Snow Duo's Wind Rivers Photos and Trip R eport

“http://snow-nymph.com
go to "Montanapalooza Wind River Range 2002"
scroll down to "Wind River Range" thumbnails
Click on "Trip report" for more details

Snow Nymph and Snow Dude had a spectacular 12-day backpack in Wyoming’s Wind River Range! Our trip started at the Big Sandy trail head on the Western side, and then crossed over to the Eastern side at Big Sandy Pass. We then went through the Cirque of the Towers, across Lizard Head Plateau, past Valentine Lake and Grave Lake, and through the Wind River Indian reservation. We crossed back over to the Western side at Kagevah Pass, and traversed through the Middle Lake and North Lake areas, with a layover at Island Lake, on to Peak Lake, and finally came out along the Green River and ended at the Green River Lakes. We covered approximately 113 miles, crossing 8 passes along the way. Snow Nymph dayhiked 14 miles on the layover day to Indian Pass.

Enjoy!”

“Awesome pictures. I believe I might just do this area next year. The club I belong to does this backpack once or twice a year.”

“Thanks for the memories, at least from #2 and #3.

Yes, you should have walked over to see the South Fork Lakes, they are awesome.

Elk, Elk, possibly Bear, Elk, and I don't know. Looks like it could be old washed out horse manure, or something that washed down the trail and gatherd against that stick.”

“Awesome pics. Great trip report too. Do you keep a journal on the trail?

I'll definitly be in the Winds next summer(time to start planning now!). How did you get the Indian Reservation Permit? Is it just a matter of coughing up some american dollars?”

“Another awesome trip report and photos, of course. Wow, what a trip: hiking, swimming, battling bugs, panty raids, fightin' spiders (who won, btw?), loud boy scouts - I guess WY has it all, huh? I was also encouraged by reading your tales of early rising, then hitting the trail at 9, 10, even 11 AM sometimes - I always thought I was just being disorganized and inexperienced when doing that. Now I know that even super-experienced experts keep that kind of schedule (sometimes, at least).”

“I can't believe those pictures!! I think I shredded my contacts looking at all those beautiful pics! Your Island Lake sunset pic is divine!! The colors reflected in the lake, WOW! Definately my favorite!”

“Time to choose, which is your favorite, the Winds or the Sierra's?”

“>"Looks like it could be old washed out horse manure, or something that washed down the trail and gatherd against that stick" . . . chief

.....geez! I was hoping it was something cool!

>"Do you keep a journal on the trail? How did you get the Indian Reservation Permit? Is it just a matter of coughing up some american dollars?" . . . garfum

.....I use the back of maps (printed out) or make a little notebook (cut colored sheet of paper, staple and fold over for 2"x4" notebook) for my trip notes. The permit? . . . .hmmm. We found out after we got there about the permit. We called the ranger station, and they said we didn't need permits, just sign in at the trailhead. It was a surprise. We're going to send the amount we owe anyway.

>"I was also encouraged by reading your tales of early rising, then hitting the trail at 9, 10, even 11 AM sometimes" . . . martyb

.....We can be on the trail early if we have to, but we like to enjoy breakfast.

>"Your Island Lake sunset pic is divine!!" . . . tango

.....Island Lake is a beauty, but popular, and it gets crowded. The hike up to Indian Pass was AWESOME! I was impressed with the glaciers. This side trip was was added to our trip after reading the story of Mike Turner.

>"I believe I might just do this area next year." . . . Wasatch
.....We're going back too, not sure when, maybe in 2004

>"Time to choose, which is your favorite, the Winds or the Sierra's." . . . ldhiker

.....The Sierras are my backyard, I can go anytime. The Winds are similar but different. You don't get the crowds, the lakes seemed humongous, and there was a lot of route finding off the main trail. We want to go back mainly to explore the Indian Reservation. We rushed thru it trying to make up time, and spent a lot of time looking for the trail. Even with the GPS, it pointed right to the spot, and several times we stood and looked in all directions. The grass was overgrown, or downed trees blocked off our route, but it wasn't obvious. That's also where we saw the herd of elk. It was a very remote area, and we only saw one person fishing in the distance during the 3 days there.

Love em both!”

“Great photos, Snows!! Looks like an awsome trip.”

“Garfum - Permits for the Wind River Indian Reservation backcountry are $20 a day, or $80 annually. The backcountry is open June 1 through Sept 30. You have to contact the Game & Fish agency.”

“Thanks for the response snowdude. I actualy took some inititive and dug up the info too - since I'm right here in Wy. The annual pass seems like the thing to do. My kid will still be free next year, so its like half price.”