Devil's Ridge — Saturday, Jul. 1, 2006

This report is for the Devils Dome Loop, a loop trip around Jack and Crater Mountains east of Ross Lake. This is Hike #21 in the “101 Hikes in the North Cascades.” The route is up to McMillan Park on the east shoulder of Crater Mountain, over to Devils Park, up on to Jackita Ridge, on to Devils Ridge including nearly over the top of Devils Dome, and then down to Ross Lake and returning using the East Bank trail. The book claims 42 miles and 7500 feet elevation gain but I counted the USGS contour lines and came up with 9600 feet of change. You choose which one to believe. We started from the East Bank trailhead off of Highway 20. After crossing the Ruby Creek bridge most people go left and up the East Bank Trail. We took a right and followed that trail along Ruby Creek that connects with the Jackita Ridge trail near the Canyon Creek Trailhead. Note that the Park Service does not seem to want to maintain their part of this trail, about the first mile. Brush covers the trail in places so watch where you put your feet. You could step off the trail and have a fall, like I did. There is also a large log across the trail that appears to have been there for some time. You have to climb over it. The trail improves considerably when you cross into the National Forest. Near the junction with the Jackita Ridge trail is an old structure that is slowly collapsing. Its roof has fallen in since last summer. On the Okanogan National Forest web site for the current conditions of the Jackita Ridge trail the Forest Service says the log bridge is out. What they may mean is that the replacement bridge is not completed, but it is quite usable and very impressive. It only seemed to be lacking finishing touches to the hand rail when we went by. Much better then last year when it was just a simple log across the wide and fast Canyon Creek. Once on the Jackita Ridge trail you go up and at a quick pace, it gains 3300 feet in about three miles. There were two large logs across the trail early on and another 10 or so small logs, mostly before the wilderness boundary. None of these are big problems. The outlet from Crater Lake was flowing fast and full, we had to wade it, in one spot it was knee deep. With the snow rapidly melting, this will drop down to an easy crossing in the next few weeks. Note, the tempting looking rock step in the middle may be loose. One of the crew tried using it and took a bath. Test it first! We camped the first night at the junction with the Crater Lake trail. From the junction you continue on to cross McMillan Park, which has some open meadows and the start of the many flowers seen on this trip. There was a small camp site here, later in the summer you could camp most anywhere but I don’t know what you would have for water. The Devils Park shelter is like most shelters, a little run down but with a lot of places for a tent near it. The trail does a long switchback up the south side of Jackita Ridge and then rounds a corner where we ran into the first snowbank. Over the next ridge and another steep snowfield at the top of the talus slope. After that we hit scattered snow patches in the trees but these will b gone in a few more days. At the North Fork of Devils Creek I had to turn back with an injured crew member so the rest of this is passed on from the others that continued and what I could see from the high points. Climbing up out of the North Fork valley there was many more small snow patches in the trees but nothing that was difficult. Again expect it to be gone in a few more days. After passing the trail junction to Anacortes Crossing there were only a few patches of snow until Devils Dome. The views were great and I am promised pictures but they will withhold them as long as the can. What else are good friends for? The snow on the side of Devils Dome could be seen from before I turned back but again it didn’t stop the crew. This will take a little longer to melt out completely. After the Dome, there was not other snow. The trip down from Dry Creek camp was uneventful and the Roland Creek Camp had only my crew for the night. Roland Creek was running full and presented a little problem but there was a crossing a ways up stream. As the snow melts, the stream will go down. I have crossed it later in the summer, it was a non-event, a simple couple of hops, and even if you were to slip, you might only get in up to your boot laces. Great trip, lots of up and down but you get solitude and scenery to make up for it. We only saw two others on the route and we seemed to be the first to make it this year. There were no other tracks in the snowbanks. And about bugs; we had none going in but a few days later the mosquitoes were out in force so it is all in the timing.