Gannett Peak Wyoming day hike from Elkhart Part/Pole Creek TH The biggest, most difficult mountain I have climbed. With friends Joe Bullough, Jacob Moon and Scott Wesemann, we began the trail at 12:30 AM, hiked/ran approximately 20 miles to Titcomb Basin and then Bonney Pass. From the pass we got a look at the mountain and the route to the summit which requires losing 1,500 feet of elevation, then another climb of 2,000. Joe, Jake and I reached the summit in 12.5 hours from the car. Scott did not go past Bonney Pass because of issues with altitude and energy. On the descent from the summit a thunder storm moved in, flashes of lightning filling the glacier valley. Get me outta here! Re-crossed the glacier and back up another 1,500 feet to Bonney Pass. Back down to Titcomb basin and began the very long march 20 miles back to the car. I felt great all day until we reached the Titcomb lakes, then I became a dead man walking, and we still had 6 hours of hiking to do. The sun set somewhere near Seneca lake and we were again in the dark using headlamps. The last 5 miles were excruciatingly long. Where is the end of the trail?! Are we on the right trail? Finally arrived at the parking at 1:30 AM, exactly 25 hours after we started. By Scott's measurements, the round trip distance to the peak and back was 44 miles. |