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Review: 14 Miles Hiking Sweetwater Gap Lakes, Wind River Range

Trail and Trip Reports

Stories of my travels to the tops of mountains and the bottoms of reefs.

Review: 14 Miles Hiking Sweetwater Gap Lakes, Wind River Range

Review: 14 Miles Hiking Sweetwater Gap Lakes, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 12 minutesThe unnamed lakes in Sweetwater Gap are worth a visit given how easy they are to access, as well as just how surprisingly pretty you’ll find them. I didn’t see any fish there, but it was late in the year.

Review: 26 Fall Miles Hiking Big Sandy, Shadow Lake, Texas Pass, and the Cirque of the Towers

Review: 26 Fall Miles Hiking Big Sandy, Shadow Lake, Texas Pass, and the Cirque of the Towers

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 29 minutesAlthough a really nice hike, I’d probably only do this in fall to minimize the awful crowds.

Schoolroom Glacier Tetons
22 Miles Over the Tetons: Jenny Lake, Hurricane Pass, and Alaska Basin (Kind Of)

22 Miles Over the Tetons: Jenny Lake, Hurricane Pass, and Alaska Basin (Kind Of)

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 18 minutesA world-class day hike that I wouldn’t do in peak tourist season.

Review: 25 Mundane Miles Hiking Goodwin Lake, Turquoise Lake, & the Gros Ventre

Review: 25 Mundane Miles Hiking Goodwin Lake, Turquoise Lake, & the Gros Ventre

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 43 minutesAlthough Turquoise Lake looks beautiful on the maps, I found this hike fairly mundane. I was happy to be out and about, but I have no plans to return.

Review: 22 Miles Hiking Three Waters Mountain, Native Lake, & Roaring Fork

Review: 22 Miles Hiking Three Waters Mountain, Native Lake, & Roaring Fork

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 51 minutesThis hike is one for those who like solitude, stunning views, and horrible deadfall. Not for the easily lost, but I found one on it.

A Quick Hike to Lake Barstow, WY with My Daughter

A Quick Hike to Lake Barstow, WY with My Daughter

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 11 minutesThis has some of my favorite memories ever. It was my first overnight hike with my little daughter!

Review: 9 Miles or More to Jim Creek Lake, Wind River Range

Review: 9 Miles or More to Jim Creek Lake, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 20 minutesJim Creek Lake avoids all the attention that the rest of the Wind River Range receives. Should it? And can you even get to the trailhead given the terrible roads in the area?

Night sky over Granite Lake, Wyoming
Review: 19 Miles Hiking Seven Lakes—Granite, Dyke, Horseshoe, Marion, & More

Review: 19 Miles Hiking Seven Lakes—Granite, Dyke, Horseshoe, Marion, & More

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 32 minutesHiking to Granite Lake! I liked this trip enough that I changed plans during it to save some lakes as leftovers for another time. That said, I think if I’d taken any friends with me, they would no longer be my friends. The good news is that I have like 0 friends, so it wasn’t a problem. I wonder why that is?

Mill Iron Ranch Sleigh Ride with Kids
Review: Mill Iron Ranch, Jackson, Wyoming

Review: Mill Iron Ranch, Jackson, Wyoming

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 4 minutesThe Mill Iron Ranch has exceptional food and company. We’ll be back.

Review: 22-Mile Day Hike to Picturesque Paintbrush Pass

Review: 22-Mile Day Hike to Picturesque Paintbrush Pass

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 7 minutesPaintbrush Pass is an easy hike for people who get lost easily but are in shape, and it offers stunning views of the Cathedral Group. Being in the Tetons, it’s always going to come with crowds.

Review: Up, Up, and a Day Hike to Blue Miner Lake & Sheep Mountain

Review: Up, Up, and a Day Hike to Blue Miner Lake & Sheep Mountain

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 16 minutesBlue Miner Lake and Sheep Mountain had great views, but were they worth the interminable, waterless climb?

Review: Beauty & Ennui Hiking Grizzly Lake

Review: Beauty & Ennui Hiking Grizzly Lake

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 13 minutesGrizzly Lake offers some nice fall colors, but isn’t worth the hike in any season. A trip to the first pond on the hike might be worth it.

Review: 19 Miles Hiking Simpson Lake, Plus Dead Horse, Long, and Union

Review: 19 Miles Hiking Simpson Lake, Plus Dead Horse, Long, and Union

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 29 minutesSimpson Lake holds a great deal of value: the walk is easy, the fish are plentiful, and the people aren’t to be found. It also has some fantastic history and decent scenery.

Upper Jade Lake
Review: 10-mile Overnight Hike to “Harmful” Jade Lakes, Brooks Lakes, etc.

Review: 10-mile Overnight Hike to “Harmful” Jade Lakes, Brooks Lakes, etc.

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 16 minutesJade Lakes, Rainbow Lake, and Upper and Lower Brooks Lakes are easily accessed and quite tame as a day or overnight hike. There are some important downsides to the area, however.

Review: Stupendously Short Overnight Hike to Lost Lake, WY

Review: Stupendously Short Overnight Hike to Lost Lake, WY

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 11 minutesLost Lake is a very short hike to a picturesque, colorful lake. It’s good for people who aren’t in shape, or for families with little children.

Review: Hiking (Or Surviving) MacLeod Lake, Gros Ventre Range

Review: Hiking (Or Surviving) MacLeod Lake, Gros Ventre Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 15 minutesMacLeod Lake (also spelled McLeod and Macleod) is a scenic lake in a rocky bowl best accessed from Swift Creek Trailhead by those who win competitions climbing the Empire State Building and by those who just hate their lives and want them to be a little bit more miserable.

Two Ocean Lake
Review: Kayaking Two Ocean Lake, Grand Teton National Park

Review: Kayaking Two Ocean Lake, Grand Teton National Park

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 2 minutesA lesser-used lake that’s a bit out of the way, but it still has nice views of the mountains.

Review: 9 Miles Hiking Gypsum Creek Lakes, Wind River Range

Review: 9 Miles Hiking Gypsum Creek Lakes, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 14 minutesWhat a blessing. The most value/mile of any short hike in the Winds or Cloud Peak Wilderness.

Scientists Discover Hottest Place On Planet Is Inside Your Tent The Second After Sun Comes Up

Scientists Discover Hottest Place On Planet Is Inside Your Tent The Second After Sun Comes Up

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 2 minutesBoulder, CO—Scientists at the University of Colorado School of Geophysics have overturned a long-held world record for planetary heat here on Earth. While the record was previously held by Iran’s Lut Desert, it’s been definitively relegated into the realm of sweaty has-beens. 

Review: Kayaking and Paddleboarding Spalding Bay, Grand Teton National Park

Review: Kayaking and Paddleboarding Spalding Bay, Grand Teton National Park

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 4 minutesA quiet place with beautiful views in Grand Teton National Park? We were shocked to find out that such a thing exists.

United Airlines 409 engine.
Review: United Flight 409 Crash, Snowy Mountains—1.5 Mile Walk

Review: United Flight 409 Crash, Snowy Mountains—1.5 Mile Walk

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe wreckage of United Flight 409 is an easy nature walk that most everyone should do!

Island Lake, Wyoming at sunset after the storms.
Review: Hiking Titcomb in August with Snow

Review: Hiking Titcomb in August with Snow

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 8 minutesTitcomb is a nice trip, though not my favorite. This trip was marked by poor weather which added a little bit of charisma to the place, though it being deserted is what made it truly memorable.

Temple Basin
Review: Cirque of the Towers vs Temple Basin

Review: Cirque of the Towers vs Temple Basin

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 12 minutesThis hike covered both the Cirque of the Towers and Temple Basin. Which do you think is a better place to visit?

Upper Silas Lake shoreline
Review: Easy 8 Miles to Upper Silas Lake (Day Hike!)

Review: Easy 8 Miles to Upper Silas Lake (Day Hike!)

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 6 minutesUpper Silas Lake is one of the few hikes in the Winds that can be an honest, easy day-hike. You won’t be rewarded with staggering scenery, but it’s better than being stuck in town, and the fishing is still fun!

Little Sandy Lake's beach during low water
Review: Little Sandy Lake Day Hike

Review: Little Sandy Lake Day Hike

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 9 minutesLittle Sandy Lake is an adventure, but is it a good one? The road to the trailhead doesn’t want you to know the answer to that question.

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Hiking and Adventure Map (Work in Progress)

  • NOTE! Zoom in for full list. Some icons at default view contain 5+ hikes when zoomed in. I'm transcribing these hikes in my own order, but if you'd like to see one moved to the top of the review list, just let me know.


Map Symbology:

  • •Blue—Hiking plus kayaking trips
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  • •Purple—Camping, international trips; excursions.

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