WIND RIVER
RANGE

Bridger Wilderness, Wyoming · 8 days · ~56 miles · Proposed: Jul 24–31, 2027

Duration
8 Days · 7 Nights
Distance
~56 Miles
Elevation Gain
~8,500 ft (cumulative)
High Point
Texas Pass · ~11,700 ft
Dates
Jul 24–31, 2027 (proposed)
Permit
None required — wilderness self-registration at trailheads
View Map ↗

Day 1: Fly to Salt Lake City, Drive to Big Sandy

Travel day · Easy
Fly SFO → Salt Lake City (SLC)
Drive SLC → Big Sandy Trailhead (~5 hr, via Pinedale)
Lodging Camp, Big Sandy Campground

Fly into Salt Lake City, load the vans, and make the long drive north into Wyoming — through Pinedale (the last full resupply town, and home of the ranger district) and up the gravel road to Big Sandy Campground at about 9,000 ft. Gear check and bear-canister packing tonight; the altitude acclimatization starts now.

🚐
Drive day: Roughly 5 hours — plan a real grocery and fuel stop in Pinedale. Beyond it there is little more than a lodge store.
🐻
Bear canisters: The Bridger-Teton food-storage order applies all trip. Every crew's canisters get packed and checked tonight, not at the trailhead.
⛰️
Altitude: Sleeping at 9,000 ft on night one is deliberate — the whole route lives between 9,000 and 12,000 ft.
Elevation
~9,000 ft (trailhead camp)
Terrain
Highway · gravel road · trailhead camp
Highlight
First Wind River sunset

Day 2: Big Sandy Trailhead to the Cirque of the Towers

~9 mi · +1,800 ft
Start Big Sandy Trailhead
Pass Jackass Pass · ~10,800 ft
Camp Lonesome Lake, Cirque of the Towers

Up past Big Sandy Lake, then over Jackass Pass and down to Lonesome Lake in the Cirque of the Towers — a granite amphitheater of spires including Pingora and Wolf's Head that ranks among the great backpacking destinations in America. Camp goes up beneath the towers.

🧗
The Cirque: World-class climbing walls draw parties from everywhere — expect company at Lonesome Lake, and hold the strictest leave-no-trace standard of the trip here.
🦟
Mosquitoes: Late July is peak bug season in the Winds. Headnets are mandatory gear, not optional extras.
💧
Water: Big Sandy Lake and Lonesome Lake bracket the day — filter everything, always.
High Point
Jackass Pass · ~10,800 ft
Elevation Range
9,000 → 10,100 ft
Terrain
Lake trail · alpine pass

Day 3: Over Texas Pass to Shadow Lake

~7 mi · +1,500 ft
Start Lonesome Lake, Cirque of the Towers
Pass Texas Pass · ~11,700 ft
Camp Shadow Lake

A shorter, spectacular day: leave the Cirque over Texas Pass — a steep, view-packed climb — and drop into the Shadow Lake basin on the range's quieter east side. Early camp leaves time to fish and explore along Washakie Creek.

⛰️
Texas Pass: The crux climb of the trip. Snow can linger on its north side into late July — check conditions with the Pinedale Ranger District the week before departure.
🐻
Grizzly country: From here east, this is grizzly habitat — bear spray accessible, crew together, and no food in tents, ever.
🎣
Fishing: Shadow Lake and Washakie Creek hold cutthroat and brook trout for the afternoon.
High Point
Texas Pass · ~11,700 ft
Elevation Range
10,100 → 10,400 ft
Terrain
Alpine pass · lake basin

Day 4: Shadow Lake to Bonneville Basin

~8 mi · +900 ft
Start Shadow Lake
Route Via Pyramid Lake, north into Bonneville Basin
Camp Bonneville Basin lakes

A traverse day through the range's lake country — past Pyramid Lake and into Bonneville Basin, a broad, little-visited basin of tarns and granite slabs beneath Bonneville Peak. Some of this stretch is faint trail and easy cross-country: good map-and-compass practice for the crew.

🧭
Navigation: Faint and cairned sections — this is the day the older scouts lead with map and compass, tying straight back to the prep-trip skills days.
🌦️
Exposure: Long open stretches with nowhere to hide — be off the high ground by early afternoon if storms are building.
⛺
Camps: Dispersed basin camping — durable surfaces only, and 200 feet from water.
Elevation Range
10,300 → 10,800 ft
Terrain
Lake basins · faint trail
Highlight
Pyramid Lake under the crest

Day 5: Bonneville Basin to Island Lake

~11 mi · +1,100 ft
Start Bonneville Basin
Route Raid Lake → Fremont Trail (CDT) north
Camp Island Lake

The longest day: drop to the Fremont Trail — the range's main north–south artery, shared with the Continental Divide Trail — and follow it north past a string of lakes to Island Lake, the gateway to Titcomb Basin. Fremont Peak (13,745 ft), Wyoming's third-highest summit, fills the view all afternoon.

🥾
CDT overlap: The crew shares trail with Continental Divide thru-hikers today — good miles, better stories at camp.
🏔️
Tomorrow: Island Lake is the Titcomb basecamp — sort daypacks and camera gear tonight.
💪
Crew check: Longest day at altitude — leaders take an honest read on energy and feet before tomorrow's plan is set.
Elevation Range
10,400 → 10,300 ft
Terrain
Valley trail · lake country
Camp
Island Lake

Day 6: Titcomb Basin, Then Seneca Lake

~10 mi · +800 ft
Start Island Lake
Highlight Titcomb Basin, below Gannett Peak · 13,810 ft
Camp Seneca Lake

Morning in Titcomb Basin — a glacial valley of chained lakes beneath Gannett Peak, Wyoming's highest mountain and the most remote high summit in the Lower 48. Light packs, big scenery. After lunch the crew puts packs back on and relocates down the Pole Creek drainage to Seneca Lake for the final camp.

🏔️
Gannett Peak: No summit attempt — Gannett is a multi-day technical climb in its own right. The basin, looking straight up at it, is the right goal for this crew.
📸
Photo day: Titcomb is the signature landscape of the Winds — budget time here, not just miles.
🎒
Split day: Daypacks for the basin in the morning; full packs for the afternoon move to Seneca Lake.
Elevation Range
10,300 → 10,700 ft
Terrain
Glacial basin · lake trail
Highlight
Titcomb Basin under Gannett Peak

Day 7: Out at Elkhart Park, Pinedale Night

~11 mi · Mostly descent
Exit Elkhart Park Trailhead, via Pole Creek Trail
Drive Elkhart Park → Pinedale (~30 min)
Lodging Hotel, Pinedale

Final trail day: descend the Pole Creek Trail through lodgepole forest to the Elkhart Park trailhead — trail's end. A short drive into Pinedale brings showers, a celebration dinner, and a hotel night.

🏁
Finish line: ~56 miles, point to point. Verify every scout's and adult's miles for the 50-Miler Award log tonight — the award also requires 10 conservation service hours per participant, planned as a pre-/post-trip project.
🍔
Pinedale: Everything a trail town should be — outfitters, burgers, and the Museum of the Mountain Man if the crew still has curiosity left.
🧺
Gear: Hotel night is for a full dry-out before tomorrow's drive and flight.
Elevation Range
10,100 → 9,300 ft
Terrain
Forest descent · trail town
Finish
Elkhart Park Trailhead

Day 8: Drive to Salt Lake City & Depart

Travel day · Easy
Drive Pinedale → Salt Lake City (~4.5 hr)
Depart Salt Lake City (SLC), afternoon flight
Arrive SFO, evening

A morning drive back across Wyoming and into Salt Lake City, van return, and the flight home — with the Wind River crest in the rear-view mirror for most of the way south.

✈️
Flight timing: Book afternoon departures — the Pinedale-to-SLC drive is the long pole in the day, and it should never be rushed.
⛽
One planned stop: Fuel and food at Evanston or Little America keeps the drive on schedule.
Terrain
Highway · airport
Elevation
9,300 → 4,200 ft
Finish
Home

Essential Trip Info

Permits & Regulations

📝
No permit or lottery: Bridger Wilderness trailheads are self-registration only — no quotas, no reservations, no permit fees anywhere on this route.
🐻
Grizzly protocol (required): This is core grizzly habitat. Approved bear-resistant food storage is mandatory under the Bridger-Teton food-storage order; bear spray for adults and older scouts, carried accessible; strict camp hygiene; noise on blind trail sections. Bear-safety training belongs in the prep program, not as a trailhead talk.
👥
Group size: Wilderness party-size limits apply — confirm the current cap with the Pinedale Ranger District; a crew of ~19 should plan as two pods traveling and camping in proximity.
🦟
Bugs: Late July is peak mosquito season in the Winds — headnets, repellent, and a screened-camp routine are part of the plan, not an afterthought.
🌦️
Weather: Afternoon thunderstorms are the daily pattern — passes (Jackass, Texas) get crossed before noon. Nights in the 30s, and snowfields can linger on Texas Pass into late July.
💧
Water: Lakes and creeks throughout the whole route — no dry carries. Filter or treat everything.
📅
Why Jul 24–31, 2027: The Winds' reliable snow-free window runs mid-July through late August. Late July clears Texas Pass while the lakes are still full and the basin wildflowers peak — and it matches the troop's traditional 50-Miler week (the 2026 Emigrant trek ran Jul 25–31).

Budget Planning

Cost Estimate (Per Person)

Rough 2027 planning numbers — no permit fees and no outfitter; the long drives on both ends are the main cost driver after flights.

✈️ Round-trip flight, SFO ↔ Salt Lake City (sample fare) $190 – $280
🚐 Rental vans (split across group, 8 days) + fuel (~700 road miles) $170 – $230
🏕️ Campground night, Big Sandy (Day 1) + hotel night, Pinedale (Day 7, split rooms) $50 – $80
🐻 Bear canister rental (if not troop-owned) $15 – $30
🍲 Backcountry food, 6 days on trail $90 – $130
🩺 Travel insurance (incl. medical/evac) $40 – $80
🚕 Incidentals, Pinedale celebration dinner, transfers $40 – $70
Estimated Total Per Scout $600 – $900

Excludes: personal spending money, souvenirs, and any troop fundraising offsets. Adult leaders should budget similarly. Flying into Jackson Hole instead would cut about two hours of driving but typically adds $150+ per person — Salt Lake City is the budget call. What the modest premium over Utah buys: grizzly country, the Cirque of the Towers, and Titcomb Basin.

Contact & Info

Bridger-Teton National Forest — Pinedale Ranger District

Phone: +1 (307) 367-4326
Office: 29 East Fremont Lake Rd, Pinedale, WY 82941
Website: fs.usda.gov/btnf
Note: Confirm Texas Pass snow conditions, current bear activity reports, and any food-storage order updates with the ranger district directly in the weeks before departure.