Wind River trip timing question

I vote last week of July.  I spent a night in a blizzard on Labor Day a couple years ago.

Definitely July – regardless of weather you’ll at least have a good trip in mid-summer.

I have been to the winds a few times in late August and early September and other than one decent snow storm (~10”) had pretty good weather.  I am going a little later in September this year (finishing on the 16th) and worry I might be too close to the end of the season.  I would be hesitant to go the end of September though.

The end of July should be great weather if you can tolerate the mosquitoes.  If that doesn’t sound appealing the Sierra or Colorado might be better either of those times of year.

In July, in addition to more mosquitos, you’ll also have more snow on the High Route than later in the summer, which has some benefits if your comfortably with snow climbing. July snowpack is just about perfect IMHO. The trails will be open, but snow up high will cover much of the late season icy, eroded and gravely stuff that melts out as August progresses.

Thanks for the feedback. I’m in Maine so I am well versed in bugs and snow. The glacier travel that I have seen in video doesn’t look terribly demanding. I was planning on bringing Microspikes. I’ve seen folks carrying ice axes but that looks a bit like overkill. I use a Duplex so I will have poles. Looks sufficient from my perspective.

I agree that microspikes and poles should be sufficient for the Glacier travel – no sure about snow in the high passes in July.

If you need to bail and bypass a pass it is usually pretty easy to get to the Highline Trail or Fremont Trail which parallels the WRHR.

I guess I should ask if you are doing the Wilson-Dixon WRHR or the Skurka version.

Wilson-Dixon seems more time and intensity appropriate for me.

We did the Wilson-Dixon in August, great route, a few snow chutes here and there. Got on the glacier too early and had to backtrack as it was deadly (without spikes – a Darwin moment).

We had brilliant settled weather and not a drop of rain.

Late July would be better for all the reasons mentioned above.  As dry as this winter has been, biting bugs might not be too bad in July but the thunderstorms could something to monitor.  Late sept early oct would be pushing it for the High Route in particular.  I have spent a week or two in the winds every year, mostly in the  fall for more than 25 years, and the weather has been all over the board.  Oct has always been cold and mostly snowy, not bad on the maintained trails but often sketchy off trail.

I would take microspikes for the Knifepoint Glacier.  I did not have them and made it safely.  But it felt really sketchy.

Thanks guys. Great feedback, I appreciate it.

Is it really not snowy there this year? I know Jackson has been getting hammered.

At Big Sandy, the historical average water snow equivalent since 1981 for this date is about 9 inches.  The current measure is the about the same, so this is an historically average year.  Last year on this date the number was 17 inches.  But, in late August last year there were passes still with tons of snow on them, so i suspect those areas are not starting from bare rock this snow season.  Lots of winter left, however.

https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/nwcc/site?sitenum=342

I am doing the Wilson-Dixon WRHR this year September 9-15 so hopefully the weather cooperates. I have done the northern and southern ends already as part of previous loops, but lack the middle 25 miles.