AlpineLakesAficionado

Mt Margaret East Peak 5206'

2026-10-18T08:52:56.170-07:00

With an absoulutely stunning fall October day I wanted to take advantage. I had tried to do MMEP a couple of weeks ago and was stymied by the area stil being closed due to the Three Queens Fire. Thankfully the closure has been lifted and I was able to use FR 4832 from exit 54 off I-90. The road was in great shape and I was able to make the spur road that leads to Swan Lake without issue. I have much trepidation about driving suspect logging roads, I don't feel very proficient backing out for any meaningful length. Since the approach is short I decided to just park near the junction and walk the road to my jump off point. In hindsight the road was passable albeit a bit rough but there are plenty of spots to be able to turn around. I made my way up the road enjoying the warm sun. This approach is also used for Ugly Duckling which is included in the Home Court 100. Once reaching the road junction at 4400' I headed left for a short ways until the road ends. I was able to pick up a climbers trail that heads up to a very nice campsite on a subtle saddle. The trail from the campsite is faint and steeper than expected but does become more defined the higher up you go. It was a little bit of struggle since I am still being hobbled by Achilles issue but I was able to press on and make the summit without much bother. The views of HI-Box and Three Queens are quite stunning. I could also see remnants of the Three Queens fire. I didn't linger long before I retraced my steps to the car. Just a marvelous day to be out. 6 Miles 1854' of climb 2:26 E!

Big Creek Lookout 5368', Blow Past Peak 5487', Blowout Ridge

2026-09-22T14:32:13.936-07:00

I had done this trail once before on my way to Blowout Mt in some heavy snow showers some years ago. As is it being with most trips I don't remember much of it. I do remember having much trepidation with the condition of many of the bridges on the road that hopscotches Log Creek. I think I may have used a smaller spur road of the main Forest Road #41. For today I just stayed on #4110 until I reached the road that accesses Blowout TR 1318. Some of the bridges were indeed suspect but I was emboldened by the obvious recent traffic that was evident. I parked at the multi junction, for some reason it never entered my mind to try driving the spur road to the trailhead. I instead of walked the 2.5 miles of drivable road to the trail. I did chastise myself a bit realizing I would also have to walk that stretch of road back to the car. Undaunted I made quick time to the trailhead, with the near ideal weather. The trail itself is typical of the areas multi use trails. Stretches of motorcycle chewed up tread with nice, forested stretches. After passing both objectives the trail drops to a small pass as it moves towards Blowout Mt. and then does a rising traverse to reach a trail junction where I headed down into the basin to reach Blowout Ridge. The trail was in good shape and even surprisingly passed quite a bit of moving water albeit moving very slowly. Once I crested to the South side of the ridge, I left the trail to reach the ridgeline. I was still 1/2 mile from the highpoint but the dogs lost their steam, so I decide to give them a break in the shade. I contemplated continuing on the trail hoping it connected with the road I was parked on. I thought it would be actually shorter than retracing my steps. That portion was off the map I had printed so I thought it best to relent and head back the way I had come. I wasn't too enthused with having to do two more climbs before starting the descent proper. Thankfully all the climbs are relatively short. The final descent of the trail was tedious with all the larger loose rocks but thankfully it is also short. 10.5 Miles 3130' of climb 4:35

Scout Patrol Peak 4627'

2026-09-05T14:21:32.988-07:00

It has been a while since I posted anything mostly because I haven't been doing anything to inspire any awe in anyone. But today's escapade is a good reason for me to start again. Over the years I have done so many trips that I don't remember many details of the majority of my outings. To be fair I hadn't intended on doing Scout Patrol today so I wouldn't have read my report on my previous climb. If I had, it would have taken some of the anxiety of the day out of the equation. The goal for today was to do Songbird Peak, South of I-90 utilizing using the climber's trail that leaves the Iron Horse Trail near Olallie State Park but as things usually go I found the road closed preventing my access, although I could have got off at exit 42 and backtracked but I wasn't interested in doing that. I debated on what to do instead and settled on Humpback via the steep but easy to follow climbers trail. I parked off the gated spur on Hansen Creek Road. I walked the mining access road until I reached the climber's trail. I have been nursing some chronic Achilles pain on my left heel so I was curious to see how it would respond to the steep climb. The Achilles was up to it but my weak-minded resolve was not. After 700' of climb I just couldn't make myself continue. I backtracked to the car and opted for Plan C. I drove to the gated end of the Hasen Creek road and parked in the spacious parking area. I walked the road until the first junction where I turned on to a spur road and walked to its end just below Scout Patrol's summit. The 600' of climb to the summit was straightforward and went quickly. The only thing I remember from my previous trip was that I had injured myself on this portion and it involved quite a bit of blood. Not wanting to have a repeat I did take extra care. I didn't linger on the summit and continued on a faint path leading to what I had hoped would be a logging road beneath me. I was off a bit on my line and soon found myself in a steep and extremely brushy slope. Realizing my error, I tried to do a rising traverse to get myself back on track. The brush was so thick that I had to unleash both dogs and soon I wasn't able to locate one of my pups. I couldn't see more than a few feet, and I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with my situation. I called to my older dog to find his sister, and he obeyed and herded her to an area much more hospitable. I reunited with my pets and firmly released both of them. Evidently my dog is a better route finder that myself because he put us on a brushless ramp that put us back on the logging road in short order. Feeling much better about things I walked the road feeling very relieved. I soon reached a gate and then realized the road I was on is in the forbidden watershed area so maybe not repeating this route would be best. With about a mile to go it began raining enough for me to put on my raingear and soon was followed by numerous thunderclaps. I ran the last mile not wanting to get caught in the middle of a thundershower. Much to my relief I made it to the car and back on the freeway before the heavens unloaded. Looking back to Scout Patrol from the freeway was 50 shades of black as the area was getting hit quite hard. When I returned home and read my previous trip report and realized that I headed the other way on the road as I had done on my previous trip I would have been rewarded with a much shorter easy to follow path to Hansen Creek Road. Anyhow it is good to be back posting, Humpback 2.6 miles 755' of climb 1:14 Scout Patrol 6.81 miles 1407' of climb 2:43 and I am looking forward to doing may more. Regards E

Change Peak, Mt Washington

2019-03-29T10:52:00.000-07:00

In an effort to re-establish my fitness level I headed up last week to do Mt. Washington. Originally I had hoped to do Change Peak but when I reached my jump off point I wasn't too enthused with the snow conditions so I opted to stay on the beaten path to the Mt Washington summit. There was continuous snow from the parking lot to the summit and there were many postholes to be had. I did switch to snowshoes to give me more consistent footing about 2/3 of the way up.

This week I had much more resolve buoyed by my better than expected legs from the previous week. I was simply amazed that the snow had receded so much in one week without really warm weather. I did not hit continuous snow until 2800'. Shortly after reaching snow I was at the junction with The Great Wall Trail at around 2950'. There where a few sets of boot prints to follow making it snowshoes unnecessary. I passed what I am guessing is the Great Wall, which was a bit underwhelming. A short ways passed the wall I was on my own breaking trail. The snow was consistent so I stayed with booting it. Once I joined the main road I switched to snowshoes. I had planed on heading left(east) but I looking at the map I wasn't crazy about the long road walk to the east. I instead decided to head up the north ridge which looked reasonable. I was happy to find an old snowshoe track heading my way. The grade isn't overly steep but is choked with many small trees but overall it is mostly pleasant. I quickly reached the non descript summit. Not wanting to descend via my ascent route I headed down the south ridge to reach the road on the eastern side of the ridge. I had a hard time coaxing the new pup down a short talus field. I found it very interesting that dogs do not have an innate sense of what to do with rock slides and there is a learning curve for them. After some extra coaxing I was able to get the pub to rejoin me. I was now on easy terrain for the road walk to Mt. Washington's summit. I did have some trepidation due to some thundershowers nearby and gave some serious thought to dropping west off the ridge to regain the trail below. In the end my fears were unwarranted and I had no problem reaching the summit. All was left was the tedious descent to the car that was highlighted with a fall, which resulted in a sprain left wrist despite falling on my right side. All in all it was a very enjoyable day.

Approx 10 miles 3600' of climb 5:30 car to car

Solo snowshoe with solo snowshoe Monahan 3775’

2019-01-25T10:46:00.003-08:00

With the new dog I have been longing to get out and do some climbing . I thought Monahan’ west ridge would be a good test for the young pups legs and not be overly taxing for his now aged brother. I parked just past Monahan road where there was enough space to keep me mostly off the road. I backtracked on the road and used the power line access road to reach the forested slopes above. The snow was highly variable but improved once I was in the forest . The grade isn’t overly steep but there are enough bumps along the ridge to make navigating interesting . I ended up getting sucked too far south and had to traverse an unpleasant clear cut. Once back on the ridge the going once again was straightforward .

The last bit there was a very steep 75’ portion that I was unable to coax the dogs up. Not wanting to downclimb and the reclimb the portion with each dog I decided since I had already climbed Monahan I was good to head back . On the downclimb of a steeper portion my snowshoe submarined and wedged under a rock, luckily I was able to spin out of the tension on my leg avoiding injury . It took some time to figure out how to get my self righted , once free I was dismayed to see I had broken the hinge on my snowshoe . I managed to make it a short ways before it came completely apart . I was forced to do more than half the descent with only one snowshoe . I managed to make decent time with only a sore left leg from constantly having to push up from my postholing right leg . Really good to get out again

Roaring Ridge 4988' 5.30.18

2018-05-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

With my Wife working more I had both daughter's for the day, thankfully my Wife had prepped my oldest who isn't the fondest of hiking that that was on the agenda for this day. Of course the youngest can't get enough, so now the only thing to do was to decide what to do. I wanted something low key but with a some effort needed to achieve the goal. Despite the fact I had already done Roaring Ridge I thought it would be a perfect goal for this day. While I knew I had done this one I couldn't even remember what route I had taken. For this day I decided to try to keep the approach on logging roads since I had no idea of the snow conditions. This made for easier going but did add substantially more mileage. We parked right at the major intersection just before reaching Lost Lake. I was a bit dismayed by my oldest daughter's shoe choice, certainly adequate for a road walk but not stellar for snow travel. Well nothing to do about it now, so we suited up and headed up under light breezes, filtered sun and NO bugs. At the next intersection we took a left onto the road that climbs above Lost Lake. It is certainly driveable for the first mile until a big snow patch blocks the way for most rigs. The grade isn't very steep so the elevation doesn't pile up too quickly. We reached consistent snow at 4200' and I left the road cutting the last switchback saving some mileage.

For the most part the snow was well consolidated as I weaved through the smaller trees. As I suspected my oldest had a hard time getting any consistent traction. so I kicked bucket steps to make it easier for her. The snow in the shade was quite firm which necessitated me kicking four or five times to ensure her safe passage. Once crossing the road the pitch increased but a fun time was had by all as we weaved our way to the summit. I was immensely pleased that everyone was in good spirits when we topped out. I did have some trepidation for the descent but my oldest had the most fun sliding down on her butt on some of the steeper portions. I was somewhat relieved to return to the road for the long walk out. A really meaningful way to spend the day with my girls.

7 miles 1800 ' of climb 3:45 car to car

W Tiger 3, W Tiger 2, W Tiger via Cable Line

2018-01-17T22:19:00.000-08:00

Kendyl and I headed up the Cable Line Trail today with some pleasant weather. I had heard the Cable Line's reputation of being a tough climb, but neither I or Kendyl felt it overly hard. It was however a bit muddy so I decided on the way up we would descend via the well graded trail that exits at Tradition Lake. We made West Tiger 3 in around 90 minutes and discussed briefly whether or not to continue on. Of course Kendyl was game so we made the short ways to West Tiger 2. Knocking that one off easily I suggested we continue on the West Tiger proper which was met with enthusiasm. We made the summit 2:20 from the car and didn't linger for too long. I chuckled as we made our way up the last bit of the return to West Tiger 3 when I prodded Kendyl to run up the last switchbacks and not let me catch her. We did our best to laugh at the summit despite both being winded.

We enjoyed a nice leisurely descent on the much longer trail. I was pleased that we were able to tuck in all three peaks. I didn't realize that we had a bit of walk from the High Point parking lot to the car parked outside the gate, but we managed back to the car for a round trip of 4:15 covering 8.2 miles and 3200' feet of climb. It was a bit breezy but we managed to make it home before the rain began.

Mt Washington with Kendyl 1/10

2018-01-10T22:38:00.001-08:00

With a deluge forecasted for tomorrow I thought it best to head out today. This proved to be a good choice because we were treated with light snow showers for the balance of the day without any rain. Since my 10 year old daughter has become my new climbing partner I was excited for the company. We decided to give Mt. Washington a shot, while I have been to the summit numerous time I felt a good test on my little one's legs. Last week we had stopped to get her suitable winter garb and I was able to find a complete outfit for $18 which if anything was too burly for this day. I also had the good fortune of having my brother send me a set of brand new gaiters for both her and myself. Thankfully the gaiters my brother sent for me were the exact replacement for my worn out pair. I did have to spend considerable time trying to figure out my daughter's setup. In the end they were perfect.

We hit the trail around 10 giving us ample time to achieve our objective. I smiled as two groups suited up at the same time. Two ladies, one who had a toddler strapped to her back and a group of three with a high energy puppy tagging along. From the onset I had dead legs and I got a strong sense so did my daughter. The trail was wet but we didn't hit snow until around 2500ft and then it was still spotty. The snow was much more continuous above 3600'. The path was well worn so the snowshoes stayed snugly secured to my pack for the entire day. We stopped for a quick lunch around 3000' and I assumed that we would turn back. But as has been consistently the case my youngest wasn't having that. We plodded on. I figured we would could at least reach the pond giving something interesting to finish with. Again that wasn't nearly enough for her and she wanted more. We kept chugging along finally meeting up with the party of three and their hyper puppy on their descent. They were quick to point out that we only had a short ways to go. I had already decided that we were to close to quit but this buoyed my daughter. A few hundred feet below the summit the trail traverse through an area with a shocking lack of snow. There was only a slight dusting of extremely slippery snow. This portion gave my some grief. Soon we reached the end of the packed trail. No one had actually gone to the summit they all had stopped short. Knowing the weather station and the summit were still to be had I blazed our way to the summit proper. We are both sunflower seed maniacs and we enjoyed trying to get the Camp Robbers to eat from our hands. I have many fond memories of youth feeding the birds during the winter and it was neat to share that with my own daughter. In the end we weren't able to coax any to eat out of our hands but it was apparent to both of us that they were thinking about it.

The decent went without a hitch although the lower rocky portions with minimal snow cover are exceedingly annoying. By the end we were both very happy to make it back to the car. Truth be told I was rather spent by the time I got home. Again my daughter surprised me when she tagged along to her 2 year older sisters basketball practice and participated exceedingly well in the 90 minute practice..... oh to have young legs.

Approx 10 miles 3400 ft of climb 5:30 car to car

Dirty Harry's Peak 12.13.17

2017-12-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to maintain a weekly schedule of hiking with my youngest last week we headed out to do Mt. Washington. Unfortunately for both of us I had lent my parking pass out to a friend and although it was returned it didn't make it back into my car. Not wanting to risk a hefty ticket I struggled to find another option. I had been up Dirty Harry's Peak a few time many years ago and since it was close I thought we would give it a go. We drove up and down the road to the fire training facility without being able to find the correct jump off point. On the way in we there was a single hiker coming down the road looking as lost as we were. Finally I found the correct spot to start our adventure but it wasn't nearly what I remembered. From the onset I new I was in the right spot but the road had been reclaimed making for exceedingly tedious travel. My little one quite enjoyed the higher order gymnastics involved on making any progress. Thinking surely this mess couldn't be long lived we continued on. I decided to detour from the unpleasant former road travel to the relative easy going in the forest. After some time I realized the reclaimed road wasn't going to morph into any easy route to the summit so we decided to head back to the car. After doing some research I realized there is a new trail being built to circumnavigate the tangled mess of the former route.

Originally I had hoped for a route up Mt Washington since I now had my pass, but the sun was shining intently on the East side of I-90 making it for an appealing alternative. I found the new trailhead without issue and we parked and layered up since there was a biting wind. The trail shortens the distance to the bridge crossing the South Fork of the Snoqualmie considerably over walking the road. I was unclear where to look for the start of the new trail but immediately after crossing the bridge I spied a trail and we headed dove into the unknown. The trail is still being constructed but is easy to follow as it meanders up the slope hitting a couple of nice view points which we briefly took in. Around the 3 mile mark the trail reaches the old road be that I remember from previous trips, thankfully this portion of the road hasn't been reclaimed making for steady elevation gain. Once reaching the route I didn't have any aspirations of reaching the summit since the route was considerably longer in both time and mileage than what I had expected. Surely my 10 year old daughter wouldn't have the legs for the completion of this one. Since the there was a serious inversion in temperature, I couldn't imagine not taking advantage of the Spring like temperatures so after a hasty lunch we pressed on. Around 4200' we hit consistent snow which was a new experience for my daughter so I spent some time to pass on some wisdom that I have acquired over the years. I now knew that we were too close to turn around and after over 4 hours we were able to reach the summit for a short lived break.

The down climb was a bit tedious for my little one but I was very proud to see her patience and grit making our way to the lower slopes. Thankfully the descent went quicker than expected coupled with some robust conversations made time fly by. Thankfully we outran the setting sun and found ourselves with plenty of time to make the rest of our evenings obligations.

Approx 11 miles 3500ft of climb and 6.5 hours car to car. and one immensely proud dad

Bandera Mt. Kendyl's First Homecourt 100 Peak

2017-10-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

My work life has changed considerably in the last 6 months and routine hasn't been anywhere to be found. I took a new position that involves considerably more hours but this is offset with the routine that I have been missing. For some time I have wanted to get back to more regular treks into the mountains but golf kept winning out. One of my coworkers has been talking to be about some of his trips and inspired me to give some more thought to heading out more often. While both my daughters accompany me in the summer my oldest doesn't hold much enthusiasm for our trips. Thankfully my youngest has shown a much stronger draw. A couple of weeks ago we did a very wet hike and I was amazed that despite getting soaked she wouldn't consider turning back, in fact she lobbied me to add some miles. With me having to drop my oldest off at school in Preston and my youngest free, a plan was hatched to pound out some miles. After tanking up with a few supplies we are on our way. I really wasn't even sure where I wanted to go. The weather was quite pleasant except the blinding sun that we were forced to drive towards, that didn't last for long.

I decided that we could give Bandera a go, while I had been there eons ago I thought it would be a worthy test of my 10 year olds legs, and my suffering fitness level. Right on cue as we set off the rain arrived, I still in awe on how fast the weather changed. The trail was in good shape, around the 3 mile mark I suggested we should turn back because we weren't ideally equipped to handle the growing rain and wind. My daughter pleaded that we go at least another half mile in order for her to make it a 7 mile round trip making it her longest trip to date. While part of me thought it might turn out to be a poor idea, I relented. Soon we found ourselves at the junction with the climber's trail. As we headed up the steepish and rocky trail the wind and rain began building. My daughter was now fixated on the summit and despite the poor weather there was no stopping her now. Her good spirits remained intact until we reached a few false summit and the disappointment started to take there toll. Like a trooper she stuck it out to top out. As a father I have been blessed with many opportunities to be proud of both my girls but this was one of the more special times. I was thankful to see such determination to achieve a goal knowing this will suit her in future endeavors. As we headed down warm from the achievement , the weather did its best to douse that flame. It was quite miserable as we made our way back to the trail proper. My daughter fought valiantly against the demons of the brewing bad attitude, keeping at bay long enough for us to reach the lower slopes were the wind thankfully abated. As we made our way down the weather seemed to warm as did my little ones attitude. I was thankful to enjoy the final 3 miles with some great conversation and laughs.

Approx. 7.5 miles 3000ft of climb 4:20 car to car

Not Quite Sleeepover Peak, Oversleep 4980'

2016-11-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

I was feeling a bit under the weather and certainly very sluggish so I wasn't looking for anything overly taxing. I had a few ideas when I left the house because I wasn't sure what the weather and the conditions of the logging roads might be. I wasn't sure how low the snow level had fallen in the Southern Cascades so I was not overly optimistic if I would be able to drive all the way to Tacoma Pass. But the road was free from any snow which was quite a surprise for me. Also the weather was mostly benign. It was chilly so I layered up and headed the opposite direction on the PCT as I did last week. The PCT meanders up the slope without much purpose which on this day fit my mindset.

After a few meandering switchbacks I reached a campsite with a sign pointing to a trail leading to water. On the way out I explored finding the water source further away than expected. Must be a nice oasis during the dry months where finding water might be problematic. Soon I started the long nearly level traverse towards my objective of Sleepover Peak 4880'. This is also where I hit snow, albeit just a dusting. I had hoped to leave the trail just south of 4566' and reach the logging road and follow the road to my higher intended target just to the SW. I found a good spot to leave the trail finding good footing.

I wasn't expecting too much cross country travel because the trail and the road are close together. I weaved my way up the slope making easy work of the elevation gain. Soon I reached an old road bed choked by many small trees, after trying a few different directions I realized that this might not be the best way to reach my objective, so I instead retreated to the PCT hoping to find a more pleasant option. I continued on for about a half mile where I spied a more pleasing road option above me, but to access this was rather short but a little too steep for my sluggish legs. I chose instead to continue on the PCT to see if I could outflank the ridge and try to find a more pleasing line of ascent. Soon I came out on a road junction with roads going in numerous direction. I was now off my printed map and while I knew the road that headed NW was my best bet, I didn't like the fact that it headed steeply downhill. The road heading SW not only headed steeply uphill but had recently been driven on giving me some curiosity where they might have been heading. The road continues for some ways before I reached a flat area, I decided to press on to see if I could find any higher areas. Soon I was under a knob that was clearly higher than any surrounding features, checking my altimeter it was also substantially higher than Sleepover Peak. I left the road and followed a good climber's trail to the summit. The point is 4980' is listed on the List of John as unranked point and is the Northern terminus of Blowout Mt's North Ridge. It does lack a few hundred feet of prominence to be considered a true summit but I felt like it still was a worthy objective. Since it was higher than Sleepover Peak I dubbed it Oversleep Peak.

Instead of retracing my steps down the climber's trail I followed the road back to my waiting footprints below. The trip out was very pleasant with a soft cushion of snow beneath my feet. When I returned to the car there were two Forest Service employees just suiting up. After exchanging pleasantries I inquired on what they were doing. Evidently they are setting up a wolverine station to try and determine if there are any in the area. I relayed that many years ago I had seen a wolverine near Hawkin's Mountain. The workers told me that there are actually 4 adults living in that general area. I found the whole conversation fascinating. With my goal being unmet I still made the most of a very enjoyable day.

Approx 8.5 miles 2200' of clime 3:45 car to car

Blanket Mountain and Bearpaw Butte 11/15/16

2016-11-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

With plenty of peaks still to do South of I-90, I headed back to knock a few more of my list. I headed towards Stampede Pass and headed South on #41. I stayed on this until the signed junction heading towards Tacoma Pass and the PCT junction. Upon reaching the pass I turned around and parked. The weather was breezy and wet so I layered up. The plan was to take the PCT North and see if I could make it over Blanket which the PCT basically goes overtop of and continue on to Bearpaw Butte and if things went well head further to Snowshoe Butte.

The PCT was in great shape as I made my way up and over Blanket. I expected the weather to degrade into some snow showers which never materialized with any consistency. Soon I found myself at a saddle just East of Bearpaw. I drove into the wet brush finding it slippery and bit steeper than I was expecting. There were a few short lived breaks in the small closely spaced trees, but nothing lasting for more than a few feet. I thought that I couldn't get to much wetter so I continued on. There weren't any land features that could be seen because of the cloudy weather and the ridge is fairly broad giving me concern on becoming off line on the descent. Soon I found myself on the summit since there wasn't any views I didn't linger. Initially I was able to stay on line but as I feared there were no landmarks to keep me online. I got sucked to my right (north) and ended up being woefully offline. I hadn't looked at my map so I was unclear what elevation the saddle I had left from was. The downhill portion was much more slippery that going uphill and it was a major endeavor to remain upright. I started to feel a bit panicky because I was concerned I had dropped below my saddle elevation. I thankfully popped out on an old logging road on the North side, and followed that back to my jump off point. Feeling quite relieved I continued on the PCT towards Snowshoe Butte.

I was a bit whipped from the decent and wasn't really intending on continuing all the was to Snowshoe. Once I realized that there was a good road leading to the saddle I decided that it would be a fun Spring snowshoe to the Butte. I decided to head back, making my way quickly back to the car.

While I was a bit unnerved on my descent I was happy that I was able to keep a level head, and while I would have eventually found my was back to the saddle had I not run into the road. Running into the road did save some serious stress, making me want to take better care to mark a GPS waypoint in conditions when sightlines are non existent.

Approx 7 miles 2500' of climb 3:07 car to car

Map and a few pictures Here:

Daily Double, Poo Poo and Cabin Mt. 4980'

2016-11-09T13:11:00.002-08:00

With the fine forecasted weather I thought I would head out and knock off a few more peaks. I was surprised when my wife asked if I would like to accompany her up Poo Poo. I was excited to spend some extra time with my wife so we met at the trailhead so that I could leave for another peak upon our return. I had a very enjoyable time sharing one of my passions with my wife. It was good to have some uninterrupted time with her. The weather was very unseasonably warm and the views were well worth the effort. In order for my wife to make it on time to her next objective we had to hightail it to the car. Feeling very thankful we said our goodbyes.

The next goal was for a summit of Cabin Mt, just SW of Easton. Last week I explored some upper logging roads that would put me in the vicinity, but I was not enthused with the wet weather so decided to forego the cross country portion. This week I decided to instead drive further and drop all the way to the valley floor to access some logging roads on the Southern slopes. It seemed funny to me to drop the elevation in the car to only reclimb it on foot. But for me the most important part is to get some exercise. I could have driven the road further but I instead parked at the bottom. I couldn't believe how warm it was, although it was much cooler than my climb of Poo Poo earlier in the day. The road was in mostly good shape as I easily swtichbacked my way up the slope. There was an interesting rocky sub summit that I had been on the north side of on the previous week. Very quickly I found myself near the end of the logging road. I decided on leaving the road before it's end. The crux of this trip was getting from the road to the slopes above both on the ascent and descent. Once this annoyance was passed the going was somewhat steep but straightforward. It was only around 200' of climb to reach the ridgeline. There is a rocky knob and a great viewpoint looking back towards Snoqualmie Pass. The ridge continues East with a slightly higher point that was annoying to get to. The ridge proper is choked by small stunted trees so I stayed more on the Northern side to find easier going. All in All, unless you are intent on tagging the very highest point I wouldn't continue from the viewpoint. I easily made it back to portion where I had to rejoin the road. I cautiously picked the short drop to the road without any issues. The return to the car went exceedingly quick.

Just a really great day to be out!

Approx 10.5 miles total 4 hours 3800' of climb

Cabin Mt. Wanderings

2016-11-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

With the predicted unsettled weather I wanted something low key and stretch the legs a bit. I accessed my route via Stampede pass before heading south on #41. The road had stretches of potholes but mostly it was clear sailing through the sputtering rain. Just before the road heads down to Cabin Creek there is an intersection, I headed left and then took the right branch. Even though the road was in great shape I turned around and parked on a wide spot in the road. I was surprised that there were more than a few rigs driving around the area. I wasn't expecting to see anyone. I suited off and headed up the road. The road has many ups and downs as it makes it way towards Cabin Mountain. After around 3 miles the road ends and there is an overgrown spur road that continues. I tried to reach the ridge by heading uphill, which was steep and slippery. I wasn't enthused with the idea of brush bashing in the rain so I decided instead to head back. I explored some of the spur roads to add to mileage. After returning to the car I headed drove further checking out some future trips. Although not much was accomplished on this day, it was very nice to get out again.

Goat Mt gate Thwart and Cole Butte West 5502'

2016-10-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to climb Goat Mt. via some logging roads branching off Road #41 just West of Easton. I found my spur road at around 3.6 miles from the end of the pavement. The weather was much better than expected so I left some layers in the pack. While I could have driven the road I chose instead to walk to make the most of the day. I soon arrived at the second junction where I was stonewalled by a stout gate with many no trespassing signs, making the situation worse was the barbed wire fence making going around the gate tedious. I certainly felt like this was someone serious about not wanting people on their land.

I backtracked and followed the road to the nice little pond and I spent some time exploring the area. I returned to the car but not wanting to go home empty handed I decided to drive further up #41 to see how the conditions were higher up. In the past I had climbed Cole Butte West 5502' via a spur road off of #41. I instead stayed on the main line heading steeply up. I was surprised with the quality of the road, since there is an active logging operation using this road it is great shape. I crested and the road started down hill so I parked. I decided to explore the road further on foot. I grew weary of walking the road and I decided to head in a more direct line to the roads above. The area is an old burn so the going is open and easy and the grade is pleasing. I popped back out on the road and could see a multitude of points within easy reach. I was very tough to determine which was the highest and since I didn't have a map I decided to keep climbing on the road hoping it would become obvious which was my new objective. Soon I reached the ridgeline and I followed a road heading West which looped around one of the highpoints. Guessing this was the proper bump I headed up along the ridge and found mostly easy going. A few blowdowns needed to be circumvented but I reached a point that seemed to be the highest but being unsure I continued on until I was satisfied that I reached the summit.

I returned via my ascent route when I reached the road I continued heading east and was dismayed to find the road ended and didn't reconnect with the road I needed. Undaunted I picked my way through the slash to reach the trees remaining on the ridge and followed that back to the proper road. For the descent I was tempted to head directly back to the car I could see directly below me but instead I decided to stay on the road the entire way. There is a gate blocking access to the upper portions of the road. Soon I found my way back to the car thankful for making something out of the day.

Silver Peak 10.18.16

2016-10-26T15:19:00.003-07:00

Headed up Silver Via the PCT. The road from Hyak was in good shape and snow free. The road is a bit rough right before the PCT junction. The rain was pounding as I layered up but thankfully abated as I made my way along the soggy PCT , many small creek crossings along the way . At about 1.8 miles there is a cairned climbers trail junction . The trail reaches the ridge in short order . I encountered snow at 4200' but the trail was mostly melted out. Soon I reached the rocky slopes where the grade steepens . There was enough snow to make it easier than without snow. The weather was calm until I reached the more open slopes were I was greeted with a stiff 25 mph wind with stinging sleet. The wind blown snow was much more annoying to walk on. thankfully the route returns to the wind sheltered side with much better footing . The last 300' was open and the wind was really howling. Since I had been atop Silver on a few previous visits I decided not to hang out in the howling wind for another 30 minutes. Some care was needed for the decent but I soon found myself back to the car.

6.5 miles 3:15 car to car 2000' of climb

Thorp and Hard Knox

2016-10-26T15:18:00.001-07:00

I have been slowly working my way back to peak bagging after taking quite a bit of time off to pursue other interests. While my new pursuit has been giving me much joy I still have been missing the call of obscure summits. I have been trying to strike a balance between the two. With today's less than stellar forecast I felt it best to lace up the boots and don the rain gear. Earlier in the year I had been to Thorp Lake with the kids and wasn't successful in convincing them to continue on the lookout above . I didn't want to repeat the route of my last visit so I chose instead to approach from the Easton side.

I used the Kachess Dam Road to access the myriad of logging roads above the lake. The road was in fairly good shape and it was quite fun putting the Allroad brought its paces. I reached the terminus of the road and suited up. It was in the upper 30's so i layered up. Not only had the expected rain not arrived the sun was breaking through the clouds. I did give some thought. Of reconfiguring my attire but instead decided to stay with my original choice. I followed a faint trail at the end of the road to access the ridge trail that I followed north towards The lookout site. There are more than a few ups and downs along the way but the tread is in good shape and easy to follow. I passes two ladies coming down to before topping out. The weather started to turn into sone wet snow showers . I didn't linger long before heading back. After reaching the base of Hard Knox on the way out I decided to go for the bonus summit. I used the easy SW slopes to make my was easily to the summit.

I was able to cut a bit of distance off on the way out by heading straight to the road joining just a bit downstream from where I parked. The bumpy ride out went very quickly I found myself in Easton joined by sone fairly heavy rain . It was very good to visit a couple of home court peaks I had already visited

Approx 6 miles 2500' of climb

Not So Sasse 4.11.14

2014-11-12T11:42:00.001-08:00

I had a stressful week highlighted by having to fix a car in the rain. Not having a garage sometimes is a problem. I didn't have a choice since the windows kept rolling themselves down randomly. Not wanting to have a wet interior and a car that seem possessed fix it I did. Since the weather was clear and crisp I thought I would head out and enjoy the sunshine. I went out to warm up the car and found some very Gusty East winds. After getting the kids together and heading out the door we were greeted with some very substantial limbs down in direct path to the car. It really shows that life can change in a matter of moments. I was so thankful that the events timed out the way they did it didn't even bother me when I found one of the branches had made direct contact with my hood leaving a sizeable dent. I dropped the kids at school and headed East.

The plan was to do Howson Peak above the Salmon La Sac Road. I have been up the trail that starts right across the first snowmobile parking area. The trail stats as an old road until reaching the creek crossing where it turns into a most pleasant trail. The trail switchbacks up the steepish grade. I hoped to continue on the ridge trail until going over Howson and then to continue West to meet with the NW tending ridge that leads back to the trail below closing the loop. I had been up the NW ridge on a previous trip so I new it would be an easy descent. After around 2000' of climb my Plantar fasciitis started flaring giving me some trepidation about going too much further. Soon I was nearly under Not So Sasse. from this vantage I could see how long the ridge traverse was going to be. Not wanting to but too much mileage on my gimpy foot I changed plans and started up to NSS summit. I had been there once before and I remembered the stunning views of Lemah/Chimney Rock along with many of the peaks to the North. The going is open and pleasant as I made my way up to the ridge above me. Once reaching the ridge I easily followed it East to the Summit where some views of Mt Stuart loomed over the rest of the area peaks. The wind started to get quite gusty taking a bite out of the suns warming rays. I feared the descent to be painful but for the most part it was manageable. Soon I found myself back at the car.

Approx 6 miles 3400' of climb 4 hours car to car

Crossover Butte 4506' 11.04.14

2014-11-04T19:55:00.001-08:00

I had hoped to head up to do this last week but life again had other ideas. I made it over the Snoqualmie only to find traffic at a standstill amidst the construction. As I patiently waited I heard some unpleasant sounds that I hoped weren't being emitted by my car. I was hoping that it was the truck behind me but when saw smoke coming from my engine bay I pulled over to survey the issue. Lucky for me I was in one of the few spots where there was actually room to pull over. I could see my fan belt was a molten mass of burning rubber but I the engine was idling fine. I was thankful hoping that my issue wouldn't be too serious. I was able to call my wife to come get me and she arrived at the same time as the tow truck. My AC compressor had seized which in my research didn't seem to be too expensive to fix. Too bad for me that anything Audi related is not cheap to fix.

Anyway with my car back in order I was off to finish what I had started the previous week. I also am contending with a stained plantar fasciitis coupled with the fact that I have to drop my oldest off at school and I wanted to be home to big her up since it was her birthday today. The plan was to do both Crossover Butte and Cabin Mt further East. I exited towards Stampede pass finding some rather large potholes on the lower portion of the road. I took a left at the first junction finding much better road conditions. Soon I was at the spur road I wanted. I drove a ways up the road in order to hide my car since I saw quite a few people already which surprised me. I found a nice spot to park a short ways up the road. The weather was much better than what I expected but I had all my rain gear on just in case. I walked the road for a short ways until it quit climbing and I turned into the very wet brush. I zig zagged up the slope trying to avoid the areas of densely packed trees. Soon I crested a small point and I continued on the summit ridge to the summit. Since there wasn't anything to see other than the inside of a cloud I headed down the road that leads to the summit. I gave up continuing when the rain and wind picked up considerably. I rejoined the mainline and headed back to my spur road. I was able to make it in plenty of time to pick up my daughter and have a memorable birthday evening.

Approx 3 miles 1:10 car to car 800' of climb

Scout Patrol Peak 4603' The Boomerang Route

2014-09-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well as it often goes in my life, things just don't work out the way I planned. I spent considerable amount of time getting my mountain bike back into shape after many years of non use. In addition I spent some extra time trying to reconfigure my car to allow for the bike to travel with me. Despite all this I made my way to the gated road off the North Fork of the Snoqualmie considerably earlier than expected. I was hoping to ride/push the bike to well past Calligan Lake and follow logging roads to just underneath Boomerang Peak. Here I would make the shortish climb to enable me to cross off another Homecourt 100 Peak. After getting everything in order I started off. Just as I passed the open gate I saw a truck heading back towards North Bend. The truck immediately turned around and followed after me. I stopped to hold the dog hoping the truck would continue passed me. Just my luck it was the head of security for Hancock and he wasn't too pleased with me. I had read all the signs and assumed that the road was only banned for motorized traffic but he was very quick to point out the first line was NO TRESPASSING. I have been up this road numerous times and I was always under the impression that was permissible . I tried my best to guilt him into allowing me to continue but it was obvious he wasn't having any of that. I was quite sure he would be back to check that I heeded his warnings so I didn't dare continue. Sure enough he returned just as I was finishing packing up to leave. If I had only been slightly early or a little late I would not have had any issues.

I gave considerable thought to continuing on to make another attempt of Phelps since I had the time and I was in the neighborhood. I have been down the North Fork Road so many times this year I just couldn't stomach it again. I decided to head back into town to check on the Middle Fork Closure. I found that it is still closed during the week until September 26th. I decided to head up the Hansen Creek drainage to do Scout Patrol Peak which I had orphaned. The Hansen Creek Road was in good shape and I found myself at the gated end of the road and parked at the new parking lot. I was surprised that it was rather warm since when I left my house it was drizzling. I headed up the road reaching the first junction where I continued heading NE. I kept on the road to nearly it's end where I left for some small and very loose talus which was very cumbersome to walk on. I angled into the brush finding tedious going as well. I knew I didn't have far to go so I just sucked it up. Just one step from hitting more pleasing travel I fell sliding back into a tree. Thankfully I didn't hit with any force but I did shred two of my fingers leaving a bloody mess. I finished the last few feet off on nice stable talus. The summit wasn't much, with limited views. I had a hasty lunch, I noticed a pretty well worn path leading West so I thought a loop might be fun way to salvage the day. I also noticed that It would be easy to access Bearscout Peak's West Ridge that I had used to summit some time ago. This would bypass the immensely unpleasant approach via the standard Hansen Creek approach. There is a swath of densely packed trees that is quite an ordeal to breach.

Heading West the trail peters out in a grassy area. I could see a logging road beneath me so I headed down to it easily. The road is clear and open but other than deer doesn't look traveled at all. I followed the road to it's end where I found a major pile of bleached out logs blocking the way to access the older timber further along the ridge. I carefully picked my way through the rotted logs finding a very defined trail that ran along the watershed boundary line. Where the trail would get brushy there was always some flagging to show the way. Finally the trail drops off the ridge to the logging road to the North. I was surprised that there wasn't any cairn or flagging marking the start of the trail. It would be very tough to find it even if you knew where to look. I followed the road back to the first intersection and then back to the car. Well the day wasn't what I had drawn up, I managed to enjoy myself anyway.

Approx 5 miles 1400' of climb 2;20 Car to car

West Red Mountain (Money Creek) 5447'

2014-09-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

I hadn't given much thought about what I wanted to do this week, when I received a message from Rich P about doing West Red 5447'. I hadn't had any interaction with Rich so I was surprised to get a message out of the blue. I was also thankful because I have had a tough time getting any partners lately. I had high hopes for making a big dent in my Homecourt 100 list since I have been off since mid July. The truth of the matter is that my spending time with my family has won out over my desire to make any headway climbing. Despite all my time off all I could muster was Caroline Peak this summer which thankfully was a great solo trip. With my time off ending soon I was happy to tag along with Rich because I knew my chances of success were greatly heightened. I was disappointed to see the weather forecast and my spirits were dampened further by the rain I heard on my roof throughout the night. I was pretty sure as I made my way through a rainy Monroe that this trip would not happen. I was already plotting some backup ideas as I made my way to the Sultan Park n Ride.

I wasn't going to bring up the fact that a steep brush bash in the drizzle didn't sound appealing, and I was surprised that Rich didn't bring it up. Soon we were heading up the Money Creek Road which was in fine shape. We parked amongst the heavy machinery that is in the process of reclaiming the portion of the road past Lake Elizabeth. It took me forever to get suited up since I had to pull out all my winter gear. I found it interesting that just a couple of days ago I was frying in the sun, and now I was getting dressed in winter gear. Finally we were off in sea of clouds following the reclaimed road covered in straw. Thankfully Rich had been here last week and was able to get us on the fisherman's trail to Crater Lake. With the straw on the road it was tough to see the start of it. The trail is muddy and rooty but it does get you to the lake. It has been brushed recently but unfortunately for me it was brushed by someone that was 5'8". most of the cuts left the remaining branches at my head level. My head found once such burly branch that knocked me backwards. Thankfully I didn't have more of an injury from the branch or the ensuing fall. After clearing the cobwebs we continued on to Crater Lake. We took a short break at the campsite on the Southern shore. The water level was low enough that we could walk the waterline to the campsite on the Northern End. We found a path we wanted heading NW from the campsite. The trail petered out and soon we found ourselves mired in some fresh avalanche debris. Thankfully we could see the waterfall that was our next objective. The reports I had read used the left side of the waterfall but I thought the contours on the right side looked more pleasing. Rich had read another report stating that the right side was no better than the left. We decided to head up the left side. Just before committing I happened to notice a worn boot path heading up the right side. It was distinct enough that I could see it from a couple hundred yards. There is indeed a well worn and well flagged route going up. Unable to believe our good fortune I expected it to stop before reaching the ridge. But luck was shining upon us because we were able to follow it all the way to the ridge. We did pass some sort of survey that neither I or Rich could figure out what they were doing. There is a small area with innumerable amount of numbered nails pounded into trees in no discernible order . The trail after this is much less defined. We found slippery going along the ridge, I hadn't read the reports very closely so I didn't realize that most groups aim for the saddle between West Red and 5331' to the SE. Rich wanted to head for the saddle but I didn't realize that that was the standard route, so instead we stayed on the ridge traversing a few points before reaching the summit ridge West of the summit. The going was fairly easy except for everything being slippery.

It had taken us nearly 4 hours for the 3+ miles to the summit despite finding the time saver trail. We couldn't see anything so we didn't linger. Rich did a great job navigating back and we rejoined the flagged route with out too much issue. The way out was wet and slippery but the flagging and distinct trail kept us on route without any issues. I was dreading the short portion between the waterfall and the lake because of the avalanche debris, but it isn't really that far and I was very happy to be back to the lake. All in all it was nice to head out with Rich and knock another peak off the Homecourt 100

Approx 6.5 miles 2800' of climb 6:06 car to car

Upper Wildcat Lake, Caroline Peak 7.25-26/14

2014-07-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

While I had expected to have another week of work before I leave on vacation,. Life had other plans. My place of work is in a Bellevue tower and when the fire department was testing the fire suppression a pipe failed over my livelihood. The deluge filled the space into two feet of water, forcing the closure for the foreseeable future. It appears that this may be a blessing since because of the closure I was able to experience this memorable trip. I have been told that insurance is covering my salary until repairs can be made. I love my job but believe me I am in no hurry for anything to be fixed.

I now have an immense of free time, what to do. I have always loved the campsite at Upper Wildcat and I could knock off Caroline and maybe give Wild Dare a shot. I had feared that the Snow Lake Trail would be crowded but nothing could prepare me for the hordes I encountered. I saw more people in the first mile than I have seen in the last 3 years combined. Thankfully the weather was cool and some cloud cover blocking the midday sun. I struggled with making any reasonable time to Snow Lake. If I stopped for every person coming down I would have taken all day to get to Snow Lake. I managed to make decent time to the overlook and the short descent to the lake

The trail now meanders the length of the lake crossing the outflow on an impressive log. Finally after some up and downs the trail climbs to Gem Lake. There is an interesting mix of terrain and area peaks start standing out. A short ways before reaching Gem I passed a young couple with a young one making the hike. It was good to see a young one that far in. I changed my plans to camp at Gem instead and go Caroline the next day. All I could think was passing him gave me a better choice of camps..... if any were available. I laughed a few minutes later the man passed me. I was sure he had thought he had better get the jump on getting the best spot. When I reached the lake I thought I saw the man going to the East. I could see the prime camping on the Eastern shore was taken. I dropped pack and scouted the area finding a spot that would work. A short time later the wife who I had passed earlier was unsure which way her husband had gone. I pointed in direction that she needed to go. A short time later her husband came from the West looking for his wife and child. Feeling a bit foolish about leading the wife astray, I decided that it best to continue on to Upper Wildcat. I was thankful when I passed the couple on the way out and found out that the husband had gone the entire way around the lake. The trail climbs to saddle and drops steeply to valley below. The trail is good shape and provides some nice views.

There were some larger areas of snow to negotiate before the grade lessens and meanders to Lower Wildcat Lake. There is a decent campsite at the end of the maintained trail. Just after the campsite there is a distinct fisherman's trail that climbs 400' steeply before reaching the lake. I had a real concern that may spot would be taken. I wasn't too surprised when there was a single man camped. The spot is huge so I debated on asking if he minded sharing but I thought better to continue. The fisherman's trail continues along the lake and I found a spot that I could make work. Had I continued there are two other camps that would have been much better. I set up camp in the midst a swarm of black gnats. After quickly getting the tent set up I decided to wait them out in the tent. I was very thankful that I had brought a tent just because to the bugs. As I laid there I could see the clouds building above me reminding me in order to save space and weight I hadn't brought a rainfly. When the sun started waning the mosquitoes added to the hordes of bugs present. I decided to eat some food that needn't be cooked and retire for the night. I awoke thinking I heard the patter of rain but when I opened my eyes all I saw was stars. I rested much more peacefully after that. As always Bosco ran out some animals in the night. I was sorry that it bothered my close neighbor but having the dog standing watch always gives me a sense of peace. Getting woken up by the dog barking is small price to pay to sleep peacefully the rest of the time. I had erred and not brought enough shirts and I soaked the two I had. I decided that my best course of action was to sleep until I saw sunlight on my tent. At 10am the sun finally made it way down to my tent. Thankfully I had laid my wet shirts in spot the welcomed the sun a bit earlier. I really don't like putting on a wet shirt in the morning, or any other time for that matter. I cooked up some food and filtered some water. I took off on the path heading the lake I started a rising traverse to reach the col between Wild Dare and Caroline Peaks. My objective dominating the landscape

I had been on the fisherman's trail that goes to Caroline Lake on a previous so I knew what to expect.Now your see me.

Now you don't

I was feeling sluggish and started to get frustrated with losing the trail. I had planned on 3 hour round trip but after an hour I had little to show for it. I contemplated turning around when magically the trail would reappear forcing me to continue. As I started getting closer to Caroline Lake the trail became much easier to follow. The trail crests and drops to lake. Here I left the trail making my a short ways where I found a nice campsite. While I hadn't thought I would end up on the Eastern side of the ridge. I could see a gully heading up for an easy run further up the ridge. I dropped to this gully and easily made my way up. It was wet in spots but was an easy ascent line. I now was on the ridge with a view of the summit block. There were enough snow patches that I could leave directional arrows pointing my way to the correct gully.

Getting closer.

Knowing that I couldn't tackle head the summit block head on. I instead headed to the West Ridge on some large snow fields. The snow made more much faster travel that what lies beneath it. I could see the West Ridge and could see that I could make it up without too much bother.

I dropped pack and broke out the ice axe. I really never needed it but I thought I might, so I took it. It seems the closer you try to access the ridge to the summit the harder it is. I angled further down the ridge to find some easier access. I reached the ridge after 75' of scrambling. I found easy going to the summit. I found a huge cairn but sadly I couldn't find the summit register. What I did was find views beyond compare. Standing out was Lake Caroline below.

It had taken me 3 hours to reach the summit from camp. I still needed to get back to camp and huff it out in time for dark. now just to make my way back. I easily scrambled back to my pack. I made great time on the snowfields. I was thankful to find my snow arrow pointing me in the right direction. I dropped the gully and climbed back to the campsite without any issues. I managed to stay more on the trail than not as I made my way back. I had hoped to climb Wild Dare, but I had neither the legs or the time. I thankfully found myself at the col and I found manageable travel back to camp. I had some lunch before packing up. I was dreading the 1000' climb back to Gem Lake. Thankfully it was later in the day making staying in the shade easier. I kept it grinding finally making it to Gem. I found some nice views in the fading light.

Now it was mostly down hill. I just kept the wheels turning. The last mile seemed twice as long but in the end I beat sundown back to the car. I very thankfully changed into some very dry clothes.

Approx 21 miles 6800/' of climb 31 hours car to car

Tinkham, East Tinkham and Silver Peaks Loop 7.21.14

2014-07-22T16:14:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to do a 3 night camping trip but as things sometimes go, life got in the way. Instead I was limited to just Monday. I wasn't able to land any partners so I was again solo. A recent report I had read rekindled my interest on a loop trip I had attempted last year. Since I hadn't done either Tinkham or its Eastern summit I thought I could bundle it all together. I was expecting cloudy weather but instead I was fortunate to have full sun all day with comfortable temperatures. I was also expecting the bugs to be bad but again I was fortunate. I only had some minor bug issues near Silver's summit. I got a late start but I knew I had plenty of time. The road to the PCT intersection was in much worse shape than the last time I was there. Be wary there are some bigger potholes. I was the only car parked at the PCT intersection. I kept a good pace for the nearly 2 miles to the climbers path leading to the ridgeline. On a previous trip I had walked past this junction but today I didn't make that mistake. I found a bit funny that the only people I saw on this day I crossed paths with right at the junction. It made me feel like someone was watching out for me. I quickly made it up the good tread to reach the ridge. My first objective came into view.

The climber's trail starts on the ridge keeping North of the boundary for the watershed.. The trail was mostly easy to follow. A few time I got suckered too far North on way trails that led to overlooks. The trail becomes quite steep but there isn't any exposure. The Last 200' are more of a rock scramble with some slabby areas. I was rewarded with some nice views as I topped out along with a view of my next objective.

The path continues on to the Eastern summit which is 3' lower. The going is surprisingly easy and soon I found myself on the Eastern summit. My next objective of Silver Peak looking very far away.

I quickly retraced my steps taking great car to stay on route on the way down. I missed one obscure turn following a worn path leading to some very steep down climbing. I resisted the urge to take a more direct line and instead found my error and kept myself on trail back to the lower reaches of the ridge. Thinking I had made it through the worst of it, I instead had much more trouble on the lower portions. The recent rain had made some of the exposed roots exceedingly slippery. Thankfully the grade is much less so it didn't pose any real issues. I followed the path and dropped a short way just after the junction with the Abiel climber's trail. I was surprised to find some very large lingering snow patches.

As I climbed a bit higher the views of where I had come from opened up

The initial portion of the climb is very tedious with a lot of very loose rock. After 200' of climb the footing improves greatly. I passed a neat snow patch that was 10' tall and small cave melted out. Soon I found myself on the summit. I continued heading NWon a defined climber's path. The path traversed on the West side of the ridge high above lake Annette. I followed for some time before climbing up to the ridge line and dropping to the East. I think had a gone a bit further I would have found an easier way to the snowfields below. I angled a bit North and found some lower angled terrain to get me onto snow.

There are two broad gullies here, I chose the western gully. After reaching the end of the snow I had some steeper areas to contend with to get me down to trail visible below. Once reaching the trail it promptly led to another rock slide. Growing weary of walking on rocks I instead stayed in the light forest. This led me to an steeper area that I didn't want to climb down to reach the more benign slopes below. I had intended on backtracking a short way back to get back on route. I instead found some easier slopes to the East which gave me access to some more rock slides. I stayed on the margin of the rock finding some evidence of prior traffic. I reached an are of steeper wet, loose rock in a small gully. Fearing rock fall from the dog after I dislodged a huge rock that fell 200', I urged the dog ahead. Thinking the dog was out of harms way I continued down dislodging another big rock. I waited with bated breath as I feared the rock would connect with my pup. Thankfully the rock crashed harmlessly below. I was now back in low angled forest as I did a Westerly tending traverse. I found a fire ring just before the another rock slide with a structure built of timber and stacked rocks. It was like a big rock cabin with no roof. Thankfully a short time later I found the path leading to the logging road I needed to connect with to make my way back to the car. I highly recommend this rout because it has a lot of varied terrain.

Approx 7 miles 3000' of climb 4:45 car to car

Fisher, Ptarmigan and Upper Ptarmigan Lakes 7.14-15.14

2014-07-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

A recent dual family tragedy had left me alone to tend to the kids, household and work while my wife was in Colorado aiding her parents. I was happy to say that many friends and family made themselves and their homes available to help watch my kids when I had to work. It is always nice to see people step up to help those in need. I managed to get the kids everywhere they needed to go on time and still make it to work. While the circumstances why this needed to be weren't great the end result was that I got some great time with my kids which I am as always very grateful. I had to take the kids to the airport on Monday morning in order to get them on a plane so they could reunite with my wife. Both girls had never flown by themselves but , just like everything else they took it in stride. My oldest had a emotional time boarding the plane, crying about missing me already. While I don't usually like to see my kids express all their emotions for the world to see, in this instance it gave me some bittersweet feelings. I am very happy that my kids will indeed miss me as I will dearly miss them. Since I had to wait until the plane actually took off before leaving I was waiting around. A man approached me to give me some emotional support. He had incorrectly assumed that the kids were flying off to see there mother for the summer. When I told him that they were meeting my wife due to family emergency he seemed overjoyed. He was quick to say sorry about the family tragedy but I knew what he was happy to see a family still as one unit. It was a trivial encounter to some extent but it did give me some warm feelings when I thought about how complete my life is.

Since I don't have anyone but the dog to answer to on the home front I decided a overnighter would be fun. Steve and I had planned on going next week since my family was scheduled to be in Colorado then. I thought it might be a good idea to shake the kinks out and go before next week. My packing was a bit behind since I had left the tent out to air not knowing it was going to rain so I had to wait until I returned from the airport and the tent had some time to dry out. By the time I picked up Steve in Lake Stevens it was nearly 2. The plan was to drive to the end of The Tonga Ridge Road to use the Eastern Trailhead to access the fisherman's trail to Fisher Lake. By the time we reached the trailhead it was already past 4. The trail climbs 1400' on good tread to connect with the fisherman's trail. There are a couple of options here. Coming from the East the first trail mainly traverses before descending to the lake. This trail is flagged and a bit marshy to start. The trail itself isn't hard to follow and it is the way I prefer to get to Fisher Lake. You can also bypass this trail and continue a bit further and there is the more used trail that climbs up and over two bumps befroe dropping to the Fisher Lake. This trail is mostly unpleasant with a lot of running water and generally unfavorable travel.

Once we reached the lake I decided it best to camp at Fisher Lake instead of the goal of the great campsite between Upper and Lower Ptarmigan Lakes. We quickly set up shop and I was happy that the bugs were relatively benign for me. Steve on the other hand looked like he had been attacked by a swarm. Even his back was devastated with welts despite the fact that he was wearing a shirt. I made dinner and Steve retired to the tent to gain a reprieve from the bugs. I stayed out until after sundown enjoying the light breeze and emerging stars.

I went to sleep quite early and had a restful night of sleep. The dog ran off something in the middle of the night waking me once and the moon shining on me like a spotlight woke me up another time but other than that it was a peaceful night. We had a lazy morning before heading to the outlet where the trail to Ptarmigan Lakes starts. The trail was mostly easy to follow and soon it spit us out on the rockslide on the Western shore.

I could see that Steve was struggling with the rockslide and the very warm sun so decided that any climbing just wasn't in the cards. Thankfully we made it through the blazing hot rocks to reach the north shore and the continuation of the trail to the Upper Lake. We made our way to the primo camp site and dropped packs. We both tried a bit of fishing but I only have hardheartedly tried since the fish I did see where so small. I instead found a nice shady spot to take a nap. I could see that getting to the ridge West above me would be easy enough and I could see the heather gully granting access to Shroud Mt's East ridge all looked doable. There was still quite a bit of snow guarding the access gully but this would probably be helpful. I was a bit sad that I wouldn't be able to muster an attempt but I felt like it was the right thing to do given the circumstances.

After giving up fishing we decided to head back to camp. The way out was much faster despite the fact that we had to climb a couple hundred feet of elevation to get back to camp. Upon returning to camp we packed up and started heading out. For the return I decided to stick to the main fisherman's trail instead of the secondary one we used for our approach. I thought I remember a signed junction heading to Jewel Lake on a previous visit but I couldn't find a distinct path although large portions of the trail where still snow covered.

After cresting a bump we descended a short way to reach a nice flat meadowy area. I thought I remember a spur trail that continues straight instead of following the main path. I could see signs in the meadow so we continued on this lesser path. I started growing concerned when this path started heading more to the lake instead of heading out as I had hoped. I didn't want to find myself back at the lake so I decided to backtrack and rejoin the main path. Upon seeing my GPS track I wish I would have continued a bit further since we would have connected with the secondary path we had used to get to the lake. Instead we stayed on the main path for an unpleasant trail back to the main trail. Steve had several cramping episodes on the way out adding some time to the descent but we both were happy to make back to the car to enjoy some semi cold beers.

Approx 12 miles 2400' of climb 24:30 Car to car

Bare Mt. 5335' 7.1.14

2014-07-02T15:19:00.001-07:00

I had hoped for some companionship on this day but in the end I couldn't coordinate schedules to make that happen. I had kid patrol until 12:30 which didn't make me excited to try something more challenging. With the very warm temperatures I didn't want to stray too far off trail. I had planned on doing Bare Mt. with my friends so I figured I would still give a go solo. The North Fork Road was in descent shape and much better on the way out as they are currently grading it. In fact the way out was as good as one could hope for. I always forget how long of a drive it is to the Bare Mt. Trailhead. Finally I made it to find one other rig parked. I was happy that it wasn't as hot as I feared and the bugs have still not made an appearance.

I headed up the trail excited to find even cooler temperatures in the shade of the forest. While the water was high when I reached the crossing I was able to easily cross on twin logs. Be wary however one of the logs is past it's prime and I nearly snapped it going across. Soon I broke out of the trees to find that there was much more than expected snow above 5000'. I had expected the slopes under Canoe Peak to be mostly melted out. It appeared that everything above Bear Lakes was still snow covered. I gave some thought to changing my plans and climbing Canoe instead. I had no way of letting my wife know my change of plans so I decided to stick with my original plan. Once reaching the first switchback there is a cairn marking the fisherman's trail to Bear Lakes. The initial portion looks to be in better shape than I remember. The trail thankfully passes a few springs to keep the dog hydrated. I tried to speed through the sunny portions and go slower in the few shady portions because the sun was blazing down on me. Finally I reached the saddle and dropped pack. I could see that Paradise Lakes below me were mostly still frozen. I passed a couple of young women on there way down, they were the only two people I saw on the whole trip. There were a few annoying patches of snow on the summit push but nothing that was too bothersome. I was greeted on the summit with some stiff wind which took much of the sting on the very warm sunshine. I snapped many pictures since Bare provides a very nice vantage point of the surrounding area.

After a short rest I made my way back to my pack and started the descent to the car. I was able to make good time and soon I found myself back at the car. The drive out was made more difficult because for many portions I was driving straight into the sun making it nearly impossible to see. I also wanted to give a hearty thank you to the moron who was heading in with an immense light bar on the top of his truck. The lights were so bright that even with my sun glasses on I couldn't see anything but the blinding light. This setup could not be even close to being legal. I thought the sun was bad but these lights were considerably worse. I thankfully didn't run into him since I really couldn't see.

Approx 9 miles 3200ft of climb 4 hours car to car