Noooooooooooooooooooooooo. I tried that. REALLY LARGE boulders that are NOT firmly situated. Very dangerous and very time consuming. My son descended into Painters and walked to the other side of the boulders and beat us by 30 minutes. I'm thankful my daughter was not hurt as we "contoured" around the west side of the hump. Don't do this. Take the HIGH trail from Gunsight (the "new Trail" over the top) or descend into Painters and then up to Anderson from Painters Basin. This is a fine option and very safe and pretty.
Odd that you found the contour sketchy - I've done it as well as the descent and ascent into painter's basin and I found the contour much easier and faster.
I brought my Garmin on the approach to Dollar Lake/Henry's Fork Lake. At ~3 miles I did not see a sign for Alligator Lake, just a great spot to take a break by a stream. At ~5.3 I came to a stream crossing and the log bridge, however the trail sign said Bear Lake, not Elkhorn. From here it's ~2.8 miles to Dollar Lake, although there is a sign that says no camp fires with 1000ft of Dollar Lake, the actual lake is at about 1 mile from here. Continue and you will see a sign for Henry's Fork Lake...break trail and find some fantastic camping to the S/SW or right off the trail to the east. At the top of Gunsight Pass there are 2 very distinct sets of carins; one straight(south) or right(west). I went right and was pleased with the number of carins and the directness of the trail. It is definitely a scramble to the summit once you pass Anderson Pass.
Littlebeef2 - Sep 18, 2010 1:07 pm - Hasn't voted
Contour after GunsightNoooooooooooooooooooooooo. I tried that. REALLY LARGE boulders that are NOT firmly situated. Very dangerous and very time consuming. My son descended into Painters and walked to the other side of the boulders and beat us by 30 minutes. I'm thankful my daughter was not hurt as we "contoured" around the west side of the hump. Don't do this. Take the HIGH trail from Gunsight (the "new Trail" over the top) or descend into Painters and then up to Anderson from Painters Basin. This is a fine option and very safe and pretty.
dan_3lliott - Oct 29, 2020 5:47 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Contour after GunsightOdd that you found the contour sketchy - I've done it as well as the descent and ascent into painter's basin and I found the contour much easier and faster.
sunkissed4011 - Sep 25, 2014 12:37 pm - Hasn't voted
Trail Markers w/ mileageI brought my Garmin on the approach to Dollar Lake/Henry's Fork Lake. At ~3 miles I did not see a sign for Alligator Lake, just a great spot to take a break by a stream. At ~5.3 I came to a stream crossing and the log bridge, however the trail sign said Bear Lake, not Elkhorn. From here it's ~2.8 miles to Dollar Lake, although there is a sign that says no camp fires with 1000ft of Dollar Lake, the actual lake is at about 1 mile from here. Continue and you will see a sign for Henry's Fork Lake...break trail and find some fantastic camping to the S/SW or right off the trail to the east. At the top of Gunsight Pass there are 2 very distinct sets of carins; one straight(south) or right(west). I went right and was pleased with the number of carins and the directness of the trail. It is definitely a scramble to the summit once you pass Anderson Pass.