Review: The Best Short Hike in the Winds (9 Miles!)
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: 16 Miles Hiking Little Sandy Lake from Block and Tackle Hill
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
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.
5 Hiking Items I Wish I Would Have Purchased Sooner
Reading Time: 5 minutesThings I wish I’d discovered sooner. There is no affiliate marketing, kickbacks, etc., involved with any of these links—just my opinions. If you’re interested, search around for a slick deal!
Gear Review: Topo MTN Racer 3 Shoe (vs Altra Olympus 5)
Reading Time: 5 minutesTopo’s MTN Racer 3 is cheaper than the competition, feels better, has far better durability, and literally outclasses the Altra Olympus in every metric. It’s the perfect hiking shoe for me.
Gear Review: Creepers Socks or: How I Learned to Stop Foot Pain and Love Hiking Again
Reading Time: 6 minutesCreepers socks have been updated for 2024 and are now more resilient. They have become an indispensable part of my hiking kit and eliminated all of my foot problems.
Review: 42 Scorching Miles Hiking Marten Lake and Squaretop Mountain
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.
Gear Review: Altra Olympus 5, The Perfect Disappointment
Reading Time: 9 minutesAltra’s Olympus 5 is an absolute treasure in reducing damage foot pain and damage, but it’s let down by an insane lack of durability.
Gear Review: PERFECT Kühl Transcendr Pants
Reading Time: 7 minutesIntroduction Why did I get some Kühl Transcendr pants and bother to post a review of such length? If you’ve read my hiking reviews (a massive ask, to be fair, and potentially a violation of the Geneva Convention if prisoners of war were made to do it), you know that I’m very particular about my pants. I’ve long struggled to find a really, truly good pair of hiking pants. One…
Review: 14 Miles Hiking Sweetwater Gap Lakes, Wind River Range
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: 22 Miles Hiking Three Waters Mountain, Native Lake, & Roaring Fork
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
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?
Review: 19 Miles Hiking Seven Lakes—Granite, Dyke, Horseshoe, Marion, & More
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
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
Reading Time: 14 minutesWhat a blessing. The most value/mile of any short hike in the Winds or Cloud Peak Wilderness.
Review: Easy 8 Miles to Upper Silas Lake (Day Hike!)
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!
Review: Little Sandy Lake Day Hike
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.
Review: 29 Miles to Twin Lakes, Pyramid Lake, and Mount Hooker
Reading Time: 16 minutesPyramid Lake was rumored to have golden trout, so we decided to tackle it and look at the Hooker, too.
Review: Fall Day Hike to Donald Lake, Wind River Range
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.
Review: Black Joe Lake Day Hike, Wind River Range
Reading Time: 7 minutesThis short hike is great if you want to be in the Big Sandy area without the Big Sandy crowds. I describe the best way to access it, which is not via trail 116.
Review: Exploring the Cirque of the Towers in the Snow
Reading Time: 11 minutesVisiting the Cirque of the Towers in the fall is a real pleasure, since all the bugs and instagrammers are gone! I had it all to myself.
Review: Quick Overnight Hike to Deep Lake (Temple Basin with Snow!)
Reading Time: 11 minutesTemple Basin is probably the easiest hike in the Winds for an overnight, and it’s also one of the downright prettiest!
Review: Hiking Downs Mountain, Bomber Basin, Mile-Long Lake, etc., Plus a Crashed B24
Reading Time: 34 minutesThis hike features stunning scenery and incredible history, but I have suggestions on how you can make it far more worthwhile. My favorite part is the crashed B24 bomber.
Review: AWFUL—30 Miles to Lake Victor and North Fork Lake
Reading Time: 14 minutesI didn’t like this hike. It’s long, winding, not made for easy walking, exposed to the sun, dusty, arid, and with terrible views. Its only redeeming feature is the fishing (maybe), which went poorly for me. I didn’t HATE it, which implies actively wishing it to never exist, but I’d certainly never do it again, and you shouldn’t do it in the first place.
Review: Green River Lakes Campground and Kayaking Green River, Wyoming
Reading Time: 7 minutesGreen River Lakes Campground is over an hour from Pinedale, Wyoming, on a dirt road, and features semi-improved camping locations both for reservation and for first-come, first serve. It has incredible views of Squaretop Mountain, and many people use the Green River trailhead to hike the Wind River Range. The only hike I recommend out of Green River, however, is Slide Lake. For kayaking to Upper Green River Lake, see…