There are plenty of writeups of the Wind River High Route experience. I’ll eventually add my own, but for this post I want to do something a bit different: I want to provide a concise guide to everything you should know before you embark on the route. I’ve included links to more comprehensive resources where needed. Think of it as a quick and dirty introduction to the essentials.
Big thanks to my old friend Six2 who figured all of this stuff out before our trip so I didn’t have to.
What is the Wind River High Route?
Confusingly, there are two popular routes that people refer to as the Wind RIver High Route. One was designed by Andrew Skurka, and one was designed by Alan Dixon. Both pass through the alpine zone (that is, above treeline but below snowline) in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Both are primarily off trail-thru hikes. Both have some similarities to the Sierra High Route in California, but are often considered more remote and spectacular, if not more difficult. Both stay close-ish to the Continental Divide. They overlap in places making it slightly more confusing.
It’s less confusing when you understand that really, both are just guidelines for a “choose your own adventure” week in the Winds which provide a path to access the remote core of one of North America’s most beautiful ranges.
For full disclosure, I haven’t done most of the Skurka route. My friend Six2 and I stuck primarily to the Dixon route when we hiked in August of 2024. My Skurka information here is drawn from multiple other hikers’ experiences.
What are the differences between the routes?
Skurka’s route is longer, sketchier, and harder. It’s a serious challenge. It is also arguably more scenic, because it stays higher in many places, and traverses two thirteeners at the start and finish of teh range that Dixon’s doesn’t cover. It opts for a more glaciated terrain in the north, and requires a bit more scrambling. His route is approximately 97 miles and generally takes experienced, fit hikers 7 - 9 days to complete. He recommends traveling from south to north.
Dixon’s route is shorter and less hard, and therefore more popular. Don’t read “less hard” as “not hard.” It is still a serious challenge for the vast majority of hikers. It is still long and sketchy. It still requires a significant amount of scrambling and boulder hopping, and includes a short but significant glacier crossing. It is approximately 83 miles and is designed to take 7 days. You still need to know what you’re doing. He recommends traveling from north to south.
There are plenty of places where the routes parallel or overlap, so you can switch between at different points.
In both cases, mileage is almost beside the point, because terrain, elevation change, and weather are what determine your pace as much as distance.
Skurka wrote a guidebook with his route that you can (and should) purchase, which gives a ton of beta, which is very useful. It also includes shorter loop options if you don’t want to do it all in one go. Dixon has posted his route information for free online. It is slightly less comprehensive and isn't kept as up to date as Skurka’s, but you should still review it and consider downloading his maps.
Why do the Wind River High Route?
The views speak for themselves:
It’s a real epic. I’m not the most experienced hiker in the world, but I’m sure that I have hiked more than 5000 trail miles now across the US, Canada, New Zealand, Europe, and Latin America. I’d go so far to say that The WRHR is the hardest, best week of hiking I’ve ever done. It’s transcendent.
For a certain type of person, at a certain stage in your hiking career, it’s exactly the sort of challenge you need, and it rewards you with a period in wilderness that is as spectacular as any on the planet.
Who should do the Wind River High Route?
Neither of these routes are for beginners. This is a thing to do if you are fit, know how to boulder confidently, have at least one person in your group who is confident and experienced in off-trail navigation, at least one person with basic glacier travel experience, and are comfortable with being in the mountains on your own, days from civilization. Most people who do this, it seems, have completed previous long thru-hikes, have prior experience in big mountains, and are looking for a real challenge. Technical climbing experience is useful but not required.
If you’re that person, this should be at or near the top of your list. With the right skills and a decent level of fitness, this is maybe the best way to spend a week in the mountains in the entire United States.
What are the challenges you need to be prepared for, above and beyond a normal hike?
Navigation
The WRHR is mostly off trail and is not on signed path. You have to be able to figure out which direction to go yourself. You also need to be able to make safe terrain choices in a variety of conditions. This is relatively straightforward most times because of technology. Carry GPX on your phone with a backup battery (links below). If you haven’t used a mapping app before, familiarize yourself with whichever one you choose (They’re a bit trickier than FarOut, etc. which a lot of thru hikers use). Carry paper maps as a back up because you’ll be out there for a long time in potentially bad weather. If you don’t know already, learn how to read topo. It’s useful to do a bit of orienteering if it’s an option where you live.
I will say that, generally speaking, navigation is straightforward on this route because you’re above tree line and able to see across distances in most cases (assuming the weather isn’t socked in). However, if you’re like us, you may end up hiking after dark or in sub-par conditions, so having multiple resources to draw on (i.e. GPX and maps) is really useful at times. There are plenty of opportunities to get cliffed out on steep terrain here, or to accidentally waste hours heading up the wrong pass.
I will also say that there was a fair amount of established tread on the route, because plenty of people do this. However, it was rare to find good trail for any extended period - even where it’s on the map - particularly between Indian Pass and the base of Sentry Peak Pass. This route is not maintained.
Terrain
Both Skurka and Dixon describe their routes as “non-technical,” but what does that actually mean? It doesn’t mean that you’re just walking. Both routes involve a stream of boulder hopping and scrambling, and cross a few spots of exposure to serious falls if you slip. You’ll spend a good amount of time navigating loose scree and boulders, often on steep angles. You’ll cross at least one crevassed glacier. you probably won’t need an ice ax unless you’re going in a big snow year or early season, but you will be on a high enough angle that microspikes are required for safety (NOT YakTrax - actual spikes). A lot of days, we moved about a mile an hour. You might go faster, but be prepared for much slower movement than you’re used to on trail.
On Skurka, there are a couple of class 3/4 scrambles - which means basically that you don’t need a rope to climb it, but if you fall, you might die. On Dixon’s original route, there’s one class 3/4 scramble, but this is avoidable if you take an alternate route around a lake (this is clearly marked on his website).
On both routes, there are a lot of places where injury is very much a possibility. Both routes “go,” but you need to be confident bouldering and rock hopping in a heavy pack, and have appropriate gear (spikes and poles) for brief periods of glacial travel.
Altitude
Dixon’s route stays between 10 - 12,225 feet the entire route. Skurka’s is between 10 - 13. The optimal time to acclimate if you’re coming from sea level is 3 - 5 days.
Rocky Mountain weather
Due to snow patterns, most years the route is only accessible during the late monsoon season, between late July - early September. Monsoon season means frequent thunderstorms, generally in the afternoon (although this is less predictable than further south in the Rockies). Early snowstorms can hit in August, although snow is highly unlikely to linger until mid-September. You’ll be above treeline most times, so you’ll have a lot of exposure to the elements. The terrain is slow going, so it’s often not easy to drop down during a fast gathering storm. Wyoming is relatively dry in the summer, and you might get lucky (like we did) and catch a clear week, but you need to be prepared to get seriously hammered by wind and rain.
Bugs
The route can be mosquito hell if you go shortly after the snowmelt and hatch. July can be really bad. Early August can be really bad. Late August/early September are best.
Isolation
We saw a lot of people on the first day and the last two days of our trip on the Dixon route. In the middle we saw maybe 1 - 2 parties a day. You’re on your own out there for the most part.
Carry time.
Dixon is designed as a 7 day route. Skurka can take 9, even for fit hikers. There are no road crossings. You have to carry a lot of food.
I’ve heard you can hire outfitters to do food drops midway so you don’t have to carry so much. It isn’t a terrible idea if you don’t mind spending the money. We didn't use them ourselves, but I hear the folks at Stetter Outfitters can help.
Bears?
Theoretically the Winds are Grizzly country (particularly in the north) but up high, an encounter is not at all likely. I’m not sure there have been any recorded Grizzly encounters on the High Route. I couldn’t find any with a quick Google search. Entering and exiting the Winds are the most likely places for a bear encounter but even then it’s not likely. Black bear are more common and visible, but the route generally stays above their range and outside of their territory. There are brief periods in bear country, so we carried spray mostly as a talisman against them. We put our food in Ursacks and typically did not camp where we ate, just to be safe. We had no encounters, but we did see pronghorn, elk, and moose - all at a distance. I also saw a curious pine marten, and a bunch of marmots squeaked at us.
What is the best time to do the Wind River High Route?
The best window is usually the last two weeks of August through the first week of September. Most years, this is the best timing to avoid the mosquito hatch, and to sneak in after monsoon season peters out and before the snow starts again in the autumn.
What are the actual risks on the Wind River High Route?
I don’t want to scare you off, but I do want to give a good rundown of the actual risks on this route, so you can be prepared and avoid them. What do you actually need to be worried about?
To me, the highest risk has to be rolling or breaking an ankle because the route involves constant boulder hopping.
Similarly, loose rock is a serious risk, particularly ascending and descending passes. You traverse a ton of talus, much of which was recently deposited by glaciers and is big and mobile and dangerous. Triggering rock fall or losing your footing is a frequent possibility.
A fall or uncontrolled slide on the Knife Point Glacier could lead to serious injury. (Once again, carry microspikes.)
Getting lost or off route would be easy if you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to navigation, or don’t have good GPS guidance and maps. The best advice is to carry GPX tracks on your phone and paper maps, and to research bail out routes beforehand (there are a fair number but distances are large).
The elements. Exposure to rain/hail/lightning/snow is likely. Be prepared with good rain gear, warm base layers, and shelter.
Altitude sickness. Altitude combined with exhaustion can end your trip if you’re not acclimated.
As long as you do your research and stick to the advised routes, you probably won’t die on the WRHR, which is nice. Even if you’re experienced though, you absolutely could get injured in a way that will make it very difficult to self-extricate. Take a rescue beacon. Be prepared. A rescue could take 24 hours or more, particularly if the weather is bad.
What are the crux points on the Wind River High Route (and what should I know about them)?
Most of the route was of similar difficulty, however there are a few key crux points on both routes.
Skurka:
According to Climber Kyle, Douglas Peak Pass after Alpine Lakes is one of the hardest portions - with loose scree an rocks on a steep slope making for an unpleasant experience.
General consensus is that Europe Peak is also a key challenge as a class three scramble, an anxiety provoking knife-edge traverse, and exposure.
Finally, most people seem to agree that the worst part of the Skurka route (including Skurka himself) is the West Gully below Wind River Peak at the south end of the route. Like with Douglas Peak Pass, this involves very loose, very big rock on a steep grade. It is longer than Douglas Peak Pass, with about 2000 feet of this sort of terrain. People we met along the way told us that it made them seriously question their life decisions.
Dixon:
On Dixon, the only section that is rated as class three scramble is at the outlet for Lake 10895 (aka Middle Alpine Lake) in the Alpine Lakes Basin. Dixon's original route sent you around the north side of the lake and then down a 75 - 100 foot section of mess. This can be avoided (and I’d imagine most people do) by going south of the lake. That’s what we did.
For us, the descent on large talus from Indian Pass, and then across Knife Point Glacier, was one of the more sketchy sections due to big, loose rock, and then crevassed glacier. It’s doable, but I wouldn’t want to attempt it without spikes.
On both routes, the traverse around Alpine Lake is (surprisingly) perhaps the slowest going section of the entire trip. The topo looks fine. There’s just one scramble that looks sketchy from a distance but wasn’t actually that bad (well marked on Skurka’s GPX and Dixon’s map). But the cumulative effect of rock hopping and scrambling adds up to very slow progress. Many people on Dixon do Indian Pass, Knife Point Glacier, Alpine Lakes Pass, and the Alpine Lakes basin as one day, aiming to camp at Camp Lake. This is what we did. It took us 13 hard hours to go less than 10 miles. It was by far our slowest, most difficult day.
How do you get transport to the start and finish of the Wind River High Route?
It’s funny that I haven’t covered this yet, but here are the terminuses of the routes:
Skurka (typically hiked south to north):
Bruce Bridge Trailhead in the south
Trail Lakes Trailhead in the north.
Dixon (Typically hiked north to south)
Green River Lakes Trailhead in the north
Big Sandy Trailhead in the south.
How do you get between them?
There’s a paid shuttle for the Dixon Route from Pinedale. (They also do car shuttles.)
If you’re doing the Dixon route, and don’t want to pay for a shuttle, it is reasonable to hitch from Pinedale to Green River Lakes Trailhead at the start, then hitch from Big Sandy TH to Lander at the finish. Both are popular, busy trailheads. Even though they are quite a ways out - hours from town - and may require multiple hitches, plenty of people get there this way.
If you’re doing Skurka, from Lander you can hitch to the Bruce Bridge Trailhead. Then, from the Trail Lakes Trailhead, it’s about a 10 mile hitch (or walk) on gravel road to Dubois. These are typically a bit easier hitching than the Dixon trailheads.
If you have multiple people with multiple cars in your party, you could of course do a car drop.
To get to the area, assuming you aren’t driving, you can fly to the Central Wyoming Airport in Riverton, then take a bus or hitch to the nearby town of Lander to access shuttles as needed.
If you are doing this route as a Continental Divide Trail Alternate (as we were), the Dixon Route is intuitive because the signed CDT connects with it both at the northern terminus (Green River Lakes) and very near the southern (Big Sandy). You can get creative and connect with Skurka, but it takes a little more work.
What do I need to DO before I go on the WInd River High Route?
So, I’ve covered a lot of what you need to know. What do you need to DO?
Buy and read Skurka’s guide and GPX track notes (He does NOT include a ‘red line’ GPX track, but does include notes on various crux points that are very useful - particularly if you’re attempting his route vs. Dixon’s.)
Overview Dixon’s route (I saved the webpage offline so I’d have basic beta every day.)
Download GPX from CalTopo.
Decide which line you want to take beforehand, and familiarize yourself with crux and bail points.
Get the right gear: Everyone has their preferences, but this post includes a good list if you’re trying to make sure not to forget anything. A few notes from our experience:
Carrying an InReach with texting capabilities and the ability to pull weather reports was really helpful. You’re out there for a while, and you can’t really trust forecasts more than a few days ahead in the mountains. Pulling up to date, location specific weather is more useful than going on whatever the guess was in Pinedale or Lander a week prior.
Carry decent microspikes - not just YakTrax.
Carry a tent that can handle heavy wind and rain. You don’t need a mountaineering set up, but also be ready for serious wind gusts and potential heavy storms in exposed conditions.
Footwear should be sturdy but you can think hiking vs. mountaineering. I wore Brooks Cascadias, and they were great.
Sunscreen and chapstick! The sun is harsh and constant. The wind is harsh and can be constant. My lips and skin were a cracked, chapped wreck by the end of the week.
You don’t need a bear canister, but an Ursack is a good option. There are a lot of animals, and it’s a safeguard against rodents and porcupines and so forth as well as less likely encounters with bears. It would suck to have a mouse in your food four days into the wilderness.
Don’t stress too much about water. It was plentiful, which is great. Up and over some of the passes there were an hour or two between sources, but otherwise it seems like it’s everywhere. I don’t think I ever needed to carry more than a liter. I used a Sawyer filter to purify. Six2 used AquaMira. Both worked. Probably the water up there is as safe as you’ll find anywhere in the States.
On the Skurka route, a section of the trail passes through Wind River Indian Reservation land - between Photo Peak and Middle Fork Lake. It’s a nice section and I recommend it (it's a good, accessible option even if you're doing Dixon), but you do need to pre-plan and get a permit. At time of writing, I believe you have to buy it in person, but there are several locations where you can do so in Lander, if that’s where you’re starting. Here are useful instructions.
Review other hikers’ experiences.
I’ll link you to my own writeup once it’s finished.
I like Kelly Floro’s write up from The Trek on the Dixon Route for photos and advice.
I also liked Alison Young’s more comprehensive write up on the Dixon route.
Climber Kyle writes up the Skurka route well with great photos for the strong climber/hikers out there. (They moved much faster than us. They completed the Skurka route in 7 days, which is at least a day faster than most.)
Get fit. I did a tune up hike on Te Araroa for two weeks in February, then went to the gym regularly for 2 months. Then, we hiked for three weeks from Big Sky Montana on Continental Divide Trail alternates before we got to the Winds. You maybe don’t need to do all that, but you should plan to go in with a good level of fitness.
Get acclimated. How long does this take? It depends, but ideally 3 - 5 days, they say, sleeping at altitude.
Before you start, check your conditions.
Get a good mountain weather forecast for the range (not just the nearby towns).
Get up to date information on that year's snow levels in the range, and glacier conditions if possible - especially if you’re planning an early trip - i.e., in July.
Check data on wildfires. It’s not likely to impact your travel up high, but down low fires can impact bail routes and trail access.
Finally, what are the Highlights of the Wind River High Route?
Seriously, the whole thing. Nowhere was boring. Everywhere was beautiful.
If you’re an experienced long distance hiker looking for a real challenge in scenery that you’ll never forget, put in the work and do it. It’s completely worth it.
Feel free to shoot me questions if you have them!
Want to know what it was like for me? Want to see a lot more photos? Stay tuned for my story about our experience. Subscribe to the mailing list on the homepage and I"ll let you know when it's live.
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