After seven miles this morning, I exited the Wind River Range at Green River Lakes. I hope to return to investigate further into the Winds’ high country interior. Unfortunately, the CDT flanks the high country quite a bit. My initial intention was to do the 100-mile alternate of the Wind River High Route, but I think it best to make this a dedicated trip in and of itself. My detours to Cirque of the Towers and Knapsack Col revealed a backcountry paralleled by only a couple other North American mountain ranges that I’ve seen — namely, the High Sierra Nevada and the Northern Cascades. For now, I must continue north, but my return to the Winds is certain and, hopefully, imminent.
| 🗓️ Date | July 17th |
| ⇢ Mileage | 31.3 |
| 📍 Trip Mileage | 1805.0 |
| ⛅️ Weather | Sunny 65°F; some patch clouds later in the day |
| 🏞️ Trail Conditions | Clear cruising trail/dirt road with occasional lack of footpath |
I had a day ahead of me. Gunsight Pass was a 2,000-foot climb over about six miles. This doesn’t sounds terrible, except that 1,100 feet of the ascent happens in the last mile to the pass. Atop Gunsight Pass, the Tetons came into view with a hazy skyline. Supposedly, Canadian fires have Montana under heavy smoke, and it’s only a matter of hours before the winds migrate the smoke more south (or I hike into it).
Miraculously, I was at 15 miles on the day at the top of Gunsight Pass. Following unhealthy habits, I was running off of no breakfast, a liter of water, and the hatred of the swarms of mosquitos chasing me through the wet lowlands. I ate a solid lunch atop Gunsight, enjoying the slight breeze.
The rest of the day was rolling country through forests with some large splits into high desert open space. I walked on for another 16 miles, keen to my surroundings. Though the Wind River Range is known to have grizzly bears, the population density is not all that significant yet. On the other side of Gunsight Pass, however, the grizzly population is much more significant, as grazing happens in the hills and the bears pick off animals as easy prey. How dense is this population? How many are there per square mile? I have no idea. I am in acting in full precaution — separate camp, separate cook and eat area, separate food storage area.
I started myself on an off-trail ridge walk with excellent views of the Tetons and back towards the Winds. I’ll merge back with the CDT, take the old CDT at Sheridan Pass, and get myself positioned for a trip to Dubois.
Signing off,
Zeppelin / fReaK (ON a leash)
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