Togwotee Pass, WY to South Pass City, WY

On September 2, Brian and I headed out for the first couple of miles with my brother and mom. We said our goodbyes on a hill that looked out over the Wind River Range. Not five miles down the "trail" we ran into bushwhacking issues and trail that was MIA. We did finally make it to a forest service road that evening, thanks to our handy GPS. We were exhausted from carrying the weight of 9 days of food. The next morning we were greeted by a pack of five wolves that we had heard howling all night. They actually approached us! Good thing they turned around, because I'm not quite sure what we would have done if they had gotten any closer. We made our way south toward the ever impressive Winds. They looked like the Yosemite Valley as approached them from a distance. There is no way that description or pictures could do justice to the beauty of the Wind River Range. We highly suggest that you put this on your list of places to see. The passes were high (up to 11,500 feet), the mountains were jagged, and ALL bodies of water were filled with the most beautiful trout an angler could ever hope to lay eyes on. Brian and I can't wait to return. The hiking in this area was incredibly challenging due to the hairy terrain. We actually only traveled 13 miles one day because we had to climb over 3 11,000+ foot passes. But, it was all worth the amazing views. The Cirque of the Towers, a place we hope to return to rock climb at someday, was beyond words. As we left the mountains, the elevations dropped and we began to walk through arid sage land. And, before we we knew it we were in the flat desert! We saw antelope, wild horses, and horny toads throughout our travels; oh, and the ever elusive truck driving hunter. The wind NEVER stops blowing in Wyoming. The air was so dry, and the water sources were always 20-25 miles apart. The walking was the hardest we had encountered yet. We thought the snow was bad up North, but the sand of the desert makes for super slow hiking. Needless to say we still bumped our mileage from around 20/day to 25/day. We were so happy to get to South Pass City and pick up our resupply box! We, for the first time, were literally out of food by the time we got there. The hardest part was knowing that we still had five days to Rawlins. Which meant five more days without a shower.