7 night trip idea out West

“3 friends and I are starting to plan our annual trip for either late July or August this summer. We would like to find an epic 7-8 day backpacking trip that provides all the obvious beauty that we all seek along with some trout fishing. Some places I have considered are going to Glacier, Jasper/Banff, Cascades, Wind River, Bob Marshall, or the Sawtooths. I really don't know where to begin in narrowing down which area would be best for us and I'd love some ideas and advice. Thanks.”

“Wind River range is closest to you and has some really spectacular scenery. I don't know why you'd want to drive past it to get to the other places.

Get some guide books & maps and start researching. The secret to really enjoyable long trips is a flexible itinerary.”

“Thanks. Distance from home is not that important of a factor, especially since one guy is traveling from Denver and another from L.A. to meet. I guess more important would be relative ease of access to an airport not too far away. Mainly I just want to find the optimal place where we can have a good route to follow and some nice fishing along the way. The winds seem very nice although it's been hard so far to find good info through internet searches pertaining to details of what areas to focus on in that range.”

“You'll probably find better info in a book. I hiked a loop out of Big Sandy, to the Cirque of the Towers, Lizard Head Trail, over Hailey Pass, & back to Big Sandy with TTers. Pictures:

http://www.thebackpacker.com/pictures/album/qtcnhcph,1.php

Big Sandy & Cirque of the Towers were crowded. People interested in fishing love the 1000 Island Lakes, Cooks Lakes, and Ticomb Basin areas to the north. There are thousands of fish-holding bodies of water up there and lots of solitude when you get off the main routes, of which there are only a handful. The scenery is better than the Bob and there isn't the hassle of going to a national park or Canada.”

“Thanks for the info. There are 4 of us going. We will hopefully be out for 7-8 days. I think ideally we would move campsites about 4 times and spend the other days doing day hikes and fishing. On the backpacking days I think 8-12 miles would be ideal. We would like to stick to trails instead of off trail stuff since none of us are very experienced with off trai navigation.
Best option for 4 people coming from all over the country to meet in Salt Lake City Airport?”

“Salt Lake City is probably best, unless you wanted to ride up with the dude from Denver. Probably not worth flying from Denver to SLC unless there's a good party involved.

The Winds have good trails. Above treeline you can do some cross-country travel when it's obvious to do so. I think you love it. I think you'd love the other places too, but I think the Winds offer more opportunity with less trouble.”