Darton Peak

Darton Peak East ridge

Peak Name: Darton Peak
Elevation: 12,275
Round trip mileage: Approx 16 miles.

Darton Peak, located in the Bighorn Range of north central Wyoming, was named after Nelson Horatio Darton
(1865-1948) was a USGS geologist who did a lot of foundational
exploration in Wyoming and other Rocky Mountain states. He also spent a
lot of time in Washington, DC, and published several items on its
geology. Darton was a founding member of the Geological Society of Washington. The peak stands at 12,275 feet and is sandwiched between two other 12k peaks, Bighorn peak to the south, and peak Angeline to the north.

ACCESS: From the east take hwy 16 from Buffalo. A 15 minute drive will get you to FR20 which is Circle Park Rd. A good trunk road only a few miles long will take you to Circle Park trailhead.
              From the west take hwy 16 from Tensleep. FR20 is probably 45 minutes from Tensleep if you're moving pretty fast.

              This trail is called the Sherd Lake loop trail. It's in the Cloud Peak Wilderness area so please register at the trailhead and follow the wilderness guidelines on the back of the registration card.

Weather: Weather in the Bighorns is typical for the Northern Rockies. The best climbing season for people of all abilities is mid June to mid Sept, but please call Powder River ranger district for a conditions report before making the drive. Oct through June expect snowy conditions with ice/snow, extreme cold, and avalanche possibilities. Summer weather is pleasant but even in mid August nights can get down into the upper 20's and I've seen it snow in every calendar month. Thunderstorms form fast and are rather severe June-August. It's good practice to make sure you know your forecast and to plan on being off ridges by 1pm at the latest if at all possible.


 My friend Timothy had been wanting to climb an easier peak in the Bighorns for a while. While enjoying some phenomenally warm and dry weather in late September, we decided on a day trip on Darton Peak. I arrived at his house at 3:30am and we hopped onto I90 west for the 50 minute drive to Buffalo. The forecast for the day was 0% precip, windy, and full sunshine. Temps were forecast for the upper 40's for a high......awesome weather for the northern Rockies in late September! We arrived at the Circle park trailhead at 4:30, and after monkeying around with some gear we were on our way. Timothy doesnt climb often but stays in excellent shape, so we made good time at a moderate pace and arrived at rainy lake, which is 3-4 miles west on trail #46, around 5:30. From Rainy, the trail splits and you want to take the junction to the right which skirts the northern shore of Rainy. This trail is #87 and takes you toward Willow Lakes. After roughly 1.5miles, when the trail starts to descend from the ridge top, break left and start your off trail ascent of the east ridge of Darton. There are randomly scattered cairns that are not easily seen from a distance due to large numbers of deadfall, scrub pines, and krumholtz. From here it is 4 miles of boulder field hopping and almost 3k of elevation gain. There are a number of sub peaks and moraine walls that can be skirted around to the north side, but please be aware that the further west you go, the drainage to your north which flows from Darton to Willow lakes develops 500-1,000ft walls.....eventually after skirting some of these sub peaks you'll want to make your way back south more toward the ridge proper both for safety and for great views of Bighorn Peak and it's cirques. The east ridge of Darton is wide but it's a no brainer as it is clearly defined by glacier carved drainages on both sides. We decided to climb the sub peaks in order to scout the NE ridge for Bighorn, which I haven't done yet. When we popped over one of the crests we got met by the wind we had heard getting steadily stronger all morning. We could barely stand during some gusts.....I'd estimate it was kicking at 55-60mph. Timothy kept having to clean his sunglasses due to snot being whipped up onto them. At this point in the morning, the air temp was still 35-40 so the wind made it pretty brisk. We donned hats and continued up the ridge, stopping to take pics of future routes on Bighorn. The last vertical boulder field on Darton is comprised of massive boulders rising 400 ft to the summit. Some of these can be dislodged and we could have had some near fatalities had we not been spaced properly on the ascent. There are a few 4th class moves if you want them, but with patient navigating you can avoid climbing if you so wish. We hit the summit at around 11:30 and spent a couple of hours lounging in the sun on the huge summit blocks taking pics and eating lunch. Overall it was a great, uneventful day, and we arrived back at the truck by 3pm and drove to Buffalo for an early dinner. Timothy was hurting a bit on the way back due to not being used to day trips like these, but overall performed extremely well.

Images

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