August 30, 2015
For entire Wind River Route report begin here: http://ericshikes.blogspot.com/p/wind-river-high-route.html
After quickly passing a trail junction near our campsite, we soon came to another junction leading up to Vista Pass. At this point we left the official Continental Divide Trail/Highline Trail which continues to Summit Lake.
We continued our upward climb with some of the only forested hiking for the next several days.
At Vista Pass we enjoyed the nice morning view reflected in the nearby pond. There were a couple of backpackers camped nearby.
After a quick descent, we continued upward back in the upper Green River Valley. The trail up to Vista Pass had gone around Peak 10945'. Beautiful ridgeline trail led us up on our way to Cube Rock Pass.
View down the Green River Valley
Higher elevation brought more talus, but the trail was still in good condition.
Soon we reached a portion where the trail went into a talus field and was marked by cairns. Notice Andrew in the picture below.
Looking up to the left, we discovered that there was an easily manageable trail up a short distance.
Looking back
There was a stream flowing out of the rocks.
We reached Cube Rock Pass and enjoyed the view of Dale Lake. We met a pleasant ranger nearby who was quite familiar with our route before we even told him. He ensured that we were prepared to properly store our food and camp a certain distance from trails and water sources.
Soon we reached Peak Lake and had our first view of the route toward Knapsack Col.
We met a pair of solo hikers who had camped nearby.
After a short conversation we hiked over to the outlet for a short break and to get some water for the climb ahead. There was a great view of Sulfur Peak (left) and Stroud Peak (right).
We continued around the northern ridge of the Peak Lake on the left side of the photo below.
Stroud Peak
There was a somewhat steep descent to the edge of the lake.
As we journeyed upward, we took time to look back for a different view of Peak Lake.
There isn't an official trail to Knapsack Col, but we followed a well-used use trail.
Peak Lake
There was a nice view of the Stroud Glacier, which is recognized as the source of the Green River.
The high alpine hiking was excellent!
Soon the blue sky turned quite dark as a storm approached.
Stroud Glacier
Just below Knapsack Col we heard the first thunder rumbling overhead. We decided to wait out the storm vs. going to the top of the col. We didn't see any lightning but did experience light rain.
The storm passed quickly, and after the much needed rest break we continued the final climb to Knapsack Col.
We could still barely see Peak Lake down below.
View West from Knapsack Col
At Knapsack Col there was a great view to the East including the Twin's Glacier and across to the Continental Divide.
We took a break to enjoy the view and studied the route description for the descent.
The glacier had melted out well enough that we were able to descend on the talus to the left. It was still quite steep.
I was able to stay to the left and avoid the steepest of the talus. In some places it was still a little icy underneath. Andrew stayed to the right more than I did as he found a small trail, but I think it was steeper. Can you see Andrew with his yellow rain jacket in the photo below?
Looking back to Knapsack Col
The rest of the descent was pleasant hiking and we enjoyed great views of streams and the Divide.
Even though we were born on the same day, we decided it was in our mother's best interest for us to navigate around some steep and slippery terrain.
Twins Glacier
It was exciting as we rounded the corner and the Titcomb Basin came into view.
Looking Back
We met a group of climbers who asked if we had just been up Gannett Peak, Wyoming's highest. They informed us that the pass in the center of the photo below is on the way to Gannett Peak.
Lake 10598'
We took an extended break after reaching the lake.
Then we joined an excellent trail on the east shore of the lake.
It had been a tiring day with a few thousand feet of elevation gain, so we began searching for a campsite.
We found a nice spot up on the ridge above the second lake, Lake 10575', that was reasonably flat. After consuming a great meal of no-cook burritos we relaxed and enjoyed the evening light shining on the Continental Divide.
I ran over the ridge to get a better view as I noticed the tips of the mountains in the distance were quite colorful.
Looking south provided another nice view with the clouds overhead.
Back at the campsite, the mountains across the Lake 10575' were purple.
No comments:
Post a Comment