The Southern Winds Crossing traverses the Wind River Range from West to East, from Big Sandy Opening to the top of Sinks Canyon, via the Cirque on the towers. The route is the logical crossing for the southern end of the range—ascending the Big Sandy, crossing Jackass Pass, and then descending the North and Middle Forks of the Popo Agie, and allows the runner access into a wide variety of ecosystems and topographies, not to mention the breathtaking Cirque of the Towers. The distance makes running it in a day a reachable goal for most runners. Early summer runners will have to navigate lots of water and mud, whereas most years, by mid to late summer, there is only one wet-foot crossing at the North Fork. There’s not many runs that can provide this level of bang-for-your-buck for alpine scenery and straightforward route finding, and the feeling of crossing such a significant range in a day makes this an instant classic.
