Cirque of the Towers

September 8-9, 2007

The most popular destination in the southern Wind River Range is the Cirque of the Towers, a glacier-carved circle of cliffs and peaks that has long been a mecca for rock climbers. I planned to do this hike with Nick and Ryan, but Ryan learned that his abdominal pain was caused by a hernia which would require immediate surgery, and Nick opted out. So I was once again alone - not really a problem, as I like to set my own pace, and I rather prefer solitude to the company of my housemates.

After waking up at 4:30 am and driving to Jackson and back, I made the hour-and-a-half drive to the Big Sandy trailhead about 40 miles southeast of Pinedale. The hike began with an easy, slightly uphill six miles along Big Sandy Creek to Big Sandy Lake.

Trail along Big Sandy Creek

Big Sandy Lake

After Big Sandy Lake, it's a steep 500-foot climb to the valley of North Lake, which provides the first views of Jackass Pass (10,640 ft), one of the lowest passes across the Continental Divide in the Wind River chain.

Jackass Pass

Near North Lake, the trail becomes more difficult, scrambling across talus, bare rock, and steep slopes. This trail is nearly impassable for livestock, providing a rare reprieve from stepping over horse-apples and following deep rutted horse tracks. At a fork in the trail, I took the road less traveled - an unofficial trail with some rock-hopping and tight squeezes that avoided a significant gain and loss of elevation along the official route.

A squeeze along North Lake

Warbonnet Peak. North Lake, and Jackass Pass

At the end of North Lake, the trail climbs 300 feet up another steep slope to Arrowhead Lake, providing great views back toward the granite mountains to the south.

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Looking south from just below Arrowhead Lake. Temple Peak (12,900 ft) in the center distance.

Arrowhead Lake, Jackass Pass (right), an unnamed lower pass (left), and Pingora Peak in the distance

At Arrowhead Lake, the official trail climbs about 400 ft to a high bench along the east shore to avoid cliffs, then drops significantly before climbing Jackass Pass, the higher of two passes at just under 10,800 ft. A well-worn track leads along the west shore, beneath the towering cliffs of Warbonnet Peak, and over a lower pass at just over 10,400 ft. I chose the lower trail and soon discovered the reason that this is not an official trail - just before the pass, the trail dissappears into a talus slope of immense boulders.

I don't mind rock-hopping, but a 35-pound pack adds a bit of challenge. Even so, I was across in about 15 minutes after losing the trail several times. After a short climb to the pass, I got my first views into the Cirque of the Towers.

North half of the Cirque of the Towers. Left to right: Pylon Peak, The Watchtower, Wolf's Head, Pingora Peak.

Even as the most-visited attraction in the Winds, the Cirque is a well-kept secret, isolated from the tourist masses by a strenuous 10-mile approach. If such a spectacle were accessible, it could easily attract as many visitors as Yellowstone Falls or even Devil's Tower.

Pingora Peak is a circular turret, almost a mini-Devil's Tower, and is the most popular destination for climbers. I talked to two guys who had just come down and claimed it wasn't too difficult. Sure looks difficult from this angle, but I guess climbers see things differently. Beyond Pingora Peak is Wolf's Head, a razor-edge ridge that is also frequently climbed. The whole cirque is lined with 1,000-2,000 foot cliffs - the steepest terrain I have seen in mountains thus far.

Lonesome Lake, at the base of the Cirque of the Towers and the headwaters of the Popo Agie River

Finding a tent site was not too difficult, though I soon discovered that three other hikers and a dog had moved in quite close to my chosen site. In all, I counted six tents in the cirque, and a good number more may have been hidden in the stunted trees. I eventually picked a narrow spot between boulders in a shallow-sloped talus field.

A little level spot

Fifteen minutes later

A wind was gusting from the east, so I used all of my string and stakes to secure the tent to the earth. As dusk approached, fog began to drift up the valley, giving form to the convoluted air currents. The clouds, not far above, were riding a stiff west wind which set up an eddy behind the cliffs of the cirque. This created the rather odd situation of fog and clouds moving rapidly in opposite directions.

As the fog filled the valley, I put on my extra layers and sat on a boulder to watch the pikas of my talus field go about their evening business. As the sun dropped behind the cliffs, I was more than ready to sleep.

I was hoping to take a panorama of the cirque in the early morning light, but I awoke to a cloudy, low-hanging sky. The panorama is perhaps not as as good as it could be, but it still gives some idea of the jagged beauty of this area. I had breakfast in a brief shower of rain and snow that eased long enough for my rainfly to dry. This is the first snow I have seen this year, and I was about to see a lot more of it. The snow came as pea-sized snowballs - not solid ice like hail or sleet but soft like compressed snow. It almost deserves its own name - perhaps "how" (pronounced "hoe") or "snail."

Snow on the tent

One last look at the cirque from Jackass Pass

I decided to try the official trail for the way out, climbing over Jackass Pass then down and back up to the bench above Arrowhead Lake. A snow squall arrived as I reached the bench, bringing waves of "snail" that collected in cracks and formed a short-lived cover of white on the rocks.

The squall eased, and I proceeded onward and down, picking careful steps on the wet rock. At North Lake, I caught up with three other hikers headed out of the cirque - a lady solo hiker (Linda) from Seattle and a young couple (Tara and Andrew) from southwestern Wyoming. We stopped at Big Sandy Lake for lunch, then Linda left us to search for wild mushrooms, and I hiked with the couple for the remaining six miles to the trailhead. Andrew is originally from the UK but came here on vacation and never left. Tara is a Wyoming ranch girl who cuts hair, sells jewelry, and takes care of her two-year-old daughter. Usually Andrew hikes alone leaving Tara to worry about him, so Tara decided to come along for this trip. Conversation made the final downhill stretch go by fast, and I reached the car just before 2:30 pm. The forecast calls for 3-7 inches of snow in the mountains tonight - looks like I just missed the mountains' first blanket of white.