Cloud Peak: Boulder Fields, Glacier Views and a Dark Return

A first-light start from West Tensleep Lake became a 40.4 km, 15-hour day: easy lake trails, slow granite boulder fields, a clear summit above Cloud Peak Glacier, then wildlife and a careful return over the same log crossing after dark.

HikeUnited States | Bighorn Mountains

20 July 20266 min read

Cloud Peak Above the Talus

Cloud Peak's sunlit granite face above the upper talus, photographed on the descent.

Cloud Peak was on my list for more than its 4,014.4 m elevation. Peakbagger gives it 2,174 m of prominence and 233.39 km of isolation, making it both an Ultra-prominent peak and a 100-mile-isolation peak. It is the highest point of the Bighorn Mountains and the high point of both Big Horn and Johnson counties. Peakbagger also lists its prominence slightly above Gannett Peak's, so Cloud Peak is Wyoming's most prominent mountain even though it is not the state's highest.

Those statistics are neat. The practical version was a 40.4 km day with 1,250 m of ascent and 15:06 on my track. The standard western approach is not technically difficult in dry summer conditions, but the distance, altitude and upper boulder fields make the word "easy" fairly unhelpful.

First Light at West Tensleep

I had spent the night in the large parking area at West Tensleep Lake and started hiking with first light. The first kilometres were quiet and cool, with the sort of morning light that justified getting moving before the rest of my brain had fully joined the project.

A calm mountain lake bordered by dark conifer forest sits in soft early morning light. — West Tensleep Lake at Dawn
West Tensleep Lake at the start of a first-light departure.

A small clear stream winds through bright green meadow beside conifer forest. — Morning Stream Through the Meadow
A quiet stream and meadow minutes into the approach.

The day began beside West Tensleep Lake, then quickly moved into meadows, streams and forest.

About a kilometre from the parking area I reached a small river. It looked roughly knee-deep, and soaking my shoes this early with a very long day still ahead had little appeal. A little downstream I found two narrow logs across the water. They did not look especially reassuring, but they did look dry. I used them and crossed successfully.

Two narrow fallen logs span a fast mountain stream bordered by wet green meadow. — Log Crossing on the Approach
The improvised dry-foot option: two narrow logs across the stream.

The next roughly 12 km were comparatively gentle: gradual ascent, several lakes, a few deer and a few sleepy hikers walking down. The route never felt busy. Over the whole day I probably met only 20 or 30 people, surprisingly few considering the mountain's prominence and reputation.

The Forest Service's Misty Moon Trail forms the main trail approach from West Tensleep, passing Lake Helen, Lake Marion and Misty Moon Lake before the route towards Cloud Peak becomes much rougher.

Early sunlight reaches a forested mountain slope above an open meadow. — First Light Across the Bighorns
Early sunlight reaching the forested Bighorn slopes.

Low sun shines over a green meadow and winding mountain creek between dark forested slopes. — Sunrise Over a Mountain Creek
Low morning sun over a winding creek and meadow.

A deer stands on a rocky forest trail in warm morning sunlight. — Deer on the Morning Trail
One of several deer seen during the gentle morning approach.

Early sunlight, open meadows and the first wildlife made the long approach feel much more civilized than the upper mountain would later become.

Lakes Before the Hard Part

The gentle section continued through a sequence of remarkably still lakes. For a while the day was mostly reflections, forest and steady walking rather than mountain problem-solving.

A broad mountain lake reflects forest and layered rocky ridges under a clear morning sky. — Morning Lake in the Bighorns
A broad lake reflection along the long western approach.

Boulders, conifers and shoreline vegetation reflect in clear still lake water. — Rocky Shore and Lake Reflection
Rocks and conifers reflected in exceptionally still water.

Dark conifers and blue sky reflect in the smooth surface of a quiet mountain lake. — Forest Reflected in Morning Water
A mirror-calm lake among the forested lower slopes.

A calm mountain lake reflects forested slopes and distant ridges almost perfectly. — Mountain Reflections on a Still Lake
Morning reflections before the route turned steeper and rougher.

Several lakes broke up the long western approach, with almost no wind on the water that morning.

Higher up, the scenery became more open and the trail began to feel more alpine. After Misty Moon Lake I had to descend into a valley, perhaps around 100 m, before climbing again on a steeper section. A small waterfall came down on the right. I had seen a few tents near the lakes and another one around this waterfall, but otherwise the country felt lightly used.

A narrow trail follows the edge of a clear mountain lake below forested and rocky slopes. — Trail Beside a High Lake
The trail skirting one of the higher lakes on the approach.

A blue alpine lake lies beneath rounded rocky mountains with a trail beside the shore. — Alpine Lake on the Approach
Open alpine water and granite terrain higher on the route.

The forest gradually gave way to more open granite terrain and higher lakes.

A small waterfall drops through granite boulders beside green alpine vegetation. — Waterfall on the Upper Approach
A small waterfall beside the steeper section beyond Misty Moon Lake.

Where the Trail Gives Way to Boulders

From the valley onwards, the route became much less obvious. I would find the line, lose it, find it again, and repeatedly check GPS tracks from previous climbers. Slabs led into grassy slope sections, then boulder fields, then more boulder fields. Progress slowed far more than I had expected. Roughly 6 km here took something like three to four hours.

The terrain has a geological explanation, even if that was not much consolation while crossing it. USGS descriptions of the high Bighorns emphasize their old Precambrian granite and gneiss and the strong imprint of Pleistocene glaciation, which carved the cirques and high basins. On foot, the simplified version was granite, granite and more granite.

A rocky alpine basin is covered in large granite boulders below broad mountain slopes. — Boulder Fields on the Upper Route
The upper route crossing broken granite and boulder fields.

A long rugged granite cirque with steep walls and patches of snow fills the high mountain view. — Rugged Cirque of the High Bighorns
A rugged high cirque showing the sharper side of the Bighorns.

The upper route exchanged the maintained trail for broad boulder fields and a much rougher high-alpine landscape.

A small dark blue alpine tarn sits among pale granite far below the upper slope. — Alpine Tarn Below the Summit
A small alpine tarn seen from the higher slopes.

Small blue lakes and a green valley are seen far below a steep rocky mountainside. — Lakes Far Below the Ridge
Looking back down over the lakes and valley gained earlier in the day.

Gaining height made the morning's lakes look increasingly small and distant.

Once I reached the ridge, things became more pleasant again. There were still a few exposed steps, but generally the ridge was straightforward compared with the slow boulder terrain below.

A broad rocky ridge and distant high terrain stretch away under scattered clouds. — Upper Ridge of Cloud Peak
The final ridge was more straightforward, though a few steps remained exposed.

Summit, Glacier, Apple

The summit itself had a substantial cairn and a register box. The weather had stayed unusually warm, around 30°C by my memory, and the summit was completely free of cloud. The reward was a clear panorama across the Bighorns and a direct view into the cirque containing the remains of Cloud Peak Glacier.

A large stone cairn stands on the broad rocky summit of Cloud Peak beneath a clear blue sky. — Cloud Peak Summit Cairn
The summit cairn and register area on Cloud Peak.

Dark glacier ice, snow and a turquoise lake are seen from high above the Cloud Peak cirque. — Cloud Peak Glacier from Above
Looking down at the remaining ice of Cloud Peak Glacier.

Several deep blue alpine lakes and lingering snow are visible far below steep summit cliffs. — Blue Lakes Below the Summit
Deep blue lakes and lingering snow below the summit cliffs.

From the summit area, the glacier, lingering snow and intensely blue lakes gave the northeastern side of Cloud Peak a much sharper character than the broad western approach.

Steep broken granite cliffs and towers drop away below the Cloud Peak summit area. — Cliffs Below the Summit
Broken granite cliffs and towers dropping away from the Cloud Peak summit area.

Angular granite blocks and high ridges fill the view near the summit of Cloud Peak. — Broken Granite on the Summit Ridge
Angular granite blocks, high ridges and distant Bighorn terrain near the summit.

The summit area is a world of broken granite cliffs, towers and long ridges rather than the gentle-looking mountain suggested from far away.

My summit stop was practical rather than ceremonial: a few minutes, one apple, then I turned around. There was still a very long way back.

The Long Way Back

Descending was much faster. The boulders still demanded attention, but at least the overall direction now worked in my favour. By the time I was back among the greener basins and lakes, the day had shifted from summit effort to the simple arithmetic of getting back before I ran out of daylight.

A green alpine basin with meandering water and a small lake lies below rocky slopes. — Green Basin on the Descent
Green upper basin on the faster descent.

A blue alpine lake lies below sunlit rocky ridges in evening light. — Evening Light on an Alpine Lake
Evening light on one of the alpine lakes during the long return towards West Tensleep.

The return dropped back through green basins and lakes as the light became noticeably later in the day.

I also saw more animals on the way down. A marmot sat beside the trail, then I spotted a moose feeding on the far side of a stream. Later a squirrel watched from the trees. The moose was easily the largest animal of the day, although by then almost anything that stood still for a photograph was welcome.

A brown marmot sits beside a rocky forest trail. — Marmot Beside the Trail
A marmot paused beside the trail during the descent.

A moose feeds in bright green vegetation across a quiet stream. — Moose Across the Stream
A moose feeding across the stream, the largest animal I saw that day.

A squirrel peeks from behind a tree trunk in dense green forest. — Squirrel in the Evening Forest
A squirrel watching from the trees late in the return.

The descent added a marmot, a moose and a squirrel to the day's wildlife sightings.

When I finally returned to the little river crossing, it was already dark. The two logs had seemed only mildly questionable in the morning; darkness did nothing to improve their engineering. I crossed carefully, reached the car in the dark, rested briefly and then drove to Worland, where we spent the night.

Cloud Peak ended up being a good example of how misleading the phrase "non-technical" can be. There was no serious climbing problem on my route in those dry conditions, but 40.4 km, 1,250 m of ascent, a summit above 4,000 m and hours of slow granite made it a severe endurance day. I had come for the prominence and isolation. What I remember just as clearly is first light, endless boulders, one apple on the summit and the same two narrow logs waiting in the dark.