Wind River Day Hike Proposals
June 30, 2006 at 7:48 pm summitcheese 6 comments
Over the past several years a highlight of the hiking season has been a ~30 mile day hike somewhere in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. Past hikes have included:
- Green River Lakes to Spring Creek trailheads via Summit and Glimpse Lakes,
- Out and back from Big Sandy Opening trailhead to view the north face of Mount Hooker,
- Loop beginning and ending at Elkhart Park via Glimpse, Trail, Summit, Jean, and Seneca Lakes – the grandaddy of Wind Rivers day hikes.
- A loop from Big Sandy Opening with four climbs over the Continental Divide; at Washakie, Illinois, Texas and Jackass Passes.
None of these hikes has involved attaining a summit or eating Cheeseburgers. This cannot continue. Here are two ideas to consider for a hike at the end of August – either would provide an excellent opportunity for Cheeseburger eating.
- An ascent of Glover Peak (12,067 ft.; see photo) beginning and ending at the Green River Lakes trailhead. Begin by hiking past Green River Lake and at the Porcupine Trail turn left and proceed over Porcupine Pass. After the pass, turn left onto the New Fork Trail and enter the Lozier Lakes basin. Continue east and before the descent to Clark Lake turn right and proceed southeast to find the top of Glover Peak. Once on the summit, the descent to Green River Pass is straightforward. Follow the Highline trail back to Green River Lake.
- An ascent of Downs Peak (13,349 ft.) as part of a point-to-point hike from the Trail Lake Ranch trailhead near Dubois to the Green River Lakes trailhead. Begin on the Glacier trail and turn off at Bomber Basin. About halfway around the south side of Bomber Lake proceed up a steep, but cairned, trail to get up onto Goat Flat. Hike across to the glacier coming down off Downs Mountain. Traverse over No Mans Pass and up and over Downs, past Northwest Peak and down to Daphne Lake. Follow the the drainage west to Faler Lake (scrambling on big boulders) and proceed to the west side of the lake. Bushwack down to Clear Lake and follow the trail down Clear Creek to Green River Lake. The entire route is ~27 miles and much of it is off of maintained trail.
How about August 26th for a hike in the Winds?
Entry filed under: Wyoming Summits.
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Summit Cheeseburger 
1.
Patrick | July 1, 2006 at 7:58 am
Any chance we could do it the preceding or following weekend? In the process of getting preliminary spousal approval it was brought to my attention, again, that Aug 27 is my wedding anniversary. I have a preliminary approval for those other weekends. Aug 16 would be better, but either would be great.
2.
John | July 1, 2006 at 3:56 pm
The week after would be better for me. I am out of town Aug 11-14.
3.
John | July 1, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Oh and I would vote for Downs Peak. Mostly cause it sounds close to impossible. Otherwise, Bartel will never get another chance to use his GPS.
4.
summitcheese | July 1, 2006 at 5:43 pm
The weekend before won’t work for me, since we’ll be just getting back from Europe. Let’s see what K’s schedule looks like. John, you’re right, Down’s is next to impossible in a single day.
5.
Nils | July 19, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Ann and I would like to go but cannot make it the weekends of Aug 12, 19, or 26. The following weekend would be best.
Is it a family affair or hikers only?
6.
summitcheese | July 25, 2006 at 8:35 pm
Well, it’s decided. The hike will take place on Saturday, August 26th. The Porcupine Pass loop with a short diversion up Greeley Point for a Cheeseburger is the route. Best guess is that this will be a 32 mile hike with a 2,700 ft. climb from Green River Lakes to Porcupine Pass, a 1,200 ft. descent to New Fork Park, a 1,800 ft. climb past Lozier Lake to Greeley Point and a 3,300 ft descent back to Green River Lake.