Eightmile Lake
Sep 20, 2008
by
Mike Collins
—
last modified
Sep 21, 2008 06:17 PM
- Type of Outing
- Day hike
- Read More in our Hiking Guide
- Hike: Eightmile Lake
- Region: Central Cascades -- Leavenworth Area
- Agency: Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest - Wenatchee District
- Trails: Eightmile Lake (#1552)
- Avg Rating: 3.36
Eightmile Lake and Mountain
Last November Justus Smitchger and I climbed the sister peak to Eightmile Mtn, Jack Ridge. We were weathered away by a snowstorm from also climbing Eightmile Mtn. The mountains always have something to teach a climber. On that day it was a refresher course on when to turn around. We returned on Saturday along with Tom Sjolseth to complete the task of summiting Eightmile Mtn.
The mountain was approached via the well maintained trail to Eightmile Lake. The lake itself is unattractive. At this late date in the season it shows a bathtub ring ten feet above the waterline. The muddy edges are equally unappealing. We continued on the trail for one mile to its western end and then hiked north along an adjacent watercourse for ~1/2 mile to access the southern slopes of Eightmile. We crossed the lower fan of a large avalanche field which has piles of debris trees from a tremendous slide. The slide tossed debris 50 feet up the other side of the creek. Heading up the avalanche slope would bring the hiker directly into an old-growth forest of slide alder. So we ascended the nearby forested slope which connected with a shallow basin offering a small pond of water. We trended NE from here to get around a cliff band. Once atop the cliffy area it was a matter of boulder hopping on the large granite rocks to gain elevation to the summit ridge. The summit is a large flattened area with a slight incline. Inhaling the smoke from the nearby Jack Creek fire sickened me and we didn't linger long on the top. I connected by climbing radio with Randy Busch who was climbing Jack Ridge. He was in the thick of the smoke and a retreat to the fresher air below was the agreed upon objective. This peak is a Backcourt Peak but also on the list of tallest 200 peaks in the state. In summarizing Tom said it best; "Scatching it off the list is the best part of climbing this peak." Elevation gain; 4,800 ft Car-to-car; 7 hrs 15 min
The mountain was approached via the well maintained trail to Eightmile Lake. The lake itself is unattractive. At this late date in the season it shows a bathtub ring ten feet above the waterline. The muddy edges are equally unappealing. We continued on the trail for one mile to its western end and then hiked north along an adjacent watercourse for ~1/2 mile to access the southern slopes of Eightmile. We crossed the lower fan of a large avalanche field which has piles of debris trees from a tremendous slide. The slide tossed debris 50 feet up the other side of the creek. Heading up the avalanche slope would bring the hiker directly into an old-growth forest of slide alder. So we ascended the nearby forested slope which connected with a shallow basin offering a small pond of water. We trended NE from here to get around a cliff band. Once atop the cliffy area it was a matter of boulder hopping on the large granite rocks to gain elevation to the summit ridge. The summit is a large flattened area with a slight incline. Inhaling the smoke from the nearby Jack Creek fire sickened me and we didn't linger long on the top. I connected by climbing radio with Randy Busch who was climbing Jack Ridge. He was in the thick of the smoke and a retreat to the fresher air below was the agreed upon objective. This peak is a Backcourt Peak but also on the list of tallest 200 peaks in the state. In summarizing Tom said it best; "Scatching it off the list is the best part of climbing this peak." Elevation gain; 4,800 ft Car-to-car; 7 hrs 15 min
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Small Basin at 6400'
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Smoke Rising over Jack Ridge
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Summit Plateau of Eightmile Mtn
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