Hiking the Wind River Range

[lucznik]

I thought I would post a few pictures of my family's recent trip to the Wind River Range in Wyoming to hike into the Cirque of the Towers. We left early Wednesday morning and returned home Saturday evening. We hiked an average of 7-8 miles per day. It was pretty awesome. My pack and gear for the trip weighed in at 49.9 lbs.; my wife's was 36.7 lbs.; and my two boys' were 24.4 and 22.0 lbs. respectively. That includes the weight of absolutely everything carried including the clothes being worn and all the items in peoples' pockets, etc. This was a little heavier for me than my usual gear weight but, I was packing a few extras to provide for some "creature comforts." My wife and boys did great. This was their first real backpacking trip and where we were hiking is rated as an "extreme" hike. We're sore but, we had a fantastic time. We left my 6 y.o. daughter with Grandma... she's not quite ready for this kind of trip.

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This is my brood hiking through some pools and waterfalls between Clear Lake and Deep Lake.


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Deep Lake. The pyramid shaped peak on the left is Lost Temple Spire. To the right of it is East Temple Peak.


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When you gotta go, you gotta go.

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Taking a quick resttop on the way down from Deep Lake.

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This post marks the Continental Divide. We are at about 11,000 feet here.

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We arrived at the Cirque of the Towers.

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The Cirque of the Towers. On the far right is Pingora Peak (one of the most famous climbing peaks in the world).

[crashdive123]

Great pics. Looks like a fantastic time. I do believe that you have posted the first pic of somebody peeing.

[lucznik]

We were a little worried about this boy. He literally was stopping to pee every 10-15 minutes. We kept joking that he couldn't simply mark the entire mountain as his territory; it belongs to all.

[flatlander88]

Now that looks like fun!

[Rick]

Those are some great pics. Thanks for sharing with us. Looks like a really great time.

[Sourdough]

Nice Photo essay, Thanks.

[Winnie]

Great pics, thanks for taking us along.

[finallyME]

That looks like an exceptional trip. The Winds are very scenic. What was your average elevation, and what was the highest you got? Thanks for sharing.

[lucznik]

That looks like an exceptional trip. The Winds are very scenic. What was your average elevation, and what was the highest you got? Thanks for sharing.

Camp was at 9700 ft. Our highest point was at about 11,500 ft.

[hunter63]

Don't get outta the truck, don't get outta the truck..... there is no air at 10000ft,..... at least I can't see any.....LOL.
Very cool, thanks for taking us along, beautiful country.

[Rick]

Yeah, if the hood turns blue because the carb can't suck air I've driven way too high. Back down slowly.

[finallyME]

I spent the second week of August above 10000 ft. It aint no joke that high. It is even harder above 13000.

[lucznik]

We live at 7000+ ft. so; this wasn't too much of a change for us.

The real trick is to hit a walking pace (even if it's a slow pace) that you can maintain for long periods rather than a cycle of pushing hard, getting tired, and then resting. That and zealously maintaining proper hydration.

Some of the people who came with us live at much lower altitudes and they were really feeling it.

Third week of September will have me hiking in for my annual backcountry mule deer hunting trip. I'll spend 3-4 days between 11,000 and 13,000 feet.