Getting There

I have had Titcomb Basin in the Wind River Range on my list for some time, probably at least 10 years. As it sits approximately 15 miles in from the trail head it definitely takes some planning and effort to get there. After my Brother-In-Law Jerry visited the Cirque of the Towers with my sister last year, he was hooked and we started making some plans. He had time available the first week in August so I booked the vacation time with work and the plans were set in motion. We left Fort Collins around 11:30 on Saturday morning. The drive through Laramie and west on I-80 was a bit long, but uneventful and we made it to Pinedale in the early evening. We checked into the Sundance Motel which was nice and clean with no issues. Then we made it over to a recommended dinner spot at the Wind River Brewing Company. Dinner and beer were fantastic, which we noted for later use on the return from the wilderness. Did some final packing and adjustments that evening and I was unhappily surprised at my pack weight of nearly 50lbs. 4 nights and 5 days of food, along with a larger pack to accommodate was setting me over a comfortable weight, so I made a few omissions and ended up getting down a few more pounds.  All was set for the next morning.  

Day 1

The Sundance had free breakfast at 7:00 am, so we stuck around for that and had waffles, cereal and yogurt prior to heading out to the trail head. Still ended up weighing in at 49 pounds prior to starting the trail. Nevertheless, we started out on the trail, through a fairly large area of blowdown in the forest, and smooth sailing without a stop through to our first milestone, Photographers Point at just over 4 miles. Met a group of 3 guys from Fort Collins on their way out and heard a bit about their trip and a few bits of insight and advice. Next rest break was at around 8 miles from the trail head at an un-named pond. Just rested a few minutes with packs down and ate a small snack. Gained a small bit of rejuvenation, but shortly after at Seneca Lake we were both feeling the long trail and heavy packs with a fairly good distance yet to go. At roughly 6 hours, we rolled over the final hill and Island Lake came into glorious view. We immediately found a side trail that appeared to go toward campsites on the left and found the second site there to be a very good option. I dropped pack and left Jerry there to hold the spot and did a little scouting to see if that was the best site available. Surprisingly, we found Island Lake to be almost empty of backpackers on a Sunday afternoon. We had our choice of many sites there on the hillside above the lake, but the first one seemed to have the best view and amenities (I.e. trees and rocks to sit on). We made camp there and rested through the afternoon and evening, the only remaining work was to set up tents, get water and make dinner. Photography in the evening was nice with subdued color in the sky over the beautiful Island Lake.

Day 2

The next morning we decided to take a bit of a walk around and explore the large waterfall that was visible and could be heard roaring on the far side of the lake. For the first time, but not the last, we would be deceived by the distance to get to the destination. There was a nice trail around the lake most of the way and then a more faint footpath across open country, through some thick bushes and ultimately to the foot of the impressive cascade. On the way we met an older couple that recommended that we visit Indian Basin and they commented that it was very photogenic with lots of lakes and really nice flowers. We took their recommendation and stored it away until a couple of days later. We continued along a trail past the top of the waterfall a little ways, past a campsite and found a really nice lake and lower basin area that was incredibly beautiful and fairly secluded. We didn’t spend much time there though as it was time to head back and get packed up to move camp into Titcomb Basin. We made our way back about a mile and a half to our site on the far side of the lake and broke down camp. Neither of us was too happy to shoulder the big packs again, but it was only about a 3 mile hike in to Titcomb Basin. We followed the same trail back around the lake that we had taken earlier that morning for about a mile and then continued on the main trail as it made it’s way up the hill. It did not take long from there to start to see views of the peaks at the head of the basin opening up. We passed the trail junction that split into Indian Basin and kept the trail straight. We passed some horses tied in a meadow, then over a tight spot in the trail that the horses could obviously not pass. Shortly after that we made our way at long last into Titcomb Basin!  And it was a sight to behold!

I had some trail info from previous reading that said there were camp sites on the left side of the outlet of the first main lake. So, after reaching the outlet of the first lake we found a ford that we could cross easily (although not without getting wet) and made our way across. It did not take much time at all to find a nice site tucked in along some rock ledges and paced off 200 feet from the lake before siting our tents. There had been a couple of guys fishing near where we forded the river, but no one else camped in the area and we ended up having that whole section to ourselves for the entire two days that we were there. After setting up camp we decided to walk around the lake to the left hand side. I was loving the views and the photo ops were abundant, even though it was mid day and it took some time moving off trail and exploring to make our way up the left bank of the lake. We only saw about 2 or 3 more small groups of people from a distance and noted another really nice campsite about halfway up the shore of the lake. It ended up that the lake was about a mile long and we continued past another small pond and to the shore of the second main lake before making our way back toward the trail on the opposite side of the lake. At the outlet to the second lake there was a nice cascade and we ran into a fisherman there that Jerry had met earlier that day. He had caught a nice 18 inch cutthroat that he showed us and told us he would be cooking up for dinner. From there we headed back on the main trail back along the opposite side of the first lake and back to ford the river once again. We made it back to our camp not long before the rain came in and holed up in our tents to pass the afternoon. It did rain pretty hard and kept up steadily until about 7:00.

When it did let up, I met Jerry outside the tents were he let me know that his tent wasn’t “exactly waterproof”. Fortunately it wasn’t too bad and he was able to keep it at bay by bailing water out soaked up in his socks (which were wet anyway from the river ford). That was the only test for the tent, so it never became more of a problem. I stuck around the tent site for sunset and diligently waited for any light to break through, but, unfortunately that didn’t happen. There were however some interesting low clouds circling around the high peaks all around us from the breaking storm.

Day 3

The next morning started much the same, with low clouds circling around the peaks. We enjoyed breakfast at the camp and then set out on a day hike up to the head of the basin. Not sure what we would find we didn’t have much of a plan other than hiking past the end of the main lakes. The second lake it seems was much larger than it had appeared originally on our first view the day before, and was about a mile walk along the shore from end to end. Although the low clouds were still hanging around some of the peaks, the sun was starting to peak out by the time we were reaching the end of the second lake.

We met a large group camped at the head of the lake that was planning on doing some mountaineering and summits. Beyond there the trail became harder to follow and in many places covered in water. We continued up maybe a mile and then stopped for a snack on a boulder with a commanding view of the upper basin and surrounding peaks. I had identified a potential side hike before the trip for Bonney Pass. It became abundantly clear that the “trail” up there was pretty extreme and we were not interested. In fact no trail was at all visible and it looked very steep. We agreed to head up just a little further to a large patch of Parry’s Primrose for a last photo op before turning back. Once we made it there, a large cascade across the river looked pretty interesting to us both, so we decided to climb up it. It was steep, but the footing was good and it was really interesting hiking up the side of the cascades. On making it to the top of the cascade we decided to make it a little further to a ridge that looked like it might reveal the source of the stream. On reaching the next ridge we saw the foot of the glacier with a cave and apparently the source of the stream. So we continued on a bit further and made it to the toe of the glacier, a small ice cave and the source of the stream! This spot was fantastic and we both enjoyed the view from inside the cave and Jerry climbed a small iceberg for a photo op.

The views across the upper basin were amazing, but beyond the glacier the view toward Knapsack Col were obscured in cloud. We made our way back down without any trace of a trail to the top of the cascade and down. After making our way down valley a little ways, we noticed the river creating some very interesting cascades off to the right so we followed our noses and the river back along many granite slabs and cascades for at least half a mile. We made it back to the head of the 2nd lake, and hit a solid trail all the way back to our campsite. Jerry shared some amazing granola and fruit freeze dried meal and we hung around the camp for a while. Just to one side of our camp there was a rock promontory that we had seen someone on top of when we arrived, so we decided this would be a good time to check out the view. It didn’t take more than 15 minutes to make our way over the rock slabs and grassy ramps up to the top of the outcrop. Jerry made a pretty calm note, “that’s cool” when we reached the top. But on further examination, we were both gobsmacked by the tremendous view from the top. The entire upper valley, which we had just hiked was spread out before us. But beyond that, the lower basin was dotted with hundreds of lakes. Needless to say, we were very impressed! And decided to make it up there for sunrise the next morning. Jerry made a little walk around to the peninsula that was in front of us from the lake shore. Again looks were deceiving and int was interesting to watch Jerry make his way over there taking much longer than it would seem from first glance. He enjoyed laying on the edge of the peninsula with nothing but water between him and the peaks at the head of the basin and the waves rushing by.

We enjoyed good weather the rest of the afternoon, and Jerry did some reading in his tent. After dinner, I made the realization that my back up battery was depleted. With another 2 days to go, that was a little concerning, but I determined with a little conservation I would be all right. The sunset was looking good, and I didn’t want to just stick around camp, so I headed back up to Lookout Rock behind our campsite. I got some nice shots up there of the sun lighting up the cliffs of Freemont Peak and the right side of the basin, and made my way back down toward the lakeshore to finish out the sunset. This was probably the best day of the trip for me.

Day 4

Jerry and I rendezvoused outside the tents at about 5:30 and gathered gear and supplies to make coffee on top of Lookout Rock for sunrise. Again the trip did not take long and we were there in plenty of time to get set up and get coffee going before the sunrise. Little by little the sun came up and I got photos up valley, down valley and all the way across with panoramas. After the sun had mostly filled the valley, we made our way down to the lakeshore where I gots some nice reflection shots. It was time again to pack up camp and make a move. We both had a very hard time turning our back on Titcomb Basin. It is really an extraordinary place and we had no desire to leave.

After fording the river again for the last time, we picked up the main trail and started downhill toward Island Lake. As noted, we had gotten a recommendation to check out Indian Basin, and now was the time. At the trail junction, we scouted out a recognizable stand of trees nearby and stashed our packs out of site. We grabbed only gear needed for a day hike and made our way up into Indian Basin. After a bit of a steep climb over a mile or so, we rounded a hill and got our first look into the basin.

A couple of lakes were visible and we made our way down into the valley. After a slight detour, we got back on track with aid from the GPS and started following the lake shores around the basin floor. The trail wound around the convoluted lake shore and then started climbing around the base of some larger cliff faces. We consulted the map and the remaining distance and elevation to make Indian Pass and decided to try to make it to the top. Route-finding was a little difficult through this section but we always managed to find cairns to guide our way. We continued to climb out of the main basin up into a hanging valley with a small glacier fed pond and then on up again. We reached a false summit/pass and continued on up. Here is where we found the best views of Indian Basin and we were glad we had continued on up. There were sharp peaks with glaciers hanging from them and an emerald green pool down below.

We had heard a couple of backpackers down below say that they had looked down from the pass and decided to cancel their route and turn back. This gave some mystique to what we might find on the other side of the pass. It was not all that impressive looking down into the next basin, but the actual top of the pass was quite impressive with jagged peaks rising on both sides and a glacier coming down at a steep angle from the top on the back side. We didn’t stay long as we knew we had about 6 miles to get back to our packs and then another 2 miles with full packs and find a campsite at Island lake. We made a good pace back down without issues. Fortunately the hike from the trail junction to Island Lake was short and then we just had to make our way around the lake shore and up the hill on the far side to find a camp site.

We were both hoping that we could get the same campsite that we had on the first night as it was quite comfortable and had great views. All seemed well with that plan until we got right up on the site and found a tent on the first spot. We said hello to the occupants and made out way on to the next available site which turned out to be equally as good if not even better with great views and a huge rock slab that we called out front porch. We had covered about 15 miles that day and we were both beat. Again all we did the rest of that afternoon was set up tents, fetch water and make dinner. This night was much different than the first in regard to occupancy. We found a site fairly easily at 4:30, but backpackers kept streaming in and filled the hillside. Just below us a group had set up camp but was asked by someone, not sure who, to break down camp as they were too close to the eye of the nearest lake shore. From the opposite side of the lake a helicopter appeared, likely from the Indian Basin area and likely a search and rescue mission. It buzzed right over us about 100 feet above us and straight on past us to the south. Just when we thought it was going to settle down, the near silence was broken again by a scream from a site just a couple hundred feet away. Evidently a woman had cut her hand or finger with a knife while cutting some food. She continued screaming as her companions rinsed and treated the wound. They stayed on at the site and didn’t request any assistance or supplies from us or the other surrounding groups. Seemed like maybe not as bad as it was initially made out to be, but glad the woman was not seriously injured. We enjoyed dinner and sunset on the front porch where I found about 4 different photo compositions that I worked until the light faded. We stayed out on the porch until the stars came out. Jerry was fortunate enough to see a couple shooting stars.

Day 5

I woke up just before sunrise on the final day of our trip. Jerry was up and we again enjoyed the sunrise right outside the tents with coffee on the pot. We both started to break down camp as the sun rose and ended up getting all packed up and ready to hit the trail by about 7:40 am. We started up with a good pace and made it to Seneca before we took a break and filled up our water bottles from the lake right next to the trail. We took a few more breaks with packs off, but kept up a pretty good pace. The last real break was again at Photographers Point where we chatted with a few groups either going in or coming out, some with impressive itineraries.

The last 4.4 miles were mostly on autopilot. We kept up a good pace and did not stop much other than to make minor adjustments. We finally made it out at about 12:15, just over 5.5 hours for the hike out. I weighed my pack again back at the car and weighed in at 37.4 pounds, accounting for most of my food being eaten, fuel burned and empty water bottles. I vowed to reassess my packing strategy for future trips! We didn’t dwell long at the 4Runner, just downed some cold drinks from the cooler and started off. It felt weird to be sitting in a comfortable seat and moving under the power of my vehicle rather than on foot. We had covered approximately 55 miles on foot, 30 miles with backpacking gear and another 25 in day hikes. We made a bee line straight back to the Wind River Brewing Company. Jerry bought my lunch as a thanks for putting the trip together. Everything had worked out just to plan if not even better! Weather was great, no issues with gear (other than falsely claimed lost items that were actually still present, and a lost rubber foot to my tripod that will be replaced for about $0.50), no injuries or pains to deal with (other than sore shoulders from carrying heavy packs), great company, and the locations were absolutely fantastic. It will be a life list trip for me and hard to top. We are however, making preliminary talks about going for a multi day tip up to the Cirque of the towers!