Winds – Sept 9-17

[Francis DeRoos]

I am planning on heading out on a 8 day 7 night trip to the wind River range between September 9^th and September 17 and would appreciate any guidance or insights regarding the route or fishing or off trail recommendations.

I will be traveling with 2 other people (all in our 50s) both of which have good backpacking skills as well as some but not extensive experience with off trail hiking (Sierras and Gila wilderness) and, for one of them this will be his 1^st “lightweight backpacking experience”. Our goals are split between seeing the Winds (first for all of us) and fishing.

My current plan is to do a “lolly pop” trip from Big sandy – Mams Lake > desolation valley > over Hailey Pass > baptiste Lake > South Fork Little Wind River (2 nights) > south fork lakes > over Washakie Pass > Dads Lake or Shadow Lake. Having the extra day on the east side will give us flexibility for any weather issues as well as plenty of fishing / exploring time.  Is it reasonable to plan a trail crossing over these passes in mid september? for the fishermen – any recommended drainages or lakes to explore?

My original plan was to head out of Elkhart Park through Cooks lakes > Tincomb basin > alpine lakes via indian pass > return. However after reading many posts, I’m not certain travelling “off trail” over Indian Pass to the east side is the best idea mostly because we would not have any flexibility with our time table should a storm present itself.  Any advise welcome.

[Arthur]

Washakie pass is very snow covered as of 4 days ago.  Crampons for sure, ice ax recommended. Hailey pass has snow, but at lower elevations and easily traversed. Personal observations.

[Lester Moore]

Titcomb basin and Island Lake are spectacular (and crowded), less crowded in September for sure. You can shorten the trip you mentioned and make it much easier by skipping Indian Pass and Alpine Lakes and instead going over Wall Lake Pass (between Island and Wall Lakes), which is pretty moderate off-trail. A pleasant, moderate loop is Elkhart Park to Cook Lakes, over Wall Lake Pass to Island Lake, visit Titcomb Basin (have to Visit Mistake Lake if going to Titcomb Basin) and/or Indian Basin, then out past Seneca Lakes and Hobbs Lake back to the car.

Really the only “tricky” part of Wall Lake Pass is getting around Wall Lake – you want to go around Wall Lake’s East shore, keeping high as you go around the rocky hump around the middle of the lake.

[Francis DeRoos]

thanks @art-r, good to know about Washakie pass. I’m not sure if everyone in our group will be comfortable with that.

@santori – great suggestion. looking at the maps now and it certainly looks like a great route with plenty of water to fish. how many days did you traverse this route?  Any place you’d recommend to explore or to lay over and take a day trip?

[Lester Moore]

A long time ago when I fished we caught some big trout in Island Lake, near the outlet, and also in the creek below Jean Lakes not far from there. We also saw somebody who caught lots of Goldens in Mistakes Lake but we never fished there. Cook lakes and thousand Island Lake were a bust, as were Hobbs and Senica. Things may have changed though in the last several years, and we did not spend tons of time to find the best spots.

As for backpacking and day hikes, you can’t go wrong with a camp near or just above Island Lake or Cook Lakes and do a few day hikes into Titcomb and/or Indian Basin. Or if you layover near Cook Lakes, your could day hike Lester Pass, Spider Lake, Mt. Baldy. If you’re in shape and not carrying too much gear, you can get into Island Lake or just above it in a reasonable day of hiking (13 miles, 2000′-ish vertical). Another day to get over to Cook Lakes. You can always use Lester Pass if you don’t like the looks of Wall Lake Pass or want to stay on-trail. From Cook Lakes it’s another full day to get back to Elkhart Park.

An easy going pace could include camps at Hobbs Lake or Seneca Lake night 1, then Island Lake (maybe one or two extra days here), then Cook Lakes (or an extra day here if fishing good), then Eklund Lake for your last night (or maybe a little diversion to Sweeny Lakes – never been there).

There are some good guidebooks to the Winds that you’d find helpful for trip planning details like the above, combined with Caltopo, Google Earth and some hardcopy maps.

[Author]

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