The Winds are a Northwest-Southeast trending
mountain range which spans roughly 150 N-S miles in central Wyoming. They
reach their highest point at Gannet Peak (13,804 feet) in the northern part
of the range, and the sculpted gnieissic metamorphic rocks and expansive
glaciers in the high country attract hikers and climbers from across the
country. I have personally visited the Winds only twice, so I am certainly
not an expert; but I still insist that, in comparison to the "incomparable"
Sierra Nevada, the Winds have more quality of both scenery and solitude.
The Sierras are just too damn crowded! Although the trails here are not
entirely devoid of hose dung and boot tracks, there are at least still trailheads
with available parking, and the Forest Service has not yet had a need to
implement trail quotas on even the most popular routes. I have here only a few photographs, more are forthcoming if the opportunity arises for me to visit this area again.
