Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 7 of 7

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 6 (part 2)

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 6 (part 1)

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 5

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 4

** It should be noted that we did NOT utilize a track for this hike, and I recommend you don’t either if you plan to do it. We used the sparse waypoints provided by Skurka and a his paper map set for the entirety of this journey. We did all of our own route finding and problem solving. This is the spirit of the High Route! **

The final push! We woke up to more smoke and more ash fall, the air was so thick with char our noses burned. We climbed West Sentinel Pass in the dark and reached the saddle at dawn. Pale light cast the Gannett Glacier in every shade of pastel, softening its many grooves and cracks. We hiked across the ice to another rocky saddle and then another. Traversing under walls of ice with boulders teetering above us, a hairs breath from plummeting into the sandy moraine fields (and our heads) below. The grasshopper glacier proved to be riddled with human sized crevasses near its convexity, and so we wove back and forth until we were through. And then we trekked across the lunar desert to Downs Mountain.

Downs mountain is the second 13er we climbed and third peak of the route. It is a massive pile of boulders with 3 summit humps. Reaching the correct one felt like a huge victory and (almost) like the end of our adventure. But of course we had the long descent to No Man’s Pass, a bridge which took us to the long and nebulous Goat Flats. Beyond GF, we descended another rocky ridge and joined the final 8mi of the Glacier trail to reach my Truck at Trail Lake Trailhead. Night had fallen and we were eager for showers and sleep.

Lynn Froetscher

Top Sports

Ivey Smith

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 7 of 7

20 Photos

Sign up to see the comments.

Sign up to view more activities from Ivey Smith

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 7 of 7

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 6 (part 2)

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 6 (part 1)

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 5

Skurka’s Wind River High Route Day 4

Want to see more?

The #1 app for runners and cyclists

Sign Up for Free. Track your progress and reach goals. Join 100 million active people on Strava.

See More from Ivey