuel, and an adventuring spirit - then this road can take you across miles of Divide Basin and out on Hwy 28 to the west - an adventure I highly recommend!

This area will quickly begin to feel remote as you travel along.... it is maintained because of the oil and gas fields out here, there are a few ranches that have actual people living on them at least part of the year, so in a way it is not at all remote as there is a good deal of traffic in and out..... but the weird thing is that you can travel for hours (even days) and not see anyone - I have rarely encountered even the energy field workers out here, although it is worth knowing that I am usually out on weekends when there would be fewer workers on the road.

Lost Creek HMA in to Divide Basin HMA:

If you are like me and like crossing from one HMA into another this next way in is for you.... if you are in the Lost Creek HMA and want to explore wild horse lands a little further west you can do that - this way is a bit of a trek and will take you off HMA for a little bit, but the roads are pretty good and you can trek along it fairly quickly.

You can go directly from Lost Creek into Divide Basin, but really I would have to drive it with you as it involves cross-trekking a few roads and not all of them have names, and you have to circle around in a way that to this day makes me feel I am going the wrong way, even though its mapped on my GPS and I have done it dozens of times.

If you are have that deep sense of adventure and love of exploring I know you will find this way on your own.... and you will love it!

But because I know many reading this have limited days to explore and are maybe not interested in getting lost while driving in circles, I am going to take you on the easiest and least likely to get lost way - you are following the Crooks Gap/Wamsutter Rd south through south central edge of Lost Creek (as if you were going to Wamsutter), just when you think I must be crazy and why are you driving past a lot of oil field stuff, you are going to turn west onto Luman Rd/CR 20 and follow that road out through yet more oil field stuff and towards sand dunes.

And you may see a wild horse or three driving through here... they do find themselves in the oil fields occasionally, usually after winter snows have packed cattle guards or covered fences, or they wandered through open gates.

Okay, after you turn off of Crooks Gap Rd onto Luman Rd it is about 11-12 miles before you enter back into Lost Creek HMA, and there is a cattle guard marking the spot - I never really pay attention to how many cattle guards I cross because in rancher allotted grazing areas there are many, so please don't assume the 1st cattle guard you see is the Lost Creek HMA border, check your miles driven so as to be sure of it.

Once you have entered into Lost Creek you keep driving along Luman Rd/CR 20 through yet more oil field stuff, there will be more roads intersecting at this point, as we are going to Divide Basin today just ignore those tempting roads and drive on for about 11-12 miles where you will find another cattle guard and a large sand dune that marks the border of Great Divide Basin HMA

If you are curious the sand dunes are in the Red Lake Wilderness Study Area.

And yes, wild horses do wander through those sand dunes.... there is fairly good forage in the dunes, and I assume water too as I see horses, pronghorn, deer, and occasionally elk wandering in them - there are almost never any roads or 2-tracks that I would consider travel friendly - maybe if you have an ATV and are confident in your survival skills - not sure why but the idea of breaking down in the middle of a sandy wilderness area kinda terrifies me - more than breaking down on the side of a mountain does!

Antelope Hills HMA into Great Divide Basin HMA:

Ummm.... good luck with that? No, but seriously.... while several miles of the western Antelope Hills HMA border runs directly along Divide Basin, there is no easy peasy road to take from Antelope Hills into Divide Basin!

Do not get me wrong, there are 2-tracks to follow out of Antelope Hills and into Divide Basin, and some of them start out really nicely, but I have yet to find one that does not turn into some kind of test of you and your 4x4 experience!

Absolutely gorgeous land with colorful badlands, tall grasses, and buttes rising in the distance - but I have yet to make it more than a few miles into Divide Basin from Antelope Hills.... soon I hope to have the kind of rig that will allow me to travel out across this area more easily - it is a land that calls me to it!

So now we have only a couple other 'easy' ways in to explore Great Divide Basin.... this time from the west by way of Hwy 28 north of Farson.

Much like the other ways already noted there are more options than the ones I am sharing with you, but these are the ones I have driven myself and so feel reasonably comfortable sharing directions with you.

The thing about coming in from Hwy 28 is that it is a few miles miles from the HMA border, not like hours away as some are pretty close, but you may not prefer coming in from this side - I usually exit on these roads, beginning my day by coming in from Lost Creek and exploring westward into Divide Basin until I need to head home, heading to the closest highway is a best bet for me because if I go back through Lost Creek and north through more wild horse country, I will inevitably see wild horses and will never make it out of wild horse territory before midnight!

Oregon Buttes Entrance:

You can find your way into Divide Basin a few short miles down the Oregon Buttes dirt road.... you will find this road on the east side of Hwy 28 about 30 some miles north of Farson and just south of the South Pass Rest Stop where the Sweetwater River crosses under Hwy 28.

It is about 3-4 miles of driving along the Oregon Buttes road before you reach the border of Divide Basin, from there the road winds along the HMA border for several miles before traveling directly into the HMA.

Oregon Buttes is a beautiful land that many Wyoming peeps love and treasure, you will understand why once you are here, and experience the incredible vast beauty yourself.

As with the other ways we have traveled entering into the HMA, once you have started down this road, you will find other roads criss-crossing along the way, you can choose to stay on the main road and leave the same way you came in, or if you like the thrill of the adventure you will keep driving down the roads that call to you until you find another path back to civilization - your only limits are your rig, your fuel and supplies, your imagination and your sense of adventure!

Finding horses here is kinda..... unpredictable - I have had amazing days with wild horses and I have had days of only seeing them far away through my binoculars, so if you do choose this way, go with the intent to enjoy the scenic landscapes and knowledge that you may not get one good image of a wild horse - but who knows - maybe they will give you the best day of your life!

The above map gives you some idea of the HMA border and landmarks to use for guidance when you are out here.... this part of Divide Basin is incredibly vast and can be confusing for which direction to follow, add to that it is a good deal of badland formations which are a problem if you get caught in a heavy rain storm....

If you have not previously experience badlands in mud, know that the dirt and the minerals make for some very interesting roads.

Nothing gets as dangerously muddy as fast as badland soil.... 20 minutes into a steady rain and they are slick as snotty snot and as goopy as can be all at the same time - it will send you rig sideways and bury it to the axles in seconds, and the roads will have deep rutted washes in them if there have been gully washers - and for extra fun in just the right circumstances the water will wash underneath leaving what looks at first glance like a solid passible road if you angle just right over the ruts - don't trust it!!

If you run into a washed out area that looks sketchy just stop and walk it and double check.... far better to spend 5 minutes being cautious than having your rig go through and be stuck in a way that you need help getting out, in a VERY remote area that may or may not have cell service, and it may take a very long time for help to arrive.

Tri-Territory Historical & Scenic Drive Entrance:

Another road you may travel into the HMA from Hwy 28 is the 'scenic' route down the Bar X / Tri-Territory road... this is taking the longer drive across non-HMA assigned wild horse lands as it is somewhere between 23 - 25 miles from Hwy 28 to the border of Divide Basin, depending on which route you choose as you go along, there are a few different intersections and roads to follow as you get farther away from the highway.

I like all the options... Freighters Gap is kind of a favorite road to travel just because I like the landscape and how it winds through the hills, but it does tend to be off the HMA more and so you may not be as interested in taking it.

There are wild horses along the way even off HMA... because this is right along the HMA border lands, fences are hit or miss and usually not really in existence, there are water sources, and the grazing is usually pretty good!

So yes, the wild horses meander and wander around in this area, usually in small bands of two or three horses, and often tucked away in hidden little spots, so you have to be mindful and looking around to spot them!

Also, if you are into western culture history, and driving a decent 4x4, there is a cool little historical marker up on Steamboat Mountain that you will see signs directing you to, and the views are really quite spectacular from on top of the mountain!

Boars Tusk, Petroglyph Sites, Killpecker Sand Dunes, & Great Divide Basin HMA:

You may hear that you can visit wild horses in the same place as the popular Boars Tusk rock formation and the White Mountain Petroglyph archeological site are found - and that is true - but....

It is not actually [assigned] wild horse lands - do wild horses wander here?

You betcha - I have seen them, at the time I did not know the HMA lines very well so did not realize they were off HMA, and in truth it does not matter, a wild horse is a wild horse is a wild horse.

And wild horses wander to where they may find water and forage... and there is something about these Divide Basin horses that seem to love the long walk exploring more than any other wild horses I have known.

But, the BLM has made it a point of removing any and all wild horses found in this area during each roundup and removal operation over the last several years, and so now wild horses are not easily found here.

And yes, there are roads you can follow from Boars Tusk into the HMA proper of Divide Basin, this area is very much on my bucket list of place to explore, it is really gorgeous country but it is rugged and some of the roads can be seasonally closed, and my timing has always been off for being able to drive them.

If you find yourself here with time I encourage your going to see Boars Tusk - there is something about the way these rocks jut up out of the earth into the landscape that is starkly beautiful, truly (to me) all of this landscape is dramatic in the best of ways.

I also hope you carve out the time to visit one of the petroglyph sites, walking the path to view them and experience the history that still lives here of those that came before us - the ancient history of this land is deep and powerful.

Before you go:

I know I already said it, but - before you leave the highways behind make sure you top off fuel tanks and if you can bring extra.... the maze of roads and vast land is the kind of adventure that can end with your rig on empty and many long miles back to a highway.

Bring plenty of extra food and more than enough water for yourself.... if something happens and you are stranded in the wilderness, you don't want to be without a little bit of comfort, and water is an absolute necessity, even on the nicest of days here the elevation alone is taxing on the body, if it is sunny or there is any kind of breezy windy it becomes punishing, and if you at all hike you will need extra hydration!

Be aware of weather.... check the forecast before you go - and then keep an eye on the sky!!! Not kidding.... weather forecasts in WY are only ever a suggestion, and in these lands weather creates its own rules.

A calm summer morning can end with violent afternoon thunderstorms that wash out roads in minutes or even a crazy wicked snow storm that leaves behind two feet of snow within 24 hours - I have been in situations that I barely made it out!

A beautiful sunny winter morning can quickly darken and turn into a sudden snow squall that you cannot see through well enough to drive out of - I have seen this and have learned to watch the skies and decipher which way the clouds are moving and if I can stay, or if I need to get out before it becomes impossible to travel.

Are there emergency services that can come get you in WY? Yes... but - understand, they may not get to you right away, they are bound by the same road conditions that got you into trouble and weather that is causing chaos all across the miles - so be prepared and try and avoid big trouble.

The horses of Great Divide Basin are..... well - they are beautiful, wild, and amazing!

They are not always easy to find though.

I have given you all my best knowledge how to travel the areas I have encountered them, but understand there are days I have seen only one solitary horse in a long day of driving many miles..... this land is vast!

The terrain allows for horses to easily hide in the dips of the hills, they hang out in deep washes and tuck themselves behind rocky crevices. and they blend into the landscape - there is never a guarantee of seeing wild horses in any one place, but this one especially it is never a guarantee.

If you decide to travel here go for the pure wild adventure of a land few others take as a regular route.... it is a land that is legend to Wyomingites for its beauty and wildness - and we love it for that alone, finding wild horses that will allow us to spend time with them is a gift that makes the day simply perfect.

And there it is, my best advice for you to find your own wild horse adventures in the vast HMA of Great Divide Basin - it is a terribly long blog, if I had written more it would have been a book..... but it is the best of my experiences shared with you.

May your journey into this land be filled with magic and amazing moments, enjoy!