Wind River Range - WY

Wind River Range - WY - Cirque of the Towers

Logistics:

Fly into Salt Lake – 4 hour drive to Pinedale.  Stay in Motel and drive to Big Sandy Campground and leave car at trail head.

Itinerary:

Day 1 – After drive over forest service roads we left the car at Big Sandy Camp and trail head (lots of parking – no fee) and hit the trail.  The trail immediately begins a slow and steady rise.  We reached our camp early at Big Sandy Lake for some fishing and recreation.  The site has bear lockers and was very clean.

Day 2 – Short day.  The trail sets out immediately up hill and reaches tree line very quickly.  It skirts several glacier lakes (tarns) and continues to rise to Jackass Pass.  We then descended into the cirque basin of Lonesome Lake.  This area, known as the Cirque of the Towers is stunning and certainly the highlight of the trip.  We camped in an area frequented by climbers that routinely conquer the magnificent towers all around.  

Day3 -  Early rise and quick descent to the shores of Lonesome Lake.  From here there is no trail which offered some route finding challenges, but it was very obvious where we needed to go after a check of the compass.  We began the rugged ascent to Texas Pass which crosses the Continental Divide.  At the pass the views of the towers and Lonesome Lake valley were breathtaking.  Likewise, looking ahead the views of Texas Lake showed us the next leg of the journey.  The descent is steep but there is a nice winding switch back trail through the scree fields to the shore of Texas Lake (named after it’s distinctive shape).  From Texas Lake we headed west along Barren Lake and followed the glacial valley to our wooded camp along the shore of Shadow Lake.  An afternoon of fishing and fresh fish dinner was a nice treat.

Day 4 – Departing Shadow Lake offers a stunning alpine meadow walk along the floor of Washakie Creek, a beautiful braided stream valley.  Some fly and spin fishing for a few hours hauled several trout.  Continuing along the valley we intersected the Hailey Pass Trail and turned north.  Now following the Pyramid Lake Trail we continued north past Skull Lake (again named after it’s distinctive shape) and camped in a spectacular campsite along lower Pyramid lake.  

Day 5 – Stayed at the Lower Pyramid Lake a second night.  Our foursome split into two with one group heading up to Hailey Pass and the high tarns and scree fields.  The other headed to Upper Pyramid Lake for some fishing.   

Day 6 – We retraced our tracks south along Skull Lake to the trail intersection we left two days prior.  In good spirits we pushed south along a very defined trail past Marine Lake and Dad’s Lake.  While crossing Fish Creek Park, a very open flat area, a storm was brewing on the horizon.  We hiked as fast as we could to get to some trees for shelter just as violent winds, lightening and heavy rain hit.  We huddled under a tarp in the tree stand and waited out the front.  Within an hour the skies were once again a stunning blue.  Realizing the trail head was only another a few miles ahead – we decided to push for the car, and head for Pinedale for some well deserved brews and a fine meal.