Gannett Peak

Gannett Peak was my first group climb. Four guys started, and four guys barely made it back out. The crew was two sets of brothers, my brother Mark and I, and my friends Shawn and Michael. Gannett Peak is hailed as arguably the most difficult summit to reach in the lower 48 states, due to its extremely long distance from the nearest access point, rugged trail terrain, and large variety of challenging terrain including glaciers, creek crossings, cliffs, scree, and steep slopes required to traverse along the way. The only other three mountains which rival Gannett in difficulty are Denali (Alaska), Mount Ranier (Washington) and Granite Peak (Montana). This was a 5 day trip which makes the trip report is longer than usual, so strap yourselves in!

Gannett Peak Stats:
Elevation: 13,804 feet
Prominence: 7076 feet
Tallest peak in Wyoming.
Pole Creek Trail to Titcomb Basin: 40 mile round trip with approximately 9,050 feet of cumulative elevation gain. This does not include summit day, which consists of an additional 3 miles and 2,400 feet of elevation gain.

 

We did extensive research before attempting this climb. We agonized over three different approach routes, and a few different mountains. We eventually decided on Gannett Peak, and the Southern Approach Trail (Pole Creek Trail) starting at Elkhart Park. This is the shortest of the three main approach routes at about 40 miles, but has the most difficult summit day, which would eventually cause our demise. It is also incredibly scenic, taking us by Photographer’s Point, Seneca Lake, Island Lake and the Titcomb Lakes, and it did not disappoint. We allocated 4 climbing days to reach the summit and return, which meant we needed to average over 10 miles per day at high altitude in rough terrain, including summit day.

We began our trip on July 25, 2013, meeting in Salt Lake City, UT. Mark and I arrived on the same flight; however, Shawn and Michael flew in late. We were all pumped about the trip, and ended up staying up until about 2 A.M. the night before departure for the trailhead; our first mistake, but we had fun.

Day 1

We left after breakfast in the morning, and had about a 5 hour drive ahead of us before reaching Elkhart Park. Unfortunately, we did not make car reservations prior to arriving, assuming a large airport hub like Salt Lake City would have plenty to go around, but we were wrong. Because of this, the day before we had gotten stuck with the last car available anywhere, a Hyundai Sonata HYBRID (or blue drive or whatever the heck they call it). This was the most annoying car I have ever driven, so naturally abuse was inevitable. During the 5 hour drive a race ensued between us and Shawn’s and Michael’s car, and it turns out our car topped out at a whopping 113 miles per hour, and not gracefully. The car was astonished that we weren’t trying to do everything possible to maximize fuel economy. Also, the great road crews of Wyoming were nice enough to not clear loose gravel from a recently paved section of a state highway, which had a speed limit of 80. We threw rocks all over the front of the other car and wrecked the windshield. Thanks Wyoming, but luckily they got the rental insurance. The best part about our car was the nice assortment of 1,000 different chimes, dongs and lights that would go off randomly for inexplicable reasons, like having the A/C on for too long? We’re still not really sure what caused them, but it was all related to “Blue Drive”. There was enough to mock about this car that we had no problem staying entertained for the long drive. The drive was quite scenic, and the conditions were perfect.

Before reaching the trail head, you drive into the town of Pinedale, Wyoming where we stopped for gas and lunch, and to escape the Hyundai. We were recommended to go to this local restaurant, and I cannot for the life of me remember the name. The food was insanely good, and they had local beer. So, if memory serves, about 15 minutes before our 10 mile hike we ate a large pizza, 3 country fried chicken plates, 4 large pie slices, sides of mashed potatoes and nachos, a ½ lb burger, ice cream and about 8 beers. Smart.

On the way to the trail head we found a scenic overlook, which included a sign with a labelled picture of the mountain range. We had no idea at the time that we were looking at our mountain in that range, but we had such a long hike ahead of us that the mountain we were going to was behind all of the mountains we were currently looking at.We had two more days of hiking before we could even set eyes on Gannett.

The trail head had a paved parking lot and was a good size, so we had no problem finding a good place to stash the cars. And we started the day one hike officially at about 4 PM. The first great view was Photographers Point about 2 hours in. We hiked about 8 miles on Day 1 taking the occasional breaks, and Michael started feeling bad due to the altitude towards the end of the afternoon. We found an amazing camping spot along Hobb Lake, and set up camp. We shared “good” food and war stories around the campfire and crashed at around 10PM, a little later than planned. That night, all I could hear was my heartrate, which was racing due to the thin air. It was the most quiet place I have EVER slept. I recall hearing a moscuito land on the tent. I left the fly off to see the stars.

 

DAY 2

That morning we woke around 7AM. We all stood in awe of the sun creeping up over the Wind River Range behind the mountain’s reflection in the lake. We cooked up breakfast and packed up. A few decided to go fishing with bugs and whatever else, but we didn’t have any biters. We eventually got a late start around 10 AM on day 2. The weather had been good so far, but that would soon change. We approached Seneca Lake and the clouds rolled in. What is a thunderstorm like at 10,000 feet you ask? Well, not good. It rained and the thunder cracked forcing us to hide under a boulder for snacks. Luckily the rain didn’t last long, and we pushed on. We rounded Seneca lake and headed for for Island Lake. We met a never-ending incline while ascending Indian Pass that wiped us out, and we stopped at the top for a break and pictures. Shawn and Michael were about 45 minutes behind Mark and I at this point, so Mark and I explored the snow and boulders a bit while we waited. We decided to finish waiting at Island lake, since we assumed it would be a more scenic place to rest, so we pushed ahead before they caught up with us (I know, we’re great climbing partners aren’t we?). At Island Lake we broke out the camp stove and made lunch. The view coming down from Indian Pass overlooking Island Lake was stunning, and Island lake itself was crystal clear water with a sandy beach. Perfect. We watched as thick clouds rolled in and hid the mountain peaks in the distance, and then moved off.

After lunch we continued hiking towards the Titcomb Lakes, were we hoped to set up basecamp for summit day. We crossed a river and crested a hill to see a view that rivals Yosemite Valley. The lakes were amazing, with clean granite making up the shores and lake bottoms. I remember thinking “wow, we’re ahead of schedule”, but the lakes were an optical illusion, and it took another 2 hours of hiking to make it to the other side of the first lake. We were exhausted and the sun was setting so we decided to set up basecamp a little further from the summit than we planned. We picked a hill right between the two lakes, ate dinner and admired the views. The steep mountain ridges were enormous on either side of us, and we could hear the water falls caused by melting glaciers begin to subside as the temperature dropped. We reached a surprisingly cold low of about 40 degrees that night, and my old summer sleeping bag with holes in it was not up to the task, so I froze all night and slept with all my clothes on.

 

Continue to Summit Day on Page 2!