Cirque of the Towers - Wind River Range
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Overview
Renowned landscape photographer Justin Black and award-winning adventure photographer Jerry Dodrill will team up to lead a small group to the dramatic granite spires, alpine lakes, and meadows in Wyoming’s Wind River Range. “The Winds” are the most alpine range in the northern Rockies, with soaring granite peaks reminiscent in many ways of the High Sierra Nevada but less well known and more lightly visited. The alpine wildflowers in the meadows and nearby lakes and streams offer excellent foregrounds for photographing the east-facing Cirque of the Towers and other nearby peaks, which catch spectacular alpenglow at sunrise.
This is one of North America’s great mountain wildernesses, but don’t take our word for it. Following a summer 1999 horse pack trip into the Winds, internationally acclaimed mountain photographer Galen Rowell wrote the following in his April 2000 column for Outdoor Photographer magazine:
“The Wind River Range is my favorite in the Rockies. Warm, relatively dry summers create a paradise for backpackers, climbers, and photographers. Hundreds of peaks rise over 12,000 feet above glaciers and snows that last late into summer. Melt waters cascade into alpine basins filled with meadows, open pine forest, and countless lakes before joining into rivers separated by the Continental Divide.”
Justin and Jerry will lead photography outings morning and evening, and whenever else the light and weather conditions offer compelling opportunities. Night photography of the peaks against the clear, high-elevation starry skies can be amazing too. Options for midday activities include scouting hikes, talking photography, relaxing around camp, reading, napping, fly fishing, lake swimming, etc. Beyond the phenomenal landscape and wildlife photography opportunities, these pack trips provide an excellent shared experience with other passionate photographers, enjoying fireside stories and camping under the stars.
Our itinerary begins with a group orientation and dinner at Diamond 4 Ranch at a spot surrounded by pine forest called Dickinson Park, Wyoming, on the east side of the Wind River Range (Lander is the closest large town). Our first night will be spent at an elevation of 9,200ft. in the ranch’s rustic cabins, which will serve to help acclimate us to the elevation. After a hearty breakfast the next morning, the experienced wranglers of Diamond 4 Ranch, with whom we’ve collaborated on three prior pack trips into the Winds, will lead our group on a horseback ride to camp at Lizard Head Meadows. Basic prior horseback experience is desirable but not required, though participants should possess sufficient fitness and balance to ride. The horses are docile, sure-footed, and very familiar with the trail to our camp, our base for five nights at an elevation of 10,000ft. – where a camp manager and backcountry chef will take great care of us. This is a “drop” or “spot” trip, meaning that all of our gear, coolers of fresh food, etc., will be carried in on horseback, and our camp will serve as our base for short hikes to explore the Cirque’s rich photographic opportunities. After the wranglers pick us up on August 18 and we ride back to the ranch, we’ll drive to our hotel in Lander, Wyoming, for a celebratory dinner, followed the next day with a group image edit, review, and critique session, finishing up by 3pm.
Join us for this world-class opportunity to photograph and learn in the high Rockies, and leave with a portfolio of mountain images and deeply moving memories of an experience of tranquility, camaraderie, fun, and adventure.
The trip is limited to 8 participants, and includes photographic instruction and guiding throughout by Justin and Jerry, expert horse packer services, mounts and pack stock (the horses), camp staff/chef services, tents, all meals, and lodging the night before and night after the pack trip.
Instructors
Justin Black
- JUSTIN BLACK is a photographer, writer, editor, expedition leader, photo workshops instructor, a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Writers (ILCW), a former executive director of the International ...
Jerry Dodrill
- Jerry Dodrill has been an award-winning professional photographer and highly regarded photography teacher for more than two decades. A protégé of the late legendary adventure photographer Galen Rowell ...
Gallery
Pricing
PACKAGE INCLUSIONS
The workshop package includes:
• The guided pack trip, with camp staff and cook.
• The photo workshop itself, including generous instruction and guidance by Justin and Jerry throughout.
• Final image review, processing, and critique session at Holiday Inn Express in Lander, Wyoming.
• Accommodations: one night in shared cabins at Diamond 4 Ranch, five nights in single-occupancy (or double-occupancy) tents in our wilderness camp at Lizard Head Meadows, and one night in single-occupancy at Holiday Inn Express, Lander, WY.
• All meals from dinner on August 12 through breakfast on August 19
• Snacks, non-alcoholic beverages, coffee / tea with breakfast, and wine / beer with dinner (the latter on the hotel nights only; bring your own adult beverages for the pack trip).
Note: Double-occupancy is available in tents and for the hotel night in Lander at a pro-rated cost if you are have made arrangements to share with another participant, and for those making their own lodging arrangements on the first and last nights of the itinerary, a no-lodge rate is available, in which case the two hotel nights are not included.
Not Included:
• Emergency Medical Rescue and Evacuation insurance (required).
• Travel cancellation insurance (recommended)
• Travel to our staring point at Diamond 4 Ranch, from Diamond 4 ranch to Holiday Inn Express in Lander, WY, and onward travel from Lander.
• Bedding for camping (required – bring your own sleeping bag and pad)
• Meals prior to dinner on August 12th, and after breakfast on April 19th.
• Personal Expenses or purchases
• Any other items not listed under inclusions.
PAYMENT POLICIES
All prices are per person.
PAYMENT SCHEDULE
- 30% deposit upon booking
- 30% installment due February 12, 2023
- 40% final payment due April 12, 2023
Standard terms and conditions apply. Please review our terms and conditions even if you have participated in previous Visionary Wild trips so that you are aware of current policies.
Highlights
- Alpenglow on granite peaks, mirror lakes, crystal-clear creeks, alpine wildflowers and meadows, and the peaceful solitude of one of the most beautiful mountain settings in North America
- Our camp is strategically positioned to access a range of awe-inspiring landscape opportunities within easy hiking range
- Photographic instruction and guiding by Justin Black and Jerry Dodrill throughout the trip
- Our gear will be carried on horseback, as will we.
- Backcountry catering by our camp staff
- On our final day, we will hold a constructive group critique session at our hotel in Lander.
Accommodations
Our first night will be at Diamond 4 Ranch, in shared rustic cabins (each cabin has several beds). In the backcountry, our camp will be at 10,000 feet in Lizard Head Meadows. Tents and catering are provided. On the last night following the pack trip, we will relocate to Holiday Inn Express in Lander, Wyoming, in preparation for a day of projected photo review and critique. All meals are included.
Travel
Expectations
Beyond the opportunity to photograph a spectacular mountain wilderness and to learn from two leading pros and the other passionate participants, this backcountry expedition is about taking time to get to know a place, how the light and weather play across the landscape, how the geology and ecology make the Winds special. This expedition will provide ample time for unrushed photography in the field, hands-on instruction and one-on-one mentorship, hikes to get out into the landscape to incredible locations, and time to just relax and enjoy the place.
Justin and Jerry are generous, professional, and good-humored workshop leaders and excellent hosts who care deeply about providing a meaningful experience that exceeds expectations. Their combined diversity of expertise and experience in photography, natural history, and wilderness travel makes them a fountain of knowledge and a highly effective team.
Summer in the Wind River Range offers a tremendous range of excellent photographic opportunities, from broad, panoramic vistas and classic “near-far” landscape compositions with dramatic clouds building each day. There will be ample opportunities for wildflower photography, close-ups, abstractions, motion studies, and creative experimentation. We will certainly see wildlife, such as black bear (there are grizzlies farther north in the Winds, but they generally aren’t seen on this side of the mountains), elk, moose, mule deer, bald eagles, hawks, and mountain songbirds. Participants will have time for a thoughtful approach to photography that encourages experimentation and creative development.
Cirque of the Towers - Wind River Range
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