Walking the Winds: A Hiking and Fishing Guide to Wyoming's Wind River Range

Rating:
Summary: A detailed hiking and fishing guide and more.
Review: A detailed hiking and fishing guide and more. The author resides in the vicinity of the Wind River Mountains and clearly is has an abundance of general knowledge of the area. Her book not only has excellent hiking and fishing information but much other information. There is a comprehensive index as well as an extensive appendix with much information such as an index of Wind River Peaks and their elevations, first ascent information on various peaks, lodgings and outfitters in the area, a list of endangered, threatened, and sensitive species of wildlife and sensitive plants, and visitor use statistics in the Bridger Wilderness. The book begins with a review of Wilderness Regulations since most of the Wind River Mountains are located in Wilderness Areas administered by the US Forest Service. There are short sections on minimal impact hiking and camping and on bear safety. After a short, but fascinating, section on the history of the Wind Rivers, there is information on the geology and wildlife of the area.
The core of the book, of course, is the information about the hikes. Hikes are grouped according to the trailheads they start from. Detailed driving instructions to the trailheads is provided. One can fairly easily plot multi-day backpacking trips by thumbing back and forth between the maps for various hikes Each hike�s distance, elevation gain and loss, and the maximum elevation reached is cited. Relevant topo maps for each hike are listed as are fish species likely to be encountered in the streams and lakes reached on hikes. A nice feature of the book, not found in some other Wind River hiking guides, is that significant attention is paid to so-called "non-maintained" hiking trails--that is trails that are not cleared by the forest service or whose signs are being left to deteriorate or have been removed. The author points out the location of these trails, which often are not to be found on either the Earthwalk or USGS topo maps, and she also suggests where a cross-country route may be more scenic or more adventurous than staying on the trail. Another plus is the author�s familiarity with the local history of the Wind River area. For example, she frequently describes the derivation of the names of mountains or lakes, often with brief, colorful anecdotes.
This book is 255 pages long and there is a 33 page section devoted to fishing in the Wind Rivers. This reviewer is not a fisherman, but I would think that the maps of the streams and lakes and their drainages and the fish they contain would be very useful to fishermen. Fishing licenses and regulations are discussed and Finis Mitchell's devotion to stocking 300 lakes with fish is reviewed in detail.
This book is highly recommended for dayhikers, backpackers, and fishermen. Hikers who are interested in walking on non-maintained trails or hiking cross-country may especially appreciate this book. The author clearly is familiar with the local history of the area and this too adds to the book�s interest.

Rating:
Summary: A detailed hiking and fishing guide and more.
Review: A detailed hiking and fishing guide and more. The author resides in the vicinity of the Wind River Mountains and clearly is has an abundance of general knowledge of the area. Her book not only has excellent hiking and fishing information but much other information. There is a comprehensive index as well as an extensive appendix with much information such as an index of Wind River Peaks and their elevations, first ascent information on various peaks, lodgings and outfitters in the area, a list of endangered, threatened, and sensitive species of wildlife and sensitive plants, and visitor use statistics in the Bridger Wilderness. The book begins with a review of Wilderness Regulations since most of the Wind River Mountains are located in Wilderness Areas administered by the US Forest Service. There are short sections on minimal impact hiking and camping and on bear safety. After a short, but fascinating, section on the history of the Wind Rivers, there is information on the geology and wildlife of the area.
The core of the book, of course, is the information about the hikes. Hikes are grouped according to the trailheads they start from. Detailed driving instructions to the trailheads is provided. One can fairly easily plot multi-day backpacking trips by thumbing back and forth between the maps for various hikes Each hike's distance, elevation gain and loss, and the maximum elevation reached is cited. Relevant topo maps for each hike are listed as are fish species likely to be encountered in the streams and lakes reached on hikes. A nice feature of the book, not found in some other Wind River hiking guides, is that significant attention is paid to so-called "non-maintained" hiking trails--that is trails that are not cleared by the forest service or whose signs are being left to deteriorate or have been removed. The author points out the location of these trails, which often are not to be found on either the Earthwalk or USGS topo maps, and she also suggests where a cross-country route may be more scenic or more adventurous than staying on the trail. Another plus is the author's familiarity with the local history of the Wind River area. For example, she frequently describes the derivation of the names of mountains or lakes, often with brief, colorful anecdotes.
This book is 255 pages long and there is a 33 page section devoted to fishing in the Wind Rivers. This reviewer is not a fisherman, but I would think that the maps of the streams and lakes and their drainages and the fish they contain would be very useful to fishermen. Fishing licenses and regulations are discussed and Finis Mitchell's devotion to stocking 300 lakes with fish is reviewed in detail.
This book is highly recommended for dayhikers, backpackers, and fishermen. Hikers who are interested in walking on non-maintained trails or hiking cross-country may especially appreciate this book. The author clearly is familiar with the local history of the area and this too adds to the book's interest.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: I recently used this book for an overnight hiking/fishing trip in the Winds. I found the information on distance, total elevation, and elevation gained (or lost) quite useful. Also, I wanted to fish in the Winds, so knowing which lakes have fish was very useful. However, there are a few aspects of the book that I found lacking. First, although it is billed as a hiking and fishing book, the information on fishing is confined to just identifying fish species in the lakes. A few paragraphs of information on the fishing methods used by successful fisherman would have been helpful, and some information on the biology of the local fish would have been interesting. Second, there is a general map in the beginning of the book on the locations of trailheads, with little else. There are various other maps throughout the book that detail information in the particular chapters. If you are confining yourself to single chapters, then the maps are okay. However, trying to flip back and forth between maps was not easy. The book would benefit greatly from a better overall map, as well as a more easily cross-referenced set of maps throughout. Lastly, I used the book to plan my trip to Twin Lakes, and then on to Gadsby Lake. I easily found Twin Lakes, but because of a small error in identifying what hill the author described to go around to get to Gadsby Lake, I made a long and tiring trek to locate the lake. I ended up exhausted and never reached the lake. That, of course, is largely my fault. However, a guidebook should be more explicit as to which hill to go around, especially when the area is surrounded by several hills.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better
Review: I recently used this book for an overnight hiking/fishing trip in the Winds. I found the information on distance, total elevation, and elevation gained (or lost) quite useful. Also, I wanted to fish in the Winds, so knowing which lakes have fish was very useful. However, there are a few aspects of the book that I found lacking. First, although it is billed as a hiking and fishing book, the information on fishing is confined to just identifying fish species in the lakes. A few paragraphs of information on the fishing methods used by successful fisherman would have been helpful, and some information on the biology of the local fish would have been interesting. Second, there is a general map in the beginning of the book on the locations of trailheads, with little else. There are various other maps throughout the book that detail information in the particular chapters. If you are confining yourself to single chapters, then the maps are okay. However, trying to flip back and forth between maps was not easy. The book would benefit greatly from a better overall map, as well as a more easily cross-referenced set of maps throughout. Lastly, I used the book to plan my trip to Twin Lakes, and then on to Gadsby Lake. I easily found Twin Lakes, but because of a small error in identifying what hill the author described to go around to get to Gadsby Lake, I made a long and tiring trek to locate the lake. I ended up exhausted and never reached the lake. That, of course, is largely my fault. However, a guidebook should be more explicit as to which hill to go around, especially when the area is surrounded by several hills.