Trucker Shows What It’s Like To Drive Laramie’s Summit In The Winter
Locals simply refer to it as "The Summit" so if I'm being honest I was a bit confused at first by a video that I recently found on Twitter.
John Gilbertson or @trapperjohn151 as he's called on Twitter is a proud US Air Force Veteran and trucker.
His feed is full of videos that have been taken as he travels thousands of miles across the United States in his Mack Truck.
Here in Wyoming, we have a whole lot of respect for our truckers. They keep things moving no matter what time of day or night it is, and we know they are rolling down the roads all year long despite harsh weather conditions.
There isn't a single business or organization that doesn't rely on truckers to provide the items that they need to function.
Like most truckers, Gilbertson passes through Wyoming frequently.
He has several videos that show Wyoming's roadways, but the video below caught my eye for two reasons.
First, in the description, Gilbertson says "climbing up the Sherman coming out of Laramie Wyoming".
With my first quick glance at the video, I immediately recognized this part of the roadway as "the summit" a steep and often treacherous part of I-80 that connects Laramie to Cheyenne. I had never heard it called "Sherman Hill" before and it made me question if I really knew what I was looking at.
I sent the video to my husband to make sure I was correct (he spent 7 years working as a construction worker and trucker in Wyoming) and he said it was indeed the summit.
Looks like I need to do some more research and find out why Gilbertson may have called it Sherman Hill.
The second thing that caught my eye was all the comments asking about the fire they saw in the video.
I knew that it was a simple slash pile burning, but people that haven't lived in Wyoming were justifiably concerned by a fire on the side of the roadway.
If you too have never seen this before, it's something that Wyoming's park services do to help reduce hazardous fuels, which can, in turn, reduce the impact of forest fires.
Those winter road conditions are definitely rough, though we've seen worse!
A big thank you to Gilbertson and all the other truckers that keep things moving for America!