Hike/Route info: http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/37344
We did this route without the trip to Bonneville Basin. This was my first trip to the area and I was not disappointed. Similar to the Sierra but certainly with its own flavor. Temps were very warm and most nights we left our bags unzipped. We saw no bears, but did see just about everything else. The weather was incredible, only got sprinkled on once. No mosquitoes either.
Day 1 was about 19 miles to up above Peak Lake. Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/107561442771983387605/WindRiverCrestDay1
Day 2 was up and over a couple cross-country passes and we camped at Baldy Basin. The night previous, some Pika's stole all of my gummy bears, jerky, and half a bag of cookies. They are good climbers or jumpers or both, as they were able to foil my food hanging techniques. We witnessed an amazing sunset. Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/107561442771983387605/WindRiverCrestDay2
Day 3 was spent on the CDT, which was much more rugged than you might expect. We cruised a good 22 miles or so before making camp. We saw some horse packers and a sheep herder in the far distance, but otherwise ran into nobody. We decided to cut out the next cross-country portion due to Pika food attack a couple nights previous. Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/107561442771983387605/WindRiverCrestDay3
Day 4 we got lost for a little while following more of the CDT than we wanted. Finally making our way to the amazing Shadow Lake. We hiked up and over a pass to the amazing Cirque of the Towers. We started to see more people and many thought we were dayhiking due to our very small packs which were now far less than 20 pounds each. Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/107561442771983387605/WindRiverCrestDay4
Day 5 we awoke to the greatest sun rise in the history of earth and took many pictures to prove it. Our shortest mileage day had us done by noon and we were very hungry for the amazing burgers at the Pinedale Brewery. Better than Oscar's, seriously (near Zion where I live). Fishing and eating in Jackson was next, but we both agreed we belonged back in the Winds. Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/107561442771983387605/WindRiverCrestDay5
