Humpback MountainRecent Trip Reports
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Day hike
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From freeway exit, we were able to drive 2 miles on gravel snow free and parked by the "shooting range"...
From freeway exit, we were able to drive 2 miles on gravel snow free and parked by the "shooting range" right before the overhead John Wayne Trail bridge. Steep ascend of ~200 ft on to John Wayne, then turn left until the 2nd AT&T post on the upper side of the trail, where the summer trail starts and continues along the ridge line, and crossing logging roads twice. Being able to find and follow this summer trail made a huge difference - otherwise we would find ourselves trapped in dense bushes most of the time!
Snow started to appear at about 3000 ft and was not causing problem with poles (we didn't have to put on snowshoes all the way). Reaching ~4800 ft there was an open, south-facing slope that offered great view, including Mt Rainier. Continuing along the ridge line, there were many icy spots. Ice axes were required for the last 200 ft because of ice and steepness. Awesome 360 views at the top! On the way down, we heard many gun shots, realizing people probably were doing target practice where we started. So from John Wayne Trail down, I blew my whistle hard continuously to alert the shooters. They heard me and stopped shooting. So we were able to get down safely (I raised both hands up high when walking towards them). 2 miles one way, 3100 ft gain, reached top in 3 hours. We were the first group. Saw only one group (of 10 women) on our way down. Snowshoe/XC Ski
Issues:
Snow on trail | Road to trailhead inaccessible
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Summary: Beautiful hike and a great choice when elevated avalanche conditions make other hikes an unwise choice. 7 hour...
Summary: Beautiful hike and a great choice when elevated avalanche conditions make other hikes an unwise choice. 7 hour round trip with long lunch and summit visit.
Equipment: There was no need for an ice axe given the snow conditions, but on an icy day you’d be happy to have one. We were definitely glad to have our snowshoes as the upper part of the ridge is slightly steep. Forest road 55 was covered in about a foot of new snow when we arrived and since we were driving a Toyota Camry we had to park on the bridge. (Note: by the end of the day the 10 or so SUVs that had driven the road had cleared nice tracks. The worst of the snow is actually at the start of the road, so if you think you can make that, then you should be fine later on.) We left the car around 10:45am. We hiked all the way from the bridge to the trail head. Funny side note: While hiking the road we were passed by about 8 SUVs, but we ended up beating them all because the lead SUV got stuck and all of them had to back down the road (we did not envy the drivers backing down the steep road in the snow). We were the first to hike the berm road since the new snow, but a group of mountaineers had headed up before us taking a different route to the berm road. Their tracks led us to the trail which would have been hard to find otherwise. The trailhead is at least 100 feet beyond the rock slope at the nose of the NW ridge – we didn’t see any signs for it. The trail is small and not very well marked, but route finding was easy for us since we were following tracks (the mountaineer only seemed to lose the trail once so maybe it's not that bad). The best thing you can do is look for lopped branches and the occasional pink ribbon. The snow at the berm road had a half-inch rain crust, but it was light and fluffy by the time we crossed the upper road. Conditions at the summit were ideal – blue skies and great views - tons of great powder. Given our long approach it was 5:30 when we reached the car so we were glad we had brought our headlamps. Fantastic day! I’ll definitely hit this hike again because it’s so unused. Day hike
Issues:
Blowdowns | Snow on trail | No water source
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This is a great hike for a clear day on the weekend, I did not see a soul on the...
This is a great hike for a clear day on the weekend, I did not see a soul on the trail and only passed two groups of firearm enthusiasts on the road on the way out. When compared to the nearly 30 cars I saw in the High Point Trailhead overflow parking just off I-90, or the 100 or so that surely climbed Mt Si today, I knew I made the right choice. It's hard to believe that this hike gets so little traffic, as I found it to be no more difficult or out of the way than Mailbox Peak yet just as rewarding. I also found the trail to be surprisingly well beaten and easy to follow even with 3 inches of fresh powder, despite what I have read in several trip reports. I only had difficulty through 2 small talus fields near the top, and only because I lacked the confidence to go straight over them while covered in a solid layer of snow.
I highly recommend this hike to any well seasoned hiker in good shape. Take exit 47 off I-90, head south and turn right at the "T", following Tinkham rd for about 1 mile, then turn left onto rd 5510, follow this 1 mile and park where the just after the first hairpin turn at the juction in the -second hairpin turn. This left-hand turn off runs north for about a mile before a dead end, about half way down on the right is the start of the trail. The trail crosses one more forest service road(another acces option) a few hundred feet up and closely follows the NW ridge all the way to the summit. Stay on this NW ridge and you can't go wrong. Day hike
Issues:
Snow on trail
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Short, intense and rewarding. We enjoyed this hike, though it’s not for everyone. The steep and relentless grade makes it...
Short, intense and rewarding. We enjoyed this hike, though it’s not for everyone. The steep and relentless grade makes it a training hike, but not ideal for a causal walk in the woods. Still, it is a short amount of distance to get views normally reserved for much longer hikes. If the hike is too short for your taste, you can extend the hike down the other side of Humpback to Scout Lake, though we understand the trail down to the lake is something of a scramble. Humpback Mountain is also not as well known as other nearby hikes, so it is also a great alternative on those crowded sunny days. There is still a little bit of snow at the top, but should be melted out soon. To read more details about this hike, we've put more detailed information on our our blog at:
http://www.hikingwithmybrother.com/[…]/humpback-mountain-trail.html Jer Day hike
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Brief report: Snow is hard at lower elevations with more recent snow above 4500', so traction devices (crampons recommended)...
Brief report: Snow is hard at lower elevations with more recent snow above 4500', so traction devices (crampons recommended) and mountain axe required, especially on steeper slopes.
No snow on this route from the Annette Lake trailhead until reaching the railroad grade. Went up from the shed on the NE section and over the false summit. About four hours up and three down. Weather cooperated with no precipitation until 15 minutes after departing down I90. http://www.flickr.com/[…]/ |
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