OldGreyShoe
New member
Truly outstanding. Thank you for the time and effort it took to put all of that together…and I’m sure you’ll get to add Cirque of the Towers someday!
Wind River Ranging
- Thread starter TripLeader
- Start date
YukonMontanaTannerTrapper
Explorer
I can't help but repeat myself.....such a great trip & an excellent write up. I could hear the silence of the Winds in all of your photography.....awesome photography for an amateur as you call yourself. Thanks for taking the time to post this.....I thoroughly enjoyed it.....
TripLeader
Explorer
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. I like having a place on the internet, in this case Expedition Portal, where I can keep a record of these trips for myself too. ...We are discussing heading back in a couple of years.
Thanks again. Trip reports are my favorite part of ExPo. It seems to me that traffic on the website is down and trip reports are posted less frequently than several years ago, which is a shame. And now video reports are becoming the norm. I'm not so much a fan of them. I like words and I love photos.
I wish this wasn't my first trip there. I should have visited a decade ago.
ITTOG
Well-known member
I agree that words and pics are best. I did a six day trip around the Tetons a couple years ago and my trip report still brings back memories. I almost didn't write it. So glad I did.
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TripLeader
Explorer
Yep!
Nice job on the trip report, thanks for posting
My son and I, along with a friend did some back country camping in the Wind River range back in 2019- it was a beautiful nightmare! The mosquitoes where so thick that we had to wear rain gear and long pants in the hot sun
in July midday.
My son and I were in our tent at 3:00pm after jumping in a lake to cool off. The mosquitoes even got in the freeze dried meal bags while trying to eat outside.
I definitely want to go back a different time of year.
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My son and I, along with a friend did some back country camping in the Wind River range back in 2019- it was a beautiful nightmare! The mosquitoes where so thick that we had to wear rain gear and long pants in the hot sun
in July midday.My son and I were in our tent at 3:00pm after jumping in a lake to cool off. The mosquitoes even got in the freeze dried meal bags while trying to eat outside.
I definitely want to go back a different time of year.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
DirtWhiskey
Western Dirt Rat
Nice job on the trip report, thanks for posting
My son and I, along with a friend did some back country camping in the Wind River range back in 2019- it was a beautiful nightmare! The mosquitoes where so thick that we had to wear rain gear and long pants in the hot sun
My son and I were in our tent at 3:00pm after jumping in a lake to cool off. The mosquitoes even got in the freeze dried meal bags while trying to eat outside.
I definitely want to go back a different time of year.View attachment 752748
View attachment 752749
View attachment 752750
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Permithrin. On everything. This is the way. Especially on the reservation side where they have a Minnesota black fly infestation. You can't feel when they bite in those little suckers leave black welts. They like to climb up your shirt sleeves, down your neck and your pant legs. I tested against my friends one year they used DEET I used permethrin. They had hundreds of bites I had none.
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TripLeader
Explorer
TripLeader
Explorer
Nice job on the trip report, thanks for posting
My son and I, along with a friend did some back country camping in the Wind River range back in 2019- it was a beautiful nightmare! The mosquitoes where so thick that we had to wear rain gear and long pants in the hot sun
My son and I were in our tent at 3:00pm after jumping in a lake to cool off. The mosquitoes even got in the freeze dried meal bags while trying to eat outside.
I definitely want to go back a different time of year.View attachment 752748
View attachment 752749
View attachment 752750
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
We knew there was a chance for it. But late August did not bring too many mosquitos and flies. We had a few bites, but nothing even close to what you experienced.
TripLeader
Explorer
August 2024
Part 0 [Prologue]
It's our third morning back in the Winds. We had thought we could plan a similar trip to 2022 and reach Cirque this time. But this doesn't look promising. In fact, it is unnerving. It had started snowing on us as we were about to break camp. It's been a white-out. All we can do is monitor it from our tents.
Cirque is not impossible to reach if we lose the day. But it will be longer odds.
How long is this going to last? We're a mile or two from Lester Pass. But going over it in these conditions will be a big risk of losing the trail and getting soaked in the cold. What's the weather like on the other side of the pass? The three of us are going to have to make a decision...
Part 0 [Prologue]
It's our third morning back in the Winds. We had thought we could plan a similar trip to 2022 and reach Cirque this time. But this doesn't look promising. In fact, it is unnerving. It had started snowing on us as we were about to break camp. It's been a white-out. All we can do is monitor it from our tents.
Cirque is not impossible to reach if we lose the day. But it will be longer odds.
How long is this going to last? We're a mile or two from Lester Pass. But going over it in these conditions will be a big risk of losing the trail and getting soaked in the cold. What's the weather like on the other side of the pass? The three of us are going to have to make a decision...
TripLeader
Explorer
August 2024
Part 1 [Trip Planning 2024]
The same group of three of us have been taking a trip to the mountains each year since 2017. The Wind River Range trip we took in 2022 was quite the adventure. It was as physically demanding of a backpacking trip as I would ever want to have. But in spite of the physical hardships, the Winds are a special place. The connecting trails, the availability of water, the people you meet, the scenery, and the spirit of that range all made for an experience we wanted to re-live. And then there was unfinished business of hiking into Cirque of the Towers to see it with our own eyes.
We went to Colorado in 2023 for a summer trip. It did not satisfy us the way we had been satisfied in the Winds. When it came time to pick a 2024 destination, the other two proposed returning to the Winds. I immediately agreed. The date was set for late August. We just needed an itinerary.
We initially considered some sort of a loop that took us from the Big Sandy Trailhead into Cirque and back. We went through a few variations of how to make it work. It was a very feasible idea and would have been simple to hike. We'd probably have at least one day off to spend as a "zero" and just hang out at a camp before continuing on. We didn't say it out loud to each other for some time, but that idea did not meet any of our internal designs. Finally the plan was proposed to instead hit another 80 mile backpack from Green River Lakes Trailhead to Big Sandy Trailhead. That was the same starting and ending points as our attempt to follow the Wind River High Route in 2022.
I'm the weak link of the group. I'm not as athletic or fit as the other two. I knew the WRHR was beyond my abilities to finish in a week. But we determined to stay on the established trails for the most part, and try to hit a section of the WRHR along the way. That plan was finalized. A motel room in Pinedale was reserved. The shuttle to take our vehicle from one trailhead to the other was booked. We wanted to complete what we started in 2022--that meant finishing out the backpack through Cirque.
Being fit for the trip is a big deal. Every extra pound of bodyweight and gear had taken a toll in 2022. We challenged each other to a rucking contest. It began in April and went through mid-August. We gradually increased pack weight before finishing it at 50 lbs. I received more than one strange look while wearing my backpack around the neighborhood. But it turned out to be a good training program.
Part 1 [Trip Planning 2024]
The same group of three of us have been taking a trip to the mountains each year since 2017. The Wind River Range trip we took in 2022 was quite the adventure. It was as physically demanding of a backpacking trip as I would ever want to have. But in spite of the physical hardships, the Winds are a special place. The connecting trails, the availability of water, the people you meet, the scenery, and the spirit of that range all made for an experience we wanted to re-live. And then there was unfinished business of hiking into Cirque of the Towers to see it with our own eyes.
We went to Colorado in 2023 for a summer trip. It did not satisfy us the way we had been satisfied in the Winds. When it came time to pick a 2024 destination, the other two proposed returning to the Winds. I immediately agreed. The date was set for late August. We just needed an itinerary.
We initially considered some sort of a loop that took us from the Big Sandy Trailhead into Cirque and back. We went through a few variations of how to make it work. It was a very feasible idea and would have been simple to hike. We'd probably have at least one day off to spend as a "zero" and just hang out at a camp before continuing on. We didn't say it out loud to each other for some time, but that idea did not meet any of our internal designs. Finally the plan was proposed to instead hit another 80 mile backpack from Green River Lakes Trailhead to Big Sandy Trailhead. That was the same starting and ending points as our attempt to follow the Wind River High Route in 2022.
I'm the weak link of the group. I'm not as athletic or fit as the other two. I knew the WRHR was beyond my abilities to finish in a week. But we determined to stay on the established trails for the most part, and try to hit a section of the WRHR along the way. That plan was finalized. A motel room in Pinedale was reserved. The shuttle to take our vehicle from one trailhead to the other was booked. We wanted to complete what we started in 2022--that meant finishing out the backpack through Cirque.
Being fit for the trip is a big deal. Every extra pound of bodyweight and gear had taken a toll in 2022. We challenged each other to a rucking contest. It began in April and went through mid-August. We gradually increased pack weight before finishing it at 50 lbs. I received more than one strange look while wearing my backpack around the neighborhood. But it turned out to be a good training program.