Big Sandy Trail • Hike • Wyoming • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Jul 07 2025

GrangerGuy

Guides 34
Routes 143
Photos 1,000
Triplogs 116

69 male

Joined Dec 26 2018
Phoenix, AZ

Wind River Loop, WY

Hiking		Jul 07 2025
		GrangerGuy • Triplogs 116

Hiking	33.60 Miles	4,284 AEG

Hiking	33.60 Miles	3 Days 5 Hrs 51 Mns
	4,284 ft AEG

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Four old men set out for an adventure in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. The original plan was to start from the Big Sandy Trailhead, hike north along the little-used Highline Trail that parallels the Continental Divide Trail, loop around Dream Lake, then south along the CDT, turning off east toward Shadow Lake, over Texas Pass to the Cirque of the Towers, and out via the Big Sandy trail. It didn’t turn out quite as planned due to altitude sickness of one of the party, but it was a great trip nevertheless.

The road to the Big Sandy Trailhead is suitable for passenger cars when it is dry. We stayed overnight at the trailhead; there are 4 campsites there and by the evening all were filled. In the morning, we took the Highline Connector (7094A) to the Highline Trail (7094) and headed north. Along the way, Boulter Lake is beautiful and was a picture and rest break. A mile or so beyond was the ford of the East Fork up to our knees at Poston Meadows. We then continued climbing along upstream along the East Fork, arriving at our first camp along the East Fork at the intersection of the Francis Lake Trail about 1 pm. There is a clump of trees there with good campsites. Francis Lake Trail was even less distinct than the Highline Trail.

On Day 2, we continued the hike upstream along the pretty East Fork. Where the Highline Trail bears away left from the river, the East Fork Washakie (7092) trail fords the river and heads northeast toward the CDT. It looked vague and faint. The trail then climbs through a spectacular pass, faint at times. Just past the turnoff to Silver Lake, the Highline Trail essentially disappeared, and we messed around a while hunting for it. If I had just followed my GPX track, it would have been no problem, but, like a pilot flying upside down through clouds, I just didn’t believe my instruments. This area is marked “Problem Section” on my posted route. This part of the trail is gorgeous, hiking through massive vistas and open meadows. The junction with the Monroe Lake Trail / Scab Creek Trail (7110) is also confusing, as the worn track heads that way, and is invisible on the Highline Trail. By this point, one of our party was showing significant signs of altitude sickness so we stopped at a campsite just short of a large lake along South Fork Boulder Creek, way short of our destination for the day, and prepared to start heading out the next morning.

On day 3, we headed back the way we came on the Highline Trail, and then took the Crossover Trail just south of Cross Lake over to the CDT / Fremont Trail (7096). This is a good and distinct trail. We continued south on the CDT and took a break near Silver Creek, where we were visited by a very aggressive marmot, marked with a waypoint on my route. I forgot to turn on my recording for a while after that, leaving a gap in the route. Eventually we reached the ford of the East Fork again. This involved walking some pretty marshy trail first, and then the ford. After we crossed and put our boots on, we discovered another previously unseen crossing just a little ways beyond. We were able to scout around for a rock hop on that one. We headed up the hill and eventually found a camp spot in a thicket above an unnamed pond just north of Marms Lake.

Day 4, we headed south on the CDT to the intersection with the Hailey Pass Trail 7111 at Marms Lake. Since leaving the Big Sandy TH we had seen no one up to this point. From this point south, however, we started seeing LOTS of people. The wilderness experience was over. From here, we were on the super popular Cirque of the Towers loop. Although we had planned to go there, there was no way with the altitude sickness we were going to make it over Texas Pass, and once I saw the masses, I think I wasn’t too disappointed. We finished the trip passing Marms, Dads, Mirror and Meeks Lakes, turning off the CDT at the Big Sandy Trail, staying on the Fremont Trail back to the Trailhead.

By the time we were back to the car at 9100’, the altitude sickness cleared (this always amazes me how this works), and we headed over to the Big Sandy Lodge where everyone enjoyed burgers and soft drinks, before heading back for our long drive to Seattle.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Informational/Interpretive Sign

Sep 02 2020

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Wind River Range, WY

Backpack		Sep 02 2020
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Backpack	37.30 Miles	11,424 AEG

Backpack	37.30 Miles	6 Days
	11,424 ft AEG

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desertrat13

Ventured into the Wind River Range with my friend Scott starting at Big Sandy trailhead. After the long drive we started hiking about 11am and made it the first 5.6 miles to Big Sandy Lake within a few hours. We continued another few miles to Black Joe Lake where there is a rock scramble to get around the lake. However, we brought packrafts on this trip with the intention of floating some of the lakes. Fortunately for us the wind was blowing strong up canyon so it literally pushed us to the other side landing on the beach that we wanted. We continued to the next lake up canyon nearby and found a camp spot.

Day 2 the goal was to hike Wind River Peak at 13,192 and part of the Wind River High Route. I followed Andrew Skurka’s high route up the West Gully route access to Wind River Peak. The route goes up the Black Joe Lake canyon to lake 11,185 at the base of West Gully. That’s where it gets interesting with class 3, loose scree, and bouldering but it was late enough in the season that didn’t have to deal with any ice or snow. Takes awhile to negotiate the gully but it gets easier climb about ¼ mile from the top where it’s an easy walk up. Ran into 2 high route thru hikers and talked to them for a few minutes. Reaching the top there were 9 people on the summit who had come from the easier east approach. The summit is flat and wide so somewhat anti-climatic after the west approach. The people on top were cool and talked them for awhile. After they departed I had 4G and got an updated weather forecast spending an hour on top before heading back down the West Gully route. Uneventful return trip with same loose stuff and boulders. Met up with Scott who had waited at lake 11,185 and took a break. Then continued back to camp for pleasant night by the lower lakes.

Day 3 we headed over to Deep Lake from Black Joe Lake. It’s not a long hike about 4 miles depending on camp and arrived early afternoon. That afternoon until dinner was spent floating on Deep Lake and taking in the great location. Very little wind so conditions were excellent for floating and paddling around the lake. After the float another mild September evening at Deep Lake.

Day 4 we stayed another day at Deep Lake with the goal of hiking Temple Peak 12,972. From Deep Lake it’s short climb over the ridge into Temple Lake canyon. There’s a trail that runs above the lake we followed that eventually leads to Temple Pass. On the pass Temple Peak was to the right with a couple of approach options. The shortest and most aggressive options are straight up 4th class from the pass but I chose to do the longer 3rd class approach along the southeast side. I parted with Scott at the pass and continued to contour along the cliff band on the southeast side. Eventually there are breaks in the cliff band which leads to the 3rd class scramble to the main ridge line. Once on the ridge line the off trail was less steep but lots of bouldering. There were occasional patches of grassy slope but mostly boulders to the summit. Unlike Wind River Peak the Temple summit was much more summit like and I was the only one there this time. I spent about 40 minutes on top and had some 4G to get another updated weather forecast. Very nice summit with a dramatic 2,000 foot plunge into Temple Lake below on the north face. After the nice break I returned the same way back to the pass. From the pass it was an easy hike back to camp at Deep Lake. Another nice evening relaxing after some tough off trail miles.

Day 5 we hiked back to Big Sandy Lake so we would have an easy exit day. We also had plenty of time for another afternoon of floating on Big Sandy Lake. There were a lot people in the area being Labor Day Weekend but none on the lake

There’s a small island which we checked out and even went back around sunset for island happy hour!! Back at camp the last night was relaxing with nice temps again.

Last day we just had to hike out the 5 plus miles to the trailhead. Easy day and considering the forecast we were glad this was the end of the trip. We had over five days of great weather with sunny highs in the 60’s and 70’s and lows around 40. But that afternoon and evening the forecast would change significantly. See attached [ photo ] . Anyway we were glad to beat the weather and have such an excellent trip….almost forgot no mosquito's!!

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Big Sandy Lake Deep Lake East Temple Peak Frozen Lakes Haystack Mountain Temple Lake Temple Peak Wind River Peak

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3 archives

Jul 09 2020

FOTG

Guides 37
Routes 564
Photos 10,923
Triplogs 1,060

male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Haystack Mountain - Wyoming

Central, WY

Haystack Mountain - Wyoming

Central, WY

Hike & Climb		Jul 09 2020
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,060

Hike & Climb	1.00 Miles	1 AEG

Hike & Climb	1.00 Miles	2 Days
	1 ft AEG

Onsight II G • Trad • 5.6 Granite Excellent • 600 Feet 5 Pitches

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Pro: standard alpine rack

A year ago when we backpacked into the cirque, I told Katie I would be climbing there next summer. She joked, “I’ll take your pictures.” I said something to the extent of or you will be right next to me climbing. Nearly a year from that moment and we have completed our first of what I hope to be many more climbs in the Winds. We did not get into the cirque, but we climbed and equally aesthetic and fulfilling granite behemoth, Haystack Mountain, 11,979 feet. Or more appropriately the north tower of Haystack Mountain.

Day 1:

Day one was an easy stroll to the inlet of Clear Creek. The trails were immaculate and the hiking generally easy. However, the weight of our packs led to frequent breaks and a slower pace. I carried the rack and Katie carried the rope. We brought a double rack from .1- BD #3 and a single four, along with 11 alpine draws, plus harness, shoes and helmet. Katie carried a 70m rope along with her personal climbing equipment.

After reaching camp and a long nap, we made the scramble up Haystack’s left shoulder to recon the route on the north face. The recon was successful, but truthfully I left with some trepidation. The route was steep, formidable looking and it’s location served as a bit of a natural wind tunnel.

Day 2:

We crawled out of our tent to a chilly morning around 5:30 and were off on the approach by six. There are a few climber trails that take you to the slabs that lead to the base of the climb, but even if you don’t hit one, just head for the obvious weakness in Haystack’s left shoulder.

The Climb:

We did not waste much time when we reached the base, as the goal was to finish the climb before the wind picked up. The guidebook states that if it’s windy anywhere in the world, it will be windy on the north face of Haystack, so the wind was definitely on our minds. We started the climb to a light breeze and in the shade. Pitch one yielded the usual first climb jitters. It only goes 5.4, but it was a little awkward, the granite felt slick and I was cold. However, shortly in I was feeling strong and confident. I had visions of combining the first into a rope stretching 200 plus foot pitch, but came up just short of a nice ledge and had to build an awkward belay stance. Bomber but awkward. Once I got Katie up to me, I led the final little portion to the ledge and built us a much more comfortable belay station. The following pitch offered some of the nicest climbing of the route. It was varied climbing and fun; highlighted by a semi heady traverse with great hands. I got a little off route on the fourth pitch, but Katie was steady on belay, as I had to down-climb a bit and make a traverse to get back on route. The rest of the pitch went more smoothly. We went right at the roof and then I brought Katie up for the final technical pitch. I stayed on belay for the start of the 5th pitch, but I quickly realized we were done climbing and now scrambling. We backpacked the rope and made the scramble to the top of the north tower.

The north tower summit was pretty spectacular and the views were incredible. We did not stay long due to the high winds and cold, but we did take a minute to sign the register and snap a few pics. We descended the prominent north gully, which is also a 5.2 route to the summit. We down climbed a bit and then rapped the rest off some old slung tat.

In order to make time for a backpack into the Titcomb area, we determined if we had enough energy after the climb, we would hike out the second day. That proved to be a good idea as the mosquitoes woke up the moment we reached camp. The wind had kept them down the previous day, but they came back with a vengeance and were relentless at times on the hike out. No amount of deet or permethrin works when the sky is blackened with them. The mosquitoes and heavy packs made the hike out drag a bit. We were both a little fatigued from the long day and happy to finally reach the trailhead.

Final Notes:

This climb was a such a fulfilling experience on so many levels for myself and Katie and we left with a great sense of accomplishment that is hard to articulate. Climbing above 11k feet is a truly memorable experience and literally a little breathtaking. There was not a single bolt on the route and the lack of a detailed topo added to the adventurous feel of the climb. Its nice to see some of my hard work pay off and Katie is proving to be a steady belay and great partner. I can´t wait to get back to the Winds after another year of work

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Big Sandy Lake Clear Lake Haystack Mountain

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1 archive

Jul 03 2019

FOTG

Guides 37
Routes 564
Photos 10,923
Triplogs 1,060

male

Joined Jan 21 2013
AZ

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Backpack		Jul 03 2019
		FOTG • Triplogs 1,060

Backpack	23.10 Miles	3,470 AEG

Backpack	23.10 Miles	3 Days
	3,470 ft AEG

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John9L

I backpacked into the Cirque of the Towers with John, my friend Katie and three dogs for the Fourth of July. We set up a base camp at the easy to reach Big Sandy Lake and day hiked to some surrounding some lakes and the Cirque. The area is known for its crowds, but we never felt too crowded, although, we did see several groups coming in as we hiked out.

Day 1:

Easy hike to Big Sandy Lake and then after setting up camp, we hiked up to Clear and Black Joe Lakes. Clear Lake was very scenic, we encountered some significant snow on our descent from Black Joe Lake. There are not too many better spots to camp than Big Sandy Lake. A visually stunning area and setting.

Day 2:

We hiked up to Jack pumpkin Pass and the Cirque of the Towers on day two. We encountered some heavy snow along the way, but nothing that was deep, or dangerous enough to stop travel. Arrowhead Lake was still frozen over and we ended up taking a more snow free route to clear Jack pumpkin Pass than the trail. The view of the Cirque was spectacular, as were the views coming back down to Arrowhead Lake. We planned for some late afternoon exploring after arriving back to camp, but a two hour storm rolled through and kind of killed that momentum. We ended up spending the rest of the night trying to dry out and enjoying a nice campfire.

Day 3:

Easy hike out.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arrowhead Lake Cirque of the Towers

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Sep 01 2012

GrottoGirl

Guides 3
Routes 569
Photos 11,976
Triplogs 1,634

50 female

Joined Sep 18 2009
Tucson, AZ

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Backpack		Sep 01 2012
		GrottoGirl • Triplogs 1,634

Backpack	7.50 Miles	200 AEG

Backpack	7.50 Miles	2 Hrs 45 Mns		2.90 mph
	200 ft AEG		34 LBS Pack

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RedwallNHops

We had grand ideas for this day. Plan A, Mitchell Peak, which was blown when I awoke at 530 to the sound of rain. Then plan B, a trip back to the Cirque to Lonesome Lake was aborted due to a wall of rain coming at us. We ended up retreating under the community tarp. After about 45 minutes under the tarp Joel and I decided to bail. Why coward under a tarp when we could hike out a day early and go back to Jackson. With an extra day we could go explore the Teton's which were waiting for us!

We packed up our gear in record time in pouring rain. Then we proceeded to hike out the way we came in. The rain finally stopped after about 1.5 miles. Then we started to encounter the flocks of humans flooding into the area for Labor Day weekend. I was surprised by how many people were on the trail. This is Wyoming! There is barely a half of million people in the whole state! Then my other surprise was the number of people carrying bear spray. We weren't in a grizzly bear area, so what's the big deal? We just spent nearly a week in the area and didn't even seem pile of bear poop...

Anyway, we made it out and then headed into Jackson. Thanks to the iPhone and Travelocity we got a huge suite on Labor Day weekend in touristy Jackson Hole to dry out all our gear before repacking it. Next up a visit to Teton National Park!

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Sep 01 2012

RedwallNHops

Guides 1
Routes 269
Photos 613
Triplogs 1,360

50 male

Joined Dec 22 2003
Tucson, AZ

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Backpack		Sep 01 2012
		RedwallNHops • Triplogs 1,360

Backpack	7.50 Miles	200 AEG

Backpack	7.50 Miles	2 Hrs 45 Mns	2.90 mph
	200 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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GrottoGirl

_____________________

Aug 27 2012

GrottoGirl

Guides 3
Routes 569
Photos 11,976
Triplogs 1,634

50 female

Joined Sep 18 2009
Tucson, AZ

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Backpack		Aug 27 2012
		GrottoGirl • Triplogs 1,634

Backpack	7.50 Miles	1,000 AEG

Backpack	7.50 Miles
	1,000 ft AEG		45 LBS Pack

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RedwallNHops

slowandsteady

We hiked from Big Sandy Trailhead to Black Joe Lake in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. In a way it's a homecoming because I grew up in Wyoming. However, I've never backpacked in the Winds before. My family were hunters and fishers rather than hikers. While we spent a lot of time outdoors it wasn't like I do now.

Our total hike in hike it was about 7.5 miles with about 1000 feet of elevation gain. It was a fairly easy hike except for the fact that we were at about 10,000 feet.

The first six miles of the hike was along Big Sandy Creek. It was mostly forested with a few meadows that gave glimpses of what was to be seen up ahead.

I spent some of my time catching up with a friend who is currently living in Denver but will probably be moving back to Arizona. The rest of the time I took photos and enjoyed the views.

Surprisingly there were a lot of squirrels out and about. They were collecting their pine cones at a very fast pace. It reminded me that in the mountains of Wyoming it really was already turning to fall. It also reminded me that weather in the mountain here can change suddenly and it wouldn't be unusual for it to snow.

There has been a drought so most of the grasses are already yellow. Many of the trees had some color change as well. The creeks and lakes seemed to have plenty of water from run off.

When we got to Big Sandy Lake the views changed dramatically. We were greeted by the high peaks of the Continental Divide. There is something special about lakes and peaks all in the same frame! I was in photography heaven. We took a nice break at the edge of the lake and then continued around it to where Black Joe Creek ran into Big Sandy. Then we headed off uphill to reach Black Joe Lake.

The majority of the elevation was gained in the last mile of the hike. We finally got to the lake and then claimed a spot that would be our home for the next seven days. We set up our tents approximately 200 feet from both Lake land trail as required.

After setting up camp Joel and I explored along the south side of Black Joe Lake. Before we left we were warned that the route was nasty. I responded with a flippant, 'I like nasty!' and off we went! There was several rockslides that made traveling very slow. We had to climb up and over boulders piled on top of boulders. The views were quite outstanding. We only went about two thirds of the length of the lake before we turned back. We didn't need a big adventure to round out our day.

I went and checked out the drainage of the lake where it becomes a creek. There was a man made structure set up to control the water leaving the lake. It was in ruins now but it was easy to make out that it had not been a complete dam.

In that area it was quite rocky and one of my favorite high altitude animals makes it home in rocky areas like that. I was happy to see the little picas running about shyly. These picas were not as skittish as I'm used to seeing them. So I had a great Pica Photoshoot!

We had a few sprinkles of rain around dinner time. However, we didn't have to make use of the tarp that we had set up. We enjoyed our dinner of Parma Rosa Tuna while discussing our plans for the next day. We're going to go big and visit the Cirque of the Towers!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] American Three-toed Woodpecker Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Pika (American)

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

	Big Sandy Lake	76-100% full	76-100% full
	Lots of beautiful blue water!

Black Joe Creek

Medium flow

	Black Joe Lake	76-100% full	76-100% full
	Lovely lake!

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Aug 27 2012

RedwallNHops

Guides 1
Routes 269
Photos 613
Triplogs 1,360

50 male

Joined Dec 22 2003
Tucson, AZ

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Big Sandy Trail

Central, WY

Backpack		Aug 27 2012
		RedwallNHops • Triplogs 1,360

Backpack	7.50 Miles	1,000 AEG

Backpack	7.50 Miles
	1,000 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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GrottoGirl

slowandsteady

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

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WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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