Wyoming Trading Post
Trails

How to Pack for a Four-Day Horse Camp Trip in the Bighorns

A complete pack list for a self-supported four-day horseback trip into the Cloud Peak Wilderness, with weights, packing order, and what to leave behind.

By Wyoming Trading Post Editors
Pack horses loaded with panniers and tarped manties on a switchback trail above tree line in the Cloud Peak Wilderness, Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming.
Pack string climbing toward Solitude Pass, Cloud Peak Wilderness. Loads are balanced left-to-right within 5 lbs and lashed with a single tarp on top. — Photo: U.S. Forest Service. Public domain.

A four-day horseback trip into the Cloud Peak Wilderness is one of the more accessible Wyoming wilderness packs. The terrain is forgiving, the trail network is well-mapped, the bear pressure is lower than the Absarokas, and you can cover the country without committing to the multi-week logistics that the Wind Rivers require. It is also one of the better trips for first-time wilderness packers because the standard gear list is substantial without being overwhelming.

This is the actual pack list that has worked for parties of two riders, two pack animals, four days out, four nights in. Total weight, packed and balanced, runs about 480 lbs across the two pack animals, well under the 480-lb maximum capacity (240 each) and leaves room for a successful hunt or fish to ride out.

The trip parameters

Assumed:

  • Two riders, two saddle horses, two pack horses.
  • Trailhead: West Tensleep, Cloud Peak Wilderness.
  • Route: West Tensleep Lake → Misty Moon Lake → Solitude Loop → return.
  • Season: late July through early September (peak conditions).
  • Weather expectation: 35-75°F daytime, 25-50°F nighttime, possibility of afternoon thunderstorms and one overnight low rain event.
  • Group experience: intermediate (have packed before, know how to throw a diamond hitch, comfortable with stock care).

What goes in each pannier, by category and weight

A standard wilderness pannier is a 22-quart oblong canvas-and-leather box. Each pannier holds roughly 100-110 lbs comfortably. For two pack horses you have four panniers plus top loads. The packing order matters: heaviest items low and forward, lightest items high and rear, balance left-to-right within 5 lbs per side.

Pannier 1 (left side, pack horse A), kitchen and group gear, 95 lbs

  • Wall tent, 10x12 with poles and stakes, 28 lbs
  • Wood stove (collapsible Riley or comparable) and stovepipe, 18 lbs
  • Cooking grate and tripod, 4 lbs
  • Lodge 12-inch cast iron camp Dutch oven, 6 qt, 12 lbs
  • Cast-iron skillet, 12-inch, 8 lbs
  • Coffee pot, 8-cup enamelware, 2 lbs
  • Set of enamelware mugs, plates, bowls (4 of each), 4 lbs
  • Utensils, kitchen knife, tongs, spatula, 2 lbs
  • Bahco Laplander folding saw, 2 lbs
  • Axe, single-bit, 26-inch handle, 4 lbs
  • Shovel, folding, 2 lbs
  • Stove fuel: dry kindling, fatwood, matches in waterproof case, 3 lbs
  • Misc kitchen: dish soap, sponge, drying towel, salt and pepper, oil, 6 lbs

Pannier 2 (right side, pack horse A), food, 95 lbs

  • Group breakfast (4 days × 2 riders): bacon (2 lbs), pancake mix (2 lbs), eggs in carrier (2 lbs), oatmeal (1 lb), coffee (2 lbs), 9 lbs total
  • Group lunch (4 days × 2 riders): jerky (3 lbs), cheese (2 lbs), crackers (2 lbs), trail mix (2 lbs), dried fruit (2 lbs), 11 lbs
  • Group dinner (4 days × 2 riders): freeze-dried meals or chuckwagon Dutch oven meals (8 lbs), pasta (2 lbs), rice (2 lbs), canned chili (4 lbs), butter (1 lb), 17 lbs
  • Snacks and bars, 3 lbs
  • Soft drinks or whiskey for camp (1 small bottle, 24 oz), 2 lbs
  • Spices, salt, sugar, hot sauce, 1 lb
  • Coffee, ground, additional, 1 lb
  • Margin for catch (fish or upland game from the trip), 5 lbs reserved
  • Total food on trip: 49 lbs
  • Small dry-bag overflow capacity for any food we want to keep especially clean, 5 lbs
  • BearVault BV500 bear canister, 3 lbs
  • Total: 90 lbs (5 lbs margin)

Pannier 3 (left side, pack horse B), feed and stock supplies, 95 lbs

  • Certified weed-free pellets, 32 lbs per horse × 4 horses, distributed across both pack animals’ panniers, 64 lbs of total feed (this pannier carries 32 lbs of it; the rest in pannier 4)
  • Picket line, 80 ft of 1/2” rope plus tree-saver straps, 6 lbs
  • Hobbles, 4 sets, 3 lbs
  • High-line straps, 2 sets, 2 lbs
  • Hay nets, 4, 2 lbs
  • Stock first aid: vet wrap, gauze, antibiotic ointment, bute, banamine in sealed packets, 4 lbs
  • Spare horseshoes (front and rear, both styles in use) and nails, 4 lbs
  • Hoof boot (Easy Boot or similar), 2 lbs
  • Hoof pick, rasp, nippers, 2 lbs
  • Saddle pad spares, 2, 4 lbs
  • Spare cinch latigo and saddle string, 2 lbs

Pannier 4 (right side, pack horse B), feed continued + personal gear, 95 lbs

  • Certified weed-free pellets, additional, 32 lbs
  • Personal gear bag, rider 1: clothing, sleeping bag, toiletries, 30 lbs
  • Personal gear bag, rider 2: clothing, sleeping bag, toiletries, 30 lbs
  • Total: 92 lbs

Top loads (manty-tied on top of each pack horse), 30 lbs each

  • Pack horse A top: bedroll, two-person (rolled in canvas tarp with two Pendleton blankets and a sleeping pad inside), 28 lbs
  • Pack horse B top: bedroll, second two-person, 28 lbs

Saddle horse loads, under 15 lbs each

Each rider carries on the saddle horse:

  • Rifle scabbard with rifle (if hunting season), 9 lbs
  • Saddle bags with day items: jacket, water bottle, snacks, headlamp, multi-tool, first aid pouch, map, compass, GPS, satellite messenger, 6 lbs
  • Slicker tied behind cantle, 2 lbs

Total trip weight

  • Pack horse A: 95 + 95 + 28 = 218 lbs (well under 240 capacity)
  • Pack horse B: 95 + 95 + 28 = 218 lbs (well under 240 capacity)
  • Saddle horse 1: 17 lbs (rider gear) + 175 lbs rider = 192 lbs (well under 20% of horse weight)
  • Saddle horse 2: similar
  • Total camp weight excluding riders: 472 lbs

What to leave behind

Three categories of gear that newcomers commonly pack and almost always regret carrying:

Excess clothing. Two changes is the right answer. One on the body, one in the pannier. Wool base layer, jeans, fleece or wool sweater, rain shell, hat, gloves. Cold-weather extras (down vest, beanie, neck gaiter) only if forecasted lows below 30°F.

Camp chairs and tables. Tempting to add. Not worth the 8-15 lbs each. A flat rock, a stump, or an empty pannier doubles as seating.

Lanterns. Headlamps with a few hours of fresh battery do everything a lantern does at a tenth of the weight and zero fire risk in a tent.

Excess food. As above, most parties pack 30-50% more than they eat.

Backup electronics. A phone (charged, in a waterproof case), a satellite messenger, and one set of fresh AA / AAA batteries for the headlamp. Skip the e-readers, GoPros, drones, and second cameras unless they have a specific job.

High-altitude tundra in the Bighorn Mountains, with low alpine vegetation, scattered rock outcrops, and distant peaks under a clearing sky.
Bighorn Mountains tundra above timberline. Most of the Solitude Loop sits at this elevation, where afternoon thunderstorms force riders to be off the high ground by early afternoon in summer. Photo via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA.

Packing order and the diamond hitch

The actual loading sequence on each pack horse, in order:

  1. Saddle pad on the back. A wool or felt pack pad, larger than a riding pad.
  2. Pack saddle (Decker or sawbuck) on top. Cinch tightened in stages.
  3. Pannier 1 hung on the left fork.
  4. Pannier 2 hung on the right fork. Weight balance verified by lifting both, should feel equal within 5 lbs.
  5. Top load placed centered on top, between the panniers.
  6. Manty tarp thrown over the entire load and pulled tight.
  7. Diamond hitch tied with a 40-foot lash rope, beginning at the front cinch ring, working back and crossing twice across the top, ending at the back cinch ring.
  8. Final adjustments to ensure nothing slips and the load is symmetrical.

The full packing process for two pack horses takes 30-45 minutes the first morning of the trip, and 20-30 minutes on subsequent days as muscle memory takes over. If you cannot tie a diamond hitch from memory, learn it before the trip, the YouTube tutorials from Smoke Elser and others are excellent.

What the trip actually looks like

Day 1: Vehicles to West Tensleep trailhead by 9 AM. Tack up saddle horses, pack pack horses, on the trail by 11. Ride to West Tensleep Lake (about 5 miles, 2 hours), make camp by 2 PM, fish until dinner.

Day 2: Ride from West Tensleep up the Solitude Trail toward Misty Moon Lake (8 miles, 4 hours with breaks). Set camp at Misty Moon by 2 PM. Day hike to Mistymoon Pass for the view.

Day 3: Layover at Misty Moon. Fish, day-ride toward Florence Pass, return to camp.

Day 4: Pack out. Misty Moon back to West Tensleep, then to the trailhead. About 13 miles total, 6-7 hours. Vehicles by mid-afternoon.

This is a moderate trip. Riders accustomed to the saddle handle it well. New riders will be sore by day 2. The total mileage covered, about 26 miles, is right for a four-day window with one layover day.

Final notes

Three things that make Cloud Peak trips successful that newcomers often miss:

  1. Pre-trip stock conditioning. Pack horses ridden lightly for the four weeks before the trip carry better than horses pulled out of the pasture and loaded the morning of departure.

  2. The picket line goes 200 feet from water and at least 100 feet from camp. Forest Service regulations and basic camp hygiene both require it. Move the picket location after one night to avoid soil compaction.

  3. Carry out everything you carry in, plus some of what others left. Cloud Peak is heavily used by stock parties, and even small additional cleanup makes a measurable difference to the wilderness condition. Leave No Trace is the legal standard and the right standard.

The Bighorns reward parties that prepare. A four-day Cloud Peak trip, run well, is one of the better long-weekend horseback trips available anywhere in the lower forty-eight. Pack accordingly.

Every product listed below ships from the WTP shop:

Further reading

  • Smoke Elser and Bill Brown, Packin’ In on Mules and Horses (Mountain Press Publishing, 1980; multiple revised editions). The standard reference for backcountry horse packing.
  • Backcountry Horsemen of America, Leave No Trace stock guidelines, free PDF downloads.
  • Bighorn National Forest’s Cloud Peak Wilderness website, current conditions, regulations, trail closures.

Frequently asked questions

How much weight can a pack horse carry?

A healthy adult pack horse in good condition can carry about 20% of its body weight comfortably for multi-day use. A 1,200-lb pack horse handles 240 lbs total, typically split as 100-110 lbs per pannier with another 20-30 lbs on top. Mules carry slightly more proportionally (up to 25% of body weight) and recover faster from heavy work. For a four-day trip with two riders, plan on one pack animal per rider.

How many pounds of feed per horse per day?

Forage horses (well-conditioned for backcountry work) need 15-18 lbs of feed per day. On wilderness trips with adequate native graze, supplemental feed runs 4-8 lbs per head per day in certified weed-free pellets or cubes. For four days at the higher end, plan 30-32 lbs of feed per horse, substantial pannier weight.

What's the most common gear mistake on a Bighorn pack trip?

Underestimating water filtration and overpacking food. Cloud Peak streams are reliable mid-season; you do not need to pack water beyond two quart-bottles per rider. Food: most parties pack 30-50% more than they eat. Plan 1.5 lbs of food per person per day; for four days that's 6 lbs per person. Two riders: 12 lbs total food, not 20-25.

Sources

  1. Bighorn National Forest, Cloud Peak Wilderness regulations
  2. Backcountry Horsemen of America, Leave No Trace stock guidelines
  3. Smoke Elser, Packin' In on Mules and Horses (Mountain Press, 1980, revised editions)