Wind River Trip 1999

On August 9, we set out on the trail from Elkhart Park to Titcomb Basin. The people who attended were: James, Keith, Jon, Don T, Don S, Dan, Chris, and Garth. Garth is a freelance photographer out of Jackson, Wyoming, who came along to photograph us for Boy's Life magazine. We got a late start on the trail (3:30), so we only made it to Hobbs Lake. This was our first oppurtunity to get to know Garth. He operates his own photography business, in Jackson, and loves the outdoors, especially kyaking. Chris decided to sleep under the stars, so Keith and Dan got lucky, and had the tent just for the two of them.

The next morning we set out for Titcomb Basin. We made it to Seneca Lake in just 45 minutes, but then ran into problems. James' hip belt was not riding correctly, and was giving him a large tender spot, which slowed him down. Garth had a small hole in his foot from a blister, which put him back, as well. The group stopped at Island Lake for lunch. We finally arrived at Titcomb Basin later that afternoon. We camped about half a mile above Upper Titcomb Lake. Camped right near us was a guy named Tom. We invited him over to our camp to chat, and get to know one another. Tom is from Colorado, and this was his first visit to the Winds in over 10 years. He had arrived in the Basin about an hour before us. He was a very nice guy, and we hoped to see him again during our trip.

When we woke up on the third day, it was overcast. We decided to push Mount Helen back a day, and go rock climbing on Tower 1 instead. Chris began leading up a route, but it started to rain. The rest of us took shelter while Jon and Chris put in 2 pitons, to rappell off of.

We got up early, to get a good start on Mount Helen. We arrived at the base of the main coliuor, and decided to rope up, because of the varied skill levels within our group. Chris, Garth, and Don T were on a rope; James and Dan were on a rope; and Keith, Don S, and Jon were on a rope. We got to the top of the main coliuor, and encountered a small scree field, whose rocks were covered in frost. We went up one at a time, so we didn't pelt each other with rocks. After arriving at the ridge, we went up to the main summit ridge, and found out we could go no further. The rocks for the last 400 feet were covered in frost, and were unclimbable. Plus, we were going in and out of whiteout conditions. We decided to turn back, so we could get back to camp before it started to rain. Just at the bottom of the coliour, we met Tom again. He was moving up to the base of the main Helen coliuor, so he could get closer to Gannett, for a summit in the next 2 days. We bid him farewell, and began walking to our campsite when it started to rain. We made it back to camp half an hour later, wet, and spent a while in our tents.

After our unsuccessful climb on Mount Helen, the day before, we went rock climbing on Tower 1 again. Once again, we only got 1 pitch up, but this time we didn't get turned back by weather. The rock became featureless above a certain point, and we couldn't place gear. Everybody got a chance to climb, even though it was only 1 pitch. Jon, Chris, James, and Keith weren't able to do a few pitches on Tower 1, as they had hoped. After climbing and dinner, we did a little bouldering near camp. Overall, rock climbing on this trip was a big disappointment for me (James). I didn't do any real lead, only one where we pulled the rope through, so I could lead up to the pitons Jon had set. Keith didn't get to lead a climb at all, and everybody else only got to climb 1 pitch on toprope.

The next day, we set out for Dinwoody Pass, to climb Dinwoody Peak. Jon and Chris decided to stay in camp, so only James, Keith, Don S, Don T, Dan, and Garth climbed the peak. Getting to the peak was easy, so we left the ropes near the bottom of the pass. We found a summit register that had been placed there by the Colorado Mountain Club on July 20, 1960. We signed it, and then headed down to Dinwoody Pass. When we arrived back at the pass, the winds had picked up, and we had trouble standing up straight, because the wind was strong enough to knock you over. We finally got back to camp, and were happy that we hadn't been rained on all day.

The next day, we started our hike out to Elkhart Park. We ate lunch at Island Lake again, and camped at the same site at Hobbs Lake again. It was an uneventful day, and would be followed by another one. The last day, we headed out from Hobbs, and made it to the trailhead by noon. We stopped at the Great Outdoor Shop in Pinedale, and Keith got stuff to repair his crampons with. James also got the book Climbing Ice by Yvon Chouinard. It is out of print, and even though the techniques and gear are 20 years old, and Yvon is not our kind of climber, it is good reading material. Our final stop on the way home was at the Food Factory in Big Piney. We ate more food than the employees had ever seen anybody eat there. We said goodbye to Garth, as he headed back to Jackson, and piled in the cars to return to a boring place called Sandy.