{"id":3548,"slug":"sunlight-basin-cody-wyoming","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["Sunlight Basin is the '81 — the 'Chatfield' that's the first, the 'blank spot' that's the map. The 'Sheepeater' is the before — the 'Crow' that's the territory, the '1868' that's the reduced. The 'Dead Indian' is the pass — the '8,060 feet' that's the summit, the 'Chief Joseph' that's the '77.","The 'dude' is the '07 — the 'Holm Lodge' that's the first, the '7D Ranch' that's the still. The 'Kitty' is the widow — the 'mining camp' that's the Creek, the 'remained' that's the '97. Sunlight is the isolated — the 'Sunlight Gorge' that's the bridge, the 'seven switchbacks' that's the road.","The file keeps Sunlight Basin: the Chatfield first, the Sheepeater before, the Dead Indian pass, and the dude ranches.","Sunlight Basin is the archive's Wyoming file — the blank's first."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["Sunlight Basin is the archive's Wyoming file — the last frontier.","A basin keeps its pass — the file's suggestion being that Sunlight's hold is the remote: the 'blank spot' that's the 1881, the 'Chief Joseph' that's the flight, and the 'dude' that's the after."]}],"name":"Sunlight Basin","aliases":[],"type":"SITE","type_label":"Site","cats":["LOCAL_FOLKLORE","LEGEND_SITE","GEOLOGY","MINING"],"groups":["legends"],"desc":"The basin—where the gold and the grizzlies stay.","full_desc":"Sunlight Basin is a site in Cody, Wyoming. The basin—where the gold and the grizzlies stay. HauntHunt files it with geology, mining history and local folklore. Its accounts name only a collective — the miners. The dossier holds 2 reported claims, 1 legend, 1 documented fact and 1 named or described presence — documented record and retelling kept side by side. The site is open to visitors.","address":null,"city":"Cody","county":null,"state":"Wyoming","postal":null,"region":"West","lat":44.521242,"lon":-109.057469,"coord_kind":"CITY","status":"ACTIVE","access":"PUBLIC","access_notes":null,"ownership":null,"website":null,"phone":null,"year_built":null,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":null,"current_use":"Historic site","research_notes":"MTWY batch; VERIFY task auto-queued.","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":59.4,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.75,"identity_confidence":0.65,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":0.3999999999999999,"paranormal_claim_provenance":0.8,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0.7,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[{"id":3906,"type":"LEGEND","description":"The basin’s lore is documented. The presences go by the miners in the file. Sunlight Basin's file is thin on proof and long on persistence — the standard profile of American place-lore. The story is documented as legend — recorded and retold, never verified as fact. The account appears in 'Sunlight Basin'. Legends accrue where records go silent; this one filled the gap and stayed.","evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","evidence_label":"Documented legend","entity":"The miners","where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Sunlight Basin","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight_Basin","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]},{"id":3907,"type":"APPARITION","description":"Reported figures in the basin. Sunlight Basin's file is thin on proof and long on persistence — the standard profile of American place-lore. The file holds testimony rather than proof; the claim remains anecdotal. The report is preserved in sources like 'Sunlight Basin'. It is the sighting the place is known for, and it hasn't stopped.","evidence":"ANECDOTAL","evidence_label":"Anecdotal","entity":null,"where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Sunlight Basin","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight_Basin","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]}],"history":[{"description":"The basin’s history is documented. The site's documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. The record holds it as fact — documented, not retold. The detail is preserved in 'Sunlight Basin'. It's the sort of fact that gives the haunting reports their context. The report keeps its place in the record.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"Sunlight Basin","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight_Basin","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"legends":[{"name":null,"summary":"The basin’s lore is documented. The reports at Sunlight Basin are the site's second history — unofficial, unverified, and stubbornly retold. It's a documented legend: the telling is real, the contents remain folklore. The retelling is the record now — the legend metabolized the facts long ago. The report keeps its place in the record.","earliest":null,"evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","source":{"name":"Sunlight Basin","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight_Basin","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"entities":[{"name":"The miners","claimed_identity":"The miners","verified":null,"summary":"The basin’s lore is documented. The accounts name only a collective — the miners. Sunlight Basin's file is thin on proof and long on persistence — the standard profile of American place-lore. The lore has a face now: The miners. The report keeps its place in the record. The claim holds its place in the ledger.","behavior":"The basin’s lore is documented.","area":null,"first_ref":null,"source":{"name":"Sunlight Basin","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight_Basin","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"tour_availability":"Verify before visiting","notes":"Site access varies; verify before visiting.","last_verified_at":"2026-09-18 11:32:55","source":{"name":"HauntHunt generic access guidance","url":"https://haunthunt.com/about#access-guidance","publisher":"HauntHunt editorial","type":"DIRECTORY","authority":2}},"sources":[{"name":"Sunlight Basin","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight_Basin","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}],"conflicts":[],"wiki":null,"counts":{"claims":2,"history":1,"legends":1,"entities":1,"sources":1}}