FKT: Kelly Halpin, Aaron Mulkey - Gros Ventre High Route - 2023-07-25

Route variation
Standard route
Multi-sport
No
Gender category
Mixed-gender team
Style
Unsupported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
17h 57m 43s
GPS track(s)
Report

I wanted to try a non technical route through the northern line of the Gros Ventre Range that linked the west and east ends. I asked my fellow Black Diamond teammate Aaron Mulkey to join as we were both from Wyoming and had been talking about doing a Wyoming based adventure together for some time. On July 25 at 5:43am we set out from Flat Creek TH just north of Jackson, WY. It was a really beautiful sunrise climb towards the Nose of Sheep Mountain. There is a faint trail you can follow util it disappears at the saddle to the east of the Nose. From there we turned eastward across the high plateau towards Pyramid Peak. There were a few herds of bighorn sheep as well as mule deer up high. We made fairly good time to unnamed peak 11206 (or 11169 as the GS marker says) then dropped down a shallow gully to the Crystal Creek trail. Water was scarce for the first 20 miles along the higher tundra and ridges but plentiful in the basins afterward. We continued to fast hike and jog along the basins and on the shelf below Doubletop Peak. We had wonderful weather all day with no wind or threats from storms. The wildflowers were incredible and there were still lingering patches of snow from the heavy winter. Aaron and I dropped into the Tosi Basin around 6:30pm and found the faint Rock Creek trail just before sunset. We ran out the final 9.5 miles to Green River Rd where I had shuttled my vehicle the day before. Really amazing overland adventure in the Gros Ventre Range.