| NATIONAL PARKS QUICKLINKS | SUBSCRIBE | NEWSLETTERS | MAPS | VIDEOS | BLOGS | MARKETPLACE | CONTESTS |
 |
|
|
|
Timico Lake
Plan a minimum of four days for this spectacular out-and-back, which climbs 12 miles to a large, cold, crystal-clear high-country lake set in one of the more remote alpine areas of the Wind River Range.
Map Tools
Share Trip
- E-mail Trip
- Embed Map
- Social Bookmarks more bookmarks...
Download To
Create A Trip
Related Topics
Share your tales of travel & adventure with our step-by-step guide. Upload trail descriptions, photos, video, and more.
| Author: | J Dorn |
| Activity: | Backpacking |
| State: | Wyoming (WY) |
| Distance: | 35.79 mi |
| Average Speed: | 0.4 mph - 2:40:55/mi |
| Duration: | Total: 4d 0:00:00 |
| Difficulty: | 7 / 10 |
| USGS Topo Map: | Fayette Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Fremont Peak South |
| Rating: | Unrated |
Outside of the Cirque of the Towers, a popular climbing area in the center of the range, the Wind Rivers see a fraction of the traffic of their neighbors to the north, the Tetons and Yellowstone. Yet there's arguably more square miles of true high country here, and the mountain scenery is every bit as spectacular. Sharp peaks rise above crystal-clear lakes, streams burble through broad meadows frequented by elk, and lonely passes beckon the adventurous to high valleys glimpsed--in some cases--by fewer than a dozen people a year.
This hike penetrates one of the less-traveled sections of the Wind Rivers, making a beeline from Meadow Lake, which is just south of Pinedale on the west side of the range, to Timico Lake. The hike is is demanding: 12 miles and more than 2,500 feet of cumulative elevation gain, much of it in the first four miles, on a sun-baked path that gets pounded by ATVs in summer and horses in fall hunting season. But the rewards are many. Once you pass from national forest to wilderness area at four miles, the trail mellows and the landscape opens up. Lakes and granite dot a landscape burned by wildfire about a decade ago; the rounded, whitish-blond rock and fragrant new growth suggest Yosemite, as does the pink alpenglow that typically follows the late-afternoon summer thunderstorms.
Our trip took place in late September, as colors were changing and horsepackers were setting up camps in anticipation of elk season. Our goal was exploratory: to check out the Timico Lake and Fall Creek Pass area for future pushes into one of the truly remote parts of the range around Camp Lake and the Alpine Lakes basin. What we discovered is that Timico Lake--just a mile from the Continental Divide Trail--sees only a dozen or two campers each summer and that Fall Creek Pass is no more technical than a steep walk. In sum, it's the perfect place for a week of basecamping solitude AND a well-situated jumping-off point for dayhikes or longer backpacking trips into a constellation of 11,000-foot-high lakes, 12,000 to 14,000-foot peaks, and glaciers.
USGS topos: Fayette Lake, Horseshoe Lake, Fremont Peak South. There are two stores (Ridley's General Store and the Great Outdoor Shop) in Pinedale that carry maps, outdoor supplies, and groceries; both are easy to find on the main drag. The USDA/wilderness ranger office is to the right of Ridley's with the green roof.
TO TRAILHEAD: Drive 10.1 miles south from Pinedale on WY 191. Turn L on Burnt Lake Rd (dirt/gravel, navigable by 2WD). At 7.1 miles, L at fork. At 10.2, L at T on Meadow Lake Rd; L at next fork. Continue to mile 13 at meadow with trailhead kiosk at edge of woods on right. Park here.
| Position Format: | Datum: |
Tracks
TRAIL0005
| Distance: 35.79 mi | Points: 2731 | |
| Total Time: 4:56:33 | Speed: 7.2 mph | Pace: 8:17 / mi |
Points of Interest
WAYPOINT0020
Location: 42.889365, -109.680517MEADOW LAKE TRAILHEAD: To reach this remote spot, drive 10.1 miles south from Pinedale, Wyoming, on WY 191. Turn left onto gravel Burnt Lake Road (aka Boulder Lake Rd. 5106). Meadow Lake is 13 miles on dirt road that gets a bit rough towards the end, but is navigable by 2WD vehicles if you keep it slow. At 7.1 miles from WY 191, stay left at a fork. At 10.2 miles, turn left at a T on Meadow Lake Road, then take an immediate left at another (unsigned) fork. Continue until you reach a meadow with a trailhead kiosk at the edge of the woods on the right. Park in the meadow. If you reach Meadow Lake, you've gone too far. From the kiosk, follow the singletrack that branches uphill to the right from the dirt road. If you miss it (hard to do!), you'll reach a closed gate on the road; turn around and find the trail. (NOTE: This drive is not well-signed, and the trailhead kiosk doesn't even say "Meadow Lake"--so pay attention to these directions and coordinates.)
WAYPOINT0021
Location: 42.893825, -109.677243GATE: From the trailhead, the singletrack climbs briefly, then drops to reconnect with a narrow doubletrack that leads to a cattle fence and gate facing out to a meadow. Pass through the fence and follow the doubletrack straight across the meadow.
WAYPOINT0022
Location: 42.920418, -109.663286TOP OF CLIMB: The first three miles of this route are the hottest, dustiest, and steepest. This spot marks the end of the heavy-duty, double-digit-grade climbing.
WAYPOINT0023
Location: 42.928702, -109.642250REGROWTH AREA: For the next 10 minutes, you'll walk across a plateau where young, green firs are growing up amidst charred trees/
WAYPOINT0024
Location: 42.939006, -109.630649BELFORD LAKE: This is the first reliable water source on the route, and we were parched when we reached it. It's also a decent spot to camp if you get a late start and want to split the hike to Timico Lake into two days (recommended).
WAYPOINT0025
Location: 42.938908, -109.630164BLACK'S CABIN
WAYPOINT0026
Location: 42.953324, -109.612006CAMP 1: A bit tired with sunset approaching, we pulled off the trail just before Jacqueline Lake and set up camp above a mossy little cascade. This is about 7 miles in; good campsites abound on the shores of the lakes clustered in this two-mile stretch of trail.
WAYPOINT0027
Location: 42.956872, -109.611026LAKE JACQUELINE
WAYPOINT0028
Location: 42.960308, -109.601871TURN RIGHT AT T AT BARNES LAKE ONTO THE HIGHLINE TRAIL. YOU'LL FOLLOW THE HIGHLINE TRAIL VERY BRIEFLY IN A SOUTHEASTERLY DIRECTION.
WAYPOINT0029
Location: 42.955398, -109.594137TURN LEFT AT T ONTO THE TIMICO LAKE TRAIL AT THE HEAD OF A BEAUTIFUL MEADOW WHERE FALL CREEK JOGS SOUTH.
WAYPOINT0031
Location: 42.974752, -109.561168TURN LEFT, FOLLOWING THE TRAIL, AND CROSS THE STREAM. THE TIMICO LAKE TRAIL JOINS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL HERE AND HEADS DUE NORTH AND SLIGHTLY UPHILL AFTER TRACKING FLAT ACROSS A GORGEOUS OPEN VALLEY. THERE ARE NO SIGNS HERE, AND THE CDT IS ALMOST INVISIBLE TO THE SOUTH. ON THE HORSEHOE LAKE USGS QUAD, IT'S NOT MARKED; THE TRAIL IS CALLED THE FREMONT TRAIL.
WAYPOINT0032
Location: 42.978851, -109.561294At a Y junction, you can stay left on the official trail and climb to a signed junction where the Timico Lake Trail turns right/northeast and leaves the CDT. Or you can verge right here and follow a use-trail shortcut to the lake. Both cross a half-mile of open tundra that's pretty enough to walk across the rest of your life.
WAYPOINT0033
Location: 42.980595, -109.563659If you follow the left branch at the Y, turn right at the trail sign and follow cairns across the tundra in a northeasterly direction. An obvious ramp leads up to Timico Lake just over the rise ahead.
WAYPOINT0034
Location: 42.982687, -109.559468USE TRAIL FORMS
WAYPOINT0035
Location: 42.988648, -109.547219TIMICO LAKE
WAYPOINT0037
Location: 43.006920, -109.534530LAKE 11045: This lake sits about 500 feet above Timico Lake, and about 500 feet below Fall Creek Pass. To reach the pass from Timico, contour around the lake to its northern tip (avoid the use trail that splits to the right about halfway around; this heads east to a more technical pass thats used to reach Hay Pass). From the northern tip, follow Fall Creek uphill, staying on the east side of the creek as you climb through tundra with various rodents chirping around you. The route gets a bit steep just below Lake 11045, but it's not technical. At the lake, follow the eastern shore around to the north side, then climb the ramp to the obvious pass above.
WAYPOINT0038
Location: 43.009991, -109.529961USE PATH LEADS RIGHT; STAY LEFT HERE UNLESS SNOW FORCES YOU HIGHER. EARLY IN THE SEASON, SNOW COULD MAKE THIS PASSAGE DIFFICULT, BECAUSE THE RIDGE RISES STEEPLY ONCE YOU GET 30 FEET AWAY FROM THE LAKE'S FLAT SHORELINE.
WAYPOINT0039
Location: 43.013956, -109.530105FALL CREEK PASS: Views here span an incredible and rarely traveled high country dotted with lakes and streams and jagged peaks. To your right is Dennis Lake; straight ahead is Lake 11125. To explore farther into the range, you would descend due north to Lakes 11125 and 10885, sticking to their eastern (right) shorelines, then follow the outlet stream of Lake 10885 to Upper Golden Lake. From there, established trail leads north to Camp Lake, which provides access to Alpine Lakes from the southeast, or you could skip Camp Lake and diverge from the trail at Lake 10787 to climb the pass west of Douglas Peak to reach Alpine Lakes and the Fortress.
WAYPOINT0041
Location: 42.926536, -109.648753WILDERNESS BOUNDARY
Trailhead
Location: 42.889297, -109.680634Kiosk at Meadow Lake Trailhead. Note: Meadow Lake is not visible from here.
Pasture
Location: 42.891624, -109.677286After passing through the cattle gate, process across this flat open space on the doubletrack.
Aspens
Location: 42.904828, -109.678488Still following the jeep road, the route winds through several young stands of aspen.
Regrowth
Location: 42.928463, -109.642696Heather walks through an area where young spruce are bursting up through the old dead stumps.
Belford Lake
Location: 42.938831, -109.630938First reliable water on this route
Little "Yosemite"
Location: 42.943858, -109.623814Small lakes, granite outcrops, and wonderful light dominate the next mile or so.
Heather
Location: 42.945491, -109.621239She loves her JanSport ultralight pack.
Campsite
Location: 42.953784, -109.611626A small water "slide" and pool perfect for soaking feet, just below where we camped on night one.
Lake Jacqueline
Location: 42.957428, -109.610252Junction
Location: 42.960191, -109.602013Stay right at T
Barnes Lake
Location: 42.959061, -109.599438Junction
Location: 42.954915, -109.594460Trail turns NE to follow Fall Creek
Location: 42.956297, -109.589138Pretty campsite options in this gorgeous meadow, which was occupied by a hunting camp when we visited in mid-September.
Bear country
Location: 42.967352, -109.570942We didn't see any bruins, but thick, head-high brush and a noisy stream make this a good stretch to call out "hey Bear!" as you hike.
Alpine wonderland
Location: 42.971497, -109.564762The Timico Lake Trail joins the CDT about here, then crosses this splendid high-country meadow (which was golden with fall colors for our visit). When you think of the highlights of thru-hiking the CDT, this is what you think of.
Stream crossing
Location: 42.974637, -109.560471Join the CDT here.
Pinch point
Location: 42.977651, -109.561672Colorful foliage where Fall Creek tumble through a narrow gorge into the meadow
CDT junction
Location: 42.980414, -109.562874Turn right here for Timico Lake
High plateau below Timico Lake
Location: 42.980037, -109.562702Looking northeast at the broad tundra bench that leads up to Timico Lake and the high peaks beyond
Trail to Timico
Location: 42.983428, -109.558067A use trail forms about here on the way up the tundra to Timico
First view of Timico Lake
Location: 42.987321, -109.549913Timico Lake just before sunset
Location: 42.989832, -109.545536Dawn view of Timico from above
Location: 43.000881, -109.538326Climbing toward Lake 11045
Location: 43.004898, -109.536781Lake 11045 from above
Location: 43.011426, -109.531116Lake 11045 and more
Location: 43.012555, -109.530430From above, wide angle
Fall Creek Pass
Location: 43.014062, -109.529400A barren spot with no footprints and lots of peaks and lakes in every direction
The world's smallest mountain dog
Location: 42.989769, -109.544849Trudy, grandma's miniature dachshund, completed all but one mile of this trek. And she does dishes.
Related Trips
Comments Post a comment
0 Trip Comments
National Parks Hall of Fame
The best videos, photos, and beta
from Denali to the Smokies.
GearFinder
Find all the outdoor equipment you need.
Photo & Video Center
Essential gear, instruction, and more.
GPS Trails App for iPhone & Android
Locate, research, plan, and save trips on your smartphone.
