Into the Wild with Kory King

It's probably one of the most unlikely road trip destinations at one of the most un-opportune times of year, but that didn't stop me from having a great time this last weekend in Lander, Wyoming. An old friend of mine is looking at a some post-graduate work at a school in the region, so that was excuse enough for us to venture into what is said to be (in the summer) some of the most incredible backpacking and hiking regions in the country. While there we camped in a blizzard, cross country skied, befriended some friendly locals, ate the best burger I've had in my life, and hiked through some amazing scenery. Check out my trip gallery below.

I had no idea Sabarros still existed! When I was a kid our Sabarros here in Wichita used to be my favorite pizza. We found a Sabarros in the mall at Cheyenne, Wyoming but I was pretty disappointed in the pizza. From there we drove on to central Wyoming where we ran into white out conditions. This delay put us both finding and setting up a campground in the dark and heavy snow. Our camp the first night was in Sinks Canyon State Park. It's a really neat place that I would suggest reading up on a bit if you're into geological phenomenas or just great scenery. After we broke camp the following morning, we spent almost the entire day exploring the nearby town of Riverton. At some point we were tipped off to a junior Olympic cross country ski clinic the following morning. We decided to rent ski's and made plans to attend. The clinic and trails were great, but after a full day of cross country skiing, I can definitely say that I prefer down hill skiing. Hiking up the mountain with skis on is much less fun than just riding a lift up. The following day we hiking through the Shoshone national forest up to Pope Agia falls. This was a great hiking through the higher parts of the canyon and solidified our wanting to return to the area for more hiking once the snow melts away this summer. I should also mention that all three nights in Lander we ate at the Gannet Grill. I'm pretty sure I had two of the best burgers I've ever had in my life, not to mention an incredible locally brewed Porter beer.

Overall I had a great time exploring the landscape and culture of historic, small-town Wyoming life, but after that many days on the ice, I'm happy to be back in Texas and back on the radio.