Check Out Our Perks and Open Positions, Lets Get Spooky! Great news: Dads Lake is a dog-friendly trail, just be sure to bring a leash along. Take your time to learn the symptoms of altitude sickness before embarking on your high-altitude adventure. https://youtu.be/aeQ61IH9fv4A six day solo backpacking loop in Wyoming's Wind River Range starting at Boulder Canyon trail head. That's the question that this project tries to solve, and I think I've succeeded. Slide Lake Trail features beautiful views throughout. Earthwalk Press North Wind River Range. Wind river range Sept 1 - 11 2016 Days 1- 5. First, up near Forks Lakes, where we did some backcountry hiking, and most recently near Boulder Lake, where we finally got some good fishing, and an unexpected wildfire. Enjoying your Wind River Range backpacking trip with these principles in mind will help maintain the Wind River Range for other visitors and hopeful backpackers for millennia to come. Its the ideal pack for a high-altitude trek through the Wind River Range. Between the five of us we caught about 18 trout in an hour. An extra day can be taken to climb Wind River Peak, the southernmost 13er in the range; definitely a worthy summit, with amazing views from what I've heard. A Shoshone had told Stuart of "a shorter trace to the South than that by which Mr. Hunt had traversed the R. Mountains"[4][5] In 1856 Ramsay Crooks, one of the party, wrote a letter describing their journey: In 1811, the overland party of Mr. Astor's expedition, under the command of Mr. Wilson P. Hunt, of Trenton, New Jersey, although numbering sixty well armed men, found the Indians so very troublesome in the country of the Yellowstone River, that the party of seven persons who left Astoria toward the end of June, 1812, considering it dangerous to pass again by the route of 1811, turned toward the southeast as soon as they had crossed the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, and, after several days' journey, came through the celebrated 'South Pass' in the month of November, 1812. [5]:7982, In 1834, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth led the first Methodist missionaries Jason Lee, Daniel Lee, and Cyrus Shepard across the pass. . If youre planning a Wind River Range backpacking trip at altitude, consider how hard youre trying to push yourself, and make sure you know how to tell if youre dehydrated or suffering from mild altitude sickness. When it comes to Wind River Range backpacking routes, there are a few premier trails to choose from, each varying in length, difficulty and terrain. From this lake, continue southwest past Lake Kagevah to 11,290 foot Kagevah Pass. Smith Lake is a 7 mile blue singletrack trail located near Popo Agie Wilderness Wyoming. Given the easy elevation gain and well maintained trail, this is a great choice for families. The East face of Mt. Two years ago we came back and hiked to the Cirque of the Towers, so this year I thought it . 2022 Best Places to Camp: Top 10 in the U.S. says Kelsey. Last year on our Jerrys and my anniversary, we took the boys on a hiking and fishing trip to Silas. To first of the Stough Creek Basin lakes: 6.5 miles/13 miles round-trip. Gold had been discovered in the gulches near the pass as early as 1842. In 1836, Fitzpatrick guided the "First White Women to Cross This Pass", Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Hart Spalding, along with and their husbands, plus Miles Goodyear and William Gray. AREA MAPS: Beartooth Publishing North Wind River Range. Why you should go: Arguably the most popular day hike in the Wind River Range, Photographers Point never fails to impress with its stunningly picturesque scenery. However, it was not until 1867, when an ore sample was transported to Salt Lake City, that an influx of miners descended into the region. Burnt Lake - Low use 8. If traveling lightly and in peak physical condition, it could be possible to do this route in a little over a week. Check out more of our hiking guides featuring the most epic terrain in the Rocky Mountains: 14 Majestic Hikes in Glacier National Park, The 10 Best Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, How to Spend One Day in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Upper Silas Lake is set beautifully amidst pine forest and a granite mountain. As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of alpine lakes to go around this beautiful mountain range, creating world-renowned fly fishing. Some of our favorite day hikes are: Stough Creek Basin, Smith, Middle and Cathedral Lakes, Island and Thumb lakes in Silas Canyon, Lake Louise, and anything on the Middle Fork Trail, which starts at Bruce's Bridge at the end of Sinks Canyon, and takes us all the way to Wind River Peak. The foreground streaks in from the right front of the canvas, a rocky outcropping with trees, some fallen, and verdant grasses invite the viewer into the painting to take a moment before looking out over the edge of the cliff into the vast wilderness. If you cant plan your trip in September, I recommend wearing long layers and applying a healthy dose of DEET. For example, theAconcagua mountain page has the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits' asparents and is a parent itself to many routes, photos, and Trip Reports. Trail, USFS - Bridger Teton National Forest Office. Once on the trail, consider spending the first night at Hobbs Lake or Seneca Lake and progressing on to Island Lake for the second. The range is home to many of the state's highest mountains including Fremont Peak at 13,745 and Wind River Peak at 13,192 feet. Little Sandy - Low use 12. . You can learn more about our editorial policies here. A widely-used trail, this route offers the chance to take in the Wind River Range wilderness in a way thats palatable to beginner through intermediate backpackers with a taste for adventure. View Wind River Range Traverse Image Gallery - 1 Images. Stuart's "Travel Memorandum" was left with President James Madison, but the War of 1812 preempted western exploration. And the shores of Grave Lake (also pictured) have endless scenic camping spots. In the mid-1990s, Lander nurse and outdoorsman Bruce Cartwright introduced my family to the fine high-lake fishing on the Wind River Indian Reservation, which accounts for about a quarter of the land in the Winds. Bear Lakes, although a short detour, look absolutely gorgeous. Hooker towers above Grave Lake, and is the largest vertical rock wall in Wyoming. According to users from AllTrails.com, the best place to hike in Wind River Range is Washakie Pass Loop to Cirque of the Towers, which has a 4.5 star rating from 31 reviews. 13 Halloween Camping Activities, The Checklist Every First Time RVer Needs, Everything You Need To Know About Wifi For Your RV, 14 Wilderness Survival Tools You Should Have in The Backcountry, How Marfa Became the Art and Glamping Capital of Texas, 30+ Tips on Camping with Kids, From Parents Who Have Been There. September is when temperatures begin to drop low enough to get rid of the little buggers. Here begins the true crux of the route: getting down the Mammoth Glacier to Scott Lake. Higher altitude also means more inclement and unpredictable weather. Lake Smith General Information County: Kossuth Location: 3 miles north of Algona Acres: 59.00 Maximum Depth: 12.6 ft. (2009) Motoring Restrictions: Electric Motors Only Nearby Parks Ambrose A. The Bear's Ears Trail continues down the stream's west bank (headed north) and climbs west and descends to Grave Lake. Most commonly referred to as New Fork Trail, the trailhead sign actually says Lozier Lakes, and the Forest Service labels it as Clark Creek #7185. (Joshua Bergan photo) Few mountain ranges in the world offer the outdoorsman as much as Wyoming's Wind River Range: Miles of trail to ride or backpack, glaciers to climb, some of the world's best granite for rock climbing. Toggle navigationHiking & Walking Home Destinations Call 307.438.970 or Email windrivershuttle@gmail.com to Book For point-to-point trips, we recommend we meet you at your take-out point and we shuttle you to your start location. You would be better off trying your hand at the shorter and more direct WRHR, pioneered by AdventureAlan (link at the bottom). The best route from Baker Lake to Bear Lake is described in Pallister's book, and also Matt Lemke's excellent trip report. The trail leads around the north side of the lake and continues up to Deep Lake about 1.5 miles up the trail. I'm very interested in this hike right here: https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/smith-lake-basin-in-wyomings-wind-river-range-is-a-hikers-haven and I am wondering if anyone could point me to a trail map or something along those lines to visualize what I would be doing. . Follow the plateau northwest all the way to Lake 10528 in Stough Creek Basin. The Wind Rivers humbly hide 30 peaks over 13,000 feet, including Wyomings tallest mountain Gannett Peak. The Seneca Lake out-and-back trip is a modified version of the Wind River classic. [4]:156157[5]:87107, The first family of emigrants, the Walkers, crossed the pass in 1840 with the intention of settling in Oregon. Any resources that would help me complete that hike and have it as a resource on my phone would be appreciated! Widely considered the best trail for seeing the wide range of geography and terrain in the range, Titcomb Basin is a 30-mile round-trip trek that offers panoramic views, campsites at alpine lakes and a possible visit to the highest point in the state of Wyoming, Gannett Peak. Why you should go: Explore one of the Winds most popular trails to reach Big Sandy Lake. Hiking Smith Lake Basin in the Wind River Range : r/wyoming 2 yr. ago Posted by MeowingtonChaCha Hiking Smith Lake Basin in the Wind River Range Hello everyone, I'm sure someone over here is familiar with Wind River Range hikes and could point me in the right direction. Its got more than 40 named granite peaks that soar 13,000 feet or higher, scores of giant glaciers, 1,300 alpine lakes and hundreds of miles of incredible hiking trails. Smith Creek Lakes and Cathedral Lake, Bonneville Basin, Bald Mountain Basin and Cook Lakes, the Peak Lake Area (as described by Kelsey), and the Eastern drainages north of Gannet Peak, which are pretty much impassable due to . _The Smith Creek Lakes and Cathedral Lake are accessed by either traveling directly east off-trail to Mendarrin Lake from the Lizard Head trail, or by wrapping east and north around the Lizard Head Plateau on trails from the Cirque of the Towers. No matter what you plan to do while in Missoula, these Airbnbs can complete the puzzle for a perfect escape. Boulder Lake-High use 9. . You can do this by contacting the National Forest Service or looking at online reviews on sites such as AllTrails or Hiking Project. From Camp Lake, head northeast above Half-Fish Lake (Lake 9675) and continue above treeline up the slopes around 11,600 feet. Historic South Pass, seen from the east looking westward towards, Map of southwestern Wyoming showing location of South Pass at the headwaters of the, U.S. National Register of Historic Places, United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, Oregon Buttes, Wyoming, Elevation: 8558 feet, 2608 meters, peakbagger.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_Pass_(Wyoming)&oldid=1134470552, This page was last edited on 18 January 2023, at 21:32. Also, they don't necessarily share the same parent. Cirque of the Towers, Green River Lakes . From the Elkhart trailhead parking lot, take the Pole Creek Trail directly adjacent to the restroom. All the information is there; there are no gray areas. The impact to your legs make this feel like 6 miles instead of 3, but the views more than make up for the effort. A translation of his journal was published in an 1821 French journal, but South Pass would have to be rediscovered by later explorers from information provided by Crow Indians. . From the Elkhart trailhead parking lot, take the Pole Creek Trail directly adjacent to . Trailhead Start: Elkhart Park Joe Kelsey says the following of this area, "Hall's Lake sits at 10,602 feet in the midst of a large area decreed trailless by the Forest Service. I noticed that most routes follow the lower highline trail, or skip the many magnificent areas including Stough Creek Lakes, Deep Lake Cirque, Grave Lake Cirque, North Fork Cirque (on the Wind River Indian Reservation), the Brown Cliffs, Scott Lake, and Bear Basin. Drop down from the pass and round the south shore of Bewmark Lake, and descend the west slopes from the lake, while staying well above the north shore of Middle Fork Lake. 2006-2021 SummitPost.org. 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