Advice On the Wilson Group
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The Legend
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Advice On the Wilson Group
Yes, this is early for looking for beta on hiking the Wilson group. We will be traveling down there this summer coming, and looking to do all of the peaks. Any advice would be helpful, or insight into the hike. Which trailhead is best for all of them. We will probably hike in, summit two of the peaks, camp, and do Wilson peak last, unless there is a better way. Is it possible to do all three in a day? Help please.
Re: Advice On the Wilson Group
This thread may be helpful: http://www.14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 7&start=24
The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana.
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pbakwin
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Re: Advice On the Wilson Group
Certainly it's possible to get all 3 in a day & it is frequently done. You must be fit, acclimated & able to move quickly on class 3-4 terrain. We did the link up from ROA last Sept - stable weather is a plus. I think ROA is the shortest route for all 3.
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ThuChad
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Re: Advice On the Wilson Group
A through hike from ROA to Kilpacker would be my choice if you have two cars. That's the easiest way to do it in one day. Lots of helpful info in the thread mentioned above.The Legend wrote:Yes, this is early for looking for beta on hiking the Wilson group. We will be traveling down there this summer coming, and looking to do all of the peaks. Any advice would be helpful, or insight into the hike. Which trailhead is best for all of them. We will probably hike in, summit two of the peaks, camp, and do Wilson peak last, unless there is a better way. Is it possible to do all three in a day? Help please.
I'm just pretending to be a poseur.
Re: Advice On the Wilson Group
Camping in Navajo Basin is the best access to all three. It's shorter to get there from the Silver Pick Basin trailhead, however I think the Navajo Lake approach is better. For one there are some stunning waterfalls you'll pass using this approach and it's a more scenic route overall. My other reason is the trip out. When you break camp and have to put the fully loaded pack back on, Navajo Lake Trailhead may be a longer hike but it's all downhill.
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TravelingMatt
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Re: Advice On the Wilson Group
Been discussed before, but I think the best way with a single overnight is:
Day 1: Pack into Navajo Lake via Navajo Basin, drop packs, summit Wilson Peak, return to camp.
Day 2: Do El D via North Buttress, traverse to Mt. Wilson, return to camp, pack out.
This is the opposite way most people do the traverse, but I'd rather go up North Buttress and down the standard route on MW than the reverse. And yes, the Navajo approach is quite scenic while the RoA stands out as singularly ugly among 14er approaches.
If you're packing in in the afternoon and camping two nights, I'd switch the climbs, doing ED/MW on Day 2 and WP on Day 3.
If you can't find a spot near the lake there are flat spots above it, starting near the turnoff for the North Buttress route.
Day 1: Pack into Navajo Lake via Navajo Basin, drop packs, summit Wilson Peak, return to camp.
Day 2: Do El D via North Buttress, traverse to Mt. Wilson, return to camp, pack out.
This is the opposite way most people do the traverse, but I'd rather go up North Buttress and down the standard route on MW than the reverse. And yes, the Navajo approach is quite scenic while the RoA stands out as singularly ugly among 14er approaches.
If you're packing in in the afternoon and camping two nights, I'd switch the climbs, doing ED/MW on Day 2 and WP on Day 3.
If you can't find a spot near the lake there are flat spots above it, starting near the turnoff for the North Buttress route.
You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough. -- William Blake
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ChrisinAZ
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Re: Advice On the Wilson Group
This is almost exactly what we did, with the slight modification of dropping packs at the RoA saddle, doing Wilson Pk, then descending into Navajo; seemed by far the best way to go about it. That last bit may not be advised, as my friend's pack still got attacked by those pesky marmots even after taking all the food outTravelingMatt wrote:Been discussed before, but I think the best way with a single overnight is:
Day 1: Pack into Navajo Lake via Navajo Basin, drop packs, summit Wilson Peak, return to camp.
Day 2: Do El D via North Buttress, traverse to Mt. Wilson, return to camp, pack out.
This is the opposite way most people do the traverse, but I'd rather go up North Buttress and down the standard route on MW than the reverse. And yes, the Navajo approach is quite scenic while the RoA stands out as singularly ugly among 14er approaches.
If you're packing in in the afternoon and camping two nights, I'd switch the climbs, doing ED/MW on Day 2 and WP on Day 3.
If you can't find a spot near the lake there are flat spots above it, starting near the turnoff for the North Buttress route.
"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason."
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Mah peaks
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Mah peaks
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MountainMedic
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Re: Advice On the Wilson Group
All three in a day is really hard, but fun and doable. Shuttle the cars the night before (leave one at RoA) and start at Kilpacker the next morning. El Diente, traverse, Mt Wilson, into Navajo, up Wilson Peak, and out RoA. 18 miles and just shy of 6,000 vert. Took me 15 hrs and I nearly died once. That is some loose s**t on Mt Wilson - make sure to stay right on the trail.
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Dancesatmoonrise
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Re: Advice On the Wilson Group
I liked the Kilpacker approach.
Usually a fiend for multiple peaks in a day, I chose to car-camp for this one. Pick a low-storm period if possible so you can be out in the afternoon without too much threat.
Day One:
Drive down to the WP TH, summit WP, then hike down and over to Mt. Wilson, back over ROA to the car, and drive around to the KP TH.
Day Two:
Ascend El D via the KP TH.
True, you don't get the traverse, or the N side of El D. Depends on your goals. If your goals are to summit the three peaks as efficiently as reasonably possible consistent with safety, this works well for a summer strategy.
Usually a fiend for multiple peaks in a day, I chose to car-camp for this one. Pick a low-storm period if possible so you can be out in the afternoon without too much threat.
Day One:
Drive down to the WP TH, summit WP, then hike down and over to Mt. Wilson, back over ROA to the car, and drive around to the KP TH.
Day Two:
Ascend El D via the KP TH.
True, you don't get the traverse, or the N side of El D. Depends on your goals. If your goals are to summit the three peaks as efficiently as reasonably possible consistent with safety, this works well for a summer strategy.
