The burden of a clean Wind River Range falls on us

As July and August approach and prime backpacking season arrives, I am once again dumbfounded at the apathy of the U.S. Forest Service and its inability to place some sort of permit or reservation, or even assess a fee, for backpacking in the Wind River Range. In terms of scenery, the Wind Rivers are on par with any place in the country, yet the lack of regulation and apathy of the Forest Service toward protecting the range is alarming. 

WyoFile published an article in July indicating that Lonesome Lake has the worst contamination level of any of 981 lakes that were investigated. Car counts at the Big Sandy Trailhead in mid-August have exceeded 300. It is not uncommon to see toilet paper, defecation or refuse at Island, Lonesome or Big Sandy lakes.  

The Big Sandy and Elkhart Park trailheads remain two of the fullest parking lots in the West from the middle of July through early September.  While the popular Big Sandy Trailhead sits on the Bridger-Teton National Forest side, the Cirque of the Towers —one of Wyoming’s and the West’s most spectacular places— sits in the Shoshone National Forest’s Popo Agie Wilderness.   

Frequently, Bridger-Teton forest officials will cite costs as a reason for a lack of regulation. Yet, closer to the Bridger Wilderness, entering the Ashley National Forest’s High Uintas Wilderness from the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway requires a parking pass.  Fees for these passes are $6 daily or $12 per week. An annual pass is only $45.  

I believe most backpackers entering the Wind Rivers from either Big Sandy or Elkhart Park trailheads would gladly pay the fee for better trail maintenance that could alleviate some of the now-common litter that suddenly appears in either Titcomb Basin, Island Lake, Big Sandy Lake or at the Cirque of the Towers —the last places in the world that should have litter.

It is not that the Forest Service does not know how to regulate these types of areas. Our southern neighbor, Colorado, uses overnight permit zones in regulating the popular Four Pass Loop around the Maroon Bells in White River National Forest.

Additional permit guidance comes from our national parks. Grand Teton National Park utilizes a combination of an advancereservation system through Recreation.gov and a walk-up permit, which can be obtained from the Jenny Lake Ranger Station at a cost of $35.In terms of scenery, the most comparable spots to the Wind Rivers, where permit opponents often cite the range’s size as an excuse for lack of regulation, are in the Sierras and are often visited via a hike along the John Muir Trail, which stretches over 200 miles through Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. This hike also requires a permit, which often must be applied for 168 days in advance. Even then, the success rate for these permits hovers around 40% at the most popular times of year.

While frustrated by the apathy of the Forest Service at putting some sort of regulations in place this year or any prior years for these two spectacular areas in the Wind Rivers, it is incumbent on the backpackers and visitors to these areas to monitor their own behaviors.  Please leave them better than you found them this summer.    

Mirror Lake Scenic Byway parking passes

If you are accessing the wilderness through the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, a recreation pass is required for your parked vehicle.

• Daily Pass: $6 for 3 days
• Weekly Pass: $12 for 7 days
• Annual Pass: $45 for 12 months

Cascade Canyon / Paintbrush Canyon in Grand Teton National Park

There are two ways to secure a permit:

• Advance reservations (one-third of permits): You can book these online ahead of time via Recreation.gov. The online reservation window for peak summer dates opens early each year in January. An advanced reservation costs $45 per trip. [1, 2, 3]
• Walk-up permits (two-thirds of permits): The park saves the majority of its permits for spontaneous travelers. You can get these in person on a first-come, first-served basis at the Craig Thomas Discover and Visitor Center or the Jenny Lake Ranger Station starting one day before your hike begins. Walk-up permits cost $35 per trip. [1, 2, 3]

Four Pass Loop in the White River National Forest 

• Advance reservations are required for overnight stays in the ​​Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness and can be found at Recreation.gov.