A couple years ago we tried hiking into the Wind River Range on the Glacier Trail, but it was too early in the season, there were a ton of blowdowns on the trail, and we underestimated the time (and amount of food) required. So we had a wonderful visit to Double Lake and a good training hike.

We returned this year with more information, more experience, and most importantly, more food. Late spring snow meant that it was still actually "early in the season" but we hoped that hiking in from the Pinedale side would help our chances of making it at least closer to the peak. That worked great and it was a lovely 16-mile trek up to Titcomb Basin.

Another thing we did differently was planning in a rest/scouting day - our first time ever. It was very nice. And helpful when we decided we should start toward the summit at 11:30 pm to avoid icy conditions on Bonney Pass. The snow over the pass was in great shape. Navigating in the moonlight over to the Gooseneck went well. We climbed a bit more snow than necessary and visited a couple small crevasses along the way, but eventually we made it onto Gooseneck Glacier.

Previous tracks led up a snowfield that was a couple gullies left of the bergschrund, topping out on an easy dirt trail that took us over to the final snow climb and the summit ridge. Easy (yet deliberate) walking took us to the summit. And what a beautiful summit in the middle of a gorgeous mountain range!

Coming back down was also straightforward, except finding a path through the Gooseneck. We tried to backtrack but finally ended up lower down on the dirt track that we probably should have followed up in the first place. No other issues, although of course climbing back over Bonney Pass was a bit of a chore. Another beautiful night in Titcomb Basin, then one more long hike out, and it was done!

(Here's a link to my blog post with full report)

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