Into the Winds:Best Trip Ever

I generally avoid ratings and comparisons, especially regarding the esthetic. If I allowed myself to rate Wind River Range, I would have to give it the highest rating. And, if I had to pick my favorite backpacking trip, this might have been it.

Island Lake. Wind River Range

 The Wind River Range is situated in western Wyoming, along the continental divide. The 100 mile long range is home to 19 of Wyoming’s 20 tallest peaks, including the tallest in Wyoming. The range is bisected by a granite crest contiaining some 40 peaks in excess of 13,000 feet. It is a glacially carved landscape, much like the Sierra Nevada, only with roughly 200 glaciers still alive and active. There are countless lakes and streams, many of which are teeming with trout.

The Wind River Range is a wild place. There are a couple of popular corridors with no shortage of visitors. Step off those, and you can go long stretches without seeing a soul.

Camp 1, Island Lake, Wind River

We decided to check out the highlights in two smaller trips during a one week period in late August 2017. We first visited Titcomb Basin, one of the classic locales. We started out from Elkhart Park Trailhead, travelling through miles of forest, then gradually climbing into subalpine meadows, to our first night’s camp at Island Lake.

We hiked out and back into Titcomb Basin the second day, travelling off trail beyond the end of the trail to the glacially scraped upper basin. After returning to camp, we packed up, headed down country, then northwest along the Continental Divide Trail/Highline Trail. Very few people were seen once we departed  from the main trail between Elkhart Park to Titcomb Basin.

Pictures do no justice to the massive grandeur of Titcomb Basin

The Continental Divide, Upper Titcomb Basin. There were a few small glaciers on this side. The far side is almost totally glaciated according to maps. 

Camp 2, along the Highline/Continental Divide Trail, Wind River

We spent our third day fishing and sitting in the tent while it rained. We first made out and back trip through the alpine zone below the continental divide along the highline trail. We stopped to fish, which turned into a several hour detour. 

he fishing that day was incredible. The water was like glass, and the cutthroats were actively feeding and taking dry flies. From the rocks on the shore, you could watch a fish zero in on the fly from way far off. I cannot ever recall better fishing.

We also made a side trip to big water slide, then hustled back to our tent in the rain where we waited out an hour or so of rain and hail. We broke camp, went down country about two miles, then set back up for some more fishing at a small, unnamed lake.

 That night, a solo hiker set up near the shore of the unnamed lake. We awoke at 10 to his shouts, alerting us of a bear in his camp. Before I knew what was going on, he was firing a warning shot from a very large revolver. I never saw the alleged bear, but decided to get the heck out of dodge either way. We hiked a few miles in the dark, then re-pitched our tent in the moonlight somewhere near Seneca Lake.

Sunrise over Seneca Lake, Wind River Range

 On our way out the next day, we ran into a moose cow and calf. 

Best backpack ever.