Wind Rivers Traverse - Backpacking 90 miles in the Wind Rivers

steve

steve

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Dec 11, 2013
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In early Sept, 2015, 4 of us headed into the Wind Rivers for the first time. It was an incredible trip. We started at Green River Lakes, and traversed the range, ending in Big Sandy at the end of the trip. We calculated our route took us about 90 miles.






 
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Impressed with your guys pack weight! Looking forward to the rest of the videos. do you have a map of the route you took?
 
@Tess kicked butt at 24 lbs. We do have a map, but we branched off from the intended route a couple times.
 
Cool. I'd be interested in looking at your map. I am piecing together my WRHR, and like to see what people are actually doing, compared to what I am planning. I am also interesting in your gear and food list! I'm still fine tuning my long distance packing methods, and love to see what other people are using/eating.
 
Awesome. Been looking forward to this one. I was in the Winds at the same time. I'm sure you did an excellent job with the TR/vid. Watching soon! =)
 
It's more about what we DIDN'T take. :)

I didn't make a pack list (apart from my paper one I threw away). Suffice it to say that we used everything we brought (but the micro-spikes were only used for 10 min). I kinda wish I had made a video of everything in my pack now.
 
Blake Merrell said:
Cool. I'd be interested in looking at your map. I am piecing together my WRHR, and like to see what people are actually doing, compared to what I am planning. I am also interesting in your gear and food list! I'm still fine tuning my long distance packing methods, and love to see what other people are using/eating.
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I wish i had kept better lists. I just kinda wing it when I go for it, packing food 10 min before we leave. Lots of oatmeal, nut butter, chips, trail mix, and dehydrated food. Lot of spud bomb.

I spent over 15 hours mapping out the route. Here's what we planed to do. We ended up staying west on the bottom half, we were too beat (mentally and physically) to cross into the glaciers on the west.

winds 1.PNG




winds 2.PNG

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winds 4.PNG
 
steve said:
It's more about what we DIDN'T take. :)
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haha, for sure :) but it is also about what you did take. I guessing you guys were using some pretty lightweight packs, bags, and tents. noh? I'm not sure I can afford SUPER lightweight stuff, but I do like to know what others are using. maybe I can purchase it overtime. What did a days worth of food look like for you?
 
I'm an ultralight nerd. I spend money on things that other people think are absurd.

If I had left the gopro, solar charger, and auxiliary battery at home, I could have shaved a few more lbs.

Tess and I share tent, stove, and cook pot, which saves weight.

Pack is a hmg windrider
Tent was a hmg ULTAMID
Stove is a soto windmaster
Pad is a neo air xtherm
Bag is a western mountaineering 15* (i forgot the model name, starts with an a)

Clothes: one pair of pants. One pair of thermals. One pair of shorts. Patagonia r1 hoody. Wm puffy. Zpacks breathable Cuben rainshell. Beanie. 2 smartwool shirts.

Food for one day.
Breakfast - Diy oatmeal with nuts, protein powder, freeze dried strawberries, and vanilla pudding powder. Eaten cold. Yum!

Lunch/snacktime - Pringles, cheezit mix, jerky, cheese sticks, and pretzels

Dinner - Spud bomb instant mashed potatoes with 2 oreos for dessert.

A few true lime drink packets when I need some flavor.
 
steve said:
I'm an ultralight nerd. I spend money on things that other people think are absurd.

If I had left the gopro, solar charger, and auxiliary battery at home, I could have shaved a few more lbs.

Tess and I share tent, stove, and cook pot, which saves weight.

Pack is a hmg windrider
Tent was a hmg ULTAMID
Stove is a soto windmaster
Pad is a neo air xtherm
Bag is a western mountaineering 15* (i forgot the model name, starts with an a)

Clothes: one pair of pants. One pair of thermals. One pair of shorts. Patagonia r1 hoody. Wm puffy. Zpacks breathable Cuben rainshell. Beanie. 2 smartwool shirts.

Food for one day.
Breakfast - Diy oatmeal with nuts, protein powder, freeze dried strawberries, and vanilla pudding powder

Lunch/snacktime - Pringles, cheezit mix, jerky, cheese sticks, and pretzels

Dinner - Spud bomb instant mashed potatoes with 2 oreos for dessert few drink packets.
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This has me needing to post my JMT trek. Your packs were lighter but our heaviest was 36lbs for a week of goodness.
I ruminate over the maps for hours and weeks before any trip. For me it's half the excitement.
Thanks for sharing all this @steve , keep your wisdom flowing to us :)
Salud!
 
That was an awesome video. Great work putting that together. What a beautiful place. Green River Lakes through Titcomb Basin and out Elkhart Park is at the top of my list for next Summer, so seeing this is fantastic.

How was the mileage that first day? I've read that the small elevation gain makes it much easier to put in the miles before the switchbacks up Trail Creek.
 
We started at 1pm and hiked 12.5 miles to the bottom of the switchbacks. It was an easy hike.

The switchbacks weren't bad at all, they were super mellow. We were dreading them when we saw them on the map, but we just laughed when we were on them. Very mellow.

Knapsack kol, on the other hand, completely kicked out butts. That was brutal, and easily the toughest part of the entire trip.
 
Great video! Only one thing to comment on regarding body hiking difficulty...Day 2 or 3 is always the hardest for me. Day one there is so much energy, anticipation, and fresh legs that I can go for a long time. On day 2 the muscles are sore and it makes hiking more difficult. Which works out because I generally slow a bit and soak in the scenery even more.

Anyway, awesome vid and tour through the Winds. Keep 'em coming!!!
Salud!
 
I was originally going to mention why day 1 was the hardest on day 1. Then I was going to mention why day 2 was hardest on day 2, etc., but I totally forgot to film it!
 
That's awesome you cruised through so quickly.

steve said:
Knapsack kol, on the other hand, completely kicked out butts. That was brutal, and easily the toughest part of the entire trip.
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I'm pumped to see the video!
 
steve said:
Food for one day.
Breakfast - Diy oatmeal with nuts, protein powder, freeze dried strawberries, and vanilla pudding powder. Eaten cold. Yum!

Lunch/snacktime - Pringles, cheezit mix, jerky, cheese sticks, and pretzels

Dinner - Spud bomb instant mashed potatoes with 2 oreos for dessert.

A few true lime drink packets when I need some flavor.
Click to expand...

This DIY Oatmeal has me intrigued. Recipe (how much of each? or do you just wing it) What is a Spud Bomb?

How much weight did you loose after the trip. That is not very much food.


steve said:
Pack is a hmg windrider
Tent was a hmg ULTAMID
Stove is a soto windmaster
Pad is a neo air xtherm
Bag is a western mountaineering 15*
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Thanks for sharing. You directed me to a mfgr that I had not heard of before. Their stuff looks amazing! One day I hope to be able to get some of the gear like you have. (especially a sleeping bag like that!) until then I guess I will have to suffer with my 30 lbs pack :( haha
 
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