Castle Peak (8306')

The forecast for Memorial Day weekend was for rain. I chose to climb Castle Peak thinking it might lie in the rain-shadow of the Chilliwack Mountains to the west. This thought was quite rosy as the only relief from the rain was when it snowed at the higher elevations. The optimistic proposal did serve to get me out of the house and enjoy mountain comraderie with friends.

Castle Peak lies 1 1/2 miles south of Canada. The shortest approach to Castle Peak in from the north. We crossed the border at Sumas and drove on Route 1, then Route 3 to Manning Provencial Park. We parked the car at the trailhead parking for the Monument 78 trail. The trailhead sign warned of flooding over the trail in sections. This meant that 1/3 mile of the trail is a 12 foot wide knee-deep stream. By hugging the bank a serpentine route can be found and we hiked the 6+ miles to a fork in the trail. The left fork goes to the US border at the Monument 78 obelisk right next to the Pacific Crest Trail. We took the right fork which brought us to a bridge over the swift and wide Castle Creek. Then hiking south we crossed the border swath about a quarter-mile west of Monument 78.

Our route was to be up Crow Creek, the second creek south of the border. We misread the terrain thinking a wide stream we encountered was the first creek, Princess Creek. We pushed the upclimb button too soon. This lead to our ensnarement in several wide and long groves of slide alder. After losing my right gaiter somewhere in this lateral forest we arrived at our campsite at 5100' adjacent to Crow Creek 7 hrs after leaving the car. We were quite wet from the rain and plopped into the tent to change into warm/dry clothes. It rained the entire night and after breakfast the rain continued. The plan was to stay in the tent until noon. Then, irregardless of the weather, we were to start the climb. If we were going to fail on a peak it wouldn't be while lying on our backs in warm sleeping bags. The crux manuever of the climb was unzipping the tent flap to go outside. A light rain greeted us as we hiked up the Crow Creek valley.

At the head of the valley is a cirque. On the left side is a rock wall some 300 feet tall. We ascended the adjacent gully which on the USGS map appears as a wide NNE directed snow-finger. Kicking steps up the 45 degree slope brought us steadily into the clouds. The cloudy skies benefitted us as at the top of the couloir was a ten foot overhanging cornice which would have been more menacing in the heat of the sun. We breeched the cornice where it thinned on the left and reached the col at 7400 feet. The southern slopes of Castle are a tumble of piano-sized rocks laying aside granite slabs interrupted by patches of heather. We reached the top of a false summit but thinking we were at the highpoint were perplexed to not see any cairn. The snowfall eased briefly allowing us to see the blurry ghostly outline of the true summit some 1000 feet to the west. Climbing the granite slabs was tricky as the snow slickened the surface. I had expected verglas beneath the snow and was happy to not find it or we might not have summited. Beneath the cairned summit is a benchmark. It is an older aluminum type about the size of a half-dollar placed in 1904 by a USGS surveying party. Newer benchmarks are larger and made of brass. There is a register beneath the snow but we lacked the energy to excavate it. Our descent was along the same lines avoiding the false summit. The wide gully offered an 1800 foot glissade which quickened our return to camp 8 1/2 hrs after leaving.

The stars made an appearance during the night and our return trip to the car was sunny for the most part. We took a gradual descent line from Crow Creek to Princess Creek. After Princess Creek we stayed right at 4100' avoiding some wetland areas adjacent to Castle Creek. Moose tracks and scat surprised us as moose are not common in Washington. A small pile of salmon-red feathers revealed where a red-shafted fliker met its end. Their slow undulatory flight is quite predicable and they fall as easy prey to the falcon family. We also found several small trees which had recently been felled by beaver. It is reassuring to know that the construction of its dam is the only building allowed in the Pasayten Wilderness. Distance travelled; 20 miles Elevation gain; 5,000 feet Car-to-car; 50 hrs