I began backpacking in 1965, but I only pack in the western mountains--

mostly Wyoming. In the 60's I mostly packed in Grand Teton National Park, but now it is too crowded. In recent years most of my packing and hiking has been in the Wind River Range, southeast of Grand Teton Park. I like to spend some time there after the snow has melted out in the high country along the Continental Divide. Most of the western flank of the Wind Rivers is in the Bridger Wilderness, although two other wilderness areas are on the east flank. Over the years I have hiked and packed there many times, first with my wife and later with each of my children. In 1995 my son and I went in from a 9200 foot trailhead and spent a week in the Bridger Wilderness. We packed about 40 miles or so, climbed up on a glacier at about 11,000 feet, and fished some of the high lakes.

The only fishing I have time for is during my vacations in the mountains, where I have caught Brown, Brook, Cutthroat, Golden, and Rainbow trout.

A favorite related activity is exploring some of the 4-wheel roads in the north end of the Wind Rivers. From north of Dubois, Wyoming you can drive up the east flank of the Wind Rivers (enjoying spectacular views on the way) to the top of the range. You drive west and cross the continental divide into the headwaters of the Gros Ventre River, which flows west into Jackson Hole and joins the Snake River. The Snake flows via a complex route into Washington and joins the Columbia, which flows directly into the Pacific Ocean. Back along the Continental Divide, if you follow the main (gravel) road, you cross Piñon Ridge and enter the drainage of the Green River. The road eventually takes you into the valley of the Green River, near its headwaters at Green River Lakes. The Green River flows south and joins the Colorado in Canyonlands National Park in Utah. The Colorado flows through the Grand Canyon, over Hoover Dam, and eventually it flows into the Gulf of California.

If you explore the 4-wheel roads on the crest of the Wind Rivers (just north of the Bridger Wilderness), you can get to within a few miles of a very interesting topographic location. You park your vehicle (mine is a Blazer 4 x 4) at Gunsight Pass along Piñon Ridge, the divide between the Green and Gros Ventre rivers. At this pass the Continental Divide Trail climbs up out of the Bridger Wilderness at about 10,200 feet and continues north. You start hiking on an old jeep road that crosses this trail and continues east along Piñon Ridge. Eventually the road peters out, and you have to pick your way eastward with the help of a topographic map. The end of this route is at Three Waters Mountain, at 11,623 feet elevation. This is where Piñon Ridge meets the Continental Divide. It is kinda-sorta the top of the continent. The drainage divides separating the three biggest river systems in the U.S, the Mississippi, Columbia, and Colorado river systems, come together at this one point. The areas within these three drainage basins are parts of three different National Forests, and two are Wilderness areas. The only trail to Three Waters Mountain was made by elk. There are snow-capped mountains to the south and north (along the crestline of the Wind Rivers), east (Owl Creeks), northeast (Absarokas), west (Gros Ventre Wilderness Area), and to the northwest is the spectacular Grand Teton Range.

Immediately east of Three Waters Mountain is an overhanging cliff, and everywhere else there is a vertical drop of 1100 feet or so off the Continental Divide. Small glaciers hug the slope below. While hiking along the Divide to the south I have walked up on Bighorn Sheep resting exactly on the Continental Divide--I think they like the view as well as I do. It is far above timberline, and the rock is all shattered by the frost.

This spectacular place is a hike of only 3-4 miles from the end of the 4-wheel road at Gunsight Pass, but it is far from the cares of the world. From the parking place at Gunsight Pass it is an even shorter hike to a lake where the trout bite quickly.