I had been trying to get a summit in while visiting Lander for a few weeks and the weather had just not been cooperating. I went out Friday and ran to Deep Lakes just to turn back from storm clouds. Luckily, I got another chance to go on this favorite Lander loop today with a clear forecast!
I started from Worthen at 6:36AM on 07/13 and headed on Sheep's Bridge to the Middle Fork Trail. I got to Deep Creek Lakes at 9:16Am and headed up the Ice Lakes Trail towards the Peak. I started the climb up the Peak at 9:45AM and officially summited at 11:01AM. I had some navigation trouble once coming down Wind River Peak and had 2 snowfields to descend and 1 to traverse to get back over to the sloping rocks towards Tayo Lake. I reached Tayo at 11:53AM, filled up water one last time, and made my way onto the last half marathon over Roaring Fork Pass to Worthen. I arrived back to the starting sign post at 2:54PM. Such an amazing loop in such a beloved wilderness. As I moved from Lander just this year, it was a special day out.
This time of year there is a lot of mud on trail up the Middle Fork Trail, high water crossings, pockets of snow, and water most of the way up the peak to count on to refill.