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Wyoming's Wind River Mountains

Spring Park Trailhead 14 Day Wilderness Adventure

VIDEOS : Wind River Mountains

PICTURES : 2013 Spring Creek Trailhead 14 Day Trip

PICTURES : 2010 Elkhart Park Trailhead Trip

Let me tell you about my fishing trip to Wyoming's Wind River Mountains. This vast wilderness area is a trout fishing paradise. There is a virtually limitless number of lakes to fish and endless miles of trails to hike. While the fishing varies from lake to lake it is often times excellent. Cutthroat, rainbow, brook and golden trout are the most common catches, with grayling, lake and brown trout also available.

My first attempt to fish the Wind River Mountains was a dismal failure. I had never gone on an overnight backpacking trip before and wasn't experienced with adjusting a backpack. I was using an internal frame pack which wasn't big enough and the waist belt didn't fit tight enough. The total pack weight was 75 pounds. After a couple hours on the trail my shoulders began to experience excruciating pain. I had to walk at a 45 degree angle to reduce the weight on them and had to sit and rest every 15 minutes. This reduced my speed to about 1 mile per hour. The plan was to hike 25 miles from Elkhart Park to the Bridger Lake area but at my pace I would never make it. After 2 days of misery I was forced to retreat. The 10 day trip was over in just 4 days and I only got to fish a little at Hobbs Lake.

Three years later I planned a second attempt. This time I used an external frame backpack and made sure it could sustain a heavy load without killing my shoulders. I hired Bald Mountain Outfitters from Pinedale to transport Ann and I and all of our gear, including 2 weeks. worth of food, deep into the Wind River Wilderness. Our starting point was the Spring Creek trailhead which is about 10 miles west of the more popular Elkhart Park trailhead. The lack of popularity is due partially to the poor road and partially to the 2,000 feet of elevation gain you need to endure compared to if you had started at Elkhart. Of course, if you use horses then this is not your problem, it is the horse's problem. We went about 25 miles in 1 day supplied with 2 weeks worth of food, a distance that would have been utterly impractical to do without horses and mules.

We setup a wonderful base camp near the Sauerkraut Lakes and stayed there for a week fishing a number of lakes within a days hiking distance. After consuming a week's worth of food my backpack was down to about 80 pounds, a weight I could deal with as Ann and I moved our base camp 5 miles north to Summit Lake. We spent 3 nights in this most scenic area above tree line having excellent fishing and then moved our camp five miles southwest to Trail Lake. After 3 nights here we then hiked the 15 remaining miles in one day back to the trail head. By then our packs were light (65 pounds), I was used to the air and the elevation loss all allowed for the large distance covered.

The fishing, as I will explain in detail shortly, was in general outstanding. We were able to catch fresh fish for dinner every day. Because there are so many fish in most of these lakes and they get so little pressure you are doing them a favor by thinning out their populations a little. We fished a total of 14 lakes. Four of the lakes did not produce any fish, although in two of them there had been thunder recently and maybe that scared the fish. If we fished an hour and didn't get any action or see any fish rising then we would just move on to another lake. Of the remaining 10 lakes that we fished, I would rate 7 of them as excellent and three as good. Below is a description of each lake in the order that it was fished.

As I write this about 2 months after my trip ended, I cannot help but feel a little sad its all over. I miss the adventure, the great scenery, the fresh mountain air and fish that bite on every other cast. There aren't many things as fun as a wilderness fishing trip in a pristine mountain wilderness, and I don't think there is another mountain wilderness with as much good fishing as the Wind River Mountains.

Sauerkraut Lake Sauerkraut Lakes 4-16 acres, 10,200'

There are 3 Sauerkraut Lakes. The first one is the most easy to reach and most often fished although I saw no one else fishing it for the week I was camping there. There are cutthroat trout all over this lake and they love to take flies off the surface. It shouldn't take more than 20 or 30 minutes to catch all you need for a shore lunch. The fish average 10 to 14 inches and tend to be on the thin side but a few were of good weight. Fish up to 18 inches are possible.

The second Sauerkraut Lake is a short, easy hike east of the first. This lake is similar to the first. It has perhaps slightly fewer fish than the first but still very good numbers and they tend to be larger. From a high cliff I saw several large trout swimming in the shallow water that looked to be around 18 inches.

The third lake is smaller than the first two and requires a bit of an adventure to get to. It is about a 1 mile hike east and up from the second lake to the third. There is no trail here but if you follow the creek you will probably eventually find the lake. There is a significant elevation gain and the terrain is rugged. Along the way you pass a couple of shallow ponds. These are not the lake and appeared fishless. Sauerkraut 3 sits at the foot of a tall mountain peak that is ever visible from Sauerkraut 1 and 2. It is the most scenic of the 3 lakes and is probably only fished a few times per year. I fished it only once for an hour and this was right after a thunderstorm which probably spooked the fish and sent them deep. I did not catch anything but no doubt there are fish here as evidence by the few rises I saw.

W3 Lake W3 Lake

W3 is reputed to hold good numbers of golden trout up to 12 inches. The trip south from Sauerkraut 1 to W3 requires a 3 mile hike along an unmaintained trail. At times this trail is so hard to follow that even with a GPS showing the trail I kept losing it and getting temporarily lost. The trail follows down a deep narrow valley where the Cumberland River is formed and then crosses the stream and steeply climbs out of the valley, zig zagging until you eventually come to W3. The land here is really rugged, up and down everywhere. We fished W3 for several hours and had no action and didn't even see any rises. It was partly cloudy and the water surface was about 65 degrees. The lake appears deep and maybe the fish were seeking cooler water. I saw what appeared to be some spawning beds in the southern part of the lake where there are some shallow gravel areas.

Bridger Lake 1 Bridger Lakes 4-36 acres, 10,100'-10,500'

From W3 we tried to hike south to Bridger Lake 1 but were prevented from doing so by a massive cliff drop off. According to Bald Mountain Outfitters the Bridger Lakes have excellent action for brook trout averaging 8 to 12 inches. The two lowest lakes used to have golden trout but have since been overrun with brookies. I could see the lake from far away and in a higher resolution photo than what is posted on this web site I counted 7 rises occurring from the small portion of the lake that I could see. The 6 Bridger Lakes are among some of the more difficult and remote lakes to get to in an area whose general character is difficult and remote. Set up a base camp here if you can and you are very likely to have the whole area to yourself for a long time. It should be possible to travel from Bridger 1 up to Bridger 6. The upper most lake, Bridger 6, is above tree line and offers some very nice views of the jagged peaks in that area. There are no official trails leading directly to the Bridger Lakes but Bald Mountain Outfitters have informed me there are ways to get there. Supposedly there is a way from Elkhart Park past Lost Lake and up thru Morya Canyon that will connect with B6. You can get there in 1 day via horseback.

Twin Lakes, Wind River Mountains Twin Lakes 4-11 acres, 10,345'

I hiked about 3 miles north from Sauerkraut Lake to the Twin Lakes. The Twin Lakes are adjacent to a major trail and offer a chance at catching golden trout, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and various hybrid combinations. The scenery is outstanding at these two lakes with high cliff walls surrounding most of the shoreline. The lakes are fed and connected by Elbow Creek. To get from Upper Twin to Lower Twin you may have to cross Elbow Creek. This fast stream is generally shallow but cold. There aren't many fish in Elbow Creek here but we did spot a large golden trout around 18" in one of the few pools in this stream.

The lower lake offers faster action than the upper lake but I caught larger fish from the upper lake, including a 15 inch rainbow that took a #16 black ant fished about 4 feet deep. I also lost another of similar size and Ann had a follow from a large (20"?) golden trout near the outlet. Unlike many of the other lakes in the area dry flies did not do well. In the lower lake I had to resort to small woolly buggers and a #12 scud to coax the fish into striking. Once you get the flies figured out the fish will come, but on a beautiful lake like this it is not so important if you catch fish.

Elbow Creek, Wind River Mountains Elbow Lake 80 acres, 10,777'

I did not have an opportunity to fish Elbow Lake but due to its popularity and proximity to Twin Lakes I will say a few things about it. First, the lake is known for its large golden trout. Fish of 2 to 4 pounds are the norm here although they are usually not easy to catch. The Highline trail passes south under Twin Lakes and north above Elbow Lake, eventually crossing Little Elbow Lake north of Elbow. I tried to access the western end of Elbow from the Highline trail, but when I got there I found some tall peaks between the trail and the lake that looked too difficult to cross. I could have hiked a few miles east to Upper Elbow and then followed the creek down to the eastern part of Elbow but I didn't have enough time (keep in mind, my base camp then was at Sauerkraut Lake, a ways south). The going is slow on these trails as they are high in elevation and very steep. If you are coming up from the Twin Lakes area it may be better to try following Elbow Creek from where it crosses the Highline trail up into the western portion of Elbow. There may be some boulders and bushes to negotiate at times but other sections appeared a bit more open. I hear that the stream itself near Elbow Lake is good as is the pond it flows thru downstream of Elbow. There is also a small lake to the north of the creek which occasionally gets a migration of golden trout from Elbow when the water is high enough. These fish end up stranded in the lake and can grow large. Terry Pollard of Bald Mountain Outfitters mentioned taking a devoted golden trout enthusiast to Elbow Lake a couple days before ice out. The angler wanted to be sure to be fishing just as the ice went out so he waited a couple days for the event. Apparently the fishing is very good here if you arrive at this time.

Pass Lake, Wind River Mountains Pass Lake 10 acres, 10,450'

This lake is adjacent to the trail leading from Twin Lakes to Sauerkraut Lakes. I didn't fish it because it is rated poor. When passing by several times I never saw any fish rising from it. It looks like it lacks a shallow food shelf.

Summit Lake, Wind River Mountains Summit Lake 37 acres, 10,324'

Summit Lake is a beautiful lake with some very good cutthroat fishing. Specimens up to 20 inches are available here. Fish this area in July and you will be rewarded with colorful fields of wildflowers that flourish in the sunny alpine meadows. You are above the tree line here and the terrain takes on more of a rolling character than the jagged topsy turvy shape found in many other areas. There is a canyon to the south where Pine Creek exits and a scenic canyon visible to the north which I believe is the gathering place of the Green River. Rising just east of the Pine Creek outlet is a small cliff and beyond here is a good area to setup a base camp for those interested in fishing Summit Lake. We did very well on Summit Lake using a variety of flies but the dry mosquito worked best, catching fish up to about 15 inches. The best areas of the lake appeared to be near the outlet and the SW shoreline.

While this is the heart of the wilderness it is also the junction of 3 separate trail systems. After not having seen a soul for 7 days we did spot a few back packers on these trails while we were fishing. The small pond to the South of Summit is shallow and devoid of fish. It is a harboring place for mosquitoes and during the morning and evening we generally wore a mosquito head net when at our campsite.

Lower NoName Lake, Wind River Mountains No Name Lakes 18-23 acres, 10,600'

A trail leads 2 miles from Summit Lake to lower No Name Lake. It is surprising to be so high at Summit and still have to gain so much altitude to reach No Name. The terrain around the No Name lakes resembles Summit. There are no trees but miles and miles of beautiful alpine meadows displaying brilliantly colored wildflowers, at least during the peak season of July. Often times as I walked off trail over the open terrain I found myself feeling guilty for trespassing thru someone's manicured flower garden.

The trail passes near the eastern edge of the lower lake. Here the lake is narrow. We had some hits but were only able to land 1 cutthroat. Further along the upper portion of the lake, where it begins to transition from a wide open expanse to narrow again, we found a massive school of cutthroats. Seemingly every cast would draw a strike. Most of the time the fish would either miss or get off, but in just an hour we caught about 20. The action was fast and furious. The fish averaged 9" to 12", a little smaller than those of nearby Summit Lake.

We then hiked a mile west along No Name Creek to reach upper No Name Lake. This lake starts out as a long, shallow, twisted stretch of water which seems to be undecided if it is going to be a creek or a lake. It then opens up to a rather deep lake. In this deep lake section there are far fewer fish than in the lower lake but they are larger. I caught a 13 inch cutt on a #8 black woolly bugger and lost another of similar size. If you keep hiking half a mile west up the No Name Creek drainage you come to a rather dramatic canyon viewpoint. I will call this No Name Canyon. There is a picture of this on the web page. If you fish upper No Name Lake you will want to take the short excursion to see this view. The creek in between the 2 No Name lakes does not hold any fish and the meadow it flows thru is one giant flower patch. Just south of the two No Name lakes lies the two Cutthroat Lakes. There is no direct trail to them but the terrain here is easy to travel the one mile distance from No Name. I didn't get an opportunity to fish the Cutthroat Lakes but I get the impression they would be fun to fish.

Borum Lake, Wind River Mountains Borum Lake 29 acres, 10,145'

I did not fish this lake but did stop by and observe it on my hike back while I ate lunch. I could see cutthroats cruising the shoreline and feeding on the surface. The action should be good here. The lake has a well deserved reputation for its scenic beauty.

Trail Lake, Wind River Mountains Trail Lake 20 acres, 9,753'

This lake has grayling as does nearby Coyote Lake. I camped nearby and observed the lake several times around sunrise and sunset. It was late July and I didn't see a single fish rise despite mayflies landing on the surface. I fished it for a couple hours in the afternoon, trying to go as deep as I could but didn't get any action. The surface temperature was around 65 which may be too warm for grayling.

Speaking of camping, this area near Trail Lake is below tree line and subsequently has a higher density of bears than those sections above tree line. I made sure to find a good leaner tree from which to hang my packs up high at this area. One night while camping near Trail Lake we heard a large bear walking nearby our tent. I yelled at it for a minute and it finally walked away. At night I always keep a hiking staff in the tent with me just in case a bear decides to come and visit. I carry pepper spray too but if you get attacked while in a tent the spray might be more of a bother to you than the bear.

Neil Lake, Wind River Mountains Neil Lake 9 acres, 9,730'

This lake has some real dynamite action. We got over 50 fish in less than 3 hours, and half the time one of us was either filming or eating lunch. Dry flies worked well as did wet flies and spinners. The fish are mostly cutthroats with a few rainbows. They tend to be on the thin side and average around 12". We got several cutts in the 13" to 14" range. There is a small unnamed lake just west of Neil. It looks very different and has dark water while Neil is clear. I fished it for 20 minutes and caught a very fat 11" rainbow and lost a couple others. It is interesting to note that we returned to fish Neil a second time the next day and found 6 other people fishing this relatively small lake. This was the only time in my 14 days that I witnessed anyone else fishing. It was a bit of a coincidence that a couple different groups of people all converged here on the same day. After 13 days in the wilderness it was interesting to talk to some of the other anglers and find out what success they had with their fishing. Neil is not visible from the trail but the unnamed lake adjacent to it is.

Gotfried Lake, Wind River Mountains Gotfried Lake 3 acres, 9,800'

This small, shallow lake adjacent to the trail holds a lot of hungry cutthroats. They tend to be on the thin side and average less than 12" but we did catch a couple up to 14". The fish here seemed a little educated and you had to watch your presentation carefully.

Heart Lake, Wind River Mountains Heart Lake 23 acres, 10,014'

This lake has a reputation for large rainbow trout. It is deep and clear and the day I stopped to fish it there were no fish rising. Perhaps the thunderstorm that passed by had something to do with that. There were plenty of mayflies buzzing around the surface and some ducks and a beaver but no fish. After a few hours I decided to go elsewhere.

Section Corner Lake 56 acres, 9,245'

This lake is about a mile west of Trail Lake. I did not fish this lake but I met another angler who did. He said in one day he caught 50 brook trout up to 17". It sounded like he was fishing in or near the creek that enters or exits the lake. If I had known about such a spot a day earlier I would have gone and given it a try, but I ran out of time and had to hike back the next day. Oh well.

Glimpse Lake, Wind River Mountains Glimpse Lake 11 acres, 9,373'

I didn't fish Glimpse but stopped and had lunch on the shoreline during my hike back. This lake is reportedly good for brook trout up to 10 inches. Just as I left a pair of anglers arrived and began fishing it. As I climbed up the steep winding trail I could hear cheers as they began catching fish for their dinner.

Created by: Dan Coppersmith 2023| www.CoppersmithStudios.com