Trip Reports

The Crystal Lake/Peak trail is snow free from Hwy 410 to the intersection of the Crystal Peak trail at 4800 feet. The foot bridge across Crystal Creek is a small, single log, without a handrail and it is just above the surface of the creek. The creek is running very full and fast. A slip off this bridge could be a disaster of the first magnitude.

The trail after the bridge is 95% snow free for about a mile, or up to about 5500 feet, where the trail disappears. At his point you will be out of the trees and can go straight up about 500 feet on solid snow to 6000 feet, where the trail reappears. (Ice ax recommended ) The remaining mile to the summit is 85% snow free and easy to follow across the snow patches. The summit is completely melted out, except for some large overhanging cornices.

The Crystal Lake basin, above the lower lake is still 100 % snow covered.

Trail is in good shape. Only a little wet at the beginning then dry the rest of the way to the lookout. No obstructions.

The lookout (building) is closed but the observations decks are open. Nice views of Bridal Veil Falls, Mt. Index, and Barclay Mountain from the lookout.

Nice early season hike to take the kids on if you aren't interested in trugging through the snow.

My partner and I left the Eldorado TH at 1:30 a.m. as the Cascade River road is gated here (MP 20). It’s about 2.5-mile walk up the road to the Boston Basin TH. The road to the gate at MP 21 has only a few downed trees and it made no sense to us why this mile hasn’t opened yet. The rest of the road had considerably more trees down as well as a major slide at the Midas Creek crossing. The trail up to the basin was in fair condition until just after re-crossing Midas creek. There was a faint snow-bridge over the creek (hard to see how faint by headlamp), and then the trail disappeared. We then found ourselves in major slide debris. After seeing it in daylight this debris was actually mass destruction, the largest we had ever encountered. Large trees had not only been toppled but also pulverized. The trail was completely obscurd at this point. Instead of trying to cross it to the west, we decided to head up into the basin. By the time we cleared the trees at about 5200’, we had ascended into the clouds so we decided to sit it out, get a little sleep, and see if the sun would burn off the clouds. We slept? for about an hour and at 6:15 we could only see slightly higher so we figured we’d climb up a few hundred feet and if we had no relief, we’d head out. Sure enough, a few hundred feet up, BLUEBIRD! We were slightly east in the basin so we traversed west toward W. Ridge couloir, reaching the base at about 8 a.m. The snow was soft but we were still able to make good time. The basin was till completely snow-filled with only a few patches of solid terrain melted out, none of which appeared large enough to camp on. We went on to climb Forbidden Peak, and had much difficulty locating the trail on our descent. A fine summit day but the trail caused us, and other parties, much difficulty. This is a tough trail to follow by headlamp and equally tough to locate on the descent from Boston Basin. Judging by the amount of destruction, the upper portion of this trail will be obscured for many seasons to come.

Duckabush River Trail to Tenmile Camp

Tired of hiking snow in June, I opted for a River Valley romp. Olympic was reporting a 3800' snow-line, so I headed for Duckabush.

The trail was in excellent condition for 4 miles to Big Hump. After big hump the trail was in good condition to the National Park boundary, with 4 small trees over the trail and a few easily crossed creeks.

From the park boundary to Tenmile camp the trail was in mostly fair condition, with numerous blowdowns over trail, two deep mudholes to detour around, several jump-or-splash creek crossings, and a huge tangle of trees and rock to get over just before Tenmile Camp. No show stoppers, but don't bring the kids.

Tenmile Camp was in good shape. The bear wire and composting toilet were functioning.

I encountered only eight others on the trail all day and had Tenmile camp to myself. No bears. I heard deer at the creek just beyond camp, and saw numerous field mice, one of which audaciously seranaded me with squeaks at 2:30am. He seemed to be begging for food.

The river was running very fast, and I decided to turn back the next morning rather than attempt to ford to Duckabush Camp. When I got back on the road I passed a search and rescue party looking for a lost rafter on the river. Seems lots of folks don't realize how late the thaw is this year.

(Directions: From Hoodsport 22mi. N on 101 to Duckabush Road, signed for the Duckabush Rec. Area., six miles - half paved half excellent gravel to the signed trail head. The trailhead toilet has been destroyed by vandals. Olympic NP wilderness permit box at trailhead. NW Forrest Pass required. You can get a bear canister at the Hoodsport RS for a $3 donation.)

After driving through the rhododendrons in full pink bloom, arrived at the upper trailhead to a full parking lot. Trail quite popular with lots of large dogs shlepping up the mountain not as in as good a shape as their owners! But oh the wildflowers in full bloom!! Yellow violets, blue violets, orange indian paintbrush, carpet phlox, wild strawberries in full bloom with no bugs yet. The views were spectalular at the top - foggy still below. Well worth the effort to see the wildflowers. Snow in minimal easily traversed patches still remaining in spots

Taylor River

The Taylor River trail is snow free beyond Big Creek which was our destination. Lots of water was coming over Otter Falls and, of course, Big Creek Falls above the bridge, not to mention the falls at Marten Creek. We saw yellow and purple violets in bloom, a few trilliums, though most were past, and bleeding heart. There was more water in most of the creek crossings than usual and across Anderson Creek someone had placed a light line. Use of hiking poles was very helpful on this crossing in particular and most made it across without getting wet boots. One part of the trail beyond the rock pile has quite a bit of water on it, but with careful navigation one can get through it without getting wet. We encountered a group of bikers on the trail which, I thought, was closed to bikes. I couldn't see that they were damaging the trail, though, as it is built on an old road bed.

Mosquitoes at trailhead, but not further. The trail has a very gentle, even grade from trailhead to the pass. Horses are allowed on the trail, but they can't currently make it past a combination of blowdowns, snowbanks, and stream crossing about 3-4 miles in. (What a shame.) Maintenance is excellent to that point.

Lots of snow and meltwater on the trail above the junction with the Standup Creek/Earl Peak trail, but it should melt very soon. If you lose the trail, just head straight ahead towards the pass, and you shouldn't have any trouble navigating. With all the meltwater, there's water on the trail in many places, and all the creeks are full. Stafford Creek was raging and looked to be slightly above it's normal banks, especially in the hot afternoon sunshine.

We saw two deer near the pass, which bounded away from us before we could get too close.

The views from the pass are outstanding, with the Stuart Range appearing across the Ingalls Creek valley as you reach the top. We were tempted to climb Navaho Peak, which looked mostly free of snow up the ridge from the pass, but decided to head back to the car and burgers at Scott's Dairy Freeze in North Bend.

The Snow Lake trail off the Icicle Creek Road out of Leavenworth has the most blown down trees across a trail that I have every seen. Eight of us hiked up the Nada Lake for the day and had to climb over, crawl under or get around many fallen trees. You start running into the downed trees about 2 miles up the trail. A couple of the switch backs have trees piled up in them so bypass trails that were made by hikers to get around the mess. All the snow has melted out, so the trail was open all the way to the lake. Snow Creek is really roaring now with the high temps meting snow higher up. Nada Lake is in a nice setting with a large waterfall on the west side coming down an unnamed creek east of The Temple. This was a pretty hot day with the temp in the 80's. Coming back down to the trail head, the section through the old burn area was like hiking in an oven with dials turned on bake and 350 degrees. It was a scorcher and it's not even summer yet. Would make a good Fall hike after the weather got cooler and the Larches were turning yellow. Plus maybe by then, all the downed trees would be cut out.

Met two USFS contract trail maintenance workers who had began cutting out the blown down trees with a two person cross cut saw. They said that the Forest Service had told them that they could cut out all the fallen trees in one day, Ha Ha Ha!!!. Sure if you had about 4 or 5 crews with chainsaws. Some of the areas have so many trees piled up in one spot, it would take quite a long time for only two guys and one crosscut saw to get the job done. They said they were going to take some photos of the damage to show the USFS personal what was covering the trail. Guess the Forest Service never checked out the trail themselves.

Just finished Vesper climb via the Sunrise Mine trail. The road is open to the trail head, the last blocking deadfall was being sawed out as we returned to the car. The lower part of the trail is in reasonable shape. The smallish logs over the Stillaguamish are manageable, although most people will scoot rather than walk. There is a little mud around, but it was well within what I would expect this time of the year.

Snow is patchy on the top of the switchbacks and continuous in the ""valley of death"". There is significant avalanche debris in the valley, but the snowpack appears to be quite stable now. The chute up to Hedley Pass is continouous steep snow with a moat on the north side. An ice axe and the ability to use it is a necessity. We watched a young girl without an axe performing a face-in slow kick-step descent; she was frightened and we were frightened for her. I must emphasize the run out is the moat and the rock wall.

Beyond Hedley Pass the trail is mostly snow covered. The snow appears to be stable, however the convexity and steepness of the slope should provoke a careful look and maybe digging a pit or two before crossing. Out of about 10 people summiting on Vesper we were the only walkers, everyone else was on skis or boards.

Route is snowfree until basin at 6000 ft. Still 1-2 ft of snow in basin, however it is melting quickly and lake has started to thaw out. Some fun scrambling on the last false summit. No register on summit. (maybe someone could bring one up if they come) Two others arrived while I was up there and took on their summit tradition of flying a kite. The gleaming white summit of Eldorado was very obvious and stood out as well as many other peaks.Robinson creek as well as all the others in this area were really running high this weekend. Time; up-4 1/2 hrs, down-2 1/2 hrs.

You can disregard the hand-written sign at Ipsut TH warning of steep dangerous snow between Northern Loop and Carbon River Camp, unless you're timid/inexperienced or with small children. First real obstacle is a patch just below CarbGlac terminus, which sadly deprives many visitors of the views just above the snout. The contours of the snow and slope make it appear more treacherous than it is. Drop below the trail a few feet and cross where debris allows better traction. Regain the trail immediately, or you'll have to fight through dense brush. I tried to access Elysian Fields via Dick Creek. Where the creek gets pinched between the cliffs of Northern Crags and Pacific Point, the remaining snowbridges were on the verge of colapse leaving no opportunity for further progress. Returned to Dick Creek Camp for some more trail hiking, and had to contend with the broken twisted remnants of the log bridge. I propose we name this Nixon Bridge, since it makes for a Tricky Dick crossing. This might be a prudent point to turn back unless you're willing to get your feet wet. After a mile(?) of tedious switchbacks, a clearing afforded views across Carbon Glacier to Mother Mountain and what I believe must have been Echo Rock. The trail abruptly became difficult to find after another 1/4 mile or less at a small waterfall. Continuing could be easy depending on your destination, as terain featured good landmarks. Great conditions and steep sections made for some fun snow-play. Bring an ice axe if you've got one. Worries of a hot afernoon crossing of the swolen Dick Creek forced me down early and gave me time to attempt Seattle Park. Looked easy enough on the map: follow WL trail as far as possible, then follow Cataract Creek and Marmot Creek. Encountered a (seasonal?) stream not on the map. Exit footprints suggested others waded (or tried to cross on logs/rocks but slipped?) Not enjoying wet feet, and lacking enough snow for easy off-trail travel, I turned around for a defeated hike back down to Ipsut. A short side trip on the N.L.Trail revealed I could have made it a loop on the far side of the Carbon River, since THE LOWER CARBON RIVER BRIDGE IS UP! Ignore any reports you hear to the contrary. It's in fine shape. Several bear sightings have been recently reported on the route to Carbon Glacier.

Left the office at 4:00pm Friday in NW Portland and headed up to Jack's Restaurant to try my hand at their version of the Mt St Helens lottery. With about 50 people crammed into the mini mart side of the establishment, the guy behind the counter explained to everyone how it would go - take a ticket, write your name on one half, deposit that half in the coffee can, and be outside in the parking lot by 6:00pm for the drawing to see who gets picked. Being that only 50 permits where to be issued and each person who's name was drawn could buy 4 permits, it's possible that the first 13 people could snatch up all 50 permits. It was interesting to people watch in the parking lot. Bandanas, Nalgene bottles and Tevas were all the rage. Obviously most didn't come straight from work dressed in their Friday casuals. Or maybe they did. So as the lottery was about to begin everyone gathered close and waited for the first ticket to be drawn. Ha! It was mine! I went back inside, snatched up my 3 permits for Saturday, and headed back home.

Saturday morning Erik and my dad came over at 5:30am and we headed north for Climbers Bivouac. Luckily the road to CB had just been plowed recently so we were able to start out at the Ptarmigan Ridge TH. Not many parking spaces to be had by 7:00am but we got one of the remaining ones. Our hike started out on snow from the get go. Probably 2 to 4 feet of it. As we popped out of the trees about an hour later the skies cleared. The general path steepens significantly as you pass Monitor Peak on your right. Still no need for crampons, ice axe, or even snowshoes but the sunscreen was very necessary. The snow today was perfect for kick stepping up the steepest sections. At around 6,500 ft our path (and most others) climbed this snowfree pumice ridge that was a nice break from traveling on snow but gave me an ugly picture of what it must be like to climb this mountain in late summer. The last 1,000 ft to the rim was back on snow. At the top (4 hours and 4,500 ft from the parking lot) views were outstanding. Wind was about 15 mph from the south. Temperature was probably in the mid 50's Nearly a 360 degree view. Mt Jefferson, Hood, Adams, and Rainier were all visible. Clouds had the Olympics socked in. You could also see the process of clouds slowly disappearing below us, from east to west. As for the crater itself, it wasn't in view until gently tip towing out onto the massive cornice for a quick peek. After lunch and about a 15 minute nap we began our butt sliding and glissading down the long and straight slopes. This was the only use we had for our ice axes today. The trek down was only 2 hours.

If anyone has ambitions to do this scramble (because it's not really a hike or a climb in my opinion) don't put it off because gaining elevation on pumice and ash in the summer heat can't be all that fun. And water, bring lots of it as no streams are crossed. Best of luck.

Did our annual leg warmer to Mt Townsend Saturday, and decided to try the north trail, instead of the south ( Camp Windy ) trail. The road (2820) to the trail is in great shape, and the trailhead was far above the clouds.

After a fairly steep climb, all in the shade, the trail goes around to the ""back side"" of the mountain, after the turn off at 2 miles. At this point, it became one of the nicest day hikes I have been on. The views were the best, and are of a part of the Olympics that you can't see from anywhere else. The trail leaves the tree line right above the Tubal Cain trailhead, and you can see all the way up that valley to the snow fields above Buckhorn lake.

The trail continues at a gentle pace to the summit, where we had a view to the east, of a sea of clouds, with Rainier and Baker sticking out.

Bring lots of water, there is none on the trail, and little or no shade after the tree line. The trail is in very good shape.

A very good day, and we only got passed by one little old lady.

The south trail head is open....the trail is easy to follow. At this time of year, hikers must deal with heat...take extra water. After surviving the climb to the ridge, we enjoyed the ridge walk. Wild flowers are still in abundance. but beware. Twin springs is barely dribbling and Roza Creek is barely usable as a water source.

Hiked up the Whitechuck trail on a beautiful Saturday. The trail is in pretty good shape. Only a few blowdowns and these can be easily negotiated. Snow starts about half way to Kennedy hotsprings but is melting fast. No bugs to speak of yet. The river is running very high which does create a problem with the foot log across the river to Kennedy hotspring down.

The road is now drive-able all the way to the trailhead. Amazingly, on a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky in the North Cascades, we saw only one other party on the mountain. The Hidden Lake Peaks trail itself was pretty much covered in fallen slide alder and intermitent snow for the first half mile or so, after which it entered the cool forest where the only difficulty was a few minor stream crossings. After about 1.5 miles, though, we managed to lose the trail in the now-returned snow (the key is to cross the river into the gully). It was no problem, though. With the snow cover we just headed uphill until we came out of the trees. From there it's a quick 90 minute walk up steep snowfields to the summit (maybe 35 degrees at the steepest - though there are other ways around).

The views were fantastic! Second best summit views in the state so far for me (after Sahale). We checked the summit register and we were the second party to summit this year (by about two hours).

Amazingly, despite the heat, there was no postholing, and the glissading was fast and fun. It may have been a little too hot for the St. Bernard, but the Husky seemed to have fun. We may need to leave the ""big dog"" home for the rest of the summer.

Rather than get out of bed at 1:00AM like Meganerd (See Cascade Pass writeup) my buddy and I decided to camp at Mineral Creek Campground which is located at Mile 16 on the Cascade River Road. This is the road which goes straight over the bridge when leaving Marblemount. The campground is quiet and the tent sites on soft, raked ground. We just slept on the ground and woke up at 4:15 AM for an early breakfast. It is a short 4 mile ride to the Eldorado parking area which can easily be located for the next month because it is where the road is gated and you have to stop. About 150 feet downstream a well worn path descends to the North Fork of the Cascade River. Crossing the river was the trickiest part of the whole climb. A slippery log was negotiated by putting on our crampons. That lead to a root ball where some low Class 5 manuevers brought us to the top. A large permanent cedar log took us the rest of the way across the swift and deep water. A climbers trail is easily found on the other side which brings you up to 4,000' where it goes up several hundred feet of boulders. Snow is encountered at 4,300'. The route up is to the left of El Doarado Creek on snow at present. At about 5,000' a waterfall appears which is kept on the right of you for the climb. The trail gets muddy for a while until getting back to snowfield at 5,400'. The large granite wall to the left will have to be crossed in order to get into the Roush Creek drainage. That crossover takes place at about 6,150'. Then one descends about 150 feet into the Roush Creek drainage for a long ascent to reach Eldorado Glacier. Just grind away until reaching the summit ridge at 7,500'. There will probably be bootprints in the snow to guide you. We brought a rope for what we expected to a knife-edged ridge up to the summit. It was more like a spoon-edged ridge and we made the summit without worrisome exposure unroped. We brought crampons but only used them for the creek crossing 6,600' below. From car to summit was 4 hrs 40 minutes. From car to car took less than 8 hrs. The views of the surrounding area are as beautiful as one might have heard from previous reports.

We had a good ride this last wed. As it was so hot we went up to Buck Creek (right before Crystal Mt) and took the Ranger Creek trail which climbs steadily but with many switchbacks through huge old growth forest-thus keeping us cool.The scent was ""high-country woods"" and I almost hyperventilated trying to keep smelling it in. Unfortunatey at about 4 miles we ran out of trail as there was too much snow to proceed. So we tied the horses in a switchback and hiked aways further to see what we could see. We found a huge tree blocking so until the forest service gets up there we can't go any further with or without snow. So we rode back down and found a viewpoint lunchspot in the sun but also on an anthill-hmm...why does that happen? After we reached the trailhead again we took another trail going south along and above the highway for about 1 1/2 miles then reached another trailhead, this time for for Deep Creek. It said ""Noble Knob 4 miles"" and since we've been to Noble Knob from the other side of the mountain (Lost lake trail) that really sounded like an adventure. This trail was much steeper, (perhaps an old motorcycle trail) but on we climbed for about 3 miles until we again hit too much snow. The horses needed a rest so we tied up and I again,(having a bad case of the bear went over the mountain syndrome)hiked again ""to see what I could see"". Wow! I did see the other side of the mountain and a very beautiful mountain sight! We returned to the trailer and parking area tired but thinking about when we could return to do more of the trail when the snow finally melts.

The trail up Mt. Baldy (north of Easton) is essentially snow-free except for the last mile which runs along the ridge. That part of the trail is about 50% snow-free. An ice axe is not needed but a hiking pole would be useful. Once on the final ridge the trip features wonderful views of Mt. Stuart and Mt. Rainier. This part of the trail gets such little use that spring beauties were blooming right in the trail. On the high and dry spots that are snow free, the rock garden flowers are starting to bloom. Down below, keen-eyed observers will spot calypso orchids. Bring plenty of water and do this hike very early in the day to avoid frying your brain on the steep and sunny upper part of the trail. Leave I-90 at exit 70 and zero out your car’s trip odometer. Cross to the north side of the freeway and drive 0.6 miles west on the frontage road. Turn right onto the Kachess Dam Rd (#4818). At 1.0 turn right under the power lines. At 1.7 turn left and immediately bear right at first fork. At 2.2 the road forks. The left fork leads to the actual trail head which is very close. But there is a tree down so I took the right fork which leads to a campsite next to Silver Creek. If you do not like the power line road (which is a bit rough) then continue on the Kachess Dam Road and look for a good gravel road that turns right and makes a bee line through a clear-cut and toward the Silver Creek gorge. Drive as close to the gorge as you can. At this point the road bends to the right. Park and find the well beaten path through the woods 150 feet or so to the trail head. I could see this road once I was up the trail a bit and had an aerial view but I have not driven it. The trail head is at about 2,350'. Walk up the creek a short way to an excellent foot bridge. Before long the trail enters a clear-cut. When you come to the road, turn left. Just after the road bends to the right the trail leaves the road and continues climbing. At 3,550' you come to the junction with the Easton Ridge trail (#1212). This is well marked with a sign. At just under 4,000' the trail skirts the top of a cliff. If you are looking for a shorter hike, this makes for a good view point and turn around. At 4,550' the ground is 50% snow covered in wooded areas. At 4,942' you finally arrive at a high point which is the next trail junction. Here there is several feet of well consolidated snow. The Thomas Mountain trail continues north and is snowed in. The Domerie Divide trail (#1308.2) heads southeasterly along the ridge toward Mt. Baldy. I did not see any trail junction sign. At about 4,775' the trail begins to skirt the south side of the Mt. Baldy summit. Leave the trail for an easy hike following the ridge along the path of least resistance to the summit which the USGS reports to be 5,107'.

Joey

Attempted this peak. Very good trail up to about 3000 feet, then starts to have several blowdowns. These are easy to get to. At the top of the first switchbacks the trail is completely buried in snow. As it traverses along the side it was hard to tell where the trail went, and we went as far as the second avalanche gully. At this point we lost the trail and the gully snow looked very slick to cross. Also, the gully snow looked like it may collapse and drop us into the stream running below it in certain places. Think I'll wait a few more weeks before trying it again.

Forbidden Peak West Ridge 6/13 – 6/14, 2002 -- Boston Basin

Jerry and I decided to give this one a go despite the fact that we had limited time and the road was closed. This is our story.

Approach on Cascade River Road -- The road is gated at the Eldorado trailhead, just before MP 20. It probably could be open until MP 21 but maybe there isn’t any parking available there? There are only some minimal trees and brush to cross to MP 21. You could manage this far on a mountain bike. After this, there are awesome avalanche paths that have come down from both the Johannesburg and Forbidden sides. In some spots there is probably 6 feet of snow and debris still covering the road. It’ll be a while before this is cleared away. Selected Climbs says “Drive 21.7 miles on the Cascade River Road” which very well could be the case. However, be advised that the junction for the Boston Basin train is past MP 22. Following the road is very straightforward.

Approach on Boston Basin Trail – The 1st ¾ of a mile on the old mining road is in good shape with some mud and a few blown down trees. After this, the way is complicated because you have to cross the same awesome avalanche paths that went all the way down the valley to the Cascade River Road. Pay attention, the way is easy to lose with intermittent snow patches beginning here (elev. approx. 3,800’). The 1st major stream crossing went across a snow bridge that looked suspect and, given the very warm temperatures of the entire week before, made for a raging stream beneath. We made it ok. After this, there may be 4 more avalanche paths to cross. All paths have snow underneath and are covered by fir and hemlock trees and are littered with branches everywhere. This was my 1st trip to Boston Basin but I suspect these conditions are going to make the hike in more challenging now and perhaps for several seasons to come. When we saw solid snow heading up to above timberline we took it, knowing our route was a bit more circuitous but would be easier to navigate as it was now getting dark (we left the car @ 6:30 pm).

Boston Basin -- The entire basin is snow covered and there is no grass to be seen. Not being familiar with the area, we trudged around in the dark looking for a place to camp and get a few hours sleep. After some tribulation, we found a little valley where we could dig out a spot with enough room for 2 sleeping bags. Fortune was nice and there was running water on some nearby rocks so we didn’t have to break out the stove in the windy basin.

Unnamed Glacier Crossing – We left camp at 5 am and the snow was very soft. We didn’t use crampons during the entire climb but we did carry them with us thinking the couloir could have some nasty rime. We made it to the couloir in about 2 hours. We saw no sign of any major crevasses on the glacier only avalanche paths from snow that had fallen from higher up on previous days.

Couloir – The soft snow conditions made for a tiring ascent but also allowed for super sure foot and ice axe placements. At first the couloir looked benign with the soft snow and no apparent bergschrund. However, when we got higher, there was indeed a nasty ‘schrund that had a 40+ foot drop off onto some solid slabs. Falling and making it out was not an option! So we roped up here and decided to make a running belay up the couloir. You have to go in high and to the ascender’s left (west). I was able to place a picket as a deadman in the soft snow and higher up I got in some rock pro. There is a nasty moat between the rock wall on the couloir that is very deep and scary. It will go soon. Stay left towards the top of the gully where there is a chimney to the right. The snow took me to about 50 feet of Class 4 rock and then to the ridge. We made the ridge by 10am. Incidentally, the couloir bypass to the west is not an option as it is completely snowbound now.

West Ridge -- Upon 1st glance, we were crestfallen to see snow still on the ridge. Our relative strength was our rock skills and we knew we would be able to do a running belay up most of the normal route. Our 1st reaction was it wasn’t safe to proceed. So we took a 45 minute break and I thawed out my wet frozen feet on some warm rocks (my boots leak). We decided to give it a go anyhow. We went up probably 3 pitches worth on running belay when we decided the road ahead was a dead-end. The North bypass was snow covered but it didn’t look like a very stable snow. Some of the steeper alternatives on the South had water running over them which didn’t look inviting either given the exposure and the fact that we had only brought our mountain boots. Discretion was the better part of valor and we turned around.

Couloir Descent – Jerry was a real pal – he brought an extra 60m rope for the notoriously difficult descent. We had 2 ropes so we thought the hard part was done. The 1st double rope rappel (2 60m ropes) reached a belay station with about 6” to spare! After that, we got hung out to dry. With the high amounts of snow, it’s likely that the stations are still buried. I climbed up the rock (to west) and found a rappel station out of the gully so we rapped from here. We again got hung out and had to set up an anchor in the rock while standing in the sketchy moat. We must have been the 1st ones on the route this year because all of the webbing looked old so we backed up all stations. The mountain wanted to pull us into the moat which was pretty scary. We both agreed this was the most fatiguing set of rappels we had done. I climbed up once to free the stuck rope and it was less work. In retrospect, we may have been better off with a belayed (running or otherwise) down climb. Not falling into the ‘schrund was our biggest goal so the extra time and effort was worth it to us.

Glacier descent -- This was fast and easy. We made it to camp in 30 minutes. Beware that there is still a lot of loose, unconsolidated snow sliding off the mountain onto the descent path. Cooler temperatures may help. The snow on the entire route was very grainy and way easy to dig into (I could dig a hole with my hands).

Hike out -- Take caution to follow your path out. I thought we could save some time by following the “Spring Route” (ref. Beckey) and avoid the lower parts of the avalanche paths. To be fair, we did save time by traversing high. However, we descended the last avalanche gully and somehow missed the “trail”. By the time we realized it, we were way low (my altimeter watch was way off the entire trip) and could see the Cascade River Road. We got wedged between 2 creeks (Morning Star and Boston I think) and had no real alternative but to bushwhack to the road. This was the most difficult and unpleasant experience we had ever succumbed to (or so we said at the time). We made the road 3.5 hours from camp and made the car in another hour (10 pm).

Conclusions – This is a spectacular climb in an unbelievable area. We only allowed about 24 hours which is pretty tough with the added 2.5 miles (each way) road approach and the probable complications of the route. It’s still a bit too early for the West Ridge to be enjoyable. A true Cascade Hardman would probably have no problem but I’m just a Weekend Warrior Wannabe. In all seriousness, Jerry and I have intermediate skills. We climbed efficiently and handled the difficulties well, if not at supersonic speed. The West Ridge would be the easiest part for the both of us. Most intermediates will find this a joy and challenge in good conditions and a bit scary in bad conditions. I suggest an early start on climb day and plan on camping in the Basin rather than hiking out. This allows for plenty of time and enjoyment of the route. My best advice is to not miss the trail as the bushwhack took more from us than the entire climb.

Having visited this peak previously a few years back and being overly stunned by the area, a return trip was only fitting. As photographers, we penned a new itinary that would place our camps at the most scenic points - the col at 7,000' between the Colonial and Neve Glacier, and just below the summit of Snowfield ~7,600'. This made for a very ambitious first day, with over 6,000' gain!

The trail to Pyramid Lake is in fine shape. A couple of fallen trees exist across the trail, but they are hardly an inconvenience. The lake is snowfree, as is most of the climbers trail up to the shoulder of Pyramid Ridge. Snow became solid on this shoulder, at ~4,500'.

The ridge was easily traversed to the base of Pyramid Peak, which we reached shortly before noon. We were able to bypass the gulley descent and do a descending traverse amidst much slide/rock fall activity to the thawing lake at the base of the Colonial Glacier. A rather deep crack exists just above the lake, which is just barely begining to expose some blue water.

From the lake it was a grind to our first camp at the col, 1,200' above the lake, reached around 3:30. What a day! But the vantage of Snowfield and the Neve Glacier were worth it! It is amazing how small and insignificant Pyramid, Pinnacle and Paul Bunyan's Stump look from here.

The next morning we picked up camp and climbed the Neve Glacier to the base of Snowfield's summit pyramid, ~7,600' for our second camp. This took about an hour and fifteen minutes. The views from here are simply outstanding with Eldorado and the McAlister Glacier taking center stage.

After a brief rest, we sought the summit. The climb was short - only about 20 minutes from camp. The ridge is bare, but there is snow in the gulley to the notch and on the exposed ledges leading to the summit. The snow was extremely soft on the entire trip, finally freezing on our last night. Many times we post-holed up to our thighs when nearing rocks (not moats either).

The summit views were better than we remembered them. In fact, we elected to head back down to camp, have some dinner, and then haul our camera gear back up for the evening show. Final act finished at about 9:30 and we headed back to camp for some well deserved sleep. Though we set our alarms for 4:00 a.m. and headed for the summit again for sunrise!

Both Saturday and Sunday morning we awoke to cloud-filled valleys, an exceptional sight to behold! We knew the weather was probably cloudy/overcast down in the Puget Sound most of the weekend and we felt lucky to be working on our tans this entire time. Nothing but sunny skies for us!

We broke camp and headed for the car at 8:00. It is amazing how fast the descent goes after all the hard toil to get to such a place. We arrived back at the col in 30 minutes (despite white-out conditioins upon descending the Neve), and down the Colonical Glacier in another 30 minutes to the beginning of the infamous traverse. The car was reached around 2:30, with about an hour wasted trying to locate the climber's trail at the shoulder. (in hindsight, we should have marked this for the return trip). This was the trickiest part of the entire climb.

Incredibly, we were the only people to attempt Snowfield on such a fine weekend. We had the entire place to ourselves!

The Neve and Colonial Glaciers are in excellent shape. No crevasses were witnessed on the Neve, a surprise to us after our previous visit. Snow conditions were EXTREMELY soft all the way, though it froze above 7,000' our last night. No crampons were needed.

Pics will be posted soon at www.mountainscenes.com

Don

We were ready for our first overnight of the season. Remembering the wonderful flowers and butterflies on this trail from a day hike last year we returned to it to spend the night. I was a little put off upon hearing from the Leavenworth ranger station that there had been a Rattlesnake seen on this this trail recently. I also noted the report by Dman saying he had seen one snake. After a busy work week we did not have the stamina for an early start. It was 11:30 A.M. and the day was already hot as we headed up the trail. Not being used to the heat, we paused often, in shade. Especially when we could see a hot exposed stretch of trail ahead, we paused in the last piece of shade to cool down a litte before walking throuh it. It was like walking through an oven! This trail stays fairly close to Ingalls creek, often in sight of it, and always within hearing the sound of it. The creek was running full, a rush of white froth, cascading over boulders. In places it was almost deafening as the water was forced to squash between and over giant rock slabs. We found a nice little camp site, not too far in (maybe 3 miles). It was right at the creeks edge. I had read that creeks are highest late in the day due to snow melt. Just for fun, I placed a little stack of pebbles at the edge to monitor the level of the creek. After we had hung our food and were enjoying the evening, sure enough, the water began to trickle beyond the pebbles. It formed a puddle then spilled back into the creek a short distance further. In the morning, there was only wet sand, here. This seemed to attract the Blue butterflies. A short distance from this little camp, there was a rock slide area. Some of the boulders formed a small cave, out of which came icey cold air. I noticed all the cracks between the boulders in this rock slide, did that! I found this so interresting. I wonder what causes this? Looking high up the rock slide, I could see the rock cliffs from which these boulders must have tumbled down from, but no real clue as to why the cold breeze. In any case on this extreemly hot couple days, we thoroughly enjoyed it! This was a delightful trip. We watched a ""Dipper"" in the creek which certainly would have swept either of us away, but that little bird knew his business! Butterflies were abundant. We took lots of pictures, Lupine, Paintbrush, Nootka rose, and numerous wild flowers were in full bloom. We did not see or hear a snake. As we hiked out on Sat. we met dozens of hikers going in. Three seprate groups said they had seen a snake, one said that it rattled at them. This trail has so much to offer, in looking at the map it could be a simple overnight, or an extended trip with all sorts of ""loop"" trip possabilites. After reading that ""Dman"" had his pack staps and boots chewed on, we secured ours at night. However, when we woke up, we found that the handles to Julia's hiking poles had been chewed, and the staps were gone completly! Poor little creature, probably needed salt and must be getting a belly ache from all this webbing and stuff.

Dropped bike at Snow Lake TH + drove back to Denny Creek TH.

>>>>>Snow on trail starts before freeway ""underpass"". Hard to follow in one spot; keep close to river and you'll see the bridge. Faint tracks visible beyond bridge, becoming stronger. E-exposed avalanche glades completely snow-free but plenty of melt streamlets on trail. Falls are in full flow and pretty impressive. Trail/Tracks to plateau above Snowshoe falls is straightforward. No obvious tracks onward. Follow river to bridge (log) which is open. (2hrs).

>>>>>Cut up diagonally along E-slope to Hemlock Pass / Melakwa Lake. (My path leads to the E of the Pass and ends up a little higher than the Lake, but with few exceptions it's a pretty constant ascent grade and will get you to the Lake). (40min).

>>>>>Chose the W-slope for ascent to Melakwa Pass. Very faint tracks visible on E-slope but involved a river crossing I was not comfortable with as a solo traveler. Very good snow hiking conditions. (40min).

>>>>>Straightforward descent to Chair Peak Lake. Tracks to Snow Lake lead to the left in a slight ascent to clear some cliffs. (A recon from the bottom up shows you can cut straight down from the little pass by the lake, but be sure you have good boots, axes and a great sense of adventure - you may have to hike back up if any of the snow slides between now and then!). Note: If you choose to follow my tracks (right of others), be sure to use an ice axe for possible self-arrest as I made some steep double-jeopardy traverses (i.e. you wipe out, you're going into the trees or over a cliff). Otherwise follow the faint older tracks further left. Easy terrain-following all the way to NW-end of Snow Lake. (30min).

>>>>>Never thought this section would present the most problems... If you find a better way than my tracks to follow, please do so. I was faced with lots of steep ups-and-downs. Tried to emulate the summer trail but was only mildly successful. The log crossing at the outflow requires entering from the rocks/another log downstream due to snow walls, and kicking steps on the other side. The traverse along the summer scree slope is pretty steep - take the axe out again - if you slide, you're likely to swim... No difficult stream crossings. Easy ascent (easier than summer!) up to Snow Lake Pass. (1.2hrs).

>>>>>I thought for sure with the nice days we had there would be a deep trench trampled to the Pass. Looked for 15min but no trail/tracks to be seen. Took the safe way out and glissaded the snow and tree glades way west of the cliffs (toward Source Lake). No major problems. Traversed and bracketed between the river and the trail, which I eventually came across. Even then it seems not too many people have been there! Lots of water running on the lower half of the trail. Back to the bike and a great descent to the car. (1hr to TH, 15-20min to car).

>>>>>Equipment notes: Chose to wear my plastic climbing boots which was the absolutely correct decision. Lots of water-covered trails, good toe-in ascent capability and good glissade-control. Gaiters are self-explanatory. Took Axe (used to probe snow bridges over streams as well), poles, shovel, snowshoes (which I didn't need). As for any solo-traveler in backcountry, full equipment for the night (bivy-sack, warm clothes, food etc) is required and standard. If you plan on glissading, arrive at Melakwa Pass before noon - things get too soft afterwards. Overall, great conditions. No rotton snow until last 20% of Snow Lake Trail to TH. (Broke through only once on the entire trip!). Lakes 99% covered, just a few tarns visible on top of the cover. Also, was surprised to see my cell phone worked from Snow Lake Pass (Sprint). All in all: a great and tiring uncharted trip that I've been wanting to do for a while now! Thanks to all previous submitters for their reports which made planning a lot easier!

>>>>>Map URL: http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=10&n=5256154&e=616895&s=25&s ize=l

Trout Lake is open and is clear of ice. We encountered fairly high water on the river and is reaching the bottom of the log footbridge, with some water slopping over in places. we hit a 30' patch of snow at the north tip of the lake, then there are a few patches of snow along the north bank of the lake. Lot's of skeeters at the trailhead. We didn't catch a single fish.

First time trip to Loch Katrine. We were prepared for a horrendous drive to the trailhead, and it was definitely bumpy, but not as bad as we were expecting. The tires must've disagreed, though, as one of them went flat on the way home.

The trail is actually an old logging road, which made for a steady and easy hike. It was a rather humid day, and the bugs were out in full force. None seemed to be biting, but they were constantly flying around our heads, even with insect repellent applied (and re-applied).

We took some time to explore the falls at Katrine Creek, which was easily the best part of the hike. There seemed to be a rough trail at the highest part of the falls near the road, and a little scrambling afforded some pretty views.

As noted on previous reports, there was lots of bear scat, some of it fresh. We came across the big brown bear himself about 1/4 mile from the lake. He was about 50 feet away, but happily was no more interested in seeing us up close than we were in seeing him.

Snow on the trail just before reaching Loch Katrine. We found no signage whatsoever for the lake, but figured out where it was based on the maps and geography. Nice lake, but due to the bugs, we just grabbed a quick bite and made our way back down the trail.

To Get to Granite Mtn go east on I-90 to exit 47 then cross over the freeway and turn left into a large parking lot. The trail is in great condition and the first 3.3 miles are snow free but the last mile is all deep snow........have fun

After a 2½ hour drive from the Seattle area, we arrived at the Lena Lakes Trailhead (700 feet) at about noon. We hiked up the gentle switchbacks for 3 miles to Lower Lena Lake, a beautiful lower elevation lake. After hiking another ½ mile around the lake, we ate lunch at the north shore of the lake and then continued along the Brothers Trail for an additional 3 miles through the Valley of the Silent Men to the Brothers Base Camp. There is one large tree to navigate along the way and three other minor blow-downs. We arrived at camp at 3:30. All in all, both the Lower Lena Lake and Brothers Trails are snow free and in good shape.

The Brothers base camp (3,000 feet) is situated between the divergence of the East Fork of Lena Creek. While the camping is not impressive, we were able to make a fire due to the low elevation.

The following morning, we woke up at 6:30 and departed camp at 7:30. There is no need for a 5 a.m. wake up as icy slopes during the early hours may even make the climb tougher. However, do the climb in the morning to avoid slush.

The first portion of the climb follows a climbers path through steep timber and a slide zone. Slides from the past winter caused numerous trees and other obstacles to cover the primitive path. However, with a little extra time, this section can be passed as it is more of an inconvenience. After the slide area, the route generally follows a tree-covered ridge to a snow filled gully at approximately 4,000 feet. At 8:30 a.m., we hit the snow and began kicking steps up the lower gully.

At about 5,000, we began a rightward traverse over heather benches and snow to lunch rock. From lunch rock, the south couloir of the Brothers is clearly visible. Enter the couloir at about 5,800. We began the ascent of the 40+ degree snow couloir at 9:30. At this hour, the snow was still firm and perfect for kicking steps (we were the first up on the 15th). We climbed up the couloir veering to the right continuing to ascend the snowfield. At the top of the couloir, choose the rightmost gully ascending scree and easy rock for a couple hundred feet to the obvious summit (6,800 feet).

We arrived at the summit at 10:30 a.m. and enjoyed the commanding view of the entire Olympic range for over an hour. Mt. Olympus, the Bailey Range, Mt. Anderson, Mt. Constance, Mt. Deception, Mt. Rainier, and the upper part of Mt. Baker were all clearly visible. The entire Puget Sound was filled with a blanket of clouds 4,000 feet below while there was not a cloud in the sky above the marine layer. The weather was textbook as there was no wind and the temperature was about 75 degrees.

Now comes the fun part, the famous glissade. We put on our slick glissading gear and slid down three thousand feet of the mountain in minutes. (Caution does need to be taken to avoid moats and rocks.) This is the best glissade I have ever done. The snow was perfect at about noon (soft but not slushy) and the angle of the slope was just right. In one hour we were back to base camp.

We packed up our tent and began the leisurely stroll back to the trailhead. We arrived at the trailhead at 3:45 reminiscing about the fabulous glissade and view.

One who is proficient in self arrest, glissading, and snow travel will find The Brothers an enjoyable objective. This peak is best in the early season when the couloir is completely snow filled. I imagine that late season scree can be very unpleasant both on the way up and down. Also, try to avoid climbing this peak during the weekend. We saw about 10 groups going up to base camp on our way to the parking lot. There is NOT enough room for that many people at base camp or at the summit.

We started from the upper trailhead (1/4 mile to the falls from there) where the trail was dry. Soon we encountered a large patch of snow but easily found the snow-free trail on the other side. Rocks around the falls were wet but not slippery and no one fell into the churning cauldron below the falls, but anyone who got within 100 yards of Franklin falls (looked more like Franklin water jet) became soaking wet. No problem though, because a 1/2 mile drive up the road brought us to some sunny rocks just below the interstate where we were all soon dry but sweating while eating dinner.

This was my first time on the Duckabush and I have to say Woo! I hiked from the trailhead to about 4.5 miles in, still 2 miles from Park boundary. Views from Big Hump were great with St Peter's dome prominent and super views up the Duckabush valley.

There were at least 3 other hiking parties I encountered on the trail but for the most part the hike was in forest (Old Growth Forest) quiet. The Duckabush River was boiling and deep with “spring” melting in the mountains.

The trail is in super shape as far as I hiked, much better shape than trails in the Alpine Lakes or Issaquah Alps that I am more familiar. Hope to have the chance to do an overnight on the might Duckabush latter this year. This is truly a gem hike. I left Seattle at 9:30 PM and returned at 6:30 PM. For hours spent, this hike rates a 10 with me.

Signs posted at the base warn of high avalanche danger and risk of further treefall; hiking the trail is ""not recommended"". Parking lot and first bridge across the marsh are snow-free. Walked on some shallow snow and scrambled over one or two fallen trees to reach the bridge over the South Fork of the Stillaguamish. Past the far side of the bridge was a warning sign in the middle of the trail with a slightly more strident warning to turn back. From there we had to scramble over or find a way around fallen trees about every 100 feet. Footprints in the snow helped us in charting detours and refinding the trail. We gave up somewhere near the half mile point, not long after we identified a loud sound as being a jet rather than an avalanche. If we hadn't had a one-year-old in a backpack and a three-year-old who liked the challenge but was getting a bit punchy (missed her nap), we would have gone at least a little further. We didn't reach anything insurmountable, but decided we'd pushed our luck far enough for one day.

One last desert fling of hiking before it gets too hot, I thought. Well, hot was here now (as well as the west side on this day). But that didn't seem to matter as Hardy Canyon had a drying breeze to make it not feel the 90+ outside that the hot sun was blasting down. I easily found the access point to Hardy Canyon, just 4+ miles south of Wenas/Ellensburg Pass road junction in the northern Wenas Valley. There's even a sign at the gated road with ample gravel to pull out to park by it. The initial 1/8 mile passed through a thick ""forest"" of wild rose that was the most fragrant strolling I've done in a long time! Hummingbirds and butterflies were abundant, and just after crossing Wenas Creek on a wooden bridge an owl was seen flying out of a cottonwood tree. Not a great horned owl, not a barn owl....might have been either a barred owl or long-eared owl. I need to hike south here someday to catch the Pine Canyon road and hike up it, as it looks from the valley floor to be an exceptional canyon to trek up this eastern side of Cleman Mountain. Winding through thick aspen, birch, and cottonwood stands in the valley floor another 1/8 mile (return in fall for colors!) the way begins to work up into Hardy Canyon. The next 1/4 mile or so passes by a nice set of 20 or so bluebird houses, and the bluebirds were very active even in the heat. One was very accommodating and allowed me great access to exceptional photography for 10 minutes at close range. Wild onion was thickly blooming all over. The canyon became narrow and areas along the old jeep track at times were rather grassy and overgrown with chokecherry, serviceberry, and other lush plant life hugging the canyon bottom. This made for some much more careful hiking since keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes was more difficult. But it is this lush vegetation that makes the canyon a magnet for wildlife. Two mule deer greeted us along the way on the path. Thousands of butterflies were everywhere, especially in the upper canyon once the flowers became thick with both sulfur and heart-leafed buckwheat. Western meadowlarks were everywhere, as were the ever beautiful Western Kingbirds--they were thick! I photographed a pair of them on one occasion, which was a thrill. And oh yes, two rattlesnakes were loudly heard, but alas never sighted. The rest of the time was a buzz of crickets and other insects that fill the canyons with song. Grouse were heard in the thick brush of the canyon bottom as well. No fewer than six lizard sightings were enjoyed as well, but all were too quick to hide away before photography of their lovely faces could commence. Darn! After more than 2 miles or so I headed on back down the canyon as I wanted to hike up Black Canyon as well. The views looking east from Hardy Canyon are outstanding, as you look at Umtanum Ridge from the west side and the best views up into the deep cut of Black Canyon that are available. What a canyon that is! So, on to discovering where to hike up in it was next.

So after enjoying a full four hours up Hardy Canyon I headed up the 100 yards north on the Wenas Road and turned back into the public access dirt road that leads into the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area. The first half mile is very rough and would be a mess if muddy, but it was manageable. Please make sure to close the gate behind you when heading into the wildlife area here at 1/2 mile. I then drove slowly up to the end of the road at the entrance to Black Canyon 1.3 miles from the highway. A huge burm is here to make this a nice trailhead, and ample turnaround space is there if you are patient. This canyon is stunning! Black basalt talus slopes below steep cliffs, hillsides of wildflowers (still a lot of lupine and penstomen here). About 1/2 mile up there was still water in the creek....not much, but some, and here I spotted a skinny long 4' ""racer"" species of snake that was seriously almost in the water. I wondered if it was hunting for tadpoles or something!? A slight tap by it sent it moving faster than any snake I've watched as it covered 10-12' to the safety of the brush in a matter of 2-3 seconds. Here western kingbirds also were very active. Mourning doves were EVERYWHERE in Black Canyon. The way looked to be more and more beautiful....but alas, the heat of the day was beginning to wear on me after 5+ hours in it, and so I held back from hiking all the way up to the 3900' highpoint at the end of the canyon atop Umtanum Ridge. This will be done on a fall scheduled hike for certain as the canyon is gorgeous. Back again!

The former trail head close to the F. R. 2870 bridge over the Gray Wolf River has been closed and the new trail head is 1 mile further north and further uphill where Spur 180 used to branch off from F. R. 2870. The parking lot at this new trail head is very small and holds only 4 vehicles, but the road is wide enough to allow additional vehicles to park on the shoulder. There have been attempts to (necessarily or not) improve the trail which was already fairly stable (although wet at times) on the former road bed. Turnpikes were built and filled with gravel to handle the anticipated heavy traffic (once the other trail obstacles are removed). The trail was rerouted around the berms that were pushed there by a bulldozer when Spur 180 was closed. In one place all of the old road has slid down the hillside, but the trail negotiates this spot easily. At 0.5 mi. a new foot trail descends to the Cat Creek Loop which makes a good alternate return route. The loop trail and the old trail connect to the main trail at 1.4 mi. from the parking lot. On a map posted at the trail head bulletin board, the bridge is designated CLOSED, but neither the Forest Service web site nor posted warnings at the trail head caution hikers about the dubious condition of the bridge. Instead, the web site trail condition report says ""Trail closed at slides before bridge"". The slides are treacherous, yes, but can be crossed on foot in dry weather. The bridge used to be supported by three logs and was wide and sturdy enough for horses to cross. Now, one of the logs is rotten through and through and has cracked. It hangs in mid-air, but it is still connected to the bridge. Its weight is now carried by the other two logs and the bridge has sagged and tilted dangerously. It could collapse any moment. It should be marked UNSAFE FOR USE, CROSS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Parts of the railing are missing. The Forest Service is planning to replace the bridge (hopefully soon). This trail description is incomplete because it covers only the first four miles of the trail up to the rotten bridge just downstream of Camp Tony. This section of the trail is in good shape and a Forest Service crew had just gone through and cut a fallen tree that had slid on the trail. Other people who ignored the closure sign at the former trail entrance next to the Gray Wolf River bridge on F. R. 2870 (the one with a big parking lot) and hiked through the closed lower section of the trail report several slides that are dangerous to cross even when dry.

Charmed weather at a charmed destination; 4 days spent surrounded by a sea of snow and rock. There is a lot of snow up there, no surprise given the cool spring and snowpack at 115% of normal in these parts.

Stopped by snow near the Nooksack trail head, hiked ~3.5 miles to the Winchester TH, under at least 4' of snow there. No part of the trail was visible the whole way.

Ice axes are strongly recommended for passage to the top; steep snow hazards will remain through July, and cornices were breaking loose my my whole stay. The air thundered, but not from storms. Saw a couple of black bears, one meandered on the ice of Lower Twin for 20 minutes.

The road to Twin Lakes may not thaw until mid July, even then there are a couple of old growth trees across the way, one embedded in the road.

At night I was treated to dark skies, a nice alignment of a waxing crescent, Venus, and Jupiter, and Scorpius with Antares beating red in the South. Mornings were clear with cloud filled valleys, at times swallowing all but summits and the highest passes. No bugs, yet.

Started out early at 0445 hours, and approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes later, found myself standing next to the mailbox. I had forgotten just exactly how steep the trail was...or how relentless. Maybe it was from hiking Mt. Si two days early.

The trail was completely clear of snow (including the rock field), but there were plenty of little red biting flys near the top. I wore my head net the first time...a good investment. Looks silly, but it's better than getting those evil red flys in the corner of your eye.

Made it back down the mountain by 0900 hours. Didn't pass anyone else up or down. The sun was just hitting my car as I arrived at the bottom.

Lake 22 trail is muddy is spots as trail construction continues. Ran into snow the last half mile with postholing in stream areas. Ice covers half the lake. On the hottest day of the year we put wool sweaters on to eat our dinner.

The parking lot had two cars and we saw four other persons during our 1.5 hour hike. Lots of snow in the trees near the trailhead, and then the trail is snow-free at the waterfall basin a short distance further. Back in the trees, the snow continued and a hiker ahead of us was unable to follow the trail so we turned around. The uncrowded waterfall basin was a great destination in itself and the avalanche lilies and other smaller flowers were just starting to come out.

Wow! what an adventure. It seems as though something interesting always happens when I visit this area. Attempting to break my 0 for 3 losing streak for summits attempted this year, I awoke at 2AM to head to the Cascade Pass area with Eric.

The Cascade River Road is in good shape for the entire length that it is open. Unfortunately though, it is closed obnoxiously early at milepost 20 (the trailhead for Eldorado Peak Climbing Route). From here three miles of road must be walked which is predominantly snowfree, but with two or three major avalanche debris over it. Only the last switchback of the road is still covered with the winter's snowpack.

The Cascade Pass trail in the forest still looks to be at least partially snow covered and that would be really annoying, so we stepped right off the gravel parking lot onto deep snow and pretty much made a bee-line up towards Cascade Pass. This is all well and good for awhile but it does get very steep (~45 degrees) for a couple hundred feet at the head of the valley just before the pass (this is definetely not open to casual hikers yet). Also the steep chutes at the head of the valley that we ascended and descended will be melting through fairly soon with creeks running underneath them, but by that time the trail through the forest will also probably be predominantly melted out. So, getting to the pass from the summer trailhead took about 1:15 and was a little nerve racking. The pass was completely gorgeous (and completely snowed in). Eric hasn't been to the heart of the north cascades before and he just kept looking at the beastly north face of Johannesburg and laughing to himself. It was pretty entertaining.

We then headed straight up toward Sahale Arm from the pass. This started out steep, but mellowed within a few hundred feet and the ascent to the arm went quickly. The snow to this point was pleasantly firm, but at this point we began to encounter pockets of softer snow where we postholed significantly. Also, the wind up there was pretty fierce right on the ridge, so we descended on the west side a little bit and continued on. We kept on trudging through the steepness and fatigue and eventually ended up at the Sahale Glacier Camps.

The composting toilet up there is just now melted out (and left open) and we thought it would be some good climber-humor to get pictures of each of us on the pot with the wild mountains to the south as a backdrop. Good times.

Oh yeah did I mention that it was warm all day? Very warm, I never did put on anything more than a light T-shirt and thin nylon hiking pants even in the heavy winds.

From the campsites, we headed right up the ""glacier"" which is showing no signs of activity right now so we didn't bother to bring a rope. At that point the snow really started to get slushy and annoying and stayed that way until the top. On this trip we followed footsteps from the previous day and headed straight up the snowy headwall above the glacier and below the summit rocks. It's probably better to head up the righthand ridge, although not by much. The snow on this headwall was very slushy and very steep (~40 degrees) so we had to spend our sweet time toiling up that slope. Finally we made it to the base of the summit rocks on the side of the west ridge (the easiest way to the summit). I started up and even though the guidebooks report this route as class 4 or even 5, it is short and mostly class 3 with one or two class 4 moves. The snow plasted to the north side made it a little more tricky though. Maybe I'm not as much of a wuss as I think I am; there were a couple rapell anchors at the top and I was able to downclimb the thing reasonably easily and safely.

Now for the long way down... Quite a bit of glissading was allowable even on the fairly steep parts because the snow was so soft and forgiving and because of mostly safe, visible runouts. We both had a couple minor self arrest incidents though attempting to plunge step the steeper firmer areas. Finally we made it to the road, and the three mile road walk went by surprizingly quickly bringing us to the parking lot where I suddenly realized that my keys had fallen out of my pocket at some point, probably while glissading or self arresting. Just as we were hashing out a futile plan to hike out 20 road miles to Marblemount and a phone, a jeep was seen bounding up the road toward us. Seeing as though we had seen only one other person the entire day and there was only two cars in the parking lot, that little red Jeep containing a good looking blonde lady was understandably a miricle to our water and food deprived eyes.

We talked to her for a little while and then it was decided that she would take a short hike while we hung out at the trailhead and that she would drive us back to Marblemount as soon as she was done hiking. Sounded better than hiking out. As things ended up, she lived in Seattle too so she just ended up taking us home. Good times. Thanks so much jeep-lady, you saved our hides!!

So anyway, about 12 difficult miles, much of it over less than optimum snow and 6600 feet gained and lost. Pretty good day. And now I'm 1 for 4!!

I don`t think the Beckey book is up to date on this trail. The road spur turn-off is at close to 4 miles up and the river cannot be crossed at the spur end. Instead, from the one little parking spot at the end of the road spur head into the woods, east, and follow a almost non-existant boot path to the river and a log jam to cross on. From the other side of the river it gets confusing. There seems to be flags everywhere and the start of paths everywhere but nothing goes anywhere for any distance. After wondering around in salmonberry, devils club, slide alder, vine maple and thickets of small conifers, I came back to the log crossing to start over and see if I missed something. Finding nothing, I decided to head NE, aiming for the creek that drains the high basin. After 5 minutes I reached the creek and followed that north another 5 min and came across what looked like an old overgrown road. I followed this west, then east, then west again before finding the faint path that heads north from the abondoned road. The path is a little sketchy at first but soon becomes well beat in and easy to follow. The path ascends steeply to around 3800 ft, where it runs into the buttress Beckey talks about. The path traverses the base of the rock, going slightly uphill. It then descends into a gully where a series of beautiful waterfalls drop above. Cross the creek and ascend steeply up the other side following a boot path. I hit snow at 4000 ft where again traverse east into the open basin and aim for the ridge. The basin is very pretty, with little waterfalls and silver snags sccattered about. The view of Baring is spectacular. There were some cornices at the ridge but was able to get around them. The route to the summit is very obvious from here(it is the picture in the Beckey book) but due to a late start and route finding difficulties at the beginning I was close to my turn around time. Instead of Gunn I headed for the 5760 ft peak east of the pass, ate dinner, enjoyed the views and headed back down. On the way down I had no better luck staying on the path after the abondoned road. It was flagged from the abondoned road but the flags quicklly dissappeared along with the path. When I come back I am bringing a machetee and flags and punching in a new trail from Barklley Creek to the abandoned road. Time was 3 1/2 hrs to ridge, another 20 min to peak 5760 and 2 hrs down.

First time trip to Loch Katrine, a nice, but clearly too accessible lake near Mt. Si. A straightforward up-hill hike with a few switch backs on a fire road -- with some nice views of the ridge above Sunday Creek (aside from the clear cuts). Inviting glimses of Katrine Creek about half way up, but no easy way to get to the falls.

Fresh bear droppings along the road in several places -- but our ""good morning!"" shouts kept us at ease. Small amounts of snow on the road/trail at the turn just short of the lake -- but Katrine was completely free of snow and ice. Appeared to be only one usable campsite, but the lake's edge was a bit too close to permit camping now.

Trail is in good shape with no blowdowns, only a few slides. There are a few tight spots where the trail has slid away. The original lower trailhead was on F.R. 2860 closer to the bridge across the Dungeness River just upstream from the East Crossing campground. As of June 2002, that section of F. R. 2860 from the trailhead to its junction with F. R. 28 further north was closed indefinitely, also eliminating vehicle access to East Crossing campground and to the Gold Creek Trail. The Lower Dungeness River Trail is still accessible from Hwy. 101 near Sequim via F. R. 2870 (via Palo Alto Rd. and F. R. 2880 or Lost Mtn. Road and F. R. 2870), driving F. R. 2860 downhill from its junction with F. R. 2870. A gate is blocking F. R. 2860 toward the river at a point where the road makes a sharp turn as it comes down the hillside. An unmarked trail enters the woods in the road bend and in a few hundred feet picks up the Lower Dungeness Trail below, shortcutting 0.5 miles from its total length of 6.3 miles. One-way distance 5.8 miles, elevation gain 1400 ft. in, 600 ft. out, highest point 2700 ft.

Goat Lake (GT Sloan Peak)

The trail to Goat Lake was accessed by driving through Darrington, but I understand that the road north of Barlow Pass is snow free now. The lower Elliot Creek trail has been cleared out and is in very good condition. The walk along Elliot Creek was very pleasant on a warm day and the old growth beyond the junction where the lower trail joins the upper is quite impressive. Lots of water was coursing down the river and over the falls just below the lake. The views were great and we were thankful for the nice log in the shade to sit on while we ate lunch. The group opted to return along Elliot Creek instead of the 1/2 mile longer upper loop trail. It was still over 9 miles and a very pleasant hike.

This is a nice walk with a gentle climb, about 1500 feet over 5 miles through big forest country up to Tieton Pass and a junction with the PCT. Snow is gone or minimal up to the last 1/2 mile or more but in that portion of the trail is still substantial. From the occaisonal openings in the forest, great views of Tieton Peak, the Devil's Horns and Bear Creek Mountain to the east and south.

Made two trips up SI this week. Once on the 12th (during the week) and one on the 15th (weekend). I'll never go again on a weekend. Must have been over 100 hikers/runner/fitness gurus on the trail, and about 15 dogs. I even started early (0730). The weather on the 12th was much better, the 15th was cloudy down below, and partially clear at the top.

The Bogachiel River trail is about a three hour drive from Bainbridge Island. The trailhead is reached by taking a left on the river road directly across from Bogachiel State Park, just outside of Forks. We were delighted to take off on our trek with such great weather in store.Leave the fleece, take the fleece, leave the fleece, take the fleece! The trail begins in the National Forest, a nice level meandering path in faily good condition save for several mud holes that we had to negotiate. The trail enters the National Park in a mile and a half. There is a new quota regulation for backpackers so be sure to call the National Park office to register and reserve a spot. You can call 360-452-0300, register on line or stop by the office in Port Angeles. The river is wide and clear with many sandbars to watch for elk! Much of the area has been browsed by elk as evidenced by the open rainforest environment. There were many tracks in the mud as well as the faint wafts of barnyard scent. We didn't seen any on this trip. It would be difficult to spot an elk in among the large ferns, brush and shadows created by the slight breeze and sparkling light. The path is broken up in a few spots indicating the river has changed it course recently! A rope assist area was the only rough spot on the trail, we were thankful for the rope however. Oxalis carpets the forest floor, taunting us to keep tasting the lemony leaves. We reminded ourselves of the possible laxative effects and were cautious! False lily of the valley wood nymphs, yellow monkey flower and wood violets peeked their heads out among the ferns. We camped at Indian Creek where there is a secluded small site tucked away down by the river. We hiked up river without packs. Found a very inviting swimming hole that inticed the more bold members of my group.(it was really warm) A common merganzer pair fished across the river from us and in the morning we watched some marbled murrelets fly off down stream from their old growth nests to the sea. This backpack is a great leg stretch to begin the season.

Figuring that the best day to visit a trail open to motorcycles is while it's still under snow, we made the long drive from Seattle to this ridge walk south of the Cispus River, made longer by at least a half dozen construction delays on SR7 and US12, where underground cables are being installed along miles of highway between Elbe and Randle (perhaps they're doing this only on weekdays?). We were richly rewarded with sun, solitude, views, and no bugs.

For the first half mile, the trail is littered with easily circumventable blowdowns. After that it disappears under snow until just before it reaches the ridgetop at a 4500' saddle. We had brought snowshoes, but didn't need them, though the poles came in handy.

On our map-and-compass aided meanderings up through the trees, we encountered the only other hiker to use the trail that day. Given the number of possible routes up the forested slope, it seemed as probable as the old story about the first two automobiles in Kansas City colliding.

Once atop the ridge, the trail was easier to follow and emerged from snow cover periodically. After a lunch break in a clear patch with a glorious view of Mt. Adams, while my hiking partner basked in the sun, I continued to the top of Juniper Peak, enjoying views of St. Helens, Rainier and the Goat Rocks, as well as phlox and violets in the meadows below the summit.

All blowdowns have been removed. I encountered zero annoying bugs the entire time. Not sure why they failed to show up but I was happy.

The trail crosses strong flowing water 3 times in the first half mile. Then there is water again somewhere around 2 miles. This water isnt mentioned on any other reports, but I saw it flowing strong at 7 Am monday morning and around 8 Am Wednesday morning too( it may not be there after another week or so, so fill up at or before the third creek crossing from the trail head.)

After that there is no water until you get to within a mile or so of the ridgetop. Then the trail crosses water several times before you get to the ridgetop. There are still many big snow patches on the ridgetop.

I wish I had known how much water was at the top of the trail. It would have saved me trying to carry three gallons of water on the steep hot middle part of the trail. That water up higher (some of it at least) will be there (gauranteed) for another week.

I saw a large reddish Brown bear foraging in the drainage below the pass. 200 yards away, upwind, going away from me. A very comfortable sighting.

Spent two nights at 7000 feet just below the old lookout platform. Wow.

Get an early start to avoid getting baked by the sun on the steep open, burnt out parts of the trail. This trail doesnt fool around, and thats good. You can get very high in a short distance. The views are superior to any other short trail that is snow free right now (I think).

Lots of remnants of the lookout near the ridge summit. And lots of burnt out cans and other garbage laying around that the lookout must have tossed out the window while on duty. Not enough to spoil anything, but it reminds us of a time when people just threw their trash wherever they wanted in the backcountry.

Next time a wilderness ranger tells you to pack it out, tell them you will, and that the Forest Service should go get their garbage too. Or maybe they figure those rusty cans are a ""cultural"" resource.

:} p.tracy@gte.net

We headed for some high alpine vistas and checked in at the Darrington Ranger station. They recommended Green Mountain. We were pleased to find not only incredible mountain vistas but early wildflowers. The meadows were covered in bright yellow glacier lilies nodding in the wind. Perfect, pristine trilliums in white or pink graced the trail sides. Other tiny white and purple flowers I couldn't identify were carpeting the ground beneath the lilies. How I'd love to duplicate this at home! I could see the new leaves pushing up promising many more flowers to come. Beautiful sun and warm, snow still covering parts of trail and some large fallen trees to maneuver around. Very rewarding trip for this time of the season. We were also pleased to see marmots, a grouse, chipmunk, frog, snake and hear beautiful birdsong. The bugs are beginning to happen, so bring repellant on this one, but the wildflowers are definitely worth it and the surrounding snowcapped peaks!

Another ""unofficial"" Climb for Clean Air training hike took us to Camp Muir on the most beautiful day of the year so far. I was sure that the warm temperatures and blazing sun would turn the route into slush as the day wore on, however the snow remained firm all day long. Not firm enough to allow any glissading, however. Besides, it was too darn hot to put on plastic pants.

There are a few melted out patches between Paradise and Pebble Creek, but 99% of the trail up to Pebble is still on snow. As always, the trail from Pebble up to Camp Muir is on snow.

Considering the weather, I was amazed at how few day hikers were enjoying the cloudless skies, and how few climbers were hanging around Camp Muir resting for their summit attempt.

We saw one guy in cotton pants and tennis shoes, but everyone else seemed to know where they were and what they were doing. That is sure to change as the summer progresses.

Only four more weeks until our summit attempt!

Photos from this and other training hikes can be seen at www.dvandkq.net

Wallace Basin is short on views but long on solitude. To get there, hike the wallace falls trail to the upper falls, then follow the rough scramble trail up to the old road. Turn left and follow the road in the direction of Wallace lake, passing a sign indicating the end of the state park property. Soon you will encounter a junction in the road. The left branch is signed, ""wallace lake"". The unsigned right branch is the beginning of the Wallace basin trail.

The old road initially is easy walking and looks little used. A lush carpet of moss covers the roadbed. After about a mile, the road approaches the Wallace River, still roaring with snowmelt. This section of the road makes a great short destination.

Eventually, the road climbs away from the river, and becomes mucky and brushy for a short stretch. Soon the road levels out again, then swings around east in a big arc, crossing two creeks along the way. The second creek is quite large and presents a little difficulty in crossing. Past the creek, the road alternates between easy-going forest sections and short brushy areas. After passing a green-and -white post, and another section of brush, the road approaches within a few hundred feet of the river. It is worth hiking down to the river bank at this point, for here is found the best view of the snowy mountains. The river is a delight too, flowing out of a deep pool which might make a great swimming hole later in the season.

Beyond here the road passes through more brush; two rockslide damaged areas offer peek-a-boo views to the mountains. The second slide area features an attractive, open meadow full of sword ferns, another possible lunch spot or turnaround point.

Past this point, the road is cut through by a steep gulley, which is a nuisance to cross. If you persist travelling beyond the gulley, travel gets much harder, especially after passing an area of mossy rocks and a cascading creek. I gave up soon after this point.

Jay

Started out on the aptly named Snow Lake Trail (#1013) from the Alpental parking lot around 11:00 AM this Wednesday. The trail turns to fairly deep snow at around 3100 ft. of elevation, which is to say right out of the parking lot. I lost the trail several times in the first mile, and I've probably been here about 30 times! Finally I bagged it and just followed the ridge until within sight of Chair Peak, and followed the chute up to the ridge, missing the actual Snow Lake Trail route and ending up higher. Temps were in the 70's and the sky was the purest of bluebird; the backside down to the lake is covered in 8 to 10 ft. of snow so you can pretty much go wherever you like, but watch out for collapsing pockets and bergsrunds. The lake itself is still fully iced over, just a ribbon of birds-egg blue around the shore delineates the shape of the water. Didn't actually go to Snow Lake but climbed up the ridge to about the 5260 ft. level of Chair Peak where the snow stopped - plan to come back next week with randoneé skis! Saw three other hikers and signs of one skier on my way up, no one else made it to the crest to my knowledge (no tracks on the backside). Saw about five alpine tourers at the ski area, all commented on how good the skiing is; Adrenaline and International now smooth corn snow and you could still ski all the way to the parking lot. In summary, it's probably the most beautiful day I've had on this hike but you need really good boots (mountaineering boots preferable) and gaiters - an ice axe and skill in self-arrest would also be a good idea. Would expect conditions to remain like this (snow the entire way) for the next couple of weeks.

Trail to Lake Serene is in great shape - mud and some here-today-gone-by-weekend snow patches along last half mile. Someone should build a bridge to the bridge over the first creek - to bridge over the mud and to anchor the creek bridge that seems to be starting to slide off the mudpile. Along the upper ridge bleeding hearts battle against trillium for dominance. The lake is still mostly frozen but metling quickly (as evidenced by the pounding cascades of Bridal Veil falls). Saw only one other hiker until I was back within a mile of the trailhead - then the hordes descended (a horde of 8 along the trail and an equally sized horde in the parking lot gathering their strength before shifting into elevator-hiking mode).

The North Fork Skykomish River road is snow free until the last 50 feet before the trailhead. It's probably melted by now. The West Cady Ridge was a good choice this day because I was with my wife. The trail gets to the views quick. There is still snow on the lower section of the trail and lots of snow at 3500 feet. We just worked up the snow from 3500 feet until we were on the ridge. At 4800 feet, my wife called it quits. Soon I left her for a summit but fell short of my goal of reaching Bench Mark Mtn. I got to the Ridge high point of 5375 in about an hour but turned back because I didn't want to leave my wife for another hour or more. Excellent views, perfect weather. I used snowshoes a bit but they were not needed.

This is an excellent trail that leads to great views at Poo Poo Point. This fine piece of work was built by the Paragliding community about 3 or 4 years ago. The trail is in excellent condition. It starts at the east edge of the Paraglider landing area on Issaquah-Hobart Rd. The first mile traverse lovely virgin forest. Near the top of the virgin area is an impressive 7 ft diameter Douglas Fir that appears to be the sole survivor of past fires. The second mile of trail goes through dense 20-30 year old second growth forest. The trail then emerges into the Poo Poo Point South Launch area with great views to Mt Rainier. Less than 1/4 mi further is the North Launch area with birds eye views of Squak, Cougar, Issaquah and Lake Sammamish. Round trip is less than 4 miles with 1600 ft elevation gain. A 2 mile car shuttle or road walk allows for a loop using the Poo Poo Point and Highschool trails. If you want cool solitude go in the early am. If you want to check out the paragliders then afternoon is best.

I finally discovered the shortcut to the Grand Canyon Trailhead. The official route to the trail involves walking a 10 mile round trip along the West Side Rd (not worth it). The short cut is only about a 1/2 mile round trip. Drive Tiger Mtn Rd SE about 2 miles from it's northwest entrance from Issaquah Hobart Rd. The trail is on the left about 200ft before reaching 260th Ave SE. The trail is marked by 2 steel utility plates and a bogus ""No Trespassing"" sign. The map clearly shows that this is DNR public property. The neighbors in this area have obviously bullied DNR into not advertising public access here. You are not allowed to park on Tiger Mtn SE so I legally parked on 258th about 100 yards away. The well worn trail traverses forest and intersects the West Side Rd in 1/8 mile. Turn left and in 1/8 mi you'll see the 15 mile creek trailhead on the right. There is a parking lot, interpretive signs and a fancy bathroom at the trailhead. Unfortunately it gets almost no use since the West Side Rd was closed to the general public a few years ago. The trail starts out as a gravel path. At a Y in the trail at .4 mi the left fork goes a short muddy distance to a small waterfall. This marks the entrance to the slot canyon exaggeratedly refered to as the Grand Canyon. A right at the Y leads up the canyon another .5 brushy miles to the trails end. All in all it is an easy, pleasant riparian trek. Calling it a ""Grand Canyon"" is a bit grandiose.

Played a little hookie from work today, just couldn't pass up the great weather and i haven't been up to Bandera Mt. in awhile. got to the trailhead around 11am with the dog. Weather was awesome as were the views. trail is in great shape. Got to the ridge and couldn't find anyone who's kicked in a trail to the summit and without gators, I didn't feel like making first tracks.

Mason lake is still frozen over and watch out for the cornices on the ridge.

Would strongly suggest poles for this trek. Makes it a lot easier that first mile down from the ridge.

This trip was two days, June 9th and 10th. I left the parking area at noon, and soon was at Third Beach, a nice one and a half mile walk from the car through old-growth forest. A short walk south on the beach brought me to the first major obstacle: the rope ladders needed to climb over Taylor Point. These contraptions reminded me of the game ""Mousetrap"", with me as the mouse and a fall off of a large cliff to certain death as the penalty for losing. There are several to climb to get to the top of the bluff, each steeper and longer than the last. The ""trail"" seems to gain 250 ft of altitude in about 250 ft of trail (only a slight exaggeration). The path along the top of the bluff is very muddy and slippery. When I reached the beach again, I was immediately confronted with an actual cliff to ascend and then descend using only a rope. How I wished for more rope ladders at this point! A short wait allowed me to skip this ""human fly"" path and simply walk around the rocky point by boulder-hopping, possible within two hours either way of low tide, at least on a day with no waves such as Sunday was. The half mile of beach south from there is the start of the truly excellent sea stack garden that continues south for many miles. Next on the agenda is the worst and most dangerous rope ladder of them all. The top of it is muddy and slippery and leads to a section of trail that should have a rope but doesn't. This bypass of Scott's Bluff is thankfully much lower and shorter than the previous one. There are several nice campsites at Scott's Creek, and the last good source of water for the next two + miles. When you get this far, be of good cheer: the next two and a half miles to Jackson Creek past Toleak Point are the sweetest and easiest miles around. The Giant's Graveyard is a collection of sea stacks that could easily fill the smartcard in your digital camera. Strawberry Point is the finest camping spot I have ever stayed at, surrounded by natural beauty and the awesome powers of the sea. The were at least a dozen large seals frollicking in the sheltered bay between Strawberry Point and Toleak Point. There were no waves at all, giving an unusual quiet and peace to an ocean setting. The sunset from Strawberry Point is a pleasure not to be missed.

This hike is the first I've done where I really had a problem with the write-up in ""100 Hikes in S. Cascades and Olympics"" or other ""100 Hikes"" series. The extreme difficulty and danger of the overland crossings is not even hinted at in the book. Also, the vertical feet total (250) listed in the book is way off: my altimiter and the Custom Correct topo map both added up to 900 ft just to Strawberry Point and back. It would be that much or more to continue straight through to Oil City. The book lists the high point at 250 ft, which is reached from sea level at least three times, plus several ups and downs, so how is the total gain 250 ft? Must be a typo. While the overland portion of my hike was as difficult and dangerous as any I have been on, the ease and beauty of the beach portions of the hike made it well worth the trouble. I am definitely coming back when I have more than two days to savor this stretch of wilderness beach.

These names are the unofficial names to Pts 5283 and 5174 respectively in the Snoqualmie Lake quadrangle. They are included on the Homecourt list of 100 tallest peaks between US 2 and I-90 being #77 and #84 in elevation. These peaks are approached via the always bad Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie road. There is a lovely trail called the Green Ridge Trail which readers might not be familiar with. The trail takes the hiker from the road at 1,300' to the highcountry of 4400'. It is unmarked from the road but located at 17.1 miles from the start of the Middle Fork road or 4.6 miles from the Taylor River bridge. It lies about 500' to the west of the Green Ridge Creek which flows beneath the Middle Fork road. Nearby are two places where a car can pull in to park. This trail is really a sweetheart with forest covering for the entire ascent and only a few logs to step over. We followed the ridge trail to 4,400' to where we went over Pt 4595 and made an easy traverse to approach Floating Rock from due south. There is some minor climbing involved in summiting Floating Rock but only Class 3. From Floating Rock we made a beeline course towards Galleon. There is a nice arm just to the north of High-Low Lake which allows one to safely descend down to 3,950' elevation of the lake. While on Floating Rock look over toward Galleon and find the gray rock outcropping about 200 yards to the south of the true summit. It is to the left of this minor cliff face that one must hike to gain the ridge which leads to the summit. It is a small notch about 200 feet vertical beneath the summit. The ridge from that area is an easy hike. The views on top of Galleon are all encompassing for the Alpine Lakes area. I have climbed dozens and dozens of the nearby peaks and Galleon affords views equal or exceeding the others for this area. Our descent route was to drop straight down to HighLow Lake and then follow it to Green Ridge Lake into which it flows. We then regained the Green Ridge trail by traversing SW to connect with the ridge at 4,200'. We were at the top of Floating Rock in 2 1/2 hrs. Total gain for the day was about 5,400' Left the car at 11:00AM and returned at 6:30PM. Fellow WTA hiker ""Rubberlegs"" joined me on this most enjoyable outing.

This one starts as far up the MFK Snoqualmie Road as you can possibly drive. The road is blocked by an impassable tree, 1.5 – 2 miles from the Dutch Miller trailhead, elevation ~2200 ft.

As one who ""frequents"" the true end of the road I was amazed at the amount of damage this section of the road received over the winter. Two large trees at least 36 inches in diameter block the road just before two massive landslides have all but obliterated it. After passing under, over, and through all this mess we continued until we found a wooded slope that gave easy access to a faint spur road to the north and up-slope of the main road. We walked the faint spur to the NE and then to N for a half mile where it fades altogether. We continued up the valley on mostly solid snow and talus until we reached Lower Hardscrabble Lake, elevation 4059 ft. The great views started here and persisted for the rest of the day. We rounded the lower lake to the west and continued up gentle slopes to the N of the outlet of Upper Hardscrabble Lake. We reached the upper lake (elevation 4598 ft) and took a brief break before heading off for higher ground.

We walked the west side of the lake and set off for the pass at 5700 ft. Pretty easy travel, 6 inches of slush on moderate slopes presented little difficulty as our goal was always within view. Once at the top, the wide open snow fields stretched in all directions bordered by spectacular views of peaks and lakes far too numerous to list. From the pass, we traversed the north flank of point 6131’ heading west. We continued in a westerly direction until we came to a rock out cropping at 6300 ft that offered up dominant views of Dorthy, Big Snow, and Fools Gold Lakes among others. Our summit was now in view and the three of us used ice axes and crampons for the final few hundred feet to the top. The initial route from the rock outcropping, heading SSW, traversed a semi-steep slope that looked like it ran all the way down to the cliffs bordering Big Snow Lake, quite a sight actually. Anti-balling plates would have helped through this section as the snow was fairly wet and heavy. The final 100 ft was on steep snow and a fun way to finish up the climb. The summit offers up sweeping views of the ALW, the views to the north were especially impressive this day. We scrambled a group of rocks nearby the survey marker just in case they were a foot or two higher and in fact the true summit. After 30 minutes on top, we descended and returned the same we had come in. Several attractive descent options exist from the summit, but we had stashed snowshoes in two separate locations on the way up, so we didn’t have much of a choice on our route down. Several glissades and a bit of snow-jogging made for a relatively quick return to the truck sometime around 8 PM. One of my better outings in recent memory, I guess a sunny day along the MFK is always a spectacular day and great company never hurts. About 10 miles round trip and 4650 ft gained for the trip.

Hwy 410 1.3 miles East of Greenwater to FR 70, signed for the Greenwater Trailhead, 8 miles along an asphalt road to the paved turnoff marked for the Greenwater Trailhead: a large paved lot.

The trail was under snow from about mile 4 and about 3,000 feet. The lower portion of the trail was in good condition. It looks like it's been worked on this season already. There were a few patches of sucking mud, and some puddled puncheon. My only real complaint however is the five tents I saw pitched illegally within 100' of the lakes and the garbage and cedar branch bedding left at one vacated campsite.

After the turnoff for Maggie Creek, the Echo Lake Trail was snow covered but relatively easy to follow. (Just scan ahead for sawn trees.) Between the small pond South of Echo Lake and Echo Lake, the trail was a little harder to follow. In fact I got lost for a spell. The basin itself is under about 5 feet of snow, and the lake had ice on it. The trees were shedding slop, so I opted to retreat to the clear sections of the trail to camp.

One warning. A few section of trail run through 2 foot deep drainage channels, and if you are postholing through the snow, you might sink a lot further in than you are expecting. If banged shins bother you, you should carry snowshoes.

If you have questions you can e-mail me at kinaidos@hotmail.com

great weekend to hike . two of the falls where great. had lunch there on sunday it was nice and sunny. but the last 1/2 to 1 mile was a little muddy in places . bugs came out later in the evening but where not that bad yet .the old grown was wonderfull to see and the hike was great. the falls where worth seeing.

Great trip to Otter Falls and Lipsy Lake during a Boy Scout Back Pack. Trail was clear all the way past Big Creek Bridge (despite news of snow). A little muddy in places but easily passible. Bring a walking staff to rock hop across numerous creeks running over the trail during this high melt off.

We had Otter Falls to ourselves in a light mist. A cairn (shaped like a flat arrowhead) marks the short trail up ~100+ altitude feet to Otter from the Taylor River Trail. Somebody added a small white paper sign to a tree as well. Water is plentiful along the trails and we practiced some leave no trace camping off trail 1/2 mile past Marten Creek.

Some bugs but not too bad. Long standing blow down bolders on the trail, but all passible.

Packed out Sunday to sunshine and great views of Treen and Garfield peaks.

My husband and I had hoped to hike Goat Lake on this beautiful Sunday, but found that there was still snow on the Mountain Loop Hwy right as the pavement ends. If we'd had a truck or SUV with higher clearance we could've gotten through with no problem, but our little trail car couldn't clear the snow. So we turned around and headed back to the Mount Dickerman parking lot--which was clear of snow and not too crowded with cars.

Having read earlier wta reports on this location, we knew that there was still quite a bit of snow up towards the top, but we resolved to hike as far as we reasonably could. The first few miles of switch-backs were snow-free and the path was in pretty good condition with just a few blow-downs. After about 2 miles, the snow became patchy and then settled in to stay. The spectacular views started around this point also. Big Four Mountain loomed up above us clear and bright. We could see waterfalls running out of glaciers all over its face. I could've sat there and watched it all day!

Once we hit the snow, we decided to go farther and try to get to a part where the area around the trail was out of the woods so we could see more of the beautiful mountain surroundings. The boot-tracked route became very difficult in places to follow. We followed one set up boot tracks up a hill but decided that it was the wrong route and turned back. We found the correct route and kept pushing on. Later we found that others who had taken that route, had come up against a rock wall dead-end and had to come back down an incredibly steep open hill to get back to the trail

I must say, we went farther than we should have. Both of us had poles and good boots, but no crampons for traction or ice axes to arrest ourselves in the event of a fall. In the warm noon sun, the snow started to get very soft and slippery. Our folly became very apparant when we were heading up one particularly steep section and I kept sliding backwards down the very steep hill. I managed to make it up the hill and we walked a few more yards to a clearing and a breath-taking view. We decided that we'd gone far enough for that day (perhaps too far) and that the summit would have to wait for another snow-free day.

I will describe this next event in detail so that other ill-equipped people thinking they can hike up this or similar mountains without the proper gear and training will think twice before doing so. Just because you can go up the snowy boot-tracked trail doesn't mean that you can necessarily get down without difficulty. Going down is even harder than getting up. It seemed that the snow had gotten even softer in just a few minutes! I started sliding (not a planned move) down the steep hill we'd just climbed just a few minutes ago. At one point, I totally lost control and slid several feet. I managed to arrest my slide with my arms and hands (thank you Bowflex!). I finally did get down (aided a great deal by my wonderful husband)--mostly by sitting on my behind and taking it one foot at a time.

I managed to blunder my way back to where the snow ended, only falling a few more times (I came home with a really spectacular bruise on my left buttock for my efforts). We found a nice place to sit, rest our weary legs, eat lunch, and reflect upon our good fortune to have gotten down without serious injury.

Having related all of this, I must say that I am excited to go back up when the snow has melted. I am a hiker, not a mountain climber, and am at home on a dirt (not snow) trail. The summit of Mt. Dickerman calls to me for another day.

By the way, the number of unleashed canine companions on Mt. ""Dogerman"" was over-whelming. I am not against dogs coming along for a hike, but there must have been at least 10 unleashed fidos roaming around on the snowy sections of the trail--not safe for dog or human! If you bring your 4-legged friend along, please either keep him on a leash, or make sure he is trained to keep with your group and not running up and down the trail ahead of your group.

An excellent day for a hike. Took my dad and my two year old son for a nice easy stroll in the woods under sunny skies. The trail is melted out almost completely except for one or two patches near the lake. All the recent snowmelt has left the trail somewhat muddy. Had to go around a couple of big blowdowns.

I love it how my son describes things he sees in the wilderness:

""Look Daddy! Big tree fall down!"" ""Look Daddy! Yucky Mud!"" ""Look Daddy! Cold snow! Go Ski!"" ""Look Daddy! Pretty Water! Go throw rocks!"" ""Watch out Daddy! Ouchy Bushes!"" (Devil's Club) ""OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH BIG MOUNTAIN!!!""

Taking kids into the wilderness lets me remember how it felt when you were young. Being with my dad was icing on the cake. I know he was reminiscing about how he used to take me hiking at that age. Arriving back at the car, our legs felt old but our spirits were young.

The road is still snowed in at about 2200' elevation in shady areas. At this time this means about 2 miles of walking between the last viable road and the ""trailhead"".

Forest Road #1000 is in great shape, paved until the last 6-7 miles & the gravel is well-graded & smooth. The trail is in pretty good shape too. At times, it's a bit ripped-up due to the horse traffic, but I've seen worse. Saw loads of elk and deer in the meadows down low, even saw a large black bear (who ran when he caught my scent). There were patches of snow on the trail near the ""loop junction"". I headed up to surprise lake (after camping on a bit of exposed tread at ~4500 ft). There was 3-5 feet of snow at Surprise Lake, but it's melting fast. Following the trail was easy as a lot of the trees were blazed. A large avalanche came down from Klicitat Ridge sometime this past winter, there is a large field of smashed trees just beyond Surprise Lake. After the lake, I headed up & along the ridge to gilbert peak (mt. Curtis-Gilbert?) during a brief period of sunshine on sunday. Came back the same way I went up. All in all, a great trip.

The mighty and feared Jolly Mountain is reached by taking Exit 80 off I-90 and heading north through Roslyn, then continue north to just before the Salmon La Sac guard station. Turn right onto FS 4315. We expected a 13 mile, 4500 foot elevation gain snow slog. Instead we were able to remove 2200 feet of elevation gain by driving the road to the 4600 foot level before snow blocked the road. From here we followed the road north to the next switch back and then headed straight up hill via the obvious gully to gain a ridge line at the 5600 foot level or so. This route requires an ice axe but one can easily follow the road and reach the same point. Then there were several ups and downs following the ridge in a clockwise direction to reach the last slope up to the summit of Jolly. The views were pretty decent but occasionally obscurred by clouds - Stuart, Baker, Rainier, Daniel, Hinman, etc. etc. etc.

Trail is clear and maintained for about 2 miles, after which snow and blow-downs begin. There are well-worn boot tracks through the snow all the way to the summit, so route finding is now problem at all. Great views on top (if you bring dogs - we had three - bring leashes, since there are still cornices at the summit). Tremendous glissading; I can't believe that we saw people WALKING down....

The snow in the woods may be melted out by next weekend if the forecast for warm, sunny weather holds, and the snowfields on top should be glissadable for another month or so, so go soon...

Pitchlip and I decided to try the trip up to Stilly to give our route-finding skills a test. The Perry Ck trail start at the end of a road which is just before the Mt Dickerman TH. Drive the road to the end if you can. We found this past weekend that we could only drive in 1/4 mile due to some pretty large blowdown. The trail follows Perry Creek about 2 miles to the falls. BEWARE...there is a lot of blowdown and avalanche debris on the trail. None of the blowdown is a problems getting over, around or under. There were about 7 substantial avalanche chutes that need to be crossed and here the biggest worry was finding the trail on the other side of the chute. The snow is melting out fast and we also took care crossing snow bridges. Bring an ice axe...the morning snow is pretty icey. After the falls we took a bearing and headed for a small 'gate' at the top of the ridge that leads to the Stilly summit. We topped out on the ridge at about 5300'. The trail throught the trees is not visible at all, if it was we could have followed it about 1/2 up the ridge and then when the trail switches back to the right we would continue on the same heading. Not being expert route-finders we took our time double-checking our progress and for the most part never veered too far from our intended route. After reaching the ridge and capturing some wonderful views of Forgotten, Glacier Pk, White Chuck Mtn, Big Four, Dickerman, and Twin Peaks we followed the ridgeline until we hit out turn-around time at 3:30 (about 1 mile from the summit). As we headed back down to the creek crossing about the Perry Ck falls we ran across some steps headed down a gully from another party who we assume had gone to Forgotten. We followed the steps straight down the gully to just above the falls. Alas, I had my first accident in the mtns. One misplaced step as we tried to cross a small stream sent me down onto by bottom and into the water. I managed to give myself a pretty nasty laceration on my thumb. Hey - if you think my thumb must have looked bad...you should see that log I hit! After a quick dose of first aid we continued down to the falls, crossed the creek and followed the Perry Ck trail back to the car. My trip wasn't ended here and I needed to see a doctor about my thumb. After a tetnus update and a couple of stitches (hence the new nickname) I was finally on my way home. Note: the bugs/gnats have just started to come out.

Tried to get to Heather Lake TH. I'm not sure about the trail #, but it was the TH you reach driving N on a road past Wenatchee Lk from Highway 2.

Anyway, while driving, we encountered blow-down on the road about 0.5-0.8 mi past the final turn off to Heather Lk on Rd #6701(400). Stopped, realized there was no way around with the car, and that we'd have to hike an extra 2 mi to get to the TH. So that, and the large black bear (4' on all fours) foraging just on the other side of the blowdown, made us turn back - after taking pics of the bear of course! - and spend a day in Leavenworth. Nuts! Check with the Wenatchee Ranger Station about the road to Heather Lake before proceeding, or plan on extra time to hike a little longer.

Lovely day for a hike. But no parking at the bridge. As we tried to find a spot to turn around, we found the new parking lot and trailhead. (Which we knew of from a recent WTA report) The comfort station is still locked and the trail has a few tricky turns (as Yogi sez... when you come to the fork in the road, take it), but the new lot is deluxe. There is no check box for way too many people?! I guess the dog owners couldn't read the ""all dogs on leash"" signs. But much better than yard work.

We hiked another portion of the Boundary Trail, this time the section starting at Johnston Ridge to Harry's Ridge. This portion of trail crosses over the Spillway, where the tremendous landslide from St. Helens slid over the top of the ridge and down into the valley below.

Since this portion of the trail is in the path of the landslide and subsequent eruptions, there is no tree cover at all, just great views of the inside of St. Helens crater and the growing lava dome.

Despite its bleak appearance the landscape is filled with new life, alpine flowers and tiny trees, shrubs and grasses. Very early flowers, avalanche lilies, trillium, strawberries and yellow violets were blooming in spots. Later there should be a good show of penstemon and lupine. Huckleberry and elderberry bushes are beginning to get a hold on life on the barren ridges, also.

We saw a herd of elk on the floor of the Toutle River valley and their prints and sign everywhere. There were ground squirrel holes everywhere and plenty of birds.

Portions of this trail are very narrow and exposed and there is no potable water or shelter from the elements. Bring water and a windbreaker since the wind gusts can be fierce at times. And when the sun goes, it can get very cold.

There was some snow on the trail to the intersection with Harry's Ridge, but nothing too steep. Beyond that point, however, on the trail to Norway Pass, there are some steep snow slopes. Bring an ice axe or wait a couple of weeks. In some places, there have been small wash-outs of the trail, especially in the soft pumice and ash deposits on the Spillway. Follow the poles and sometimes rock-lined path, plus old boot tracks.

We had a nice lunch break on the top of Harry's Ridge. There are great views of the much enlarged Spirit Lake, the hummocks deposited by the landslide, other nearby peaks, including The Dome, Mt. Margaret and to the east, Mt. Adams. We could also see an empty Windy Ridge parking lot. The road will be opened next weekend.

When we arrived the weather was perfect. The mountain was out in perfect detail, but throughout the day, the weather began to deterioate, clouds settling down on the summit like a crown. By the time we arrived back at the parking lot, there were lots of clouds darkening the skies. The ranger told us that the previous day it had been snowing at the observatory. The ridge is at 4,000 feet elevation.

Took advantage of one of the few weekend sunny days so far this spring to climb to the top of Mt. Bandera. I was first at the trail head at 8:45 a.m. and was on the trail by 9:00. The trail is in excellent shape with only a patch of snow here and there. The ridge is capped in snow all the way to the top of Bandera. Great views to both the north and south, with an excellent overlook of Mason Lake which is still iced over. Thought about descending in the snow to Mason and taking the Mason Lake trail back, but decided to return the same way I came. Saw a blue grouse in full display on the way up.

Some mud but a nice day. Lots of people - of course!

And someone or someoneS have been cutting switchbacks. I asked one guy to stick to the trail.

Oh, yeah, re: aborted Mt Dickerman about a week ago. The 4,000 foot level as the trail turns left was a loss. So we dragged some of the windfall off the trail as we headed back down.

I saw KingTV had a segment on trail damage from I gather a combination of wind and snow loading. It will be an interesting hiking season.

This trip was an exploratory venture to check out the snow conditions west of the crest. I have spent most of the spring in the Teanaway and have not been keeping up with snow conditions closer to home. I can report that the first 2 1/2 miles of the trail are snow free. When the trail turns away from I-90 and heads north the snow begins. The snow currently starts just after the long boardwalk that ends at a grassy area just to the right of the trail. Beyond this point there are only a few bare spots. The snow is immediately 1 to 2 feet deep. This point is at roughly 3500'. The snow is very well consolidated and easy to walk on. Enough feet have come through to make the route easy to follow. At the Olallie Lake turnoff the route gets a little more difficult to follow. Whoever started the route did a good job. In one spot it drops too low and works it's way back up., Otherwise it stays very near the summer trail route. The snow is quite deep at the Olallie inlet creek crossing. There is at least 6 feet of snow dropping vertically down to the creek. On the other side there is even more. Fortunately I had no trouble crossing on a substantial snow bridge. In a week or two this will be weakened and will not be safe to cross.

One set of fresh tracks continued up the right side of the creek from where I crossed. After crossing I had only an older faint set of tracks to follow. I know this trail very well and was not concerned about losing it. The route continued on, sometimes nearly flat and sometimes traversing steep slopes. The snow was hard but not too icy to kick a good foot step in. I reached the place where the summer trail comes out of the forest at a talus field with a great view of Olallie Lake and Mt Rainier right behind it. Today Rainier was lost in the clouds and Olallie Lake was almost completely snow covered. Only a small area by the inlet and outlet has thawed. The talus field is still mostly snow covered but it is thinning rapidly. I could have crossed but would have likely post holed quite a bit. Instead, I climbed 100' straight up the snow and reached a few rocks that were bare. This was a great place to eat lunch and read the Sunday paper. Other than a few people in the parking lot I did not see another person on the way in. I was tormented by half a dozen Camp Robber Jays who expected a handout. These guys just wouldn't give up. After a long break I headed down. From the Olallie Lake turnoff to the car I passed at least a dozen groups. That's more than I have seen in one day in quite awhile but still not bad for this trail in June.

Now for a summary and some educated guesses as to the when trails will melt out. Above 3500' in the forest there was 2 to 6 feet of snow. On open slopes in the sun there was 0 to 2 feet. Unless we have unusually warm weather I expect the Pratt Lake trail will not be snow free to the Pratt Lake turnoff for another 3 to 4 weeks. The trail down to Pratt Lake on the north side of the ridge will be a week or two later. The 4th of July would be my guess. I have seen less snow in early May of many years. All in all, it was a nice day for a hike. Photos have been posted at http://www.kuresman.com. Look under Trips-2002.

Attempted the Adams south climb with a new hiking partner over the weekend. The trip started out unfortunate and pretty much stayed that way. We made the completely uninformed and regrettable descision to drive to Trout Lake from Randal via Forest Road 23. We made it 30 miles up and then encountered winter snowpack. We then had to backtrack all the way to I-5 making for a 3 hour sidetrip. We then headed to Portland and then to Hood River, and then to Trout Lake from the south (we were within 20 miles of the same spot before! :( Oh and also the weather was generally horrid on the drive down although things started to improve dramatically as we headed east from Portland.

The road walk to the trailhead is now down to 3 miles although for that to shrink any more, a reasonably large tree must be moved off of the snowy road just past the makeshift parking area. The roadwalk was made on top of easy reasonably consolidated snow, no snowshoes required, and under at least somewhat promising weather. The road and lower route is fully flagged for some reason so this is a pretty benign snow trip. At about 6800 feet (It was already 8PM), we saw a snow squall blowing in from the north and west (really weird weather this weekend) and decided we ought to camp. Fortunately we got the tent set up on snow just before the wind and snow started. Really wasn't in the mood for cooking dinner though so just ate a couple clif bars (giving us very tight rations for the long climb the next day) and went to bed as the wind howled and the snow beat against the tent.

As somewhat expected, things looked marginally better in the morning (no snow, little wind, noticably warmer) but there was a lenticular cloud developing on Hood and cloud the top 3000 feet of Adams as well. As the weather report said things would be improving Sunday, and appeared to be, we decided to make a run for it, but did not get started until about 6:45, another bad thing. We used the more direct spring route, not the summer trail and made good time up a ways above the saddle at South Butte. From here though it started to get very windy and very cold. Although the sky generally was clearing, the lenticular cloud now directly above us was very well formed, massive, and blowing quickly and loudly. At this point we unanimously decided not to try to go for the summit because climbing the steep section to the false summit in a howling 0 degree whiteout did not greatly appeal to us. We decided to just make it to the lunch counter so we could tell ourselves we acheived some sort of destination.

Of course, just as we started down, the wind, which had just before gusted to 40 or 50 mph, stopped almost completely and we felt warm. Oh well that's just how it goes. We quickly made it back to our campsite and picked up our cache and hoofed it back to the car to see that the road had significantly melted out a little more even in those 24 cold hours.

The drive back to Seattle was long but uneventful. All in all, a pretty crappy trip, and I am now 0 for 3 this season for climbing trips. Argghhh...

Snow patches appear on the trail at 3080 feet elevation with the trail becoming completely snow covered at 3270 feet within 1/4 mile of the lake. The trail between Talapus and Olallie Lakes is completely under snow. Both lakes are 70 - 80 percent snow-covered with an average of one foot of snow with up to three feet of snow in the lake basins. Trillium, yellow violets and salmonberry flowers were seen. A gray jay was seen at Olallie Lake. The sky was scattered clouds with moderate temperatures.

Went into Ingalls creek on Friday night having never been in this region before.To my surprise, there was only one car in the lot when I left the trailhead at 7:00p.m. Hiked about an hour to a nice little campsite by the creek. All was well until sometime during the night when I awoke to a sound I could not identify. I got up and looked around ,but upon inspection I found nothing. Next morning I got out of my bag, went to put on my boots, and then I saw it; the sound during the night was some little creature who decided to make a meal of my boots! And the shoulder straps on my pack! I repaired my pack straps the best I could and was on my way. I went up the trail till about 4th creek passing many inviting campsites. It rained a little on Saturday night,nothing much.I counted approximately 30 blowdowns on the way. Saw a few deer ,one snake, one lizard,three frogs, and no people until Sunday on my way out.I will be back to explore this area more in the future. Dman

The Old McClellan Butte Trail has a few trees fallen across it, but it is mostly clear. The old bridge across Alice Creek is completely collapsed but completely unnecessary, as the creek has changed its course. There is a roughly built bridge across the new watercourse. There is an abandoned road one-tenth mile and 100 feet below the John Wayne Trail. Its intersection with the new McClellan Butte Trail is clear and its intersection with the old McClellan Butte Trail is just above the falls on Alice Creek. This road is mostly clear of obstructions. Canadian dogwood, bleeding hearts and salmonberry flowers were seen. Sky had scattered clouds with moderate temperatures.

I just wanted folks to know that there is a new parking lot for the Little Si hike that is about 1/8th mile further down the road from the original lot. There is a new connector trail leading from the new lot which intersects with the original trail about 1/4 mile in. The connector trail climbs moderately to immediate excellent views of the valley and peaks to the southeast. It then enters forest and at 1/4 mi comes to an unmarked T-intersection. Turn left to get to Little Si. I believe a right turn will get you to the Old Mt Si trail. In about 1/10th mile you'll intersect the original Little Si trail. Make a right turn and head on up. The trail was a bit muddy and very busy.

Road to trailhead impassable as of 6/8/02.

Gardner Mountain 8,897’ June 08/09 2002

The Wolf Creek Trailhead, 2,900’, is about 6 miles from the little town of Winthrop, at the end of the North Cascades Highway. From the Methow Valley we could see the high mountains covered in new snow. There was only one other car there when Tilmann Gneiting, Doerte, and I left the Trailhead at 9 am.

The trail was in better condition than it was two weeks earlier since we had cleared most of the dead limbs that were movable off the trail. Tilmann counted 46 downed trees across the trail (not counting ones that were stepped over easily). It is 10.5 miles in to Gardner Meadows.

After an hour we got to the Cow Camp where cowboys had a line camp for cows in former times. It is a beautiful meadow full of blooming Lupine and Forget Me Nots and towered over by huge pumpkin colored old growth Ponderosa Pines. These giants only grow on the west side of the Cascade Crest, but range from Canada to Mexico!

The trail was mostly clear of snow all the way to Gardner Meadows and our camp at the old Cowboy Camp. It started to snow as we entered Gardner Meadows. We put on our rain jackets and hurried to the Camp. After setting up the tents and gathering some firewood, we hunkered down to wait out the storm. Not Tilmann, he took advantage of the time to explore the Meadows. Doerte joined him as the weather eased, and started the campfire, but Mike continued to hunker in the tent until the clouds lifted.

Having snowed all afternoon, the peaks were a fresh white, and we had new snow right to our camp. We soon had a nice fire going for the evening entertainment. The wind would let up for a while and then roar down from the passes sounding like a freight train! This continued all night and into the next morning. We could watch the snow blow above 8,000’ on Gardner Mountain.

Sunday dawned windy and cloudy. Not very promising weather for a summit attempt. Mike, dressed in all his warm weather gear, half-heartedly left camp at 6 am, to look at the route to the summit. The clouds started to thin. At 7,000’ the snowpack began and I put on my crampons. The snow was hard, covered with 4-8 inches of powder. I front-pointed up the gully, then moved over to rocky rib and continued my slow ascent. Mercifully, the ridge blocked the worst of the wind.

I finally reached the false summit at 8 am. It was like standing in a hurricane. I hunkered down and stayed well away from the ridge, as I was afraid the wind would blow me off balance. The traverse to the main summit was easy along a huge cornice. There were tracks from a previous party some days earlier. I could not find a summit register on Gardner Mountain, 8,997’, and the 22nd highest peak in Washington. (According to Bulger’s list). We always enjoy the summit registers as they give a brief glimpse of recent history and conditions. I had some fantastic views as the clouds were starting to clear in places, mountains and peaks lit up by the sun as if under a spotlight while others were still shrouded in storm clouds. A tag of the summit and I was on my way back down to the Cowboy Camp.

I was more concerned with the descent and was careful to try to follow my tracks back down. A couple of times I used vegetable belays before moving back into the gully. It was amazing how such a benign summer mountain could be such a challenge in winter conditions in June!

I looked for Doerte and Tilmann in the basin at 7,200’ but didn’t see them. I was back at camp at 9 am for a 3-hour round trip, and 3,200’ elevation gain from the Cowboy Camp to the summit. Doerte gave Tilmann a crampon and ice axe lesson, and both returned later. We all had hot soup and drinks before starting the long hike out.

Gardner Meadow was incredible beautiful. In two weeks the snow had completely melted out and it was a carpet of green. Avalanche Lilies, white, with a yellow center, were sprouting up everywhere!

Lower, on the trail, we passed through great fields of blooming Delphinium (Larkspur), Forget Me Nots, Silvercrowns, Indian Paintbrush, and Lupine. The Delphinium is a wonderful, beautiful deep blue elegant flower. Tilmann told us that the name is Latin, from “Dolphin”. We saw them growing in open scree areas where they could get lots of sun.

Gardner Mountain was in snow in winter condition on this weekend in June with some class 4 rock, snow, and ice. Two days, 24 miles, and 6,100’ elevation gain.

To view some photos please go to

http://www.grandcanyontreks.org/pacrpt02summer.htm

What a beautiful day for a hike, sunny and 70. FS road 45 and 4510 were both clear of snow and blowdown. Made it by car to the fork into Soda Springs campground (3400 feet elev). The camp road was under snow, had to park at the entrance and hike 1/2 mile to trailhead. Trail was 97% under snow but easy to follow. One bridge broken under snow load, still usable. Large blowdowns at intersection with 44a (trail to horse camp) easy to duck under. Lots of elk in the area. We got a late start so had to turn around at creek crossing about 2 miles in. There was a dry spot under some trees that made a perfect spot for a picnic. Good to get out and cover some ground. Looks like a few more weeks until this area is accessable.

Found the trail to be in excellent condition (judging from parts that were not snow-covered). Patchy snow starts at about 4,200 feet, solid by snow by about 4,800 feet. There are a few trees down over the trail, but nothing of much concern. The first 3/4 or so of the trail is quite easy grade, the last 1/4 rather more difficult.

At the lake, there are just a couple of spots near the shelter rock that are uncovered by snow for camping. The late, cold spring is evident by the large amounts of snow seen on the surrounding peaks, especially Mt. Deception.

Beware of very agressive Whiskey Jacks aka Camp Robbers (Canadian Jays). They will literally swoop down and take the food right out of your hands.

Beautiful spot. Good to get there before the big summertime crowds, even though we got snowed on on Saturday. Sunday was beautiful.

June 8-9 Hiked in to Heliotrope ridge TH, had to walk about 1 mile before TH. Ranger Station advised everyone to take snowshoes due to the recent arrival of up to 18"" of fresh snow on Friday. Absolutely no reason to have them the entire trip

Never been on this trail so I can't confirm if it is in bad or good condition. Plenty of down trees and river crossings on bridges and not on bridges. Not the easiest thing to do with a full overnight pack. Broke out off treeline and greeted with no views at all, except for some of the terminus of the Coleman Glacier. Plenty of folks hiking up to do a summit bid, with many camping at the first flat area of 5400 feet or so. We continued up on the glacier and made camp around 6900 feet. Poor views and wind made for an unpleasant setup of camp, but soon the sun came out once in awhile, and then we were greeted by a 1/2 hour whiteout.

The clouds passed and we were given an incredible sunset. Went to bed around 10pm and woke up at 4am. Alison felt ill, so I joined ToTheTop for our 2 person rope team and we joined the 2 other rope teams and began the ascent up the Coleman Glacier. Very easy travel, and the boot track was quite worn. No crampons were necessary until the saddle (9000') where we turned around due to high winds and chilling temps. We waited for about 45 minutes to see if it would improve, but other teams kept coming off of the ridge due to the winds (approx 35-60mph gusts). We bailed out and our other teams went for it. Sure enough about half an hour later it got better, and they made their way up the roman wall and to the true summit in a few hours. We enjoyed some rays back at basecamp as it was warm and enjoyable. Around 1pm or so the mountains weather got worse up top, so later parties might not have summited, but on this Sunday morning, the early birds (those folks that left between 2am-4am) did not get the worm. Will return the 23-24th.Report and images to be posted @ www.nwog.org

Headed east of Steven's Pass when the west side became socked in most of Saturday. Forest service road to trailhead is clear. We were the sole hiking party seen all day. The trail is in fair shape for early season with a 2-3 blowdowns, and trail is quite covered with small debris causing us to lose way at times. Significant snow at about 4,200'with 4'deep tree wells at about 4,600'. No trail signs, but a few tree blazes in places. Getting to lake requires good map, compass, and routefinding skills if its the first time. The lake is 90% ice covered.

Weather was sunny and clear until about 1pm when clouds started moving in. Our party chose to scramble the ridge above lake on N side by following the snow covered climbers route toward Lost Lake. Great views over to Mt. Mastiff, and down to Little Wenatchee River Valley to N, and down to Nassen creek to S. Light snowfall led to decision to cash in our chips, and head for the barn. Great decision to head East to avoid the west side weather.

Another Climb for Clean Air training excursion took us to the summit of Mt. Pilchuck on a miserable day. It's now possible to drive within a few hundred yards of the trailhead. After a few warm days, the road will be clear to the usual parking area.

In windy white-out conditions, we still managed to have a good trip. We were hoping to hike up to the lookout and then glissade back down the old ski runs as much as possible, but the poor visibility forced us to go down the same way we came up. For those of you who have only hiked to the summit in the summer, the current route - which is entirely on snow - follows a completely different course.

The boot beaten route is easy to follow as it wanders up the creek that is normally crossed in the summer soon after leaving the trailhead. Once the route leaves the creek, it climbs south and then traverses east and up to the entrance to the Pilchuck Basin. Instead of switchbacking up the basin, the path ascends to the west ridge of the basin and then south up the crest. The route then roughly follows the normal summer trail around to the south side of the mountain. Shortly before reaching the summit, the path climbs directly to the summit arriving at the southwest corner of the lookout. A bit of scrambling is required to work around the lookout and reach the ladder to the door.

After enjoying some well-deserved snacks, we securely latched the door to the lookout and hiked/glissaded back down to the trailhead. The weather was horrible - windy, an occasional mix of snow and rain, and zero visibility. As might be expected, the sky cleared and the sun emerged just before we made it back to the trailhead. Photos of this trip can be viewed at www.dvandkq.net

After not being able to hike various locations in the American River area due to SNOW IN JUNE, I took up the Covell Creek Falls / Angel Falls loop near High Rock instead. Being pleasantly surprised by a massively high Grant Purcell Falls at La Wis Wis, I hoped Covell Creek was running at it's peak too, or at least higher than the garden hose volume it was at last time I visited.

There are two ways to access this trail, one leaves from the Cispus Learning Center, just off FR 28, 13 miles southeast of Randle, the one I took starts out at the Burley Mountain trailhead off of FR 28 itself, about 4 miles from the FR 23 / 28 intersection.

The trail starts out climbing away from the road at a rather steep clip and switches back up the hill to a juntion at 1/2 mile. From here, signs direct you to Angel Falls and Covell Creek Falls (labeled just 'waterfall' on the trailsigns). I decided to get the ugly part out of the way first, so I went to Covell Creek.

In the 1/2 mile from the intersection to the falls, the trail skirts almost constant cliffs of Basalt towering over 200 feet above the trail, often overhanging the trail, sprouting cities of ferns and mosses. Shading the trail on the downhill side is ubiquitous vine maples, and between the cliffs, ferns, mosses, and trees, this is a really pretty section of trail, which is further enhanced by what looks like old lava tube style caves that are slowly being dug out by freeze & thaw style cleavage.

Covell Creek Falls is reached 1 mile from the road, and I guarantee you won't forget it. The trail dives behind the wall of water, or in the case of the late summer, the thin fountain-like streams coming off the 75 foot basalt face. The only full trailside views of the falls are on the far side of the creek, but the best views are from directly in front of the falls (there is an obvious boot path leading downstream, right next to the falling water).

After the falls, the trail climbs again, this time MUCH steeper, not unlike the Wahkeena Creek trail in the Columbia Gorge (only not as wide or well graded). After another 1/2 mile of walking, and 200 feet of climbing, the trail levels and splits. The trail to Burley Mountain continues uphill, and Angel Falls lies downhill. Guess which way I went? (btw, the sign marking Angel Falls at this juntion is really cool)

Another 1/4 mile downhill leads to the base of 175 foot Angel Falls. And much to my delight, there was actually water in it this time. I had visited the falls twice before, and both times there was not much more liquid than I can spit. This time, there was a rather sizable stream, pleasantly skipping down the mossy rocks. Really, one of the most attractive waterfalls I've seen in a long time. So I took a little time here (not just because my legs were liquifying).

After I finished basking in the fine mist, I headed back to the car. Just after crossing Angel Falls' stream, you cross the mainstem of Covell Creek, then it's an easy, flat (my favorite part) 1/4 mile to the first trail junction, and another 1/2 mile downhill to the trailhead.

Do this hike now, the creek will start shriveling very soon.

Pack Pup (AKA: my wife) and I decided to day hike to Stuart Lake before the trail is closed for the season on 7/15/02 for bridge reconstruction at the Eightmile/Lake Caroline Trailhead. Washington Online Weather predicted a freezing level down to 5,000 feet with intermittent snow/rain showers. At first I thought the forecast was mistaken, as we encountered a strong rain shadow over Easton and the Teanaway; even Leavenworth was partly sunny and warm. However, I have learned that W.O.W. is seldom wrong, and by the time we reached Stuart Lake in the afternoon the weather has turned to light snow flurries.

The trail to Stuart Lake is 100% improved over my last visit on 5/11/02. Conditions were so bad then that I did not bother to write a report, although others attested to the constant postholes and slow going. Now there is no snow on the trail until just past Lake Stuart’s “No Campfires Beyond This Point” sign, and that snow should melt out in the near future. The lake is completely clear, and despite the weather, there were a lot of fish feeding just below the surface.

This was a great day hike! There is always something neat about snow in June. The animals seemed to enjoy themselves too, as we encountered a very inquisitive Douglas Squirrel, chipmunks, and two marmots, a duck, gray jays, and very fresh mountain goat tracks at Stuart Lake.

Do to a late start we did not get back to the trailhead until just past 6:30 PM. There were 21 cars in the lot. Only one party was doing an overnight a Stuart Lake, the occupants of the other 20 cars was staying at Colchuck.

Usually in June a trip to the East slopes means better weather. This morning it was partly sunny in Seattle, raining at Snoqualmie Pass, Snowing at Stevens, and raining at Blewett Pass. Even though the long drive east didn't look very promising I was on the road by 7:30. Once past Issaquah the rain began. Visibility beyond North Bend was about 50 feet. I don't know when I have seen so much water thrown up by traffic. By the time I reached Snoqualmie Pass it was snowing. So much for early June. I exited just past Cle Elum and headed north. By now there was a little sun between the clouds. The Iron Creek road turns off to the left 2.3 miles north of Mineral Springs Resort. It is snow free to the trailhead. The creek crossing near the parking lot looks much worse than it is. My car had no trouble at all. The trail to Iron Bear Pass is virtually snow free. There were only a few small patches and they will be gone in a few days. The pass is also snow free. There was almost no wind here for a change. Lots of clouds but no rain. At the pass I turned right and headed up the trail to Iron Bear Peak. The trail is in great shape. There was one downed log but it was cut while I was hiking beyond it. Near the top the trees had a fresh coat of snow. It did not look like early June far to the east of the Cascade crest. I set my altimeter to 3600' at the trailhead and it showed 5480' on top. It is about 3 1/2 miles up with about 1900' of gain. I was the first person on the trail but I knew there would be plenty more. I enjoyed a brief summit stay though the views were minimal. Even Miller Peak, just across the valley was largely in the clouds. From the summit the trail switchbacks down the north side of the mountain. This heavily forsested section is always the last to melt out. This year is no exception. There is plenty of now still.

Following the trail down from the summit is not possible. Instead, I followed the east ridge down. The north side of the ridge is snow covered. The top and south side is bare. I went down the ridge then contoured around a rock rib to get back on the ridge. Near the low point the County Line trail intersects the Teanaway Ridge trail I was on. The County Line contours around a high point then drops down to a low pass where a road from Shaser Creek comes in. Instead of following this trail towards Miller Peak, I wnet straight up the unnamed high point above. At the top I had some nice views and lots of solitude. On so many of my Spring scrambles I have not seen any people. Today would be an exception. I spent over an hour and a half on top. Soon I could hear voices of people over on Iron Bear. I also heard several motorcycles. They must have been the ones who cut the downed log. After a nice long lunch and some reading I headed back to Iron Bear. Near the top I passed a group of about 8 plus 5 more on the summit. When I first reached the top it was 40 degrees. By now it had risen to 50 degrees. The views had also improved. Most of the Teanaway peaks were out of the clouds. Only the top of Stuart and all but the top of Rainier were hidden. I dropped back down to Iron Bear Pass and continued on the Teanaway Ridge trail. I have meant to hike this trail for many years but had never done so. The trail is in great shape. I followed it for over 1 1/2 miles and found no mud and no logs down. I would like to spend a day and follow it alll the way to Red Top lookout. The trail has lots of ups and down. I calculated 800' elevation gain in the 1 1/2 miles. I stopped when I finally came out of the trees and had nice views. I could see Earl and Navaho Peaks. and also out to the east. There were at least 4 rain squalls going on around me. One was to the east and seemed to be heading my way.

At this point I headed back. The Teanaway Ridge trail south had no snow. Once back at the pass it was all down hill. The first 1 1/2 miles to the pass had many flowers nearing there peak. I recognized the Indian Paintbrush and Balsam Root but not many of the others. Two more motorcycles came up while I was going down. It will be at least 3+ weeks before the trail down from Iron Bear Peak will be melted out enough for the cycles. In the mean time, it is a great time for hikers comfortable traversing moderately steep stretches of snow covered trail. By steep I mean snow covering the trail and creating a 30+ degree angle to cut steps in. The totals for the day were 11 miles and 3000' of gain.

Photos are posted at http://www.kuresman.com under Trips-2002.

Headed over to the Miller/Bear trailhead for some more exploration. The first section of the trail climbs only gradually and is snowfree with great forest flowers everywhere. Too bad this trail is open to motorcycles - they must miss all the flowers, besides all the erosion, etc. they cause. (Why is it that, in trying to miss the motorcycles by traveling their trails when snow and trees still block the trail, we instead face very full stream crossings that are engineered only for cycles? Could the USFS spend some funds and make the crossings also hiker-friendly?) No matter, there is one log a ways above the first crossing, and the rest are fordable if you go quickly... Trees block the trail above the second creek crossing, and then the trail begins switchbacking up and up. Snow patches vary from thin to dense as the trail traverses the shadowy basin to the first sadle voerlooking the Bear Creek valley. We continued up to the 5700' ridge line for great views. Spied more rain/snow clouds coming on, we opted to head down. With alonger day, would love to traverse from Miller to Navaho...

Our group of 6 picked the Baker Lake trail for a one night backpack trip since it is snow free this time of year. The trail is in pretty good shape and has had some maintenance done on it this Spring. We started from the north end of the lake and crossed the river on the suspension bridge under cloudy skys. The place we picked for a camp spot was about one mile past Noisy Creek. This offered good views of Mt. Baker and Shuksan. We met one backpacker who had two goats to help carry his gear. The bigger one could carry 35 lbs. and the smaller one 25 lbs. Then you could bring real food instead of freeze dried.

Lots of wood from trees floating in the lake. The sunset Saturday night over the summit of Mt. Baker was nice. Sunday morning dawned with clear weather for the trip back out. This is a nice early season backpack before the snow melts in the high county. Plus no bugs yet. They are waiting for us this coming Summer.

Jumbo Mt. overlooks Darrington and separates the drainages of Squire Creek and Clear Creek. It is a large mountain but the name comes from the shape of the main summit (middle peak). When approaching the mountain via the usual route of ascent up the snowfields/boulder field on the NW side the summit block has the appearance of an elephant's head. It has three bumps to it. The center one is bulbous and equidistant on either side are the ears looking much like the silhouette of Babar from the front. This mnemonic is important to remember because the mountain is frequently shrouded in fog (as it was on my ascent today). There are two other false summits which are almost the same height but don't have the all important register. The mountain is usually reached from the left side although my friend and I ascended from the right. But I am ahead of myself. Go to Darrington and turn right at the Shell station which will put you on the Mountain Loop Highway. Turn right onto Darringtion Street several blocks down. This street will turn into the Squire Creek road and drive that as far as you can which will be where it is blocked by cement barriers. There was an INCREDIBLE landslide here earlier this year. If you are in the neighborhood it is worth seeing. It is perhaps five hundred feet across in two sections and started several thousand feet up on the mountain. It is easily visable from Route 530 on the approach to Darrington and looks like a huge scar on the slope. Hike up the road for about 1 mile until on the left a sign warning people about an active mine appears. Go up the slope a short ways and lean to the left where flags and a decent trail appear. You will be following this trail upslope and to the SE. Eventually you will probably loose the trail. Continue traversing SE though on broken slopes and merge with the large avalanche gully at about 3,600'. Stay in this gully travelling SE all the way to the saddle separating the North Peak from the Middle Peak at 5,600'. Then jog to the right on the ridge for the easy final 200'. It took six hours from the car to summit.

I guess in some delusionary state I headed off for Shellrock Lake today, hoping that it might be open....it isn't. The Sand Ridge Trail was clear of any snow until right before the Shellrock Junction, but by the Spiral Butte Trail Jct., there was 6-8 feet of hard snow, and it was snowing hard. An unusual day, stopped for lunch beneath a tree, had a fire, and the snow really came down for a while, accumulating several inches. My guess is that it'll be the end of the month before my favorites places are easily accessible.

Took off for a pleasant evening at Granite Lake around 3:30 Sunday afternoon. Had a nice time until drizzle drove us in to the tent around 10:30. Next morning we headed on up the old logging road to the actual trailhead. Snow 4' deep at trees. The ridge is snow free, but we could see that Thompson Lake is frozen over. We opted not to descend to lake shore. Disappointed on one hand, but a nice day out nonetheless. I'm guessing 1-2 more weeks before lake thaws and 4-5 wks before basin is essentially snow-free.

Despite years of training to do hikes the safe way, a friend and I started out on what would just be ""15 minutes hiking up the trail"". Well, in track shoes and blue jeans, and with only one of the 10 essentials - a map, we hiked to within sight of Dorothy Lake. After the bridge, there are snow patches. The last one-quarter mile before the lake is the trickiest. On your right side is a drop-off, the river canyon with violently flowing water. You are walking on quite steep snow. If the snow trail collapses, you can fall into the canyon. On our way back we realized that part of the trail we had gone over was a bit of a snow bridge, that was not really looking that thick. So we cut up the ridge more. In a few places on that ridge, we cut uphill more, to avoid the risk of falling into the canyon.

We decided to go East and avoid the rain today. Dirty Face peak is right behind the Lake Wenatchee Ranger Station and faces south so we thought the snow would be gone but we were wrong. There are several blow downs along the trail and we started to encounter snow at about 4400 Feet. From about 5000' to the summit at 6100' was ALL snow and it was fairly hard which made glissading a dicey choice. We got to the summit about noon and it was snowin N blowin like crazy so we cut our stay short but then on the way down the sun came out. What a crazy day.

The trail is almost snow free to Colchuck Lake. Although it snowed during the night we were camped there. Had the entire place to ourselves. We got several inches -- beautiful powder. By the end of the day it was melted. There are a few blowdown getting close to the lake. About 3/4 snow covered trail along the lake.

We headed up Colchuck Glacier to the pass between Colchuck and Dragging Tail, then scrambled up to the summit of Colchuck Peak (8705'). The glacier snow was pretty hard and crampons worked ok (balling up some). Some rockfall from Dragontail. The weather was variable, ranging from gorgeous sun with glorious views, to clouds and snow flurries. Quite a day!

Saturday afternoon on the way out, mobs of people were heading up to the lake.

Note: passes required starting 6/15. Trail closing 7/15 due to bridge work on the road, and will be closed the rest of the season.

As mentioned elsewhere, the road is snowfree to the trailhead, but snow begins rather shortly after. Following boot tracks, we went up and up to where the trees become sparser, in the vicinity of the Ingalls Way/ Longs Pass junction. After following the Ingalls Way trail for a bit as it traversed in and out of snow filled gullies, we pulled out ice axes and went straight up the slope to the small peak at 6600' elev north of Longs Pass. Great views of the Stuart Range were short-lived due to clouds and snow. Heading down to Long's Pass, there are some tremendous cornices overlooking the Ingalls valley. Back down to the car and a snowy camp at DeRoux for the night...