Shuttle to Trailhead: 2 hours

Hiking Mileage: 7 miles

Elevation Gain: 1300 feet

For this Wind River Range backpacking trip pick you up at your hotel in Jackson Hole for an early start on Day 1. It’s a beautiful 2-hour drive to our trailhead at Elkhart Park. Our hike takes us along a beautiful mountain stream (Faler Creek), below towering cliffs at the top of which is Photographers Point (10,095 feet), and then up to near treeline. We rise above 10,000 feet and for the last 2 hours of our hike have constant, fantastic views of the Continental Divide. We’ll camp tonight at one of the Wind River Range’s beautiful high country lakes, Hobbs Lake, where we’ll set up camp and enjoy a hearty dinner before turning in for a peaceful night’s sleep.

Hiking Mileage: 7 miles

Elevation Gain: 1500 feet

On Day 2 we’ll have a relatively relaxed morning and big breakfast as we break camp. Although not the pinnacle of this trip, today could easily be the highlight of nearly any other mountain trip in Wyoming. We stay over 10,000 feet for the duration of the day, passing multiple alpine lakes including Seneca Lake, Little Seneca Lake, and Island Lake. The soaring peaks of the Continental Divide beckon us throughout the day, foreshadowing the adventure that awaits us on Day 3. We’ll set up camp at one of several options, all of which are on the shores of alpine lakes or streams with stunning views of the Divide.

Hiking Mileage: 7 miles

Elevation Gain: 2000 feet

Today is an absolutely incredible day! We’ll leave our camp set up and hike with only day packs. Our destination is Indian Pass (12,120 feet), a low point on the Continental Divide that offers phenomenal views of the Wind River Range and mountains to the north. Our route takes us past more alpine lakes into a basin below the Divide. We’ll head up toward the pass, with Jackson Peak (13,517 feet) and Fremont Peak (13,745 feet) towering over us. Eventually we’ll make it to Indian Pass.

The pass is an extraordinary vantage point to look down both sides of the Divide. We’ll have a bird’s eye view of the lakes, creeks and meadows we hiked through to reach the pass, and we’ll be looking down the east side into incredible mountain cirques, some with glaciers. Although they’re receding and much smaller than a century ago, we’ll have views of Knife Point Glacier, Bull Lake Glacier, Lower Fremont Glacier and Harrower Glacier. We’ll also have an amazing view of a razor-edge alpine ridge called Knife Point.

We’ll relax, snap pictures, eat lunch and eventually head back toward camp, knowing that this day is one we’ll never forget.