Southern Winds

My son and I just got back from a 55 mile trip through the southern Winds. We encountered very little snow and had great weather till the last day. First day we started at the Big Sandy trail head at about 2:30 PM and hiked in till just below Shadow Lake and camped. Second day we hiked past Shadow, Barren and Texas Lakes on the backside of the Cirque of the Towers. After my son caught a few fish in Barren Lake we made our way over Texas Pass. The view of the Cirque of the Towers from the top of Texas Pass was absolutely stunning. From the top of Texas Pass we dropped down to Lonesome Lake then to Lizard Head meadows where we ate some lunch. After a short break we began the long climb up the Lizard Head Trail. We followed the Lizard Head Trail to the junction of the Bears Ears Trail. From there we took the Bears Ears Trail to Valentine Lake where we camped the second night. Next morning we made our way into the valley of the South Fork Little Wind River. Saw a bunch of elk where we dropped into the valley. My son did some fishing in the river and caught 13 fish in about 20 minutes. From there we hiked to Grave Lake and then over Hailey Pass and down to the a lake at the bottom of the pass. We camped there our third night. Next morning we hiked up past Pyramid Lake and into Desolation Valley. Desolation Valley was stunning and all off trail. We hiked to the upper part of the valley on a bench above the drainage. After reaching the upper valley we went back down the valley via the East Fork River. We followed the East Fork River all the way to the Fremont Trail. This entire section was off trail. We took the Fremont Trail to Marms Lake then all the way out to the Big Sandy trail head for an 18 mile final day. I've never been in a mountain range that has a higher concentration of dramatic scenery as the Winds. This route was beyond stunning. My 15 year old son did great to cover this route in 3.5 days.

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Awesome. I got to get up there this year!!!

Awesome trip! I was up there this weekend but didn't cover near as many miles. We got sprinkled on Thursday and then poured on Friday night.

Tks for sharing. Pure awesomeness!!! :2thumbs:

This is the year for early backcountry trips. Nice shots.

So much wishing I was up there right now!

Nice pictures and TR

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Great TR and shots! What is the route like up and over Texas Pass? I'm not seeing it on either of my topos. Is it all cross-country navigation, or is there an actual trail? Gonna be up there in a couple of weeks and might add this portion to my route if it's not too vicious. Thanks!

plutacratic77 - Texas Pass is on the North side of the Cirque of the Towers across from Jackass Pass. The route over Texas pass is fairly straight forward. We went over Texas Pass from the Shadow Lake side. The trail is fairly steep on the Shadow Lake side but it's a short climb, only took us about 20 minutes to make the climb from Texas Lake to the top of the pass. It is an off trail route past Shadow Lake but enough people use it that there is a pretty well defined trail. Once we made it over the pass the trail was not as straight forward descending into the Cirque of the Towers but its pretty easy to find a way down. The Cirque of the Towers side is not nearly as steep but it's quite a bit longer. It was no harder than going over Hailey Pass if you have ever done that one. I thought the view of the Cirque of the Towers was incredible from Texas Pass, better than from Jackass Pass in my opinion.

I have a book called "Beyond Trails in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming" by Nancy Pallister. If you are going to do much off route stuff in the Winds I highly recommend ordering the book. It comes with a CD with maps and photos. The maps are worth the price of the book alone. We also did a few miles of off route hiking through Desolation Valley and the East Fork drainage using info from the book.

plutacratic77 - Texas Pass is not marked on the topos but it is easy to find. Look for Shadow Lake on the backside of the Cirque of the Towers. Then follow the valley up from Shadow Lake past three more lakes. None of them are named on my topo map but they are Billys Lake, Barren Lake and Texas Lake with Texas Lake being the uppermost lake in the valley. You can find Texas Pass between Texas Lake and the Cirque of the Towers. I have a map of the Southern Winds by Earthwalk Press that has Texas Pass labeled. You can get this map at any REI.

Thanks for the reply, mtnrunner. I see it now on my Earthwalk Press map after looking a little closer. Probably going to give this a crack. If so, we'll be going over it from the Lonesome Lake side. Cheers.

Rad. I will definitely be there soon!!! :mrgreen:

That looks like a great route. The photos are fantastic! I'm going there in a week. I may retrace your steps if I can talk the group into it.

Just one question, are there any fire restrictions aside from the usual "no fires above tree line" rule? I'm hoping to eat a fish or two while I'm there and want to know how I'll need to cook them.

Thanks

How great you got to go on a trip with your son! You don't look like you have a 15 year old! Great photos and trip, love the Winds.