Skip to content
Hiking in the Light
  • About
    • About the Author—Hey, That’s Me!
    • Careers
    • Contact
    • My Backpacking Rating System
    • The Site—Pressing on the Upward Way
  • Beginner’s Backpacking Guide
  • Recent Posts
  • Science, Philosophy, & More
    • Humor and Other Writings
    • Science and Philosophy
    • Spirituality
  • Trails & Gear
    • Gear Reviews
    • Interactive Maps—Find a Hike
    • Bighorn Mountains/Cloud Peak Wilderness
    • The Tetons and the Gros Ventre
    • Wind River Range
    • Other Travel
  • Search Icon
Review: The Best Short Hike in the Winds (9 Miles!)

Wind River Range

Review: The Best Short Hike in the Winds (9 Miles!)

Review: The Best Short Hike in the Winds (9 Miles!)

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 8 minutesNo hike in the Winds is this so easy for such a payoff. As such, it’s great to take kids to. It does require some acceptance off off-trail navigation, but nothing serious.

Review: 34-Mile Hike to Yukon Peak from Green River Lakes Trailhead

Review: 34-Mile Hike to Yukon Peak from Green River Lakes Trailhead

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 31 minutesIs this the best way to access Iceberg Lake? I don’t know, but it’s the best way to visit Elbow Lake No 2, and who doesn’t want to do that?

Review: 16 Miles Hiking Little Sandy Lake from Block and Tackle Hill

Review: 16 Miles Hiking Little Sandy Lake from Block and Tackle Hill

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 14 minutesLittle Sandy is such a terrible lure. You know you won’t love it, but dangit, you need something easy, so there you find yourself, disappointed all over again. 

Review: 46 Miles Hiking St. Lawrence Trailhead to Twin, Raft, Mova, Polaris, Moraine, Darren, Sonnicant, and Many More Lakes

Review: 46 Miles Hiking St. Lawrence Trailhead to Twin, Raft, Mova, Polaris, Moraine, Darren, Sonnicant, and Many More Lakes

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 64 minutesThis hike took me to all the lakes around Sonnicant that I hadn’t been to yet, but the report is shameful. You’ll see.

Review: 58 Beautiful Miles Hiking Halls Lake, Heebeecheeche Lake, and More

Review: 58 Beautiful Miles Hiking Halls Lake, Heebeecheeche Lake, and More

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 30 minutesI had heard that Halls Lake was not worth the effort to see, but I found that to be a pack o’ lies!

Review: Hiking 62 Stunning Miles on the Washakie, South Fork, and Baptiste Loop

Review: Hiking 62 Stunning Miles on the Washakie, South Fork, and Baptiste Loop

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 58 minutesThis is perhaps my new favorite hike, despite a very sad event taking place. Really, just look at the crappy pics I took and realize they do as much justice as Caligula.

Review: 42 Scorching Miles Hiking Marten Lake and Squaretop Mountain

Review: 42 Scorching Miles Hiking Marten Lake and Squaretop Mountain

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 45 minutesA portion of this hike is utterly worth it. A large section I have no interest in seeing again. All of it is better than a minute spent watching Jimmy Fallon.

Review: Easy as Cake, 20 Miles Hiking Atlantic Canyon and Windy Lake

Review: Easy as Cake, 20 Miles Hiking Atlantic Canyon and Windy Lake

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 17 minutesThis area of the Winds is underrated. My 1/2 pregnant wife, my 8 year-old daughter, and the rest of us enjoyed this hike, but we found out a way to do it far more efficiently at the end.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

Clear Creek Park/Meadows towards dusk
Review: 12-Mile Day Hike to Slide Lake, Wind River Range

Review: 12-Mile Day Hike to Slide Lake, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 9 minutesSlide Lake is one of my favorite day hikes that anyone in moderate physical fitness can do. It has some unique features along the trail (a giant waterslide and Fishbowl Springs) and decent views the entire way.

Granite Creek by Granite Hot Springs
Reviews: Hoback Guard Station, Granite Hot Springs, and Clear Lake Day Hike

Reviews: Hoback Guard Station, Granite Hot Springs, and Clear Lake Day Hike

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 12 minutesClear Lake is a beautiful lake surrounded by cliffs. It can be done as a day hike but is best accomplished with enough time for one to fully take in the concept of eternal damnation. Everything else in this post is tops!

Mount Geikie sunset reflection
Review: 29 Miles to Twin Lakes, Pyramid Lake, and Mount Hooker

Review: 29 Miles to Twin Lakes, Pyramid Lake, and Mount Hooker

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 16 minutesPyramid Lake was rumored to have golden trout, so we decided to tackle it and look at the Hooker, too.

Lower Cook Lakes, Wyoming in summer
Review: Hiking Cook Lakes, Wind River Range (And How to Do It Better!)

Review: Hiking Cook Lakes, Wind River Range (And How to Do It Better!)

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 15 minutesThis 26-mile hike can be made into a much better hike than I had, though I wasn’t equipped with the appropriate knowledge to make it really fantastic at the time. It’s great for people who want good fishing with camping locations which are downright hospitable.

Titcomb Basin from Fremont Peak
Review: 47 Miles from Elkhart Park to Green River Lakes

Review: 47 Miles from Elkhart Park to Green River Lakes

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 26 minutesWe did Elkhart Park to Green River Lakes in just under 4 days, but it’s probably nicer if you do it in 5. You’d be an absolute loon to do this trip the opposite way around. While many people utilize Knapsack Col, we used the CDT in order to fish for golden trout and to see extra lakes.

Fish Creek Park, Wyoming, at sunset.
Review: Fall Day Hike to Donald Lake, Wind River Range

Review: Fall Day Hike to Donald Lake, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 6 minutesDonald Lake has excellent fishing for brookies and is a very low-use area of the Wind River Range. It’s also one of the easiest hikes you can do and only has a low number of miles. Most people looking for a hike of this distance will probably want to do this as an overnight hike in order to maximize time at this picturesque lake.

Posts navigation

OLDER POSTS

Pages

  • About the Author—Hey, That’s Me!
  • Beginner’s Backpacking Guide
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Maps
  • My Backpacking Rating System
  • Pressing on the Upward Way
  • Privacy Policy
  • Recent Posts
  • Welcome Home

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
  • •Green—Day hikes; can be done as overnights.
  • •Yellow—Overnight hikes, typically 2 nights.
  • •Red—Long-duration hikes, typically 5+days.
  • •Purple—Camping, international trips; excursions.

The Site and Careers

  • About the Author—Hey, That’s Me!
  • Beginner’s Backpacking Guide
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Maps
  • My Backpacking Rating System
  • Pressing on the Upward Way
  • Privacy Policy
  • Recent Posts
  • Welcome Home

Top Posts & Pages

  • Rockhounding Locations in WY, MT; UT. (Rough Draft, 05/02/2021 Revision)
  • Kühl Review: Comparing Deceptr, Renegade, Radikl, and Transcendr Pants
  • 15 Miles: Bomber Mountain and Off-Trail Traipsing for Trout
  • Review: Dickinson Park to Smith, Cloverleaf, Cook, Mendarrin, Middle, & Cathedral Lakes
  • Review: Heavenly 45 Mile Loop from Stough Creek Basin to Wind River Peak

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this the content of this site, some of which, we hear, is worthwhile.

Join 135 other subscribers
© 2025   Copyright Lucas Necessary, 2021. All Rights Reserved. God bless!