Cascade Mountaineering

Hiking Boulder Garden Loop, Mt. Si

2012-12-05T13:42:00.002-08:00

The Boulder Garden Loop is a nice loop hike on the west side of Mt. Si that starts at the Little Si trailhead. It features interesting boulders, moss, grassy lookouts, and a well-maintained trail. It is moderate in difficulty at 900 vertical feet of elevation gain and around 4 miles round trip. The following shows the route marked in yellow:

The trip starts as though hiking to Little Si, taking a right turn up the Old Mt. Si trail, climing 900 feet to where the Boulder Garden Loop splits off of the Old Mt. Si trail, then looping back to the Little Si trail.

A hike of the Boulder Garden loop can be combined with a climb of Little Si to double the elevation gain, or combined with a climb of Mt. Si to triple the elevation gain.

Directions to Trailhead: Take I-90 to exit 32, head north, then left on North Bend Way. In 0.3 miles you'll see the turnoff for Mount Si Road on the right. Follow the road 0.6 miles over the bridge, past the overflow parking lot to the Little Si trailhead parking lot on the left. A Discover Pass is required at the trailhead.

Scrambling Mt. Teneriffe, Serendipity Ridge Route

2012-11-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

We scrambled Mt. Teneriffe on Nov., 11, 2012 by the Serendipity Ridge route. The following map snippet shows the approximate route:

The route we followed was:

Left trailhead, 7:40 am, elevation 950'.
Arrived at smaller logging road right turn, 7:55am, elevation 1150'.
Arrived at Teneriffe Falls trail junction, 8:20, elevation 1500'
Arrived at Teneriffe Falls, 9:00, elevation 2450'.
Gained Serendipity Ridge, 9:30, elevation 2700'.
Arrived at summit, 10:50, elevation 4797'. Time to summit 3:10. Spent 15 minutes on summit.
Arrived at trailhead, 1:40. Time to descend 2:40.
Total trip time 6:00.

The conditions were below freezing for the entire trip, with temperature in mid 20's on the summit. There was light dusting of snow starting at around 2,700'. The last 200 vertical feet below the summit involved scrambling on rock that was coated with a thick coating of ice, making the rock treacherous. We wore microspikes which helped with the ice.

Here is a link to the weather forecast near the trailhead (North Bend):

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=47.4956579&lon=-121.78677749999997&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=North%20Bend%2C%20WA%2C%20USA

Here is a link to the weather forecast near the summit (Mt. Si summit):

http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Si/forecasts/1270

Driving Directions:

From I-90, take exit 32 (436th Avenue SE). Turn left (north) over the freeway and drive 0.5 miles to SE North Bend Way. Turn left (west), and in 0.25 mile turn right (north) on SE Mt Si Road. In approximately 3.5 miles (one mile past the Mt Si trailhead), you will reach a small parking area on the left (directly across from 480th Ave) known as the school bus turnaround. A Discover Pass is required.

Scrambling Faye Peak, Mount Pleasant, and Hessong Rock

2012-10-14T11:34:00.001-07:00

A traverse of Faye Peak, Mount Pleasant, and Hessong Rock on 10/7/2012. The route was: start at Mowich Lake, boot path up to Knaapsack Pass, traverse on the northwest side of the ridge to to Faye Peak, traverse on the southeast side of the ridge to Mount Pleasant, traverse the ridge to Hessong Rock, following the boot path along the northwest side to steep heather on the southwest side leading to the summit. The descent involved returning to the col between Hessong and Pleasant, then descending to Spray Park and returning by the trail by Spray Falls and Eagle Roost Camp. Total elevation gain of around 3,000 vertical feet and car to car time of around 6 hours.

The view of Knaapsack Pass:

Looking towards Faye Peak from Knaapsack Pass:

Looking along the ridge to Faye Peak summit:

The view of Mount Pleasant from the summit of Faye Peak:

The view of Hessong Rock from Faye Peak:

The view of First Mother Mountain from Faye Peak:

Looking back at the traverse from Faye Peak to Mount Pleasant:

Hessong Rock from Mount Pleasant:

Looking down at Seattle Park from Mount Pleasant:

Looking east from the summit of Hessong Rock:

Scrambling Del Campo Peak, Washington

2012-09-27T07:57:00.004-07:00

A scramble of Gothic Peak on 9/22/2012 and Del Campo Peak on 9/23/2012. We left from Barlow Pass and hiked the approach trail to Foggy Lake, an approach of about 3,000 vertical feet in around 3 miles. We set up camp in thick cold fog. From the camp we then scrambled Gothic Peak. Gothic is just over a thousand vertical feet from foggy lake and took about one hour 15 minutes from the lake and about one hour for the descent. Much of the climb was over very rough talus, difficult going, until we gained the southeast ridge just below the summit. It would probably have been better to gain the ridge directly above the lake. From the ridge a 100 foot rock scramble with moderate exposure, more difficult than expected, led to the summit.

Over night the clouds lifted and the next morning we left for Del Campo at 6:30 am. Del Campo is north-northwest of foggy lake and is about 1500 vertical feet above the lake. We rounded the lake on the east side and climbed a nice climbers' boot path up the ridge just north of the lake. At the end of the boot path we scrambled over loose talus boulders to the cliffs of Del Campo. We headed up a gully visible from the lake as a notch east of the summit. Three-fourths of the way up the gully, we accessed the climbing route on a narrow shelf. The scrambling route involved somewhat difficult rock scrambling with some exposure. There are very good handholds, jugs, throughout the route. But much of the rock is fractured, making most handholds at least somewhat suspect. At least 500 vertical feet of rock scrambling leads to the summit. Downclimbing involved a combination of face-in and face-out descending of the same route. We were back at camp at 10:30am making four hours round trip.

The approach trail:

View from the campsite at foggy lake:

Del Campo from Foggy Lake:

Gothic Peak from Foggy Lake, the leftmost peak in the background:

The scrambling route up Del Campo:

Del Campo in the early morning:

The rock scrambling on Del Campo:

Hiking Butte Camp, Mt. St. Helens

2012-09-15T11:15:00.004-07:00

A nice, overnight backpacking trip to Butte Camp, Mt. St. Helens on Sept. 9th, 2012. The trailhead is at Red Rock Pass on Forest Road 81 in Mt. St. Helens National Monument at elevation of 3,300 feet. and the camp is at around 4,000 feet. To reach the trailhead from Cougar, head east on forest road 90, take a left onto forest road 83, and then left on forest road 81.

The trip to Butte Camp is around 6 miles round trip to the camp. Continuing further up above treeline to the Loowit trail at 4,800 feet, a nice side trip from camp, adds another 2 miles round trip and an additional 800 vertical feet of gain for a total of around 8 miles round trip.

Mt. St. Helens can also be summited via the Butte Camp approach, either by linking up with monitor ridge which is clearly visible just to the east, or heading directly up, working around the many loose gullies.

An incredible open lava flow just a few yards from the trailhead.

A view of the summit from near the trailhead:

A view of the butte in the distance:

The nice meadow with a tiny winding creek at Butte Camp:

The creek at Butte Camp:

Hiking above the camp near treeline:

The view from near treeline:

Treeline:

Near Loowit Trail:

Looking back down at the Butte:

Looking back down from far above Loowit trail:

Climbing Eldorado Peak

2012-09-14T07:44:00.001-07:00

A climb of Eldorado Peak via the Inspiration Glacier on July 18, 2010. A single day trip, leaving at 5am and returning at 7pm for round trip time of 14 hours.

Looking up towards Cascade Pass:

Johannesburg Peak from the Eldorado Approach:

Looking towards Cascade Pass at gleaming glaciers:

Long boulder field on the approach:

A look at the route up the glacier and a view of the summit:

Glacier Peak:

Looking across the glacier fields:

Looking back at our route from hammered ridge:

Approaching the summit:

A close up view of the summit:

Beautiful fields of white near the summit:

The summit ridge:

Looking at bergshrunds along the top of the glacier:

The notorious knife-edge summit ridge:

Looking back down at a small tarn far below:

The knife-edge summit ridge. Running belays were used.

The view from the summit:

On the summit:

North cascades from the summit:

Climbing Mt. Adams, Washington

2012-08-25T14:30:00.001-07:00

A climb of Mt. Adams in July, 2009, by the South Climb Route.

Bear grass on the approach:

A view on the approach of lunch counter, the false summit Pikers peak, and the summit:

Treeline:

Crescent Glacier:

Camp at around 8000':

Looking west:

Glacial moraine:

Early morning ascent, looking back down at camp:

The top of Crescent Glacier:

False summit in the distance:

The stream of climbers leaving lunch counter:

Just below the false summit:

The view from the false summit:

Dog at the summit:

The summit ice cap:

The view from the summit:

Looking back down at Pikers Peak:

Sun cups:

View from the summit:

Looking back up at the summit:

On the descent:

Everything is snow, rock, ice, and mist:

Scrambling Bandera Mountain, Washington

2012-08-24T07:53:00.001-07:00

A scramble of Bandera Mountain in September of 2009.

A view of McClellan Butte:

Breaking out of the forest into talus slopes:

Nice open subalpine terrain:

Above the marine layer:

The view from near the summit:

Mt. Rainier:

Open subalpine slopes:

Climbing Mt. Saint Helens, Worm Flows Route

2012-08-24T07:48:00.001-07:00

A climb of Mt. St. Helens by the winter route, worm flows, in June of 2009. The trailhead is at the Marble Mountain Sno-Park at around 2,650 feet. This gives a total vertical gain on this route of around 5,700 vertical feet and a round-trip distance of around 9 miles. On this route, the fairly well marked Swift ski trail is followed to Chocolate Falls which is near tree-line. Good camping options are available near the falls. From the falls, you follow a rugged lava flow ridge, one of the "worm flows" up to snowfields below the summit. The worm flows are marked occasionally by posts, but these are fairly far apart and not always visible, particularly in fog. From the top of the worm flows you head directly up the snow fields to the summit. The descent could be tricky in bad visibility as the snow field topography is complex and you could easily descend the wrong gully. In fog wands could be useful.

Along the approach below Chocolate Falls:

Near Chocolate Falls:

Near treeline:

Chocolate Falls:

Scrambling the worm flow ridge:

Looking down from near the top of the worm flow:

Looking up at the summit:

Breaking out of the fog and looking down at the marine layer below from 8000 feet:

Subtle subalpine details:

The world of ice, rock, and fog near the summit:

Fracture along the summit cornice:

The view along the crater rim:

Scrambling Snoqualmie Mountain, Washington

2012-08-23T08:09:00.001-07:00

A scramble of Snoqalmie Mountain from Alpental on Sept. 11, 2009.

The rough trail leaving Alpental:

The trail just below Guye Peak:

Signage for Guye/Snoqualmie:

Nice inclined granite:

Cliffy areas below Guye:

Blueberries:

Fall colors:

Opening up near Cave Ridge:

Guye Peak from the shoulder of Snoqualmie:

Rainier:

Looking down the shoulder of Snoqualmie:

The summit ridge:

Summit detail:

View from the summit:

Snoqalmie:

Looking towards Lundin and Red Mountain:

Glacier Peak in the distance:

Very highly recommended fall trip.

Scrambling Mailbox Peak, Washington

2012-08-23T08:00:00.001-07:00

A scramble of Mailbox Peak in November, 2009.

A view looking south from near the summit:

Looking back down:

Breaking out of the forest near the summit:

Looking down at I-90:

The summit clearing:

Swirling clouds:

The ridge connecting Mailbox Peak with Dirty Harry, Bandera, etc. There are probably some very nice traverse possibilities along this ridge:

From the summit:

Some early snow:

The mailbox on the summit:

Looking back down:

The summit ridge:

A very good conditioning hike, 4,000 vertical feet of gain in around two miles.

Traversing West Tiger Mountain, Washington, Summits 1, 2, and 3

2012-08-23T07:49:00.001-07:00

A traverse of the three summits of West Tiger Mountain 1, 2, and 3 in November 2009. West Tiger 3 is a very beautiful, natural, open summit. West Tiger 2 has some ugly radio towers and utility buildings, best to just pass by quickly. West Tiger 1, the highest of the summits, has some very nice views, a bench, and a metal emergency shelter/hut, and faces a ravine that sometimes funnels the wind, making it a very windy spot. The traverse makes a very nice day trip on a cold winter day. The route followed the cable line trail to West Tiger 3, then traverse by trail to West Tiger 2, then follow the gated access roads to West Tiger 1. Overall around 2,500 vertical feet of gain with car to car time of three hours.

The view of West Tiger 2 from West Tiger 3.

The summit clearing of West Tiger 3 with a light sprinkling of lowland snow:

Looking towards Squak Mountain and Seattle:

The shoulder of Tiger Mountain:

The shelter on the summit of West Tiger 1:

Ice on lee side of branches:

The summit of West Tiger 1:

The trail leading beyond West Tiger 1 connecting to the other Tiger Mountain summits:

Overall, a very nice trip, incredibly close to Bellevue and the eastside, almost nobody there on a cold winter day.

Scrambling Granite Mountain, Washington

2012-08-23T07:35:00.001-07:00

A scramble up the southwest shoulder of Granite Mountain on October 3rd, 2009. About five hours car to car. No snow, just a little bit of early season frost and ice the last 1000 vertical feet.

Trailhead:

Looking across I-90 at Humpback Mountain:

The avalanche chute where I left the trail:

Steep subalpine terrain with light, swirling fog:

Looking back down:

Nice fall colors:

Nearing the shoulder:

Fog closing in:

A break in the fog:

Gaining the shoulder:

Large scree boulders leading to the summit:

Some early season ice:

View from the summit:

Nice atmospheric views:

The summit lookout tower:

Descending by the trail:

The descent trail:

A very nice early season trip.

Scrambling Dragontail Peak, Colchuck Col Route, May 2010

2012-08-19T15:23:00.001-07:00

One day scramble of Dragontail Peak via the Colchuck Col on May 22, 2010.

Dragontail from Colchuck Lake:

Heading up the Colchuck Glacier:

Scrambling below the summit:

A break to set up a handline on an exposed spot with a bad runout:

View from near the summit:

Looking back at our traverse towards the summit:

Descending towards Aasgard pass:

Glissading:

Climbing Clark Mountain, Washington, Walrus Glacier

2012-08-19T15:05:00.001-07:00

Climb of Clark Mountain, Washington, by the Walrus Glacier route in June 2010. Clark is a glaciated peak just southeast of Glacier Peak with an elevation of 8,602 feet. The trailhead begins at the end of the
White River Road at around 2,300 feet for a total vertical gain of 6,300 feet plus an additional few hundred feet of lost elevation on the climb. The approach involves four flat mosquito-infested miles along the White River, then four and a half miles up the Boulder Creek trail to the head of the Boulder Creek Basin which can serve as base camp. It is another three miles or so to the summit for a total of around 22 miles round trip, making for a long overnight trip.

The approach up the Boulder Creek trail:

Boulder Creek crossing, knee deep at this time:

Looking up the basin:

The flanks of Clark in the distance:

Looking back down at the approach route from the head of the basin:

View from base camp:

Base camp:

Traversing north to gain the spur that gives access to Walrus Glacier:

Roping up ahead of the Walrus Glacier:

Walrus Glacier and the Clark summit:

The snout of the walrus:

Glacier Peak in the distance:

The Clark Summit from just below the summit, beautiful geometry:

View from the summit:

More summit views:

Avalanche debris threatening the traverse:

Descending:

Overall, a long but incredibly isolated and beautiful two day trip.

Climbing Mt. Rainier, Disappointment Cleaver, July 2010

2012-08-19T14:58:00.001-07:00

Climb of Mt. Rainier by Disappointment Cleaver Route, July 9th, 2010 with overnight at Camp Muir.

Fog on the approach to Camp Muir:

Looking down at a climber from Muir:

Anvil Rock:

Camp Muir:

The start of the route from Muir:

Near the summit:

View of the crater rim:

A view of Liberty Cap, one of the three summits:

Steam vents along the crater:

The traverse across the summit ice cap:

Looking up the Ingraham Glacier:

The Cleaver:

Scrambling Mt. Norman, South Pender Island

2012-08-19T14:22:00.001-07:00

Scramble of Mt. Norman on South Pender Island from Beaumont Marine Park in July 2012. Route involved heading straight up a gully from the marine park to the summit ridge. Many surrounding cliffs would make the choice of gully critical. From the summit ridge, traversed along to the viewing deck at the true summit, having to cross several brushy ravines along the way.

Starting up the gully:

In the gully:

Looking back down to the water:

Towards the top of the gully:

View from the top of the gully:

The top of the gully:

Arbutus and mossy rocks:

Looking up at the summit ridge:

Steep traversing:

Summit ridge:

Some of the obstacles along the summit ridge:

Another obstacle:

Summit ridge:

More thick brush blocking the summit ridge traverse:

Arriving at the viewing deck:

Looking back at the marine park:

Return back to the marine park on the trail. A nice scramble, about 3 hours round trip.

Hiking Mt. Norman, South Pender Island from Beaumont Marine Park

2012-08-13T09:24:00.002-07:00

July 2012 climb of Mt. Norman on South Pender Island, BC, Canada starting from Beaumont Marine Park on Bedwell harbor.

The start at Beaumont Marine Park:

Nice trail sign:

Nice views from the trail along the shore of South Pender:

The trail leaves the water and heads up through boulders and moss:

A nice false summit:

The trail up to the summit:

Trail sign at the summit:

The summit viewing deck:

Information sign at the summit viewing deck:

Nice atmospheric foggy view:

Fog lifts just enough to see the water below:

The summit ridge looking back towards Bedwell Harbor:

Climbing Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island, from Rosario Resort

2012-08-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

A July 2012 climb of Mt. Constitution (2409') Rosario Resort at ocean level. Around 2,500 vertical feet of climbing and around 12 miles round trip. There are many other starting points higher up, for example at Cascade Lake, or even at Cold Springs on the summit ridge for a shorter trip. Overall, a very interesting variety of terrain with some stunning views near the top of the Straight of Georgia, Rosario Strait, and numerous islands in the San Juans and Gulf Islands.

Rosario resort starting point:

Trail entrance from Rosario at the top of one of the condo complexes:

Between Rosario and Cascade Lake:

The dam at the end of the lagoon connected to Cascade Lake, not one of the most scenic spots:

Salal along Cascade Lake lagoon:

Pretty Cascade Lake:

Cliffs along the lake:

Kayakers in Cascade Lake:

The swimming area at the lake:

Even a snack bar:

Cascade Lake swimmers:

The trail from Cascade Lake heading up towards Cold Springs and the summit:

Climbing through mossy slopes:

Lush, dense moss:

As elevation rises, sunny, incredible, open meadows:

Nearing the summit ridge:

Mossy rocks along the trail:

The sign at the point where the summit ridge is first gained. Most of the elevation gain is complete at this point:

Pond on the summit ridge near cold springs. Probably a good idea to filter this:

Near cold springs:

Sign just after cold springs at the junction between Mt Constitution and the little summit:

Near Summit Lake:

Between Cold Springs and the summit tower:

Incredible vegetation near the summit:

Looking down at Mountain Lake far below from near the summit:

Looking northeast across the southern end of the Straight of Georgia from near the summit:

Mt. Constitution summit tower:

Looking towards Canada up the Straight of Georgia from the summit:

Looking east towards Lummi Island and Clark and Barnes Islands:

Trail map posted at the summit:

Cliffs along the trail near the summit:

Cold Springs:

Roundtrip from Rosario Resort to Mt. Constitution, about 2500 vertical feet of gain, about 12 miles of distance round trip, and round trip time of 6 hours at a moderate pace.

Scrambling Kaleetan Peak - White Ledges Route

2012-07-10T21:07:00.001-07:00

Trip to Kaleetan Peak, White Ledges Route, from Denny Creek trailhead on July 8th, 2012. The trailhead is the Denny Creek trailhead at 2,280 feet and the Kaleetan summit is 6,259 feet. With some elevation lost in a few places, the vertical gain is around 4,200 feet. The roundtrip time was around 10 and a half hours. The route followed Denny Creek trail up to Hemlock Pass and then Melakwa Lake and Upper Melakwa Lake. From there the route heads up towards Melakwa Pass and the White Ledges Route.

Denny Creek Slippery Slabs:

Denny Creek stream crossing over logjam, with water much higher by end of the day due to snowmelt:

Denny creek:

The trail above the creek crossing:

Talus along the trail:

Keekwulee Falls:

Snowbridge on the trail, melted out by the return in the afternoon:

Looking up at Hemlock Pass:

The trail disappeared in the patchy snow:

Just below Hemlock Pass:

Melakwa Lake

Chair Peak:

Melakwa Lake partially melted:

Bryant Peak:

Upper Melakwa Lake:

Heading up the valley towards Melakwa Pass:

Rockfall evidence:

Below Melakwa Pass:

Looking up at Kaleetan Peak:

Just below Melakwa Pass:

A steep snow traverse:

The eastern flank of Kaleetan:

The loose blocky rock of Kaleetan:

Looking up the white ledges route, partially covered by snow:

A closer look:

Scrambling loose rock:

A nice break spot:

Rock traverse:

Loose slabs:

Interesting rock:

More steep snow:

Kaleetan eye candy:

Beautiful sub-alpine scenery:

Tree debris from avalanches earlier in the season:

Between Melakwa Lake and Upper Melakwa Lake:

Denny Creek upper crossing on log bridge:

Round trip, car to car, 10 and a half hours.

Scrambling Colchuck Peak, Washington

2012-06-19T20:40:00.001-07:00

Colchuck Peak climb on June 17th, 2012. We started at Stuart lake trailhead climbing around 2,000 vertical feet up to Colchuck lake. That portion of the approach was snow-free up to the lake. We then traversed around the lake to the west end. We climbed up the Colchuck Glacier to the col between Dragontail and Colchuck peak. Finally, we scrambled to the summit of Colchuck peak, alternating between scrambling up blocky granite and small snowfields.

A view of Dragontail on the approach:

Smooth granite slabs on the approach:

Colchuck peak viewed from the far end of Colchuck lake:

Looking across Colchuck lake at Aasgard pass:

Granite boulders everywhere stacked in endless combinations:

Patches of ice still floating on the lake:

Spectacular cliffs along Colchuck peak:

Looking back down from 600 feet above the lake:

Alpine eye candy:

Glacial moraine with huge boulders precariously hanging on (see climbers in right-hand foreground for scale):

Climbers ascending:

Heading up Colchuck glacier:

The southern aspect of Colchuck:

Colchuck glacier:

Beautiful sheer granite cliffs of Dragontail:

Looking down the glacier:

Seattle mountaineers:

The view from high on the Colchuck glacier:

A steep section of the glacier just below the col:

The col:

Looking up the scrambling route above the col:

Granite art:

Loose blocks of granite:

The windy summit:

Summit view:

Looking back up at Colchuck Peak, now enveloped in clouds:

Boulders:

Granite boulders:

Overall, a very nice trip with good weather and spectacular scenary, nine hours car to car.