Cirque Gear Checklist
The Cirque of the Towers trip starts at Big Sandy in the Bridger Wilderness and crosses a pass into the Popo Agie Wilderness. Everyone we read stresses bugs, bear and marmot food storage, and fast weather above 9,000 feet. They carried head nets, a canister or a hang kit, bear spray, a down layer and a filter, and they disagree on whether a canister is worth nine miles of carrying. The agency pages are thinner than the bloggers on permits and gear.
What shapes your gear on Cirque of the Towers
- How far in
- Distances vary by source. One blogger puts Lonesome Lake ten miles from the Big Sandy trailhead, and a guide service calls the classic approach to Jackass Pass about nine miles with 2,000 feet of gain. A 2021 party did a three-day, two-night loop over Texas Pass, and a guide service gives that loop as 17 to 20 miles.
From Explore With Alec, Wildland Trekking and Adventures of A Plus K
- Two wilderness areas, two agencies
- The approach starts in the Bridger Wilderness on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Over Jackass Pass the Cirque is in the Popo Agie Wilderness on the Shoshone National Forest. The Shoshone page says the Cirque has an extra setback from Lonesome Lake under a special order posted in its alerts.
From Bridger-Teton National Forest (USDA Forest Service), Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Popo Agie Wilderness and Explore With Alec
- Season
- The guide service and a 2021 party both say July through September. A third blogger says June through September depending on snowpack. Fall brings colder nights, per the guide service. The 2021 party saw lows above freezing, afternoon storms and a small snow patch near Texas Pass that they crossed without spikes.
From Wildland Trekking, Adventures of A Plus K and Explore With Alec
- Permits: sources disagree
- Three bloggers and a guide service say no backcountry permit is needed, and one of them says you only sign a trail log. The Forest Service Bridger Wilderness page says group size rules apply and permits may be required, and points readers to its permits page. A tribal permit is needed to enter the Wind River Indian Reservation along the north side.
From Explore With Alec, Adventures of A Plus K, Paria Outdoor Products, Wildland Trekking, Bridger-Teton National Forest (USDA Forest Service) and Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Popo Agie Wilderness
- Services at the start
- The trailhead has vault toilets and the trail has none, so bring a trowel and pack out toilet paper. Phones get no signal out there, so one party relied on a downloaded offline map and found the route hard to follow in places.
What the agency requires on Cirque of the Towers
Bear-safe food and scent storage
On Shoshone lands in the order's map area, from March 1 to December 1 food, trash and scented items must be attended by someone awake within 100 feet, hung 10 feet up and four feet out from any pole or tree, kept in an approved bear-resistant container, or locked in a solid vehicle. Hanging is allowed, so a canister is one choice among several in that order.
From Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Order SHO-23-002, Occupancy and Use Prohibitions
Food storage on the Bridger Wilderness side
On the Pinedale Ranger District the Forest Service makes food storage a firm rule only north of Boulder Creek, and highly recommends it across the rest of the district. The page does not name the Big Sandy trailhead, so ask the district which side of the line it falls on.
A camp farther back from Lonesome Lake
The Cirque has an additional setback from Lonesome Lake beyond the ordinary lake setback, set by a special order in the forest's alerts. A gear company's blog puts it at a quarter mile and the ordinary lake setback at 200 feet.
From Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Popo Agie Wilderness and Paria Outdoor Products
What hikers carry on Cirque of the Towers
A head net and strong repellent
A 2009 forum poster called the bugs ten times worse than any rainforest and said to bring DEET and a full net for face and neck at camp. A 2021 party brought head nets, which made cooking away from the tent bearable, and had one miserable night of mosquitoes after a downpour at a lake. Another blogger says bugs are likely worse around Big Sandy than higher up.
From Mountain Project forum, Adventures of A Plus K and Explore With Alec
A bear canister, or a hang kit that suits a treeless camp
The 2021 party carried a canister rented in Pinedale. A forum poster argued that hanging food from a short alpine tree does nothing against a determined bear, while another disliked the weight over nine miles and noted at least ten hang rigs already built at camps. The guide service accepts a canister, a bear bag or a hang but warns that suitable trees are scarce at altitude.
From Adventures of A Plus K, Mountain Project forum and Wildland Trekking
A way to keep marmots out of the food
Forum posters say marmots above Jackass Pass are a bigger problem than bears. One group hung its food bag from the ends of hiking poles on the top of a big boulder, and another says marmots were very aggressive about food.
Bear spray
Black bears and grizzlies both live in the range. A couple on their first grizzly trip carried spray and cooked away from the tent, and the guide service names spray among its precautions. A shop in Pinedale rents spray, which cannot be flown.
From Adventures of A Plus K and Wildland Trekking
A down jacket, rain jacket and warm hat
One blogger's kit for a night above North Lake listed a down jacket, a rain jacket and a beanie plus a sleeping bag good to 15 to 30 degrees. A July 2012 group got caught by a rainstorm and howling wind near the top of Jackass Pass.
From Explore With Alec and Outside By Nature
A water filter
Water is easy to find along the route, per one overnight blogger, but the Forest Service lists no potable water. The 2021 party filled bottles at lakes to cook.
From Explore With Alec, Adventures of A Plus K and Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Popo Agie Wilderness
Trekking poles
One overnighter carried poles. The 2021 party did not use any but could see them helping on the loose, steep slope up Texas Pass, which climbs about 650 feet in 0.3 miles.
From Explore With Alec and Adventures of A Plus K
An offline map or GPS
With no cell service, the 2021 party navigated by a downloaded map. They found the first half mile, a climb under trees, hard to follow, and the way from their Lonesome Lake camp back to the main trail a bit confusing.
Going as a group? Split this list between you so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Cirque of the Towers
Relying on a hang above the trees
Forum posters point out that the last trees are below Jackass Pass, and that marmots and bears can reach a pole-hung bag. They suggest a canister or the boulder-top hang for the camps in the Cirque itself.
A heavy pack for the boulder fields behind Arrowhead Lake
A hiker who went out alone on the back side of Arrowhead Lake found the boulder hopping unwise with a full pack. Their climbing friends carried about 70 pounds each of rock gear, which they found impressive and also not for them.
From Outside By Nature
Dog waste bags tied to the pack
A couple who took their dog ended up carrying 9 or 10 bags of dog waste on the outside of their packs for the whole trip, and called it the least glamorous part. In bear country they also say to keep a leash on a dog.
A tent that stays wet
A downpour at the first night's lake left the 2021 party facing a wet tent to pack the next morning. The same lake had the worst mosquitoes of the trip.
Gear questions for Cirque of the Towers
Do you need a bear canister for the Cirque of the Towers?
The Shoshone order we read does not require one. It also lets you hang food 10 feet up and four feet out from a pole or keep it attended. A gear company's blog calls a canister required, but the agency text does not say so. The 2021 party carried one and a forum poster argued for one above the trees. The Forest Service makes storage a firm rule on the Pinedale district only north of Boulder Creek.
From Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Order SHO-23-002, Occupancy and Use Prohibitions, Bridger-Teton National Forest (USDA Forest Service), Paria Outdoor Products, Adventures of A Plus K and Mountain Project forum
Do you need a permit for the Cirque of the Towers?
Several bloggers and a guide service say no backcountry permit is needed, and one says only sign the trail log. The Forest Service says group size rules apply and permits may be required, so check its permits page. Entering the Wind River Indian Reservation to the north needs a tribal permit.
From Explore With Alec, Adventures of A Plus K, Paria Outdoor Products, Wildland Trekking, Bridger-Teton National Forest (USDA Forest Service) and Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Popo Agie Wilderness
How bad are the mosquitoes at the Cirque of the Towers?
Bad enough that three writers mention it. A 2009 poster wore a full net at camp, a 2021 party had one awful night and used head nets for cooking, and another says Big Sandy is likely buggier than higher camps. The 2021 trip was in July.
From Mountain Project forum, Adventures of A Plus K and Explore With Alec
Is there drinking water on the Cirque of the Towers route?
Not treated water. The Forest Service lists no potable water. Lakes and streams run along the route per two writers, so carry a filter.
From Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service): Popo Agie Wilderness, Explore With Alec and Adventures of A Plus K
Sources
- Wilderness (Bridger-Teton National Forest) · Bridger-Teton National Forest (USDA Forest Service) · Agency
- Popo Agie Wilderness · Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service) · Agency
- Order SHO-23-002, Occupancy and Use Prohibitions · Shoshone National Forest (USDA Forest Service) · Agency
- How to backpack to the Cirque of the Towers in Wyoming's Wind River Range · Adventures of A Plus K · Blog
- Backpacking into the gorgeous Cirque of the Towers · Explore With Alec, Alec Sills-Trausch · Blog
- Cirque of the Towers (July 2012 trip report) · Outside By Nature · Trip report
- Bears in the Wind River Range (forum thread, May 2009) · Mountain Project forum · Forum thread
- The Wind River Range and the Cirque of the Towers · Wildland Trekking · Blog
- Hike of the Week: Cirque of the Towers Loop · Paria Outdoor Products · Blog