I'm just back from a few days trying to make my way through the Wind Rivers. I had originally planned a through-hike over the divide, but the remaining snow load made my change my plans so that I could back-track if necessary.

I initially left from the Elkhart Park trailhead on Saturday, June 21. Within a mile, I was negotiating 3ft drifts. I walked to Miller lake (about 10K, if I remember correctly), which was just clearing of ice. I was unable to make it further because of the snow. With snowshoes, perhaps I could have gone further. I brought an ice axe and crampons, anticipating lingering snow, but it was very soft. I was post-holing up to my waist with every step.

I walked out and tried the Spring Park entrance, as I had heard from other hikers in the area that it was a bit more open. Glimpse Lake was lovely, but the ice was just burning off of Trapper. I walked on up to Trail Lake, but it was still completely frozen.

Having been up there last summer just after the 6th of July, I can attest to the fact that the Winds are still 2 to 3 weeks away from being open much over 9.5K feet.

It was lovely, but slow and difficult to cover much ground. It's tough to fish through slush as well <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />