Trip Report: Kate on the Wind River High Route

Where did you go?

I went to the remote Wind River Range in Wyoming for the high route through the range that is continually growing in popularity. There are two main options for the route, the Skurka route or the Dixon Route. We combined both, starting at the southern end of the Dixon route at Big Sandy trailhead, but joining with the Skurka route and sticking to that for the rest of the hike. 

Why there?

The Wind River High Route has been on my bucket list for some time now. I hiked a section of the Continental Divide Trail through the Winds a handful of years ago and have wanted to go back ever since. It’s such an interesting range, and getting up higher into the mountain passes makes it seem like a completely different world

Trip details:

Length of trip: ~80 miles, 7 days (originally planned for 8 days, but weather shortened it by a day)

Weather: Highs in the upper 60s, lows in the upper 40s. Most days had a chance of afternoon showers, but luckily we only experienced rain on a couple of the days we were out there. The last day we had crazy thunderstorms and hail for multiple hours. We predicted this strom and were able to take a lower route to avoid a highly exposed section for the last 20 miles of the route. Since the low route was on a trail, we were able to get back to our car a day sooner.

Best moment?

It’s so hard to choose the best part of a trip like this! Every pass was absolutely stunning. The day my group unanimously agreed was most fun was when we went over Europe Peak. This was on day three of the route for us, and included a fun class 3 scramble to get on top of the ridge. The route stays up high on the ridge with great views for the next few miles and fairly easy walking. As far as views go though, the glacial floodplains before and after Blaurock pass a couple of days later were easily the highlight.

Worst moment?

The fourth day put us through quite the ringer. We hiked a total of 5.5 miles in about 13 hours, so it was very slow going. The first pass, Douglas Peak pass, looked somewhat intimidating and had quite a bit of loose footing. The other side of it was insanely steep and straight down loose scree. That wasn’t what slowed us down so much though. The pass brought us into the Alpine Lakes Basin. It was absolutely stunning, but the entire basin was a giant boulder field with lakes throughout. Boulder hopping around all of the lakes took the better part of the day. We finally made it up and over Alpine Lakes pass and ended the day there. To top it off, when we got to camp I realized I had lost my favorite Carhartt beanie somewhere along the hike that day. RIP favorite beanie, I hope someone found you and packed you out.

Gear MVP?

My Outdoor Research Helium jacket is arguably better as a wind jacket than a rain jacket, but it can withstand short showers. This was the perfect jacket for this type of hike, and we all repeatedly took on and off our rain/wind jackets throughout the days with constantly changing weather. It did great at not keeping me too hot or too cold while hiking. Everyone else in the group also had rain pants - I went without, but I would probably bring a pair if I did this hike again as they would have been useful.

Who would you recommend this trip to?

I’d recommend this trip to experienced backpackers looking for the challenge of a high route. It’s a long trip across varied terrain not on trails and you have to navigate yourself. The navigation aspect of the hike was easier than I thought it would be, but you definitely need the skills to do so. However, this was my first high route and I’d recommend it to anyone as their first as well as long as they’re prepared! Personally, I wouldn’t complete this trip solo and would recommend going with others, but confident hikers can and have gone it alone.