Winds in early July

andyjaggy

andyjaggy

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Joined
Dec 2, 2013
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I have a trip planned July 6th-11th, going from Green River TH, to Titcomb Basin, and then out to Elkhart Park TH.

I am thinking I should be good as far as snow goes since it's been such a low snow year, but what do you guys think. I would prefer to not have to hike on snow at all.
 
They might be a little better if it's a drier year. They were pretty horrendous over about the same dates in 2012 out of Elkhart, but not too bad in 2013 out of Big Sandy (also close to the same dates). People I met on the trail in 2012 said that as bad as they were, it was actually a big improvement compared to some wetter years.
 
I'd check with the FS station and the Pinedale sports store. I think from Tetons over got about normal....depends how the snow melt goes.
 
Yep. The high pressure pattern that left most of the west devoid of snow wasn't quite as prevalent over the Winds. It will still likely be an early melt, the question is just how early.
 
We are supposed to have above average spring precip in the Southern Winds. In 1975 this region had a huge late May snowstorm. That's a classic route but have options. Whatever snow levels are stream flows will of course be your biggest concern.
 
Where are you thinking might be a problem, @Absarokanaut? Trying to think of problematic river crossings and I can only think of a handful of small ones after you've climbed up out of the GRL valley on the approach to Trail Creek Park and Green River Pass. I can't imagine any of those would be very bad. The big ones are all bridged further down the Green River and then again over the Fremont. And then nothing big coming down to Elkhart. Right?
 
I haven't done this route myself, but it seems like there aren't any real high passes to climb over, nor any huge river crossings. I am modifying the route a little bit and camping up at Clark Lake/Lozier Lakes area for one night.
 
Nothing specific, but with above average precip predicted for the coming months every stream has the potential to swell with a storm just like down in UT. Sorry if I came across too negative.
 
Ah yeah, I see what you mean. There were some tricky ones up around Cook Lakes in early July 2012. I didn't take it as negative at all, just curious if you were thinking of any specific spots.
 
I had a conversation last fall with Bob here on the forums about wanting to tag along on a trip to the winds. He suggested to keep an eye for posts like this one. I don't mean to jump in on what sounds like a post about an already planned trip - just was looking to hear some about what your skill levels are and the route challenges.

What distances were you looking to cover per day? Did you post your planned route? Are you going to be doing any tech climbing?

I've got a 'bug' about the Winds (given the previous posts in this thread). I've been up there three times which coming from the east is a lot of effort. Don't have anyone who will go back with me so I thought I'd try BCP.

Thanks andyjaggy and good luck on your trip.
 
You would certainly be welcome to tag along, well I would have to check with the other guy I am going with first, but it would probably be fine.

It's me and another photographer buddy so the trip is really geared towards photography. that can sometimes be frustrating for non photographers as our itinerary is geared towards being at certain places for sunrise/sunset, and not necessarily geared towards mileage. For example we will make a detour up a side canyon and camp above Clark Lake, instead of making the push on towards Summit Lake for the 2nd night, because we both felt like that area provided better photo ops than camping at Summit Lake.
 
Nick said:
@LI Tim - Try posting a thread in the Meet Up section. There are a lot of trips that pop-up throughout the year where people are looking for company. Not sure if that's what Andy is going for here or not, but thought I'd mention it in case you didn't see it yet. It's a great resource.

http://backcountrypost.com/forums/meet-up-members-only.7/

Oh, and welcome to BCP!
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Thanks for the welcome. I took a look through the meetup and didn't see any threads on the Winds. I guess if I posted something myself - I'm just a little wary of starting the process. I'm going to respond to Andy and see what their plans are.
 
andyjaggy said:
You would certainly be welcome to tag along, well I would have to check with the other guy I am going with first, but it would probably be fine.

It's me and another photographer buddy so the trip is really geared towards photography. that can sometimes be frustrating for non photographers as our itinerary is geared towards being at certain places for sunrise/sunset, and not necessarily geared towards mileage. For example we will make a detour up a side canyon and camp above Clark Lake, instead of making the push on towards Summit Lake for the 2nd night, because we both felt like that area provided better photo ops than camping at Summit Lake.
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Thanks for the reply and for the invitation. I appreciate that. I think a group that was pushing for miles wouldn't work for me. I'm just looking for the chance to be out there again. I've done the push thing on previous trips to the Winds mostly because of travel time restraints. Would be nice to go out there with a little less hurry.

Can you share your route with me? I've got Joe Kelsey's book so I can read up on the trails. I've spotted Clark Lake on the New Fork Trail on CalTopo. Were you going over Vista Pass and/or Green River Pass? I've come up the Green River trailhead twice now, once up to Lost Eagle Peak and once up to Clear Lake. I know you were saying you were ending up at Elkhart Park. Thanks again.
 
LI Tim said:
Thanks for the welcome. I took a look through the meetup and didn't see any threads on the Winds. I guess if I posted something myself - I'm just a little wary of starting the process.
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Just my .02, but starting a thread and especially posting some trip reports, etc. are great ways to get that going. There are plenty of folks who are a little gun shy to post a public invite, but less so for people who have posted a bit so they can get a feel for what they're all about, skills, etc.
 
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