Nice pictures of the Winds. I spent 14 days hiking there with a NOLS group this past Sept. We ended up with 8" of snow, 10° temps for a few days, but enjoyed every minute of it. We caught some fabulous fish in Cross Lake in a hell of a snow storm! What a trip - glad you had a good time on yours too. How were the bugs in August? Obviously, we didn't have any problems with insects. I wish I had more time to spend exploring in the Winds - but there are so many other places too! Glacier, Sierras, etc.

said pwsomers 2004.11.10 at 14:24:00 PST

Dear Michael & Chinachas, I've been fishing and backpacking in the Winds for 23 years now. I enjoyed seeing the photos of your August trip on Webshots. Looked at every one you posted. Good job!! My last trip up to Elbow Lake was in '90 and before that '86 & '87. Caught a ton of fish plus some Golden Trout too. Came up from the Glimpse Lake trail and Prospector Park the easy way. Then out through Photog. pass and Elkhart Park. In '84 & '86 I went up the Pine Creek Canyon Trail (like a fool) from Elkhart to Trapper & Summit. Burned my legs out good. Don't try this at home! Couldn't walk straight for three weeks! Never have been up to Peak or Stonehammer Lakes. (No fish) I am glad to see those pics. Did you hike up to the divide to see the glaciers from Peak Lake? In '86 on my way back to Elkhart I went down to Lost Lake via Moya Canyon. No one has been down there for forty years! Finis Mitchell wrote me about some of those trails so I though I would take a look. Really old campsites, horseshoes, bridles laying around. No GPS' in those days & had to bushwack my way out with map & compass the old fashioned way. Up the hill to Seneca Lake where I collapsed. I usually visit the Winds in Sept. No bugs, no tourists, but still mostly warm enough weather. Did you catch any fish? Do you have any shots of the Bridger Lakes area? This trail is mostly abandoned with no maintainence now. Did you get down to Borum Lake after visiting Summit? Good fishing and good camping spots too. You can e-mail me at jlpw@bellatlantic.net is you want to. John Wyatt

said jww3071 2003.12.04 at 20:18:36 PST