Jul 17, 2019 — Thurston Peak appears to have three approaches. The shortest and least work requires a bumpy drive to Francis Peak, then a traverse along the ridgeline. The second takes a steep and direct trail up Thurston Peak's west ridge, but has apparently been mostly reclaimed by nature. The third option, this route, starts at Fernwood Recreation Site and follows Great Western Trail to the summit. It's the longest route, and boasts a fair amount of vertical gain. Seemed like a good time.
From the Fernwood Recreation Site parking area, I hopped onto the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, following it until the Great Western Trail, which climbs a steep ridge to the northwest of Thurston Peak. After lots of switchbacks and hints of views, I got to a stunning view of Thurston Peak, meadows and wildflowers in its foreground. The trail led to a small cirque (I think it's a cirque?), an unexpected rocky feature that added some flair to the trail. A short Class 2 section leads to the top of the cirque and then onward through more meadows. The trail disappears slightly, but it's clear enough where to go, and there's only some low grasses to contend with. The trail becomes obvious again and wraps around Thurston Peak's west ridge. I left the Great Western Trail and headed directly east on a social trail to the summit.
From Thurston Peak's summit, I intended to just return the way I came. However, the ridgeline to the north looked really enticing, and would bag a couple of unofficially named peaks: Layton Peak and North Layton Peak. I'm really happy I did this extra bit - the views along the ridge were my favorite of the day. There was one section of bouldery Class 2 toward the start of the traverse, but otherwise it was just a nice walk along a ridge. Layton Peak was just a bump, and then North Layton Peak marked the slope I'd walk down to rejoin the Great Western Trail. Unfortunately, this slope did require getting through some brushy nonsense, but it's not nearly annoying enough for me to not recommend doing the little ridge traverse.
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