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AKDOG
Mountain climber
Anchorage, AK
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 17, 2014 - 09:32am PT
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Planning a trip to the Wind River to the cirque of the towers; looking for advice on which trail head is best to start from, Big Sandy or North Fork Trail (Dickenson Park)? The packer we hired to haul in some gear, uses the uses the Dickerson Park trail. Any comments on which access point is better or general adivice would be appreciated.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jun 17, 2014 - 09:45am PT
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Packers start from Dickinson Park because the trail, while considerably longer, is MUCH better for horses. The top of Jackass Pass, the Big Sandy way, is very difficult for horses to negotiate.
Make sure your packer doesn't drop the loads right at Lonsome Lake....the best camping is on meadows below Pingora several hundred feet above the lake, easily navigable by horses coming in from Dickinson Park.
You may choose to hike in from Big Sandy once the loads are delivered although it is quite a drive from Dickinson Park.
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John Butler
Social climber
SLC, Utah
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Jun 17, 2014 - 10:06am PT
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We saw a Packer dropping two guys off way shy of Jackass in 2012... I have no idea how he got them as far as he did, or he how he got the horses back down.
Sure you can't carry enough gear on your own? Staying for a while?
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feralfae
Boulder climber
in the midst of a metaphysical mystery
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Jun 17, 2014 - 10:11am PT
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If you are staying a while, and need more gear than you can carry, the easy route is Dickinson Park, and I agree to have the gear taken on up past the lake.
If you can haul all your gear in, I'd use Big Sandy.
feralfae
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AKDOG
Mountain climber
Anchorage, AK
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 17, 2014 - 10:31am PT
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Quote Sure you can't carry enough gear on your own? Staying for a while? Here
Thanks for the advice
Last year we humped 80+ lb. packs into the Arrigetch peaks, at times brutal bush wacking, mosquitoes clouds, stream crossings etc. Nice trip but getting soft. The idea of having our gear packed in sounds attractive.
We are a couple of middle aged posers, looking for a more leisurely trip this year. We are only going to be in for around 12 days and plan to pack the gear out.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jun 17, 2014 - 10:37am PT
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Question....when are you going? Late Aug. on the mosquitos are usually gone. Oops....forgot your from Alaska where mosquitos can carry off a fully grown wolverine.
Ah....to be middle aged again....such a nice dream!
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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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Jun 17, 2014 - 11:15am PT
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Sure you can't carry enough gear on your own? Staying for a while?
That is a pretty stupid comment (and I went to Winds twice last year, packed in everything, and will likely go again at least once this year if not more, and pack in everything).
If anyone wants to use outfitters to get their stuff into Winds, more power to them.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jun 17, 2014 - 11:26am PT
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Yep...I'm going the first week in September for the third year in a row of having llamas do the dirty work.
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steve shea
climber
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Jun 17, 2014 - 11:48am PT
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You can still get in with horse packers from Big Sandy Opening. Some will go only as far as the top of Jackass Pass, some will go all the way to the lake. For more money!
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feralfae
Boulder climber
in the midst of a metaphysical mystery
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Jun 17, 2014 - 12:00pm PT
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Question....when are you going? Late Aug. on the mosquitos are usually gone. Oops....forgot your from Alaska where mosquitos can carry off a fully grown wolverine.
LOL And I am heading up to AK after I go to visit friends on the edge of the Winds this year, up in the North Fork canyon.
Yes, the mosquitoes up in AK are super bugs, and a wolverine is among the smaller of mammals they "disappear." Remember some of those missing climbers? Mosquito season, most likely, is the culprit responsible for the AK disappearances. LOL
And, have a good trip in the Winds, everyone. It is a beautiful place to play. :)
fae
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crøtch
climber
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Jun 17, 2014 - 12:19pm PT
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I saw some llama packers passing through Jackass pass a few years back. Don't know the details but that could be an option.
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Tvash
climber
Seattle
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Jun 17, 2014 - 12:23pm PT
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North Fork is 13 mi on good trail to camping in the Cirque, Big Sandy is just under 11 mi with some climber's trail rockiness around Jackass Pass. Overall elevation gain is similar.
If there is a llama service that will do a gear drop (rather than having to llama sit the entire time), I'd be interesting in hearing about them.
We looked into using critters for a gear drop last year but the hassle and expense for just 2 people wasn't worth it, so we opted to just hump everything in for our 10 day trip. The trails are mostly good, the elevation gain is pretty mellow, so it wasn't too bad.
Some advice: don't leave a visible food cache separate from an obviously inhabited campsite - they are illegal (it's in the fine print on the back of your map). We found that out the hard way when we came back late and hungry to find ours missing. Further investigation revealed that it had been confiscated by a ranger - who then stole and consumed its contents, without so much as a courtesy note. Not ideal. We pursued getting the rule changed or at least getting a notification added to the TH sign kiosk. The USFS made it quite clear that they were not interested in pursuing either remedy.
The incident didn't work out for anyone very well - the ranger reimbursed us for the theft - and lost his job because of it. After all that - the USFS assured us that caches will still be confiscated in the future - and those who leave them will be fined ($150, as i recall).
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Scott Patterson
Mountain climber
Craig
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Jun 17, 2014 - 01:24pm PT
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One thing to keep in mind is that to access Dickerson Park, you now need to pay a fee to drive through the Indian Reservation (even if you are just driving through). Last summer it was $55 if you drive through for less than six days between dates, but $85 if you drive through for 7 days between dates.
The Dickerson Park trail is better for horses, but has some tricky stream crossings for people on foot, especially early season.
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ddriver
Trad climber
SLC, UT
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Jun 17, 2014 - 04:04pm PT
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Big Sandy is just under 11 mi with some climber's trail rockiness around Jackass Pass.
No reference handy but I remember it being about 8 miles, 5 miles to Big Sandy Lake and then 3 to Jackass Pass or just over.
Ditto on seeing the llamas/goats for packing in the past, but the hike is not so bad that a pack service is a big need. There is a bit easier entrance to the cirque by going left of the final lake, though the walk down to Lonesome would then be longer if you were headed that way.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jun 17, 2014 - 04:07pm PT
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It's eight miles via Jackass Pass.
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Tvash
climber
Seattle
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Jun 18, 2014 - 11:21am PT
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It's 6.5 mi to the actual trail turn off (6 from TH to the W edge of the Big Sandy Lake), + 3 to Jackass Pass, + 1 to a campsite in the cirque - your choice there.
I was in there twice last summer.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Jun 18, 2014 - 01:40pm PT
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You can also camp at big sandy lake and day hike it into the cirque or deep lake. Also good camping at some lakes on jackass pass that negate the need to carry all of your stuff to either site, just climbing gear and lunch. Much less distance to pack out at the end as well. Very little elevation gain up to big sandy lake.
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Tvash
climber
Seattle
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Jun 18, 2014 - 03:48pm PT
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We cached at Big Sandy, then headed into Deep Lake first, with the idea of resupplying and finishing up in the Cirque. It would have been a really good plan had we hid our cache from The Man. A trip out and back to the store to resupply cost us a day, but that was a bad weather day anyway - we wound up tagging the Wolf's Head in fine weather - a really scenic jaunt and social event with two other good-natured parties similarly enjoying the day with us.
Humping our full load into Big Sandy - 6 flat miles, wasn't too bad.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Jun 18, 2014 - 04:19pm PT
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I hiked in and out of the East Fork Valley last August, with a 70 lb. pack, in one day. I vowed that I would never do it again, but it really wasn't that bad.
If you want to escape the crowds in the Cirque, you might consider this place- long adventure routes, and no climbers.
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AKDOG
Mountain climber
Anchorage, AK
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Topic Author's Reply - Sep 22, 2014 - 02:47pm PT
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Thanks everyone for all the advice. What a great place. Managed to get Wolf’s head and Pingora before the weather turned; Pingora is a true classic only a couple of pieces of fixed gear and every pitch was fun. We had the route all to ourselves, did it in 11 pitches, last 4 pitches were under slight mental duress as it was getting cloudy and we started to hear lighting but managed to tag the summit and rap off before the deluge started. Here are a few pic’s of the trip
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