Customer Reviews

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

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I have spent over 15 years fishing and hiking in the Winds and have relied heavily on guidebooks to help me plan my itinerary and proper routes. Of the three main guidebooks I use, this one by far is the poorest in terms of descriptive ability and angling information. I am particularly bugged that she clearly doesn't fish, yet touts the book as a fishing and hiking guide. As far as fishing information, she merely photocopied the Forest Service maps from a FS brochure that was originally published in the 1950's! I have already found multiple examples where her information lists brookies, only to go to the lake and find that cutties and/or rainbows have taken over. The pictures and maps are very poor, and I rarely, if ever, use this book anymore. For hiking and trail information, Joe Kelsey's book is far, far superior. Although he is a climber, his information on fishing is impecable. Buy that one and stay away from this poorly written, poorly researched "guide book" from Rebecca.

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 hikes 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 authors 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 books interest.

This book is poorly organized and completely confusing. There's no overview of the entire range and her trail maps have you moving all over the book to find a connection. (Warning) This map sent us down a trail that no longer existed which was our planned exit point. We had to reroute and end of up at the car at 1:00 in the morning!!

I really enjoyed Rebecca Woods' Walking the Winds, it wasn't so much about the different hikes and such that impressed me the most. It was the research prior to the readings, the history, geology and wildlife. That research gave me great insight as to the area I would be hiking in. It was very detailed with the better fishing areas in the Winds. Enjoyed it very much.