IG: @radishuprooted
LighterPack: https://lighterpack.com/r/somp99

For 10 days and 100 miles we navigated offtrail along the Continental Divide through the high country of Wyoming. This particular high route through the Wind River Range was outlined by Andrew Skurka.

I’m Radish, and I’ve done a fair bit of thru hiking on established trails like the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT), but I was looking to take the next step, to get off the trail entirely in fact, and have the freedom to choose my own line through the wilderness.

The Winds are among the most wild & remote ranges in the lower 48 states. A high route is distinctly different from other trails, because, well it’s NOT a trail. High routes take you high and deep into a mountain range, leaving trails behind and only giving you a sprinkling of landmarks to guide your journey. The rest is up to you to connect the points as you see fit. To chart your own course through the high backcountry. Hiking through tundra, climbing talus, traversing glaciers, circumnavigating alpine lakes. We were walking into a route that would prove to be rough, wild, exposed, and at times spicy. But more grand than I could ever imagine.

Looking to thru hike or section hike the Wind River High Route? Or wanting to learn how to hike a high route of your choosing? Comment below!

0:00 Plains to Alpine
8:06 Cirques, Basins, & Valleys
14:43 High Above the Res
26:04 The Continental Crux