Windy Peak Loop — Sunday, Sep. 14, 2025

Spent 5 nights in the wilderness last week for high buck and it did not disappoint! This is an epic loop with incredible diversity. 

It was misty turning to rain on Sunday as we headed in, the approach to sunny pass was still beautiful with decent visibility. Full parking lot and lots of camps with blaze orange set up along the way. 

On Monday after the thick morning fog cleared we got epic views the rest of the trip, and surprisingly mild nights. No bugs to speak of the whole time! We stayed three nights overlooking Horseshoe basin and then camped another two nights near the valley bottom of Windy Peak. Spooked a moose Thursday night on the way back to camp. Some of the snowshoe hares are starting to get their white ears and feet but it felt almost summery still. There was surprisingly plenty of flowing water everywhere from the approach up to Sunny Pass almost all the way up to the Windy Peak saddle. 

Friday morning we started climbing and got to the Windy Peak/Topaz Mtn saddle at around 9 am. It's totally different country once you get on the other side, switched from classic timber and meadowy alpine to alpine desert vibes in a short distance. 

Views up there are unreal, grateful we got up there on a clear day, just a little smoke hazing up the furthest peaks. 

There was surprisingly a chance or two for water as you head down from Windy on the drier side as well. 

Worst part of the trip was definitely the end of the Clutch Creek trail. You pop out in some aspen after what already feels like a long descent and see that you will have to go to the valley bottom and then back up to your current elevation to get to the trailhead. The very long supposedly-half-mile and 600' of vertical at the end was absolutely brutal for us. 

If I were to do it again I would definitely not climb up to Windy from the valley bottom and head out on the same day, but would have stayed up at Windy one night. 

Trails were all in good shape though, minimal blowdown given the remoteness and distance we covered. Clutch Creek is a little grassy in places but not hard to follow. Will be back!