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Wilson group is interesting in that there are some many ways to do everything.

Approach hikes- 4 options (Kilpacker, Navaho, Woods Lake, ROA/Silver Pick)
El Diente- 3 options
Mt. Wilson 2 options
Wilson Peak - 1 option

Anyway, we are set on our plans now.

Woods Lake approach
El Diente N. Buttress
Traverse to Wilson
Wilson slopes back into Navaho Basin
Wilson Peak from Navaho Basin
Return via Woods Lake

For us and for most people the Woods lake approach means less driving, both in time and mileage. And it looks nice.

djkest wrote:Wilson group is interesting in that there are some many ways to do everything.

Approach hikes- 4 options (Kilpacker, Navaho, Woods Lake, ROA/Silver Pick)
El Diente- 3 options
Mt. Wilson 2 options
Wilson Peak - 1 option

Mt. Wilson can be climbed from Bilk Basin too.

djkest wrote: Woods Lake approach
El Diente N. Buttress
Traverse to Wilson
Wilson slopes back into Navaho Basin
Wilson Peak from Navaho Basin
Return via Woods Lake

We just did this exact thing and got back last night. It was nice in some ways, but not in others. Navaho Lake basin is a nice place to camp out, very pleasant. I think the traverse was a little harder than expected. Anyone who decides to do these 2 mountains seperately has my complete understanding. No shame in skipping that traverse. The rock SUCKS and I am lucky I escaped with only minor injuries.

Our total mileage and gain for everything was 22.75 miles and 9,500' of elevation gain.

Woods lake is a nice approach and I think more people 'should' use it, but what do I know?

I ended up doing WP and MW from ROA on Saturday. I climbed Wilson Peak with my Dad and cousin first then left them and did MW. I planned on doing El D from Kilpacker on Sunday but 20 miles and 10k vert in the 3 days before made my legs disagree with another 12 miles and 4.3k. The weather was stormy so it would have been a fruitless venture anyway.

If I were to do it again, which I probably won't, I would do:

ROA TH >> WP >> MW >> descend south down Wilson's SW Gully >> EL Diente >> Kilpacker TH.

This would be pretty close to the same mileage and vert gain I did on Saturday by doing both WP and MW roundtrip from ROA because you have to gain the saddle twice. ~14 miles and 6.2k vert gain. I did it in just under 12 hours hiking up to WP summit at a leisurely pace then blasting the rest of the hike. It took me 3 hours from MW back to ROA TH.

Completed the group last Wednesday and Thursday last week. We parked at the ROA trail-head, climbed ROA and Wilson Peak on Wednesday. Then hiked to Navajo Basin and camped Wednesday night. On Thursday we climbed El Diente via North Buttress and then climbed the traverse to Mt. Wilson. We descended the normal Mt. Wilson route to Navajo Basin and hiked back to the cars via Elk Creek trail.

Overall I think it was the perfect way to link up all three peaks. North Buttress was a great climb with relatively stable rock, I enjoyed it. I knew the traverse was going to be difficult, but the difficulty exceeded my expectations. The traverse along with the final moves on Mt Wilson gave me all my nerves could handle. Thankfully we took our time and safely made it through without any injuries, it is definitely a climb that deserves your respect. I also highly recommend the Elk Creek trail if you plan on camping at Navajo. The trail is beautiful and allows you to skip the climb back up and over Rock of Ages with your pack. ROA is both steep and talus covered in some areas, I was very grateful to be able to take the easier path back to the car after completing the traverse.