Hiking the Wind River High Route with a Dog
By Steven Shattuck
People often ask me what was my favorite section of the triple crown, and for the past decade my answer has always come quick. The Wind River Range on the Continental Divide Trail. Unique in the Rocky Mountains with it’s sharp granite peaks, large active glaciers, and abundance of high alpine lakes, it stood out to me as the most beautiful mountain range I had hiked through in the lower 48.
The majority of the range is within the Wind River Wilderness area or the Wind River Indian Reservation, making it roadless and isolated. Any trip into the heart of the range requires great efforts, and even greater rewards! I’ve been back several times since hiking the CDT in 2015, but in 2025, my partner Grace and I prioritized our time off for the Andrew Skurka variation of the Wind River High Route, knowing that we wanted to do this backpacking trip while our dog, Ama, was still in her prime at six years old. Despite the challenges this route presented, I was confident that Ama could do this, and knew there were many exits and alternates to get us on trail if necessary. We also invited our good friends Michelle and Guthrie, who were eager to join.
We chose the week of Labor Day, which is likely the most popular time for hikers to head out on the WRHR due to the lack of bugs and snow, and cooler days with more steady weather patterns. Despite those positives, twice in the last decade I had set aside this same week with my hopes set on getting out on the WRHR, but both times smoke stopped me from leaving my home in Colorado to head out there. That is the risk you take planning a later trip. This time, we had better luck, and there was not a major smoke event when we started the trip.
Skurka’s version of the Wind River High Route is just shy of 100 miles, and typically requires very few logistics or planning. You need a permit from the Wind River Indian Reservation, which is easy to obtain in Lander before you take off. You also either need to reserve a shuttle (there are many shuttle services in Lander and Pinedale), or drop your own vehicles. With four of us and a dog, we took two vehicles and self shuttled.
We planned on eight total days hiking for the trip. We wanted to take it easy, and provide enough time for Ama to be able to keep up. Typically, WRHR hikers do not resupply. For a 100 mile hike, it typically isn’t necessary. However, with taking a dog, we had more food than I was able to carry. I called many services to ask about a food cache, however those that offer those services all closed for the season the weekend before Labor Day. Luckily for us, our good friends POD & Disco were both free, and willing to do a multi-day hike to drop all of our food for 4 days in the middle of our hike. We’ll forever be in their debt for this wonderful gesture!
With all of the planning and logistics set, we were ready for the trip, spending a night in Lander. The only question mark was Ama. She’s a great hiking and running partner, and has been on many long backpacking trips. She can easily push over 20 miles a day repeatedly on trail. But this would be different, as it is not on trail. After an early morning dropping the car off at the Northern terminus and doing some last minute preparing, we set out from Bruce’s bridge just after noon, with hopes of getting to lower deep creek lake. This first 14 miles are all on easy trail, and that made for a nice and easy start to the trip.
The following morning, we woke up early and started the trek up the southernmost thirteen-thousand-foot mountain, Wind River Peak. The going was slow with large, heavy packs. As we crested above tree line, we got our first view an active glacier below Surveyors Notch, and the sharp granite peaks to the north. Once on the summit, we were greeted to expansive views to the north, including the famous cirque of towers and Gannett Peak, the highest point in Wyoming.
We took it all in before heading down what is often referred to as the crux of the WRHR, the West Gully off of Wind River Peak. Known for how steep it is, the danger is in rockfall, and having Ama with us, I carefully picked our route down the loose gully. Much to our surprise, the West Gully didn’t live up to the thrilling death trap that we’ve heard it described as, and we got down safely quite easily, splitting into two groups to avoid being in each other rockfall path, and having Ama out front with me.
We regrouped before Lake 11,185, a glacial blue lake below thousand-foot granite walls, and bridged the gap in the lake with a quick plunge. We followed the valley down around Black Joe Lake and down to Big Sandy Lake. Things changed quickly as we hit the exiting Labor Day crowd, and after passing only two other hikers in our first day and a half, we were passing hundreds of backpackers as we headed up Jackass Pass and into the Cirque of Towers. Exhausted from our first full day, we camped beneath the famous climbing towers of Wolfs Head, Pingora Peak, War Bonnet peak and Pylon Peak.
The third day had us on and off trail, eventually leading to the East Fork River, veering away from the crowds and the trails. Beautiful alpine meadows lead to high alpine peaks in a narrow valley. After miles of beautiful tundra, we crested on the lateral moraine parallel to Lake 10,566’, with Raid Peak towering above the beautiful blue waters. For me, this was the highlight of the route. The views were incredible, and we were feeling good after a relatively easy day. We decide not to push it, and call it a day early in the afternoon, camping just above the lake. We all took a dip in the lake and enjoyed a rest before the shade of the towering walls to our west overtook the valley.
The following days consisted of gorgeous high alpine passes and lush valleys filled with strings of lakes and wildflowers. A personal favorite was Photo Pass, where the views looking south to Pronghorn Peak, Dragon Head Peak, and Nylon Peak stand tall and proud in the distance over Lee Lake. We got our resupply at Europe Pass, and had no problems getting ourselves and Ama over the third-class obstacles to reach the stunning Europe Peak. From here, we could see both the start of the route at Wind River Peak, and the higher peaks to the north that marked the end of the range and route. We felt good, and were confident moving forward.
However, on the fifth day our fortunes changed. After getting up Douglas Peak Pass, we descended into the stunning Alpine Lakes Basin. A beautiful abyss of piano-sized boulders, it made for a fun rock hop. However, we didn’t notice how hot the dark rocks were in the mid-day sun, and were late to notice how it was affecting the pads of Ama’s feet. By the time we saw her reacting to it, she had worn the pads of her feet down so far that they were bleeding. To make things worse, a dark cloud of ash approached quickly, and soon we were in a thick cloud of smoke and ash from the Dollar Lake Fire just to our west. Although we were not in any danger from the fire itself, the smoke was all consuming. We looked for a place to camp, and tended to Ama’s feet. I felt awful to have not noticed how bad her paws got, and realized what a predicament we were in, being in one of the most remote parts of the trip with no easy exit. We made a plan for the following morning, and luckily, she had recovered enough that she moved well with rubber dog booties on her front and back paws.
After a great day where Ama really pulled through, we decided to take the glacier trail alternate to the end. This gave us peace of mind that Ama would make it, as her paws seemed fine on trail, but the heat of the rocks really aggravated her pads. The hiking came much, much easier, and much to our surprise Ama acted just fine on the trail, despite prior struggles.
After six and a half days, we finished the route. Exhausted, we celebrated a fantastic trip with burgers and beers in Dubois, grabbing many dog treats and toys for Ama, who proceeded to sleep for the next three days. Having had time to reflect on the trip, I’ve had time to think of what I might do differently, and what I think I got right.
I would have brought two sets of permanent dog booties, as opposed to one set, and multiple disposable rubber booties. I would also bring further athletic tape to help the rubbing Ama encountered from the permanent booties. I also wouldn’t bring two times the regular amount of daily dog food, as Ama just didn’t need it. I think 1.25x or 1.5x would have been plenty sufficient.
Also, with the weight of my pack, I likely would have left my camera, tripod, and additional lens at home. The added consideration of taking care of Ama took away from my energy I wanted to put forth into photography, and I ended up using this far less than it was worth.
What I did right was choosing a larger volume, framed backpack that could carry an additional load more than I am accustomed to, and the Mariposa was perfect for this trip. It allowed me to carry everything for myself, as well as the majority of Ama’s food and other items (rain coat, cold weather coat, sleeping pad, etc.). Despite a much higher base weight and food weight with a dog, this backpack carried everything comfortably, and rode well balancing the weight between my hips and shoulders.
For a sleep system, we used Neo-Air Uber Light pads and a Big Agnes Tiger Wall 3, which I would classify more as a 2.5-person tent, perfect for two adults and a dog. The Wind River High Route is a formidable challenge on its own, packed with steep off trail hiking and a great amount of elevation change. Attempting it with a dog added more additional challenge than I imagined, primarily in the added weight, as well as the added mental energy spent caring for a dog’s paws and body through something like this. Our dog is fantastic off leash, and as a herding dog, never left our side. However, she struggled on the warmest days with the heat of the rocks on the pads of her feet, and that added a fair amount of stress to the trip, ultimately pushing us to take a sizable detour at the end of the route to ensure her safety (and ours).
If I were to do it all over again, I would still take Ama. But I think it’s a one-and-done in terms of long-distance, high-alpine routes with her. She does fantastic hiking up high peaks in Colorado – but day after day without reprieve, and the need to hike mid-day in the head made it more difficult than I imagined it would be going into it.
