Met a guy on the trail who changed my mind about the Wind River Range

I was set on hiking the Cirque of the Towers loop in Wyoming last fall, thinking it was the only real route out there. At a trailhead near Pinedale, I met an older guy fixing a strap on his pack. We got talking and he asked about my plan. When I told him, he just shook his head and said, 'That's the zoo. Go over to Titcomb Basin instead. You'll see maybe five people all day.' He pulled out his map and showed me a different path, starting from the Elkhart Park trailhead. He said the view from Indian Pass was better anyway. I took his advice and it was the quietest, most stunning 40 miles I've ever done. Has anyone else had a trailhead chat that totally rerouted their trip?

3 comments

3 Comments

ross.felix25d ago

Grabbed my map and replanned a trip in the Tetons after a guy at a campground told me the Amphitheater Lake trail was way more crowded than he liked. He pointed me toward Lake Solitude instead, which added a few miles but cut the people count down to almost zero. The hike was tougher with some scrambling near the top, but the quiet was worth every extra step. I just packed a little more gear to be safe and let a ranger know my route. Good advice from a stranger can turn a good trip into a great one if you're willing to adjust.

wendy_jackson1mo ago

That guy gave you bad advice honestly. The Cirque is popular for a reason, it's the classic for a first timer. Titcomb is great but it's way more remote and the route finding is tougher. If your gear fails or you twist an ankle, you want to be where other people are. My buddy went deep into the Winds on a "quiet" route last year and spent a miserable night alone with a busted stove because no one came by. Sometimes the zoo has safety in numbers.

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matthewkim1mo ago

Okay but "safety in numbers" feels a bit much for a hiking trail. Your buddy's busted stove story sucks, but that's a gear issue, not a route issue. People act like stepping off the main path means instant doom. @wendy_jackson, the Titcomb basin isn't some uncharted jungle, it's just a less crowded part of the same park. Basic prep and a map go a long way. The Cirque is fine, but treating the other option like a death sentence is just fear mongering.