Cirque of the Towers

In July 2021, I was gifted with an entire week in Wyoming free of smoke from the awful fires closer to the west coast. On my second day, I embarked on the first of two backpacking trips into the beautiful Wind River Range. This small mountain range just southeast of the Tetons is gaining popularity but still relatively remote and untouched by civilization. At times during the two day hike I did not meet other hikers for hours at a time. Even in the areas where there are others around it never seemed crowded...really wonderful especially after my hike to Delta Lake the day before which was beautiful but shared with hundreds of other hikers. Total distance in two days was roughly 27 miles with 4,000ft of elevation change. I camped overnight at Shadow Lake, and enjoyed fields of wildflowers, clouds of butterflies, and even a moose (at a safe distance)!