Bridger Wilderness

Jim Bridger, certainly one of the most famous mountain men in American history, is memorialized by this popular Wilderness in the Wind River Range of western Wyoming. Extending approximately 80 miles along the western slope of the Continental Divide, this rugged piece of the Rocky Mountains contains a unique combination of jagged granite rock, alpine forest and open alpine meadows. Gannett Peak, on the shared boundary with the Fitzpatrick Wilderness, is the highest point in Wyoming at 13,804 feet, towering above a vast area of stark granite summits once thrust violently into the sky by enormous compressional forces within the earth. The Popo Agie Wilderness and the Wind River Indian Reservation also lie directly adjacent, on the eastern side of the Divide. Serving as the headwaters for the mighty Green River, this Wilderness holds 7 of the 10 largest glaciers in the Lower 48, more than 2,300 cold crystalline lakes and ponds, and numerous glacier-carved cirques, kettles, valleys and hanging troughs. More than 600 miles of trails provide access to this seemingly boundless area. At elevations ranging from 8,000 to over 13,000 feet, it can freeze any night of the year, even after warm, sunny summer days. Snow usually lingers on the high trails and passes until mid or late July, but the lower trails are normally open by late June. Visitors are warned to acclimatize to avoid succumbing to high-altitude sickness, which is a life-threatening illness, and in July and August mosquitoes and biting flies are pesky, making tents and repellent a must. Visitors are also required to store food and attractants properly to prevent habituating or encountering black and grizzly bears. Mule deer, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, gray wolf, grizzly and black bears are just a few of the many wildlife species found here. Others you are likely to see include bald eagles, yellow-bellied marmots whistling from sun-washed rocks, little round-eared squeaking pikas, and beavers working busily in this water-rich Wilderness.