Wind River High Route Day 2: Clark Creek to Titcomb Basin

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.

Continue to Day 3: Titcomb Basin to Alpine Lakes

Wind River High Route Day 1: Green River Lakes to Clark Creek

August 28-29, 2015

After arriving in Salt Lake City, we drove to the Big Sandy Trailhead.  We had arranged to camp at the trailhead for the night and have a shuttle pick us up in the morning to take us to the Green River Lakes Trailhead.

Much of the second half of the drive was on dirt roads as the Wind River Range came into view.  

The last twenty miles weren't quite as nice but were manageable in a Toyota Prius.

There is a small campground at the trailhead, but being a National Forest there were people camping in many places along the road.  We found a nice spot close to the parking lot.

Big Sandy is one of the major trailheads to access the Winds and this was quite evident from the number of cars in the parking lot on the weekend.

We enjoyed some nice morning views as we waited for our shuttle.

We had a pleasant ~3 hour shuttle to the Green River Lakes Trailhead and were able to learn a lot about Wyoming from our friendly shuttle driver.

Soon we were at the Green River Lakes Trailhead and ready to begin an exciting adventure.

The route starts out on the popular Highline Trail past the Green River Lakes.

We saw a sign for Continental Divide Trail (CDT), which continues north from the lakes to the US/Canada border (south to Mexico).  Previously I have hiked spectacular portions of the CDT along the Colorado Trail.  From what I understand this high route through the Winds would be a great alternative for thru-hikers, weather permitting.

Soon we entered the Bridger Wilderness.

We began to have great views of Squaretop Mountain and the lakes.

Near the end of the first lake, we stopped on the beach for a snack and to get some water. We saw a group on horses pass up on the trail.

The trail crossed well constructed bridges.

We came to the next Green River Lake and hiked up on a ridge.

A classic view of the trail

Next we began to follow the Green River. It was interesting as in early May I had seen the same river while on vacation with my dad in the Moab Area.  The Green River eventually joins the Colorado River and continues through the Grand Canyon.

There was an interesting mountain with many ridges beside us.

A nice reflection of Squaretop Mountain in the Green River

The Green River

During the early part of our hike, we had some rare hiking below treeline.

The trail stayed close to the Green River.

We had an interesting bridge across a stream crossing.

The trail went through a talus field, a glimpse of adventures to come.

The trail crossed the Green River on a nice bridge.

Soon we began our climb up to the high country. The trail had many switchbacks so it wasn't too steep.

There were expansive views just behind the trees.

We decided to set up camp a little past the Clark Creek Crossing.  There were several nice campsites near the creek. We attempted to get our food weight down by eating lots of food, but weren't that hungry.

The mountains still towered over our campsite, but tomorrow was going to be when the Wind River High Route really began.

Continue to Day 2: Clark Creek to Titcomb Basin