3 days backpacking the Cirque of the Towers to Fremont Loop Trail in Wyoming’s Wind River Range

Can't wipe the smile off my face That looks so brutal That was really dang hard The views just keep getting better and better For our first adventure back in Wyoming, we explored the Pinedale area Including a gorgeous hike, delicious local coffee, learning mountain man history, kayaking at Green River Lakes, and going to a pitchfork fondue We're currently en route to our next destination in Wyoming, a rugged range of the Rocky Mountains called the Wind River Range The area we're visiting is a 57 mile drive southeast from Pinedale and we'll share more about what we're up to in a bit But first we have to make the trek down a dirt road to the Big Sandy Trailhead We made it to the Big Sandy Trailhead and it took us a little over two hours to get here from Pinedale and the road Out here was not nearly as bad as I was fearing it was gonna be And for the next few days, we're going to be backpacking the Cirque of the Tower to Fremont Loop Trail here in the Wind River Range Which is a US bucket list hike for us The hike is gonna be about 30 miles with a little over 4,000 feet elevation And we'll be splitting it up over three days and two nights, which will definitely be our hardest backpacking trip yet We're just gonna sleep here at the trailhead tonight get our final shower in for the next few days and then tomorrow morning We're gonna hit the trail early for our first big day of hiking We have officially started the trail and unlike some of the other backpacking trips We've done like the enchantments which require a lottery crazy lottery system to get a permit All you have to do for this hike is just self-register at the trailhead. So it's super easy Our goal today is to get to Shadow Lake It's gonna be our biggest day a lot of miles and a lot of obstacles along the way So a quick little map update so far the trails been mostly just through the forest There hasn't been too much to show what we started right here And then we split off to go clockwise right there and we are all the way up here about 2.3 Miles in and just a little over an hour From the reports we read and when we call the ranger station yesterday before we came out here And we heard and read about all these Down trees that were blown over on a windstorm that happened on Labor Day weekend of 2020 last year And apparently it was a thousand year windstorm one of the craziest one storm they've ever seen So we're just hitting this section here It kind of covers up the trail and we're really having to pay attention to our all trails map because you just can't tell where To go the trees are just everywhere as you can see so adds a fun little challenge We just got through a big patch of those down trees What would you say like a quarter to a half a mile of it? Yeah, probably It's no joke with these packs on your back. It makes it extra hard First break at one of the first major lakes on the trail dad's Lake has this gorgeous view of the mountains. We're pretty hungry We've been going about six point three miles and about three and a half hours so far We're probably about halfway to our stopping point for the day So we're just gonna rest enjoy having these packs off of our backs and just eat some good snacks. Oh Yeah, that's good We are exactly nine miles in Starting to get a little tired. Oh But it's such a rewarding feeling to just know that we are carrying everything we could ever need to survive on our back Right now makes you feel so strong and powerful and also so exhausted The views just keep getting better and better We have finally made it to Shadow Lake and check it out. It is gorgeous It took us a little over 12 miles and a little over seven hours to get here We are very tired and we're gonna go find a home for the night It feels so good to finally lay down after that long hike We ended up getting a really sweet spot with some amazing mountain views just out the window here You're supposed to camp 200 feet away from the lake so we don't have a lake view from this spot But the mountain views is just unbelievable and we're like surrounded by these rocks. So it's pretty secluded and nice and quiet Like we're gonna lay here for a little bit and rest up if we lay here too long. We might Kona's already totally knocked out We Woke up from our nap ready to eat and now it's pouring While Adams outside cooking dinner Kona and I are hanging out here in the tent because one as you may hear it is raining Again, and two the mosquitoes are so bad We've heard that the mosquitoes are really bad, especially in July in the Wind River Range And they hadn't been that bad most of the day, but just standing around outside trying to cook They were just swarming us swarming Kona. We bought these cool little face nets to wear But Kona didn't have one so we came back into the tent and the big downside of being in bear country is that you're not really supposed to eat in Your tent because you don't want food smells in your tent So Adams outside in the pouring rain, and I guess we will be eating outside in the pouring rain, too Pretty much every backpacking trip and camping trip. We've gone on we've eaten Wild Zora backpacking meals But since we're out here for two nights, we wanted to try something different still love Wild Zora still highly recommend them Love them, but we couldn't pass up the Pad Thai with chicken and it actually smells and looks pretty dang good Mm-hmm. That tastes just like Pad Thai peanut buttery chicken delicious noodles rice noodles This is good after a long hard day hiking. This is actually really solid if you didn't tell me this was a backpacking meal I probably would not know we added the peanuts that it came with so it has a nice crunch Then we add this lime powder it came with so it's very very limey Maybe almost a little too limey, but it's it has such good flavor Mmm, so our second meal is Santa Fe rice with beans Santa Fe style rice and beans with chicken and notice here Says two servings. They both say that We are hungry. So We're eating one bag basically, yeah This one's really good to taste exactly how you would imagine rice beans Chicken seasoning, but it also has hatched chilies in there You can see it all against the bag there and you can really taste those they taste really good This one could use a good pinch of salt. But other than that, it's really good. This one's super good, too I do agree on the salt comment though. It's kind of funny. We're having like Mexican food and Thai food for dinner It's kind of a weird combo to be like switching back and forth, but they're both they're both really good I think the pad Thai is my favorite, but this one's also pretty good and for dessert we have Reese's Pieces As we mentioned before the Wind River Range is home to bears both black bears and grizzly bears So we're taking a lot of precautions to make sure we stay safe out here. The first was not eating in our tent We're also both carrying bear spray just in case we have an encounter and we are lugging around this hunk of Bad boy the bear canister So we actually take this pretty much on every backpacking trip we've ever been on But we put all of our food our toiletries anything with a scent and all of our trash in here And then you lock it up and then you hide it far away from your tent at night That way a bear does not attack you in your sleep And the big thing about this is that bears should not be eating human food because then they become more used to humans They come hang around humans and then they eventually probably will have to be killed because they become more of a threat So the goal here is to not only keep ourselves safe, but keep the bear safe, too Good morning, we survived the night. We didn't get attacked by a bear, but we didn't sleep that great But thankfully we have some coffee and our last backpacking trip to Caprock Canyons We tried out an AeroPress for backpacking and we're always trying to try new things with coffee when we're backpacking But this time a company called Kuju Coffee sent us their single serve pour overs for backpacking You basically just put it on you do a pour over and then you can just throw it away when you're done It's super easy and it says a bunch of different flavors, but I'm trying the blonde rose because that's my favorite kind of coffee Oh That is so smooth. That's delicious. That tastes like a pour over from like an actual coffee shop Dang, we're living fancy out here in the woods Alright, we're getting started on day two Our goal today is to get some what's called Lonesome Lake and it's right by the most iconic part of this route Which is the Cirque of the Towers It's only about four miles to get there, but we've got to go over this pass That's called Texas Pass and we hear it's a bit of a beast We thought Texas Pass would be the biggest challenge of the day But it turns out just finding our way out of Shadow Lake to get to Texas Pass has been hard Hasn't really been a clearly marked path. We've been using all trails, but it's been kind of confusing. I think We're almost back onto the main trail though, but yeah, I think it added like an extra mile to our hike today Just getting kind of turned around here We've only been hiking a little over an hour today. And so far the views in this stretch are the best We've seen on this entire hike just so many jagged peaks so many lakes. It is gorgeous, but We are approaching the infamous Texas Pass Okay, so we've been walking around here Trying to figure out which exactly is Texas Pass and our fears are confirmed It's that big rock Scree up there into that Channel or U right there Yikes. Oh my god. I was really hoping that wasn't it. That looks so brutal. I knew Texas Pass was going to be hard, but this looks way more intense than I thought it was going to be This would be hard without packs on, but it's even harder because we're carrying probably 25 to 30 pounds on our backs This is pretty dang steep We did it. That was really hard That was really dang hard On our drive out to the trailhead. We finished Colin O'Brady's book The Impossible first It's very windy if you can't tell and this guy pulled a sled by himself Unassisted unsupported across Antarctica if he can do that we can climb up Texas Pass That's what we kept telling ourselves But we did it. Now we just have to go down the other side which will be really really steep, too It is gnarly So thankful also that there's very very little Wildfire smoke around there's a little bit of a haze But this is about as good as you can ask for. If you saw our last video where we were at the Green River Lakes It was very smoky. You could hardly see the square top mountain So we're so thankful that we've just got this incredible view. We can see everything out here. It's Can't wipe the smile off my face We made it to Lonesome Lake. It took us a little over three and a half hours and a little bit over four miles But we're here It was a brutal four miles and now we just need to find somewhere to set up camp for the night The rule is that you cannot camp within a quarter mile of the lake We're not really sure where you camp around here So we're just gonna kind of go scope it out and see where we can find other people camping and hopefully find a decent spot with a view We finally found a place to set up camp We were walking all over this place up and down all the all over the place. We were getting cranky Yeah, so I finally saw these two guys by the waterfall and I was like forget it I'm just gonna go ask them see if they know of any spots and they pointed us to this spot It's a little small, but if it's just in there just perfectly it's super private, too So we have trees around us rocks around us and then just steps from the tent We have an unobstructed view of the Cirque of the Towers, which is the whole reason we did this hike It's the main attraction and basically what the Cirque of the Towers is is this half circle of 15 12,000 foot peaks that we've just been admiring like oh my gosh. Oh my gosh They are so crazy. Last night's spot was incredible too, but this one is also. Beats it. Yeah, I think it does beat it One of the number one things I wanted to do on this hike Get in the water I'm gonna go get under that waterfall It's so refreshing but so dang cold As you can see I have my bathing suit on but he's not convincing me that I want to go in What a day it may not have been the longest mileage day ever it was like four or five miles But it totally kicked our butts. We are so exhausted every single part of my body is so sore We've mostly just been laying around just hanging out resting this afternoon We're eating dinner now with an amazing view of the Cirque of the Towers and we're probably gonna go to bed soon because Tomorrow is our last day on the trail, but it's gonna be a long one and with how sore we are right now I'm kind of dreading it breakfast of champions It's our last day in the winds we are really sad to leave this gorgeous place I think we have about 10 miles to get back to the van should be mostly downhill to get there But first off we've got to go over what's called Jackass Pass, which from the looks of it. It's gonna live up to its name Be fun to think that's Texas Pass right in there. We came all the way down that around the lake Through this valley here camped here By this waterfall right behind the waterfall made it to the top of Jackass Pass. Definitely not as hard as Texas Pass It was an uphill battle lots of heavy breathing, but not too bad at all And now it should be mostly downhill the rest of the way the van the Wind River Range and especially this area here is giving Us major dolomite vibes. It's just taking us back to Northern Italy love it so much there and we love it so much here, too So the all trails map says to go right around Arrowhead Lake, but we had read the left was easier You do have to go uphill more but on the right side. It's very Bouldery and just like lots of loose rocks. So we heard this was easier even though it's more uphill But after this but after this it should be mostly downhill. I keep saying that but I think it'll be true soon We're taking a quick snack break at Big Sandy Lake, which is right here for reference We started right here this morning and so far We've done all of this. We just have this stretch left until we're back at the van After leaving Big Sandy Lake the trail goes from being more open with mountain views to more forested And we think it'll be like this the rest of the way and similar to the beginning of the trail We had heard that there's some downed trees on this part of the trail, too But we also read a recent report saying they were mostly cleared. So we haven't seen anything yet Maybe we maybe we did pass it. We did see some downed trees, but maybe it's up ahead We're not really sure but we are glad we went clockwise and got that gnarly section of downed trees out of the way at the Beginning because after 20 something miles if we had to climb over those trees, we would have been so angry But this part of the trails been super easy really smooth and flat and we're kind of just booking it back to the van Oh, man, we did it. We made it back to the van 27 and a half miles later hands down our favorite backpacking trip ever It was so much fun. So beautiful from start to finish, but we are so happy to be back We had some challenges with the rain the first night and the mosquitoes and it was physically challenging Mentally challenging at times, but it is some of the most jaw-dropping scenery we have ever seen We could go on and on about how much we loved it, but it was just incredible But now it is time for some real fresh food We headed just down the road from the trailhead to Big Sandy Lodge, which is this really cool old lodge right on Mud Lake It's been around since 1930 and was originally a fish camp for Phineas Mitchell who was a mountaineer in the area It's gone through different owners since then But now it has 10 one-room log cabins and most importantly and the whole reason why we're here they serve burgers from 11 to 8 p.m 11 a.m. To 8 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays We've been so excited for this burger for three days now ever since we stepped foot on the trail We are so hungry and excited. So I got the hungry hiker, which that's what I am So this is a regular burger, which is actually it's 8 ounces half pound and it's actually a grass-fed local beef And so it's got cheese and bacon added to it lettuce tomato pickle and onion Beautiful toasted bun and then on the side you can get a variety of chips Options or coleslaw and I got the bear mace burger, which is a burger patty has Swiss cheese cream cheese buffalo sauce says homemade buffalo sauce and then the usual pickle lettuce all that and I decided to go big and get the bun because I am so dang hungry and sour cream and onion chips, which are my favorite kind of chips This bun looks so good. Oh my gosh, it's so oozing with buffalo sauce We don't have any napkins That is an amazing burger. Not just because we're Like two hours from town. This is a delicious burger regardless. Oh, you can tell it's so high quality It's so messy. Oh The buffalo sauce has a nice kick to it, but it's not too spicy and the cheese is so creamy Oh, yeah, that's buns. So good. Oh, oh So juicy this burger is ridiculous. You can see it's not overdone. It has amazing grill flavor I can see I'm grilling them over there. The bun is like perfectly toasted It's a potato roll. I think and the bacon is like super thick and super crispy cheese bacon lettuce all the veggies meat My favorite my favorite combo seriously so good even if we were like in town, yeah, no, it's it's very good Not just because we just like 27 miles If you were hiking from the big sandy trailhead, you have to come eat here after your hike Maybe even before if they're open come both. We kind of wish we would have come here before we hike to We actually moved our hike by a day because we were supposed to finish yesterday on a Wednesday But they weren't going to be open. So we moved our hike so we could come eat here Totally worth it. I This is so freaking so freaking good That's a wrap on our Wind River Range backpacking trip We're gonna link a bunch of resources in the description below including our backpacking packing list So you can see everything that we take on our backpacking trips We'll link the route that we took on all trails So it'll show you the current conditions and then we're eventually going to write a guy that'll tell you everything you need to know For the trip that we took But for now, it is time for a shower because we are stinky We're going to be backpacking the Cirque of the Tower to Fremont Loop Trail here in the Wind River Did I say the wind will Range dang it. It's really easy to say wind wivel Wayne Say a wind river range three times And for dessert we have Do you like my new look it's wind river range fashion, it's called a mosquito Mosquito mosquito is mosquito. It's fancy. That's a fancy hat