ALTERNATE ROUTES
BY MARTIN LIEBERMAN
PHOTOGRAPH BY JIM DANIELS
WHEN CARTER WILKINSON GRADUATED
from college last year, a conventional career path held little appeal, so he packed up his things,
moved West, and got a job on a dude ranch. Wilkinson is no dyed-in-the-wool cowboy. An
American studies major at Williams College, he grew up in Pelham, New York, less than an hour
from New York City. He’s not a big fan of country music or horseback riding. But like many of the
twentysomethings who work on dude ranches
every year, Wilkinson has an appreciation for peace
ful, western living, one that began in 1979 when his
family started spending their summer vacations at
CM Ranch, near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Wilkinson
decided to work at CM the summer after his fresh
man year, and has done so ever since. “I like this
type of setting a lot more than the city. It’s laid-back
and easygoing.”
Adds Russ Wheeler, 29, a former political cam
paigner and now the baker and pastry chef at
Laramie River Ranch in Colorado, “When you come
to a dude ranch, it’s more relaxed. You live here with
your coworkers and they become your family.”
For many people, a dude ranch brings to mind
Billy Crystal and his buddies leading cattle through
the Plains. While there are ranches that cater to that
sort of thing, most ranches today are “guest ranch
es,” places where people can go for weeks at a time
to ride horses, fish, hike, hunt, and get a taste of
western life, complete with campfires and square
dances. Some ranches even boast features like golf
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