Backpacking Wind River

Summer Backpacking Trip 2023 - Part 1

Dates: 7/25/23 - 8/1/23

Crew: Sean Downs, Yisha Ng, Ben Hall, Monica Mah

Locations: Wind River Mountains (Bridger Wilderness, Bridger-Teton National Forest)

Wind River- Actually a Mountain?

This summer's edition of Houstonians fleeing Houston takes us to Wyoming! After Colorado and California the previous 2 summers, Monica, Yisha, and I added Sean and Ben to the fold and planned a backpacking trip through the gorgeous Wind River Range and hiking in the Grand Tetons. While I'd been to Wyoming technically while in Yellowstone that winter, I was itching to take a "real" trip to the state.

We planned it out so we would get the more intense backpacking done in the first half of the trip, and then transition to camping and day hiking in the Grand Tetons to coast out the rest of the trip. And as famous and cool as the Tetons are, I was more excited for the Wind River half of the trip. This is true protected wilderness, a chance to get away from the crowds and really into the mountains to escape the summer heat! We planned for 4 days out there, about 40 miles total, and the highlight would be a peek at Titcomb Basin, a spectacular bowl of alpine scenery above a chain of lakes.

A little more about the area- the Wind River Range is a mountain range and part of the Rockies and continental divide. It includes the highest peak in Wyoming and is primarily made of billion-year-old granite. The range is protected by the Bridger, Fitzpatrick, and Popo Agie Wilderness areas. On the west side of the range is the Bridger-Teton National forest, and where we intended to backpack. On the east side is the Wind River Indian Reservation.

We drove into town for groceries and then just needed to kill a few hours. Driving towards a small hike along the Snake River, we stopped at a small viewing platform in the National Elk Refuge, part of the USFWS reserve system. No Elk to be found in the height of summer, but we did see some waterfowl and a beautiful vista. Then we went down to a small trailhead by the snake river and wandered trails through the tall grasses. Clambering up on a bluff I could get a view of the entire Teton range, although in the low-angle evening light the valley was super hazy.

We finished our hike just in time to swing by the airport and pick up Yisha, Monica, and Ben. Then we headed on the two hour drive to our first campsite at Fremont Lake Campground. The camp overlooked a large reservoir, and by the time we pulled in it was getting dark. We set up camp, cooked dinner, and were then overwhelmed by attack mosquitos and decided to do an early bedtime to get a hot start in the morning for the trailhead.

Laying in my hammock, I watched the stars come out and couldn't resist the urge to capture the milky way. It was a totally clear night and there was no light pollution, so stars by the millions made a green-gold ribbon that stretched from horizon to horizon. I set an alarm to get up at 3 and take photos.

...and somehow, it actually woke me up! I grabbed my gear and headed down to the road to be clear of trees. I had no tripod, so I settled for laying on my back and getting the camera set up on a backpack pointing straight up for some long exposures. The results were more than I expected! At about 4am I was tired and cold and retreated back to my hammock.

Over the next 4.7 miles, we slowly gained 1000 feet of elevation as we approached the first rest point and major overlook of the mountains at the accurately-named Phtographer's Point. The less-than 24 hours that had passed since being in Houston had my legs feeling quite heavy as we worked uphill at this new elevation of 10,000 feet. Although the trail was empty to that point, quite a few backpacking parties were milling about at Photographer's Point. At the top of a large hillside, it has clear views of the rugged granite jut of the continental divide. With 5 miles behind us we dropped our packs for a lunch break and I got busy taking pictures to reconstruct a high-res panorama of the incredible view.

As we stared out, dark clouds rounded the hilltop behind us and heavy altocumulus lenticularis could be seen coming to hover over the mountaintops. These were some really cool clouds, disc-like and stacked on top of each other to stretch tens of thousands of feet up. Below them came thick cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds, bringing a storm. We decided we should get off this very high, very exposed point and followed the trail onwards toward the mountains.

The trail wound down a rocky hillside into a thick pine forest, where the rain caught us. It went from a light sprinkle to an all-out deluge in minutes. We took shelter under a tight stand of spruce and sat on our packs, laughing at the insanity of the storm. When it finally died down, we continued on to our destination of Seneca Lake. After a few more miles we came to the south end of the lake, but the good sites were at the north end so we continued on.

By the time we found a good spot that wasn't soaked from the day's rains and set up, the sun was going down, lighting the granite peaks all around us a golden hue. We boiled water to prep dinner, but were barely able to eat with the clouds of vicious mosquitos descending on us in force. It was honestly one of the worst nights for mosquitos I can remember. After that and the 13 miles/28000 steps put on my leaden legs that day, I was ready for bed to sleep off some of the altitude. My hammock was once again a welcome refuge from the bloodsuckers, and I had no problem falling right asleep.

Surrounding the lake are dozens of summit views, including Fremont Peak, Twin Peaks, Mt. Woodrow Wilson, Mt Sacagawea, Titcomb Needles, and Elephant Head peak, to name a few memorable ones. As we came up the pass, only half of these were visible with a veil of rain obscuring everything across the lake from us- and Titcomb Basin lay this way, so we knew we'd have to wait out the weather.

We followed switchbacks down to the lake, where a peninsula extends out and provides great campsite locations. After exploring for a while we found a nice hilltop with views of the lake all around and a nearby waterfall. The hammock and tents went up just in time before the rainstorm had moved over the lake and forced us inside. We ate lunch and played cards while crammed into one 2-person tent. 

When the rain abated, we started out for Titcomb basin at about 1pm. We headed up into the valley that ends in Titcomb Basin. Along the way the Titcomb Lakes, a thin chain of lakes, flow down out of the valley and eventually feed Island Lake through the waterfall. The constant sound of rushing water was soothing and put me in a hiking rhythm that made the 5 miles go by in no time.

Various perspectives on the spectacular Titcomb Basin. Click through the carousel!

Once we'd finished enjoying the views and decided we were as far as we should be going, we turned around and doubled back. It was already 4pm, so backtracking the 5 miles had us back for a well-earned dinnertime. The post-storm winds also kept the mosquitos off us for once so we could enjoy the show as the setting sun cast golden alpenglow on the mountains, and then turned the lingering stormclouds orange, red, pink, and purple for a vibrant sky.

A few sprinkles through the evening made me glad I put up my hammock rainfly, but an otherwise peaceful evening!

Day 4: River crossings to Pole Creek

Once we'd made it back up Indian pass, we came down into a valley strewn with millions of boulders that we had to weave through. We were heading to Lester Pass, a high pass that slips by Mt. Lester while taking you up over 11,000'. At the bottom of the valley a fractured lake flowed through the many rock piles and we filtered more water for a refreshment.

The trail up to Lester pass was a bit of a mess- there were some switchbacks and some parts were it dissolved into the talus field and the best route was just roughing it straight uphill. Although it was "only" about 1,000 feet up the hill, my legs were definitely feeling it. At the top, we were rewarded with grand views in both directions. Looking behind us we could see the towers of Titcomb Basin and the contintental divide sprawled out. We dropped our packs near the trail and scrambled up a nearby slab to a large overlook boulder and took some group photos.

A few threatening rain clouds passed by throughout the afternoon, but we were spared from any real rain. As we passed Cooks Lake, we took a short swim/wade break because the afternoon heat was getting pretty strong. Then we ran into the tail end of a couple of backpacking groups ahead of us, trying to figure out where to cross Pole Creek. We knew these crossings were coming, but expected something like rock-hopping or a couple yards of wading. The creek was swollen with heavy spring snowmelt still coming out of the mountains, and was closer to 20-30 yards wide and calf-knee deep in spots. 

We joined the search effort for the right spot to cross before committing. The first crossing went smoothly, although in bare feet for me it was a little painful and I envied those who had lugged sport sandals with them all this way. A short hike later we found another crossing of the same creek waiting, with water moving rapidly in the shallows over the large loose river rocks. Going across in pairs, I only made it without a slip thanks to my trekking poles and by the time I got out my legs were almost numb. I turned around just in time to watch Ben go down backwards into the river and lose his water bottle. After he got back up and made it out, I ran downstream to see if I could fish it out and ended up finding it in an eddy just offshore. Hanging from a tree branch we managed to get it back.

From photographer's point it was just a 5 mile rewind to get back to the car, but in the heat of the day it felt like an eternity. We passed the time playing word games while hiking until we were finally back.

With about an hour and a half drive to the night's airbnb, we stopped in Pinedale, WY shortly after leaving the trailhead to find food. We ended up going to the Burger Barn, a trailer out on a highway pulloff, for massive and delicious burgers and fries (and maybe a massive stomachache as a result). Then we drove on. Our airbnb ended up being tucked way back in a private ranching community, on top of a hill and requiring some pretty crazy roads to get there (but Sean handled the drive like a champ).

Aside from showers and snacking we had the rest of the night to kick back and enjoy the vista views as the sun went down over the home, home on the range.

For tomorrow, on to the Tetons. For today, time to relax and enjoy the sunset. After 4 days, 3 nights, 40+ miles, and some 6,000 feet of elevation gain, a real bed always feels good.