5-day route in Winds in late July this year?

tl;dr  Any suggestions on 5-day routes in the Winds that have will have minimal bugs and snow-free passes in late July, and a consistent variety of scenery?

I have a rare opportunity to do a 5-day solo backpacking trip; therefore, I plan on heading to the Winds.  This trip will be in late July, and yes, I realize that is probably peak mosquito season and that they will completely destroy me and forever ruin my love for the outdoors, but that’s my only chance this year so that’s when I’m going.

My only previous trip to the Winds was in the Elkhart/Titcomb area.  I was thinking this time I’ll probably try a different area.  The Cirque of Towers would be nice to see, but a number of other places have also caught my eye (from browsing the Pallister book) such as Bonneville Basin, East Fork/Desolation Valley, Baptiste Lake, Deep Lake, Lizard Head Plateau, New Fork Plateau.  I don’t need total solitude, although I want to be able to easily find campsites.  I’d really love to do some relatively easy off-trail travel but nothing exceeding Class 2+ or so.  I tend to care more about consistent and varied scenery than I do about the best scenery.  For example, I actually preferred Indian Basin over Titcomb Basin because it had more variety in the views; even though Titcomb is slightly more spectacular, I felt like the views walking down Titcomb basin were basically the same most of the way in, whereas the trail in Indian Basin would wind around and have more varied scenery.

Anyway, here are my questions:

1.  Snow conditions:  Will most of the passes be pretty much snow-free by late July this year?  I haven’t planned a specific route yet, but some of the passes I am considering include Texas Pass, Illinois Pass, Jackass Pass, Raid/Bonneville Col (“Pain-in-the-Ass Pass”), Middle Fork Pass, Hailey Pass, and Macon Lake Pass (obviously not all of these).  If any of these will likely still be difficult due to lingering snow, please let me know.  I won’t have an ice axe or crampons, and would much prefer to leave the microspikes at home if possible.

2.  Bugs:  Any tips on how to avoid them?  Any suggestions on routes and campsites that will have fewer bugs?  Campsites up higher away from water would be great, especially if they have a little breeze to help with the mosquitoes, but I also would prefer to not be totally exposed to the full wind.  I will plan on wearing long sleeves/pants (soaked in permethrin) and will bring a headnet; any other tips to mitigate the mosquitoes would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Lester.  I agree that Caltopo and Google Earth are great tools.  What I am not as good with is predicting the snow conditions up there, so thanks for the link.  I don’t know Wyoming very well—would the Southern Winds be roughly the area marked 152% on that map?

Thanks everyone.  I’ll take this all into account as I look over the map in more detail over the next couple of weeks and plan some possible routes!

Thanks again all.  Brad—that route looks great but probably a bit long for me on this 5-day trip.  John—that shortcut up to the corner of Pyramid and over to Hailey Pass sounds nice, but I’m worried there might be snow/ice on the North side in late July this year?

Also, I have two other related questions (if people don’t notice these questions here, I may start a new post):

1.  By all accounts, the bugs are typically awful in the Winds in late July.  Do they tend to go away at night?  I would love to bring my pyramid tarp/bivy, but if bugs are swarming right on my bivy at night an inch from my face, I know they would keep me awake.  The only times I have ever backpacked with lots of mosquites in the past, they have disappeared after dark, and I was either fine with my tarp/bivy or wished I had brought it instead of the tent.  But if in doubt I’ll just bring the full 4-lb double-wall tent.
2. I am thinking of doing the Texas Pass loop (Big Sandy TH to Shadow Lake to Texas Pass to Cirque to Deep/Temple Lakes to Big Sandy TH), and I am trying to prepare for the snow on Texas Pass (this will be in late July).  I bought an ice axe and practiced self arrest/belay last week, and will head out this week for a 2nd practice session.
   1. I was hoping that microspikes (on trail runners) and an ice axe would be sufficient for Texas Pass.  Does that sound reasonable?  Should I bring crampons instead?
   2. I’m assuming that ascending the North side of Texas Pass would be easier than descending it?  (the North side is steeper and holds more snow, so I would rather ascend it, but on the other hand, the snow will have softened up somewhat if I descend it, as it will be later in the morning).
   3. On that note, what time of day do you think would be ideal to attempt that pass?  I was thinking 8-9am or so, and I can wait a little longer if needed for it to soften up a bit?

Ok, now I think I’m changing my plans at the last minute.  My new tentative route is as follows:

Day 1:  big Sandy trailhead to desolation valley (East fork)w

Day 2:. Over Hailey pass to Baptiste lake

Day 3:  over Macon lake pass to washakie lake

Day 4:  to Valentine lake, then South fork lakes, then ascend to lizard head trail, then camp at bear lakes

Day 5:. Return via jackass pass

two last-minute questions:

1.  Is the road to big Sandy trailhead currently doable in a minivan? In an outback? (I would prefer to take the minivan if possible)

2.  Would you recommend bringing an ice axe for this route? Microspikes?

Thanks again all!

John—how in the world do you fit 12 days of food into an Ohm?  I wanted to bring my new Ohm but 5 days of food was too much for me (since I also had my full old double-wall tent instead of my tarp shelter, and an ice axe, and…)  Guess I need to learn more from this website!

obx hiker—yeah, some line somewhat like that should work.  I got a little closer to Grave Lake at the beginning, and ended up exploring the Chain Lake area before climbing the pass, but otherwise followed a similar line.  The climb up to Rabbit Ears Lake was easier than I expected; you basically just head up the hill through grass and granite slabs.  There was a faint trail (game trail?) much of the way.  Perhaps I got lucky and stumbled on the easy way, but I basically just headed S/SW from the W corner of Grave Lake, like you show there, and the hill wasn’t hard at all.  Finding a way up the North side of Macon Lake Pass was also straightforward.  On the way down on the S side, I think it’s best to keep West and head down to the West side of Macon Lake below.  That pass is not too hard overall, but do give yourself enough time to get it done before the afternoon storms come.

The shortcut over the Pyramid saddle was easier than I anticipated.  I wasn’t planning on attempting it, but once I saw it (I saw it as I was approaching from the West up high coming from the East Fork basin), I thought it looked pretty do-able and went for it.  Both sides were pretty easy to figure out, and snow wasn’t an issue at all.  Honestly, descending the North side of Hailey Pass (on the “trail”) was more challenging and dangerous.  There, you could choose between snow vs steep scree.  Neither was terrible, but both were more sketchy IMO than the saddle over Pyramid (although that was more physically exhausting).

Two more notes:  1.  If you do a similar route, make sure to visit Baptiste Lake.  It’ll take a little time (the trail kind of disappears as you climb up to it), but it was my favorite part of the entire trip.  A true gem.  2.  If you go from South Fork Lakes to Lizard Head Plateau like I did, I would recommend camping at South Fork Lakes so you can get an early start on the climb up to the Lizard Head trail.  I made the mistake of camping at Washakie Lake instead, and didn’t get up to the Lizard Head plateau until after noon, by which time I was stuck in rain (but luckily no thunderstorms).  I highly recommend the route, but that climb was definitely the toughest of the trip (the area is outstanding though).

If you have any other passes or off-trail routes in mind, you’ll have to let me know.  I have had mixed feelings about off-trail travel in the past—I love figuring out the navigation and getting away from the crowds, but I hate boulder hopping and fields of talus and the like—but most of those off-trail sections that I hit in the Southern Winds were heaven on Earth.  Nice, relatively easy meadows and grassy/granite slopes, with absolutely no people and spectacular scenery.  I need to start compiling a list of passes and segments that are relatively easy in terms of the terrain, so I can put together another route like this!