Baby’s Wind River Gear List: High Elevation, Potential Snow

I’m heading out to the Wind River Range for a figure-eight traverse of the High Routes, putting together a combination of Andrew Skurka’s 100-mile route, and Adventure Alan’s 70-mile route, staying mostly between 10,000 and 12,000 feet of elevation. The overall distance should end up being about 150 miles over 12 days. To keep me moving along, I’ll have my trail dog Luna and partner Dave with me. It’s going be physically tough but insanely beautiful. I’m thinking a bit snowy still too (hopefully I can get a recent snow report from Badger, who’s out there now).

Here’s what I’m bringing to keep me alive.

Pack, Shelter, Sleep System

Pack: Northern Ultralight Sundown
22 ounces

I’ve been a diehard for my HMG Southwest, which I’ve showed four years of hiking love. But I’m ready to switch it up and try something new. The transition to the Sundown should be fairly smooth; it still has removable aluminum stays, but comes in a bit lighter. I’m digging the multiple pocket options and overall versatility of this pack. I’m excited to get moving in this.

Shelter: Six Moon Designs Deschutes Tarp
16 ounces with stakes and groundsheet

This will be the first trip I really get to put the Deschutes Tarp to the test. Up until now, I’ve only used during PCT section-hikes in SoCal, with is pretty gentle outside of windy nights. It’s nice and light, easy to set up, and super roomy on space for me and Luna. In case it’s mosquito hell out there, I’ll also have my Nemo Hornet 2 in the car if I want to change it up after the first half of our loop. 

Quilt: Enlightened Equipment Enigma 30
13 ounces

Call me crazy but a 30-degree quilt should be plenty for this trip, although it could still get below freezing at night. We’ll see how she goes. But overall I like this quilt in mild temps and since I’m just five feet tall, it’s nice not to carry around the extra weight and space of a regular-sized quilt or bag with the custom dimensions of the Enigma. I recently did a full review of Enigma for The Trek, which you can find here.

Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir X-Lite Women’s
12 ounces

I upgraded! But not for the weight savings. My short size X-Lite has been with me since before the AT, and has survived a few patch jobs since then, but there’s some serious mold growing inside now, which was the perfect excuse to replace it. Since I bought mine in 2014, Therm-a-Rest has come out with a women’s version that has a slightly higher R-value (3.9 vs 3.2), added length (66 vs 47 inches) and is only four ounces heavier than the half-size pad. Maybe I’ve gotten soft, but I’m looking forward to sleeping on a full-length pad.

Sit Pad: Section of a Therm-a-Rest Z-Lite 
Three ounces

On the short list of must-haves. Also doubles as Luna’s bed.

Clothes I’m Hauling (24 ounces)

Sleep Clothes

I’ve got Smartwool 150 Baselayer Top and Patagonia Capilene Midweight Bottoms. Nothing new here.

Socks

Two extra pairs of Darn Tough Micro Crews. I try to keep one clean pair for sleeping in but that usually goes to shit.

Jacket

With exposed ridgelines and unforgiving scrambles, I think the Outdoor Research Hooded Ferrosi should be a solid replacement for my lighter, but much less breathable and not-at-all-warm GoLite Windbreaker. The Ferrosi is a more favorable layering prospect with added durability. I’m thinking I’ll have my Marmot PreCip packed in the car so I can make a game-time decision based on the forecast, whether I’ll need something that is more substantial for wet weather. And yes, you read that right… I’m not bringing a puffy. I think my Patagonia Nano got lost during my recent move from Maine to California, and my other one is definitely overkill for this trip. 

Cooking, or Lack Of (six ounces)

Filtration

The most reliable filtration method I’ve ever used is the Sawyer Squeeze. I’ve watched cows shit into the water I’m drinking and never gotten sick using this. I’ll have two Smartwater bottles and a two-liter water carrying capacity.

Bowl

This will be my first time ever doing a complete trail by, um… cold soaking. Hence the Talenti jar. With the long-ass food carry and need for better nutrition (we’re talking a stupid amount of elevation change here), I’m putting aside my tortillas and cheese for some yummy meals I dehydrated beforehand, since now I’m now a house-renter rather than complete hiking dirtbag. We’ll see how I feel about it afterward.

Food Bag

I like the Loksak Opsacks for odor-proof bags.

Spoon

Sea to Summit Alpha Light Spoon Long

Random Crap (five ounces)

Headlamp

The Petzel Actik is my go-to these days. It’s got great burn time, red light features, a bright 300 lumens, and is super simple to use (even if you’re like me and never read the directions).

Knife

Mostly for blocks of cheese, and anything else that might need to be manhandled.

Flowfold Wallet

Just the essentials: license, credit cards, and some cash.

Other Random Crap 

Sunscreen stick and lip balm. These live in my hip belt pocket.

Hygienic Needs (four ounces)

First Aid

I only carry a few items here. Benadryl for itchy bites, swollen feet or a good night’s sleep. Advil for various aches and pains. Pepto just in case. Small thing of CBD salve.

Toothbrush and Toothpaste

My teeth are usually cleaner than my hands.

Toilet Paper and Hand Sanitizer

Ya know.

Technology

Camera

The Winds are epic so I know I’ll want a proper point and shoot for this trip. I’ve got a Cannon Powershot G7 an extra battery. It lives in a small Osprey Ultralight Camera Case.

Battery

I’ve got the GoalZero Flip 20 to get me an extra two phone charges.

Wait, What… Snow?! (23 ounces)

Traction
11 ounces

For at least some of this route, I’ll probably need Kathoola Microspikes to avoid death on some of the snowy passes and glacier traverses. Not really, but these short legs can be painfully slow on snowy passes.

Ice Axe?
12 ounces

Still not sure if I’ll bring this yet, but it looks like the northern portion of Skurka’s route that traverses some serious glaciers above 12,000 feet might require some proper snow skills in a high snow year. I use a Black Diamond Raven, which weighs in at 12 ounces. Hopefully I can get a snow conditions report from some friends who will go through soon before me.

On My Body All the Time

Shoes

Switching to the Salomon Odyssey Pros for this hike. I’ve been running in the the Altra Superiors all summer, but I’m going to diverge from that because I haven’t been super happy with how the Altras do on really rocky terrain. Last summer I had a pair of Lone Peaks, and the tread was shot after 200 miles in the Whites. The Odyssey Pros have a stiffer tread and midsole. And thru-hikers seem to get closer to 800 miles out of a pair. So I’m giving them a try.

Shorts

Since the AT in 2015, I’ve been repping the Patagonia Strider Shorts. I’m REALLY picky about bottoms and these are literally the only ones I’ve found to be comfortable enough for long hikes and runs. Since I have a big girl job now, I bought myself a few new pairs this spring to replace the shredding ones so these are FRESH.

Hiking Shirt

My body might not be ready for the elevations of the High Route (11,000-13,000 feet), but my Outdoor Research Wayward Sunshirt will at least keep me from burning to a crisp from the sun exposure. I wore an ExOfficio sunshirt that lasted through the PCT and CDT, but I really like the stretch material of this OR one, so I’m excited to see how it compares. 

Bra

I’m sticking with the Patagonia Active Mesh Sports Bra again for this hike. It’s supportive enough, lightweight, and low profile. 

Socks

Again, I like to hike in the Darn Tough Micro Crew. They are by far my favorite hiking socks and Darn Tough will replace them once they wear out, which is the most amazing thing ever when you beat the crap out of socks over and over.

Hat

One of The Trek’s sexy numbers, of course. This is the Goat Rocks Hat.

Trekking Poles
14 ounces

Last summer I switched back to Leki poles after using a Black Diamond set for a while. I’ve got the Micro Vario Carbon Lady trekking poles, which have worked really well on technical terrain.  They’re super light (14 ounces) and break down quickly into three parts, which is cool so I can use them trail running too. For carbon poles, I’m surprised how strong they are given the weight. My only critique is that these poles at their lowest setting are just barely the correct height for my five-foot frame, so I wish there was a little more adjustability so I could shorten them for steep climbs.

*Not pictured: all the maps to get me through this*

BASE WEIGHT: Eight pounds, four ounces (Nine pounds, one ounce with ice axe)

Affiliate Disclosure

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.

Comments 2

  • Basement.Troll : Sep 19th

    ahhhh. this is great! I love how this is written exactly what I wanted to hear about Im always curious to see the before and after lists everyone does the before list. thanks!

    Reply
    • Effie Drew : Nov 5th

      The after report is that everything was pretty spot on! Snow gear not TOTALLY necessary for Alan Dixon’s Route if you’re pretty fluent in snow travel, but for Skurka’s route, i’d recommend it.

      Reply

What Do You Think?