Wind River High Route Gear Checklist

What shapes your gear on Wind River High Route

Route length and pace

A party that walked from Green River Lakes to Big Sandy logged 76 miles in six and a half days, and some of their days covered barely ten miles, with one day at 7.3. A guest writer on another loop tells ordinary backpackers to plan no more than 7 to 10 miles a day on the harder sections.

From Outside and Skurka Adventures: Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 6

Two different routes share the name

The route described by Alan Dixon runs north to south from Green River Lakes and stays above 10,000 feet for roughly the first 5 or 6 days. Andrew Skurka's route is a separate line that Hiking Project lists at 97 miles with 65 off trail, and several trip reports on this page come from loops of that route. Both cross the same Titcomb and Alpine Lakes country, so the gear lessons overlap.

From AdventureAlan.com and Hiking Project

Passes and navigation

One party crossed nine passes in the week, starting with Cube Rock Pass. Most of the way there were no trails and no footprints, so they checked maps and a phone GPS app every hour or two. Dixon's notes say the Indian Pass to Camp Lake stretch holds the hardest navigation and the only class 3 and 4 terrain, and that it has an untested bypass.

From Outside and AdventureAlan.com

Where the snow and ice are

Knapsack Col held far more snow on its east side in most years, according to Dixon. Posters on a gear forum describe blue ice with no runout on Knife Point Glacier, and a steep permanent snowfield on the south side of Alpine Lakes Pass that was mostly melted out by August in one year.

From AdventureAlan.com and Backpacking Light: Wind River Route August (Gear List)

Cold and storms

One poster has seen nearly a foot of snow in late August and many nights in the mid to low 20s, and another mentions a Labor Day blizzard. Dixon's party was pinned down by wind, hail and sleet at Texas Lake, under a tarp that was their only shelter.

From Backpacking Light: wind river high route gear list and AdventureAlan.com

Land managers along the route

The route starts in the Bridger Wilderness on the Pinedale Ranger District and crosses the Continental Divide, where the Forest Service warns that regulations change on the Shoshone National Forest.

From U.S. Forest Service: Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wilderness and U.S. Forest Service: Bridger Wilderness Area Permits

What hikers carry on Wind River High Route

• Microspikes

  A guest writer on a Skurka loop called them essential for sloped snowfields and glaciers, and another party said the trip could not have been done without them in a snowy year. A forum poster who went in mid-August 2018 needed them on the north side of Knife Point, and says a lighter cleat set slipped more than microspikes on steep ground.

  Not everyone agrees. Dixon's party crossed Knife Point in trail running shoes with trekking poles, late on a sunny day when the ice had softened.

  From Skurka Adventures: Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 6, Skurka Adventures: Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 4, Backpacking Light: Wind River Route August (Gear List) and AdventureAlan.com

• An ice axe, for the steepest snow

  One party carried axes and never used them but still judged them needed for self-arrest. Another writer, who had no axe, thought one would have been worth the weight on a steep pass and says locals commonly carry one. Dixon suggests crampons and an axe for Alpine Lakes Pass when snow is heavier or the date is early.

  From Skurka Adventures: Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 4, Skurka Adventures: Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 6 and AdventureAlan.com

• Trail running shoes with a tough upper

  Boulders and talus take shoes apart quickly. One writer said most shoes get shredded in a couple of days and wants a tough upper that fits securely in the forefoot. Dixon's party and a 37-hour solo traveler both used trail runners.

  From Skurka Adventures: Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 6, AdventureAlan.com and Montana State University math department personal page

• A phone GPS app, a compass and a printed map

  With no trail, the party that walked 76 miles checked maps and a phone app all day. One guest writer says to base every decision on the map, compass and GPS, never on a gut feeling. The extreme case is a solo traveler who memorized the whole route and carried a compass but no maps, and who says that only works with a remembered route.

  From Outside, Skurka Adventures: Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 6 and Montana State University math department personal page

• A bear-resistant sack or a canister

  The Outside party packed seven days of food into a canister and called it a squeeze. Forum posters say hanging food above tree line takes time because a boulder or tree has to be found, and one used a bear-resistant sack and was glad of it. The Forest Service accepts a hang as well.

  From Outside, Backpacking Light: wind river high route gear list and U.S. Forest Service: Food Storage order, Blackrock, Jackson, Pinedale and parts of Big Piney and Greys River Districts

• Bear spray, picked up from a trailhead box

  The Outside party left home without theirs, then found a can beside the sign-in box at Green River Lakes. They carried it 76 miles and left it on the Big Sandy kiosk for the next group. They saw no bears.

  From Outside

• A shelter that fits an exposed camp

  A pyramid shelter helped a Skurka loop party in the afternoon storms. Dixon's party rode out hail and sleet under a tarp. Dixon also marks two cleared bivy sites near Alpine Col where only a bivy sack fits, and says not to expect to pitch a tarp or tent.

  From Skurka Adventures: Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 6 and AdventureAlan.com

• Insulation for nights near 20 degrees

  One poster used a quilt with extra down fill plus a down vest, a down balaclava and wind clothing and says it worked into the 20s. Another says he has had many August nights in the mid to low 20s and tells others to be ready for 20 degrees at least.

  From Backpacking Light: wind river high route gear list

• Bug protection that matches the date

  Reports split by timing. A solo traveler in mid-July counted tens of thousands of mosquitoes. A forum poster says bugs were pretty bad in two Julys and advises a bivy. Posters who went in late August and early September saw none. A party in early August carried 1.25 ounces of DEET and no nets and found the mosquitoes minimal.

  From Montana State University math department personal page, Backpacking Light: Wind River Route August (Gear List) and Outside

• Bread bags and light gloves

  A guest writer suggests bread bags for camp footwear because feet end up soaked, and light gloves to protect the palms when grabbing sharp rocks on the talus.

  From Skurka Adventures: Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 6

• A backup way to treat water

  One solo traveler met a party whose filters had failed and filtered a gallon for them, then suggested they simply use unfiltered snowmelt. Dixon points to the inlet stream at the south end of Golden Lake as the last good water before Hay Pass, and found the warm water at Lake 10,555 tannic.

  From Montana State University math department personal page and AdventureAlan.com

Gear questions for Wind River High Route