Outlaw Cave Campground, Wyoming: Livin' in the Wild, Wild, West

         

         Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch used Outlaw Cave as a hideout to stash stolen money and cattle during their fugitive days in the late 1800s.

         One hundred and thirty years later Outlaw Cave Campground retains that Wild West spirit.

       
         After setting up camp Tim and I walked the premises, searching for the trail into the canyon leading to the Middle Fork of the Powder River.  We passed a neighboring campsite and spied a young man reading in the shade of his pickup truck.
       
         "Where's the trail to the river?", Tim asked.  "And how's the fishing?"
         "Right across the way", he said.  "The fishing here is great.  It's my favorite place on earth."
       
          As the young man stood to face us we noticed a hand gun strapped prominently to his chest.

          We returned to our campsite where we met another camper, a gentleman from North Dakota.
       
         "Will you two be hiking into the canyon?", he asked.  "My knees are too bad to make the trek, but when my wife hiked down to the river yesterday I sent "The Judge" along with her."
          "The Judge" by the way, is a short-barrel revolver, capable of firing both shotgun and pistol ammo.
       
           Are these folks expecting The Hole in the Wall Gang to reappear?  Do they have their own stolen goods to protect?  No.
          "There's bear and mountain lion around here", said Mr. North Dakota.  (By way of explanation for all this open-carrying, I presume.)
         
           Our plan for tomorrow is to hike into the canyon to the river; we'll take our chances with the lions and the bears.  Humans are more of a threat in the backcountry than wildlife and, in any case, we wouldn't consider taking firearms into the wilderness.

Could these caves by the river be the ones used by Butch Cassidy to stash
his stolen goods?

           The following morning, under crystalline blue skies, we hiked the trail to the river—no bears, lions, or outlaws in sight.  Tim fished for several hours while I hiked back to our campsite to relax on the plateau overlooking the gorge.
           Tim returned in the mid-afternoon and reported fantastic fishing in the pristine, remote waters of the Middle Fork of the Powder.  A little later our neighbor from North Dakota walked by camp.
       
           "How was your day in the canyon?", he asked.  "Did you have your guns?"

                                                                          ****
         
            It's been a long time since outlaws inhabited the isolated high plains and steep-walled canyons of north-central Wyoming.
            But, if Butch Cassidy and his gang ever return to this region of the Wild West, the gun-totin' campers in Outlaw Cave Campground will be ready for them.

You can see our campsite tucked into the shade of the trees.
(Green tent, white vehicle.)

Overview of Outlaw Cave Campground from the rocky outcrop above our site.
Outlaw Cave Trailhead is near the car parked at the center of the photo.
The campground is remote; the nearest town, Kaycee, is 26 miles away
and boasts a population of 274 people.