Rugged and seldom visited canyons of the eastern range spread out before you. Over hundreds of millions of years, rocks that were once covering this batholith eroded away. At 11500 feet you will encounter a flat basin holding the last small lakes before Indian Pass. This double-sided map covers the entire range. Salt Lake City is generally a much more reliable and cheaper option. The Wind River Range (or "Winds" for short), is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. This section is marked by beautiful and pleasant walking past many small ponds filled with plenty of big fish. It measures 25.2 x 39.2 inches and is printed at a scale of 1:100,000 with 100-foot contour intervals. -, Lightweight Backpacking Camera Selection 101, Torres del Paine W Trek Itinerary for 3-4 Days. Now begins an intricate traverse toward the outlet stream on the southwest side of enormous Hall’s Lake. Best of all, nowhere else in the world do golden trout grow as big. Some loops are harder than others; you might want to look into Loop 1 or 2. A slight drop and then a climb into a rocky basin towards Cube Rock Pass will bring you above 10000 feet once again. You can also change some of your preferences. The Wind River Range Traverse (WRRT) is the finest non-technical alpine backpacking route in the lower 48 states. There are a few alternate routes on the maps in addition to our main route. From the furthest east projection of Lake 10,895 we headed ESE and dropped into a shallow drainage that feeds an unnamed lake adjacent and south of Lake 10,239. We lost the trail a few times but the Pass is obvious. Located about 30 miles southeast of Grand Teton National Park, the Wind River Mountain Range runs roughly NW-SE for about 90 miles along the western part of the state of Wyoming. The book is an obvious labor of love, and has a ton of great information. This is fairly typical terrain for off-trail passes along the route. To gain access to the flatter and more walkable portion of Knife Point Glacier, descend NNE from the Pass and along the right base of the 11,840 promontory just west of “Point” on the map. A Guide to Bridger Wilderness Fishing Lakes. The marked trail from Camp Lake to Lake 10,787 is not frequently traveled and is no more than a use trail in sections. There are more than 40 other named peaks in excess of 12,999 ft (3,962 m). Trail along the eastern shore of the turquoise colored Green River Lakes. Trip Overview: The 45 mile Cirque of the Towers backpacking loop goes through the spectacular and popular Wind River Range of the Pop Agie and Bridger Wilderness areas of Wyoming. Their service was excellent and the convenience of a shuttle made the logistics of the trip much easier. Come experience the vast expanses of the towering Wind River Range, the beauty of the region's 1,300 lakes, forests, rivers, wilderness, and wildlife. Detailed MapSet of the Wind River High Route. Today we hike about six miles with a 800-foot gain and 1,600-foot loss. The first known transplant of fish into the area took place in 1907 when Colorado River cutthroat trout were introduced into North Fork Lake. Eventually it merges with the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park, before heading onward through the Grand Canyon and down to Mexico. By dusk the storm had not sufficiently cleared. The WRHR is approximately 80 miles of off-trail and on-trail travel with about 20,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain. Storm showing signs of clearing in the late evening below the north side of Texas Pass. The table also includes the location of a few tricky sections of the route. In 1812, a party led by Wilson Price Hunt were the first to cross South Pass, at the southern end of the range, the pass which marked the continental divide and crest of the Rocky Mountains and became an important portion of the Oregon Trail. Follow a use trail (we lost it a few times) to the small lake below Texas Pass (the pass between peak 11,925 and peak 12,537). We may request cookies to be set on your device. report. The Winds are a popular recreation destination and the vast wilderness areas attract hikers, climbers and skiers. Dawn, Alpine Lakes Pass. › Wind River Range. We saw no one as we passed by the upper and middle Alpine Lakes. Even though the goal was to hike at a steady but sane pace, for a long time, with a limited number of stops, we still ended up with 1 to 2 hours per day of non-moving time. It is filled with large and plentiful talus and the hiking involves negotiating around cliffs that drop directly into lakes and other route challenges will make for tedious progress in sections. [8] The exposed granite in the higher elevations of the range is particularly attractive to climbers and areas such as Cirque of the Towers in the southern portion of the range are facing overuse issues as a result. The Bridger Wilderness lies in Bridger-Teton N.F. Do not expect to pitch a tarp or tent here. It passes through the most rugged and impressive terrain of our Wind River High Route. It would make an excellent lunch spot or campsite. Picture yourself overlooking the glassy Lower Green River Lake from 8, 000 foot elevation from this campground in the northern Wind River Range. The route to Lake 10,787 is obvious, but the trail when you can find it is faster and is less effort. This alpine lake is the headwaters of the Wind River which flows eastward toward the town of Dubois. Together these wilderness areas protect 728,020 acres (294,620 ha), making the Wind River Range one of the largest road-free areas in the continental United States. Baptiste Lake is deep in the Winds, nestled just east of the Divide at the headwaters of the South Fork of the Little Wind River. Choose your favorite wind river range photographs from millions of available designs. At the southern tip of Golden Lake a small inlet stream is the last good water source before Hay Pass. The Wind River High Route is in our opinion, mile for mile, the finest non-technical Alpine route in North America. The Green is the largest fork of the Colorado River while the Wind River, after changing its name to the Bighorn River, is the largest fork of the Yellowstone River. E.g. Bald eagles, falcons and hawks are just a few of the 300 species of birds known to inhabit the region. Two of the more popular backpacking destinations are the Titcomb Basin (commonly accessed via the Elkhart Park Trailhead)[7] and the Cirque of the Towers (commonly accessed via the Big Sandy Trailhead). Bring your curiosity and you will be awed by the history of the area. Fly Fishing the Winds . There are nine passes between 12,200 ft and 11,500 ft—six off-trail and three on-trail. Continue over a small rise and drop into isolated Europe Canyon. Instead, follow a lower gradient route SW of the inlet stream. Henry writes: “I concur that the south end of the lowest Alpine Lake is the way to go. Finally arriving at Hall’s Lake, turn to the south and pass a couple of small lakes. the alpine lakes section detours around douglass peak via Camp Lake and the route also skirts around Mt Bonneville. Click on the different category headings to find out more. Alan’s pack was 27 pounds with a small camera, a SPOT and Satphone and Don’s was 30 pounds with a Canon 5D full-sized DSLR carried for HQ photos & video. The streams and lakes are home to Yellowstone cutthroat, rainbow, brook, brown, lake, and golden trout—about 2.5 million of which were stocked by a local explorer named Finis Mitchell and his wife during the Great Depression. The WRHR is a solid route after two seasons of successful trips. Turn your iPhone or Android phone into the best GPS out there! Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. The Wind River High Route (WRHR) is similar in concept to the Sierra High Route (SHR) but Don and I feel that the WRHR is more spectacular and thrilling. The range’s vast wilderness areas attract many hikers, climbers and skiers. We are over 50 years old, and did no altitude acclimatization before the trip. That were once covering this batholith eroded away purchased with my own funds climate change Douglas. Six miles with a Peak elevation of 11,870 feet to follow the Continental,... Bring you above 10000 feet once again Sheep, mountain lion and wolverine flows eastward toward the outlet along! Much more reliable and cheaper option list for the most rugged and impressive terrain of our site here. Adds some color to the junction with the beauty and serenity of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem made! Collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our.! 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