Hiking 80 miles Alone on the Wind River High Route

Traveling 80 miles through the Wind River Range of Wyoming, this is the best off trail route in the United States. The Winds are talked about in hiking as this mythical place, and that certainly holds true! This route goes by hundreds of alpine lakes, across scree fields, glaciers, up high mountain passes, and really never has a dull moment.

GEAR LIST - WIND RIVER HIGH ROUTE:
Shorts - http://tinyurl.com/ykdx7fwe
Hat - https://amzn.to/4fGQ8Ft
Shirt - https://amzn.to/4a9cRaU
Shoes - https://amzn.to/3Z1R95S
Watch - https://amzn.to/3mz7ePp
Fanny Pack - https://tinyurl.com/y5at3rnj

Backpack - http://tinyurl.com/ykhnu4fh
Pack Liner - http://tinyurl.com/2p8uvn7w
Quilt - https://tinyurl.com/yc2h5d54
Shelter - https://tinyurl.com/yc8kdj35
Inflatable Pad - https://amzn.to/3Jx85cB
Pillow - https://amzn.to/3NZnELp
Stakes - https://amzn.to/3TXTMTF

Fleece - http://tinyurl.com/4hxdpden
Beanie - Melanzana Fleece
Wind Pants - https://tinyurl.com/mtdxxztb
Socks - https://amzn.to/3DDlk73
Sunglasses - https://tinyurl.com/mrx785s6
Rain Jacket - Montbell Versalite
Gloves - Montbell Glove Liners
Puffy - Montbell Exlight Down

Water Filter - https://amzn.to/3UQXI9t
Water - 2x 1L Bottles
Spoon - https://amzn.to/3cA3mVG
Bear Bag - https://tinyurl.com/yxt9ctz2
Fishing - https://amzn.to/3ChVxo5

Flashlight - http://tinyurl.com/5n6jkrmd
Battery - https://amzn.to/4fEe3FB
Charger - Ravpower PD Pioneer 30w 2-port
Camera - https://amzn.to/3wjb6sG
Lens - https://amzn.to/3IRQV8q
Microphone - https://amzn.to/4cBW6GY
Camera Clip - https://amzn.to/4cvIgpT
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Toothbrush - https://amzn.to/3tkN4GY
Knife - https://amzn.to/3r3psb7
Trowel - https://amzn.to/3u6VIMr
Blister Tape - https://amzn.to/3qZ55f9
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Wallet - http://tinyurl.com/3bbsup83

STATS FROM MY HIKE - WRHR
Start - September 9
End - September 13
Route - Dixon, 80 miles nobo
Big sandy trailhead to Green River
Rain 2
Snow 2

Moose 1
Elk 3 (could hear many more bugling!)
Marmot 4
Fish caught 23
Bears 0 (did see bear scat once)

Day 1 - 15.8mi +3,763 - more than 100 weekenders, cirque of the towers, Texas pass, and a lot of good lakes! Shadow lake was the coolest one
Day 2 - 18.6mi +3,730 - cross country begins! Raid peak pass, Bonneville lakes, unnamed pass and bad hail storms. Surprising cell service twice
Day 3 - 15.8mi + 3,281 - storms threatening all day, cold and feels like autumn. Hay pass and golden lakes fishing
Day 4 - 4mi +1,778 - big snow storm all day, not having fun in tent all day
Day 5 - 18.8mi +3,097 - bailed after doing alpine lakes pass, knife point glacier, and Indian pass. Three inches of snow on top of boulder hopping is tedious. Island lake out to trailhead. Missed just one pass

I unfortunately had bad luck with weather on this one. I started a day and a half later than planned and that put my timing off placing me at the most difficult section with the worst possible weather incoming. I wound up getting snowed on for about 30 hours, and stayed in my tent for the duration of that as it would have been too unsafe to proceed. Fortunately my gear was good enough for that kind of cold. When I woke up the next day my water bottle was frozen SOLID. So it was definitely cold out there!

The route is incredible though. Alpine lake after alpine lake. Trailless expanse where you can freely roam without seeing a single other person for days. High passes with views of the beautiful surrounding granite mountains. Only the first 20 miles or so of this is on trail, while the next 60 miles or so is off trail. You go through the Cirque of the Towers, a famous hiking destination known for it's immense beauty, and then you won't see anyone else from there until you're done.

The Winds lived up to the hype in every way. Their beauty, the adventure, the tenkara fly fishing, everything was amazing.

When considering on doing this route you have two choices in what track you'd like to follow. The most prominent being AdventureAlan (Alan Dixon)... or Andrew Skurka. Both are known as the Wind River High Route, and both go the same way for the most part. The big difference in routing that I find is that Dixons goes down and around alpine lakes, while Skurkas skips those lakes entirely and instead chooses to go over more high passes. Skurkas is way more difficult, while Dixons seems much more chill because of this.

Skurkas route is 100 miles while AdventureAlans route is only 80 miles. They do follow roughly the same valleys and passes, but they both terminate in different locations on the northern end, which is why one is longer. Skurkas ends on the east side of the mountain range, while Dixons ends on the west. For this same reason Dixons is easier logistically, as you don't have to drive all the way around the entire range just to begin. You start and end on the same side. Overall I was happy with Dixons route and would do it again! I would also like to try Skurkas though.