Boulder-De Roux / Gallagher Head LakeRecent Trip Reports
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Multi-night backpack
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This was my first two night back packing trip by myself on the Esmerelda Basin loop (as described in the...
This was my first two night back packing trip by myself on the Esmerelda Basin loop (as described in the "100 Classic Hikes in Washington State" book) I decided to add this hike onto it...and I'm so glad I did. Read the whole story on my blog http://kellbell-whywouldany[…]1/09/meeting-mr-stuart.html
Day hike
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Wildflowers blooming
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On Tuesday I walked the Boulder-De Roux trail to Gallagher Head Lake. The four mile hike to the...
On Tuesday I walked the Boulder-De Roux trail to Gallagher Head Lake. The four mile hike to the lake is very enjoyable with a nice flower show all along the way but especially in the large meadow area about .5 miles before reaching the lake.
Southwest of the lake I found the abandoned road (now used by dirt bikers) that climbs into the high basin on the south slopes of Hawkins. From there I could see my scramble route up to the snow covered ridge just east (right) of the false summit. (see pic below) From the ridge just below the false summit I could see the true summit of Hawkins at 7,160' elevation with two cornices remaining. I climbed up over the false summit and hiked the ridge to the true summit and encountered nothing more than class 2. The summit views were incredible with most every peak from Mt. Baker to Mt. Adams clearly visible. This hike/scramble will go on my "Do Again" list for sure. I estimated 12 miles total round trip and about 3,500' of elevation gain for the day. Multi-night backpack
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Blowdowns | Water on trail | Snow on trail
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4 adults and 3 boy scouts (ages 12-13) backpacked this loop from July 15-17th.
Was a gorgeous hike, highly recommend!
Trail up...
4 adults and 3 boy scouts (ages 12-13) backpacked this loop from July 15-17th.
Was a gorgeous hike, highly recommend! Trail up Boulder - De Roux was in great condition overall. Hardly any snow until we reached Gallagher Head Lake. The De Roux creek crossing was fairly straight-forward and beyond that (about a mile before Gallagher Head Lake) there were a significant number of trees blown down. GH Lake area was about 50% covered in snow, but we were able to easily find tent areas in the dirt. The jeep trail from GH Lake down to the Esmerelda Basin trail was 25-35% covered in snow, but not difficult really, and the trail up to Fortune Cookie Pass was completely free of snow (since it was south facing). Fortune Cookie Pass is also fairly free of snow, though we chose to camp on the snow above the pass. Esmerelda Basin trail from Fortune Cookie Pass down to the trailhead was 99% free of snow -- just a couple small snowfield crossings at the top. Pictures and video from the trip can be found at http://www.flickr.com/[…]/ ... Multi-night backpack
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Wildflowers blooming
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I led a Cascadian backpack to the headwaters of the Middle Fork Teanaway River Fri-Sun. This was an exploratory...
I led a Cascadian backpack to the headwaters of the Middle Fork Teanaway River Fri-Sun. This was an exploratory trip because I had never been in this particular area before & the only info I had was that the packers from Camp Wahoo had an established camp in a meadow beyond the junction of the De Roux Cutoff & Middle Fork trails. I was hoping for other meadows with nice campsites farther upstream. We started at the Boulder-De Roux trailhead and then took the De Roux Cutoff trail to the saddle below Koppen Mtn where we had lunch. On the way up we met a string of horses with about 10 young teenage girls and their counselors returning to Camp Wahoo from the Middle Fork. After lunch we dropped down to the Middle Fork Trail and made our way up towards the saddle between the Middle Fork & Big Boulder Creek. After a mile or so we came to a big canvas wall tent pitched in the trees at the edge of a meadow – obviously the packer’s camp. This was a nice spot right below De Roux Peak and we spent some time searching for an out-of-the-way corner where we would not be invaded by the packers if they showed up, but couldn’t find anything, so we continued on. After a quarter mile or so we came to a nice stream in an open area & began looking for a campsite. We probably spent 2 hours scouring the area for a nice bench or little meadow, to no avail. I probably climbed some 300’ above the trail checking out every possible bench. We then walked up the trail to the saddle hoping there might be a campsite there, but the ridge is too narrow. In the end, the nicest place (& the only established campsite) was the meadow with the wall tent. The next morning, after a leisurely breakfast, we climbed the steep meadows above camp to the summit of De Roux Peak. It took a little over an hour. As with any peak in this area on a clear day, the views are spectacular: Rainier, the Dutch Miller Group, Mt Daniel, Hawkins Mtn, Ingalls & the Stuart Range, Iron & Earl, and Koppen, Malcolm, & Jolly to name a few. After a couple of hours on the summit, we descended the SW Ridge of De Roux to the trail at the saddle between the Middle Fork & Big Boulder Creek and made our way back to camp. We were back by about 2:00 and spent the rest of the afternoon just puttering around the meadow. The next morning we packed up about 11:00 & were out to the car about 1:00. The weekend was sunny and quite warm and both nights were very windy. There were some nice wildflowers, especially Arrowleaf Balsamroot & Bluebells (Mertensia sp). Much to my surprise (& delight) the horse camp was almost immaculate & we were not bothered by critters trying to steal our food. There were a few bugs in the evening, but they were not especially bothersome. Once we were in the Middle Fork drainage, the only other people we saw were a couple of ladies on Sat who had camped farther downstream and were day hiking to the saddle between the Middle Fork & Big Boulder Creek. This was a nice trip, but in my humble opinion, given the number of other really great locations in the Teanaway, this is not a prime backpacking destination, especially for 3 days. The campsite is not especially scenic compared to others in the Teanaway and, other than climbing De Roux, there really isn’t much to do or places to go.
Boulder-De Roux / Gallagher Head Lake
— Jul 18, 2010
— Lunapeople
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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The hike to Gallagher Head Lake at the end of the Teanaway is probably one of the he shadiest hikes...
The hike to Gallagher Head Lake at the end of the Teanaway is probably one of the he shadiest hikes in the Teanaway, and also has plentiful water. Trail is in excellent shape.
We mostly carried our 3.5 year old, but the 7.5 year old hiked the whole 8.2 miles roundtrip. The hike follows DeRoux Creek up, through the forest, then steeper up a series of outcrops and more open forest. At 3 miles or so hope across the creek and reach a pretty meadows area with great camps and a mix of trees and meaadow. At the far end of the meadown, which is aout 1/2 mile long, the trail climbs again in a a few long swithcbacks, flattens out, rounds a bend, adn there"s pretty Gallagher Head Lake. Note that the climb from the meadow to the lake is definitely NOT 1,000 feet as one of the books says, but more like 400-500 max. You do gain that much elevatiuon but it's mostly before the meadows. We saw two motorcycles across the lake, and three mtn bikes. a very nice hike. No bugs! |
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