A view up the Big Sandy meadow toward the Wind River Range.
For those who are familiar with the Winds, there is no need to describe their beauty and uniqueness. For those not familiar with them, this is one of, if not the most, beautiful mountain ranges in our country. It may be the wildest because it is less used and managed/regulated than the ranges in the National Parks. It seems though that a strong case could be made for it to be one.The range is part of the Continental Divide, is about 80 miles long and runs north-south through west central Wyoming. There are miles after miles of glacially polished granite walls, towers and spires whose grandeur is difficult to capture in words. It is very similar in some ways to Yosemite but the amazing valleys that intersperse the range are unique, at least to me, to Wyoming and Montana. If you love mountains, the Wind River Range should be on your bucket list of destinations if you have not been there.
Our reason for going was two-fold. 1) We had been to most of the mountain ranges in the West but not the Winds. 2) Our son Kyle is working for the US Forest Service this summer/fall and is stationed at a Forest Service Guard Station that is located on the road going up to the Big Sandy Opening. It seemed like a good time for a visit.
The plan was for me to fly out ahead of Joanie and work with Kyle as a Forest Service Volunteer for 10 days. The following week she would drive the pop-up camper from Oregon with Taz and we all would go for a backpacking trip into the Winds for a few days and then drive home together.
I flew into the airport at Jackson where Kyle picked me up. We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called Local because most of the menu items were raised locally. It had been about 6 years since our last trip to the Tetons - it was surprising how much Jackson has grown. Still a wonderful town though.
The next day Kyle and I provisioned a week's worth of food in Jackson and headed for Pinedale, about 90 miles to the south. After a very nice lunch at the Wind River Brewing Company and a visit to The Great Outdoor Shop for a Wyoming fishing license for me, we were off to Kyle's outpost. Along the way there are several very interesting Historical Markers. I did not know that the Mountain Men, John Fremont, Kit Carson and early Oregon Trail travelers passed through this area.
A view towards Kyle's station.
The cabin sits at 8250 feet elevation. There is propane for lights, cooking and heat..There is a generator for charging devices but no TV, cell service or Internet. The cabin is old and rustic but is very livable. It would be a great place to take a break from being wired and online all the time.
The TV and Internet were replaced by cloud shows almost every day.
The days passed by quickly. Kyle's primary duties are maintaining the facilities at the Big Sandy trail head, working with campers in the dispersed sites and driving the many forest roads in a utility vehicle. The trail head is very popular because it provides the easiest access to the Cirque of the Towers, one of the most frequently visited areas of the Winds. The parking lot has license plates and climbers from across the country. The purpose of traveling the forest roads is to make sure there are no downed trees across the roads or other issues that need to be resolved prior to hunting season which is the busiest time in this area.
The Big Sandy trail head and parking lot.
Kyle clearing a downed tree.
The evenings were ours though and were focused on learning our new sport - fly fishing. We both had geared up earlier in the summer and collected a ton of reading material so it was now time to get serious about it.
Kyles fishing the Big Sandy river. It is hard to imagine a prettier place to cast your first flies.
Due to multiple health issues for me, we went on a day hike to measure my capabilities for the backpack trip and learned a valuable lesson about weather in the Winds - it can change quickly and drastically. It was only about 30 minutes from the time the picture below was taken to when we were sitting under some trees waiting out a huge storm with lightning, thunder, pea sized hail and a torrent of rain. Based on a forecast for better weather, we had not taken all of our rain gear so parts of both of us got soaked. The trip was a success though in that we determined I could make it to Big Sandy Lake, a six mile hike.
We decided though that it would be a good idea to hire wranglers to horse pack our heavy gear up to the lake and then we would walk everything out. We worked out a plan with Wes from the Big Sandy Lodge. The Big Sandy Lodge is also at the end of the dirt road, not far from the trail head. It is an incredibly beautiful and peaceful place. If you are looking for a place to really disconnect and relax, this lodge is definitely worth considering.
The view from the fire pit at Big Sandy Lodge. Yes, that is a beaver lodge at the far side of the lake. It houses multiple beavers that have a dam at the bottom of the lake. It is really cool to watch them work the dam and swim around the lake in the evening.
Joanie and Taz would arrive on Saturday. The plan for the back pack trip was to hike in on Monday and set up a base camp at Big Sandy Lake for 3 nights. Sheryl and John from the lodge would pack the gear to the lake and leave indicators to the site where they dropped it. They found a very nice site at the far end of the lake. We were fortunate to dodge some nasty weather from a cold front that was passing through. We had one brief snow shower but after it passed, it was just cloudy, windy and cold. The weather though, did provide some good photo opportunities from our campsite.
Tuesday was a rest day as neither Joanie, Taz or I had back packed for several years due to my health. A wilderness ranger friend of Kyle's pointed us to a very nice beach on the lake where we spent the afternoon reading and practicing our fly casting.
Joanie, Kyle and Taz with War Bonnet Peak in the background.
The goal of the trip was to get me to the top of Jackass Pass (and hopefully further) to get at least a partial view of the Cirque of the Towers. On Wednesday Kyle and I decided to go. Joanie stayed at camp with Taz as both were still feeling the effects of the hike in and the altitude. I gave it my best shot but we only made it to North Lake, well over a mile of tough hiking away from the pass. It was difficult to turn around but faced with the hike out the next day, it was the right decision. We were rewarded with great views of War Bonnet peak and other peaks as we walked back down. We chatted with two different groups that were hiking the Continental Divide Trail. They both had started in New Mexico during the third week of April and had some interesting stories.
War Bonnet Peak. The trail to the pass follows the trees up from the lake and then up to the right.
Looking down at Big Sandy Lake. Our campsite was at the top of the lake above the right side of the meadow.
Since we turned around early, we had an early dinner and then went fishing at dusk. None of us had ever seen so many fish jumping. It seemed that at least 5-10 were jumping at any given moment. Kyle caught 3 and Joanie 1 on her 3rd cast ever. Unfortunately I neglected to bring a camera.
The hike out on Thursday was tougher than the hike in because we were all carrying more weight, especially Kyle. We were all happy to arrive at the trail head parking lot.
We rested and organized our gear on Friday and reluctantly headed back to Oregon on Saturday.
This will be a memorable trip for our family and we are all glad that we were able to make it happen. I plan to go back in the fall to see the aspen groves turn color, have another go at Jackass Pass and spend more time casting flies with Kyle (we are both hooked on fly-fishing now).
The Wind River Range is a very special area. As said earlier, if you love mountains, try to see them some day - you will not regret it.
Safe travels and thanks for reading.
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