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

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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. 

Topo MTN Racer 3
Gear Review: Topo MTN Racer 3 Shoe (vs Altra Olympus 5)

Gear Review: Topo MTN Racer 3 Shoe (vs Altra Olympus 5)

Lucas Necessary

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.

Review: 7.5-Mile Day Hike to Ramshead Lake and Lake of the Crags in Gorgeous Tetons

Review: 7.5-Mile Day Hike to Ramshead Lake and Lake of the Crags in Gorgeous Tetons

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 8 minutesThis is a great day hike in the Tetons that can be accomplished quickly. It’s best done in the fall when the crowds, the heat, and the bugs are all gone.

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.

Gear Review: Altra Olympus 5, The Perfect Disappointment

Gear Review: Altra Olympus 5, The Perfect Disappointment

Lucas Necessary

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.

Review: Hiking or Neature Walking (1 Mile) to Pelham Lake, WY

Review: Hiking or Neature Walking (1 Mile) to Pelham Lake, WY

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 5 minutesPelham Lake can be accessed by an incredibly short neature walk. It doesn’t seem to really have crowds. We enjoyed it for what it was.

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.

Absent-minded Veteran Forgets To Change Profile Pic To Military Uniform

Absent-minded Veteran Forgets To Change Profile Pic To Military Uniform

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 2 minutesCheyenne, WY—John McCaye forgot for the second year in a row to change his profile picture on Veteran’s Day, and now he’s not getting the recognition that he deserves.

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: 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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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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
  • •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.

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