We arrived at the packed Rachel Lake trailhead about noon. After shouldering our bags, we headed up the trail with a swarm of other people. We soon distanced ourselves from the pack and covered the 4 miles to Rachel in approx. 2 hours. At the lake we had a snack and continued upwards. Just our luck it started to rain, not baby rain mind you, big fat rain! We spent the next bit putting on and taking off our rain gear as the weather would clear for a while, but then go right back to raining. You would think we would learn! Bugs at Rachel Lake! We decided to climb Alta Mountain as we heard the views were fantastic! The trail leaves from the right side of Rachel Lake, not too difficult to find, especially since all the boot paths eventually lead to the main trail. We traversed up to the saddle above Rachel, which presented a beautiful view of the lake as well as the valley we just hiked up. We came to a junction where you could choose to go to Lake Lila, Rampart Lakes or Alta Mountain. There was an ""ant trail"" of people to Lake Lila, but there was no one on the way up to Alta so up up up we went. The clouds broke several times and we had a great view across the way to the Ramparts and down to Rachel. As we were summiting, the clouds came and we were socked in and the rain reappeared. So after a quick lunch, we headed down. I imagine the views would be spectacular if there were no clouds. All in all it was a great hike! A little over 6 miles and 4.5 hours to the top from the car (with numerous breaks for scenery) and 3 hours down (it is definately a ""slippery when wet"" trail).

The road to the Rachel Lake Hike was not all that clear. Follow the signs to Trail 1313 and turn right at an unmarked Y. The trail is virtually snow free (with a number of water crossings over rocks and logs) until the very last where there is a little patch on a steep slope. Not a lot of flowers other than Queen’s Cup, Vanilla Leaf, and Sitka Valerian. A little buggy (mosquitos) at the lake. The last mile is indeed cruel, but well worth it when you get to the lake.

HIBOX MOUNTAIN (6547 feet) 19 June 2004 On Saturday, I joined Karen and Jared for their climb of Hibox Mountain in the Lake Kachess area. We climbers all seem to have our quirky list obsessions, and Karen is no different. Hibox Mountain is on her “Schurman Sixty-Nine” peak list, which comprises all 69 peaks featured in a little book of pen-and-ink sketches by Clark E. Schurman. As Karen explained to me, Schurman was not only a prolific backcountry sketch-artist but also an active Mountaineers member, a legendary Boy Scout leader/taskmaster, and the eponym of both Camp Schurman (on Mt. Rainier) and Schurman Rock (in Seattle). We started our trip at the Rachel Lake trailhead on a beautifully sunny and warm morning. First, we hiked up the trail alongside Box Canyon Creek for 50 minutes, until just past a brushy stream swath. In the forest beyond, we turned sharply right and followed a climber’s path upward through the trees and the meadowy slopes above. Jared led the entire way, doing a good job of keeping us on track. Eventually, we found ourselves directly beneath the steep and imposing summit block, which certainly didn’t appear to have any route easier than Class 5 on it! We ascended a final 200 feet of loose talus to gain the ridge crest immediately southeast of the summit block. From here, a very enjoyable Class 3 scramble unfolded along the block’s southeastern edge. We topped out several minutes before noon and spent over 2 hours lounging on the sun-baked summit rocks. The register, which had been placed in 1995, indicated that Hibox Mountain gets several ascents per month between May and November. No wonder; it offers splendid views of numerous Alpine Lakes peaks, including Three Queens (seemingly only a stone’s throw across the valley), Chikamin Peak, Lemah Mountain, Summit Chief Mountain, and Mt. Daniel. The most remarkable sight, though, is the implausibly narrow, vertical, sky-piercing summit tower on Chimney Rock! Furthermore, as if all these nearby rugged mountains weren’t enough to look at, Glacier Peak happens to be perfectly framed in a U-shaped gap between Chimney Rock and Summit Chief Mountain! Below us, Rachel Lake and Park Lakes sparkled in the sun. By 2:00pm, dark clouds had built overhead and a cold breeze had come up. We carefully down-climbed the summit block and then hustled back down the climber’s path, hoping to beat the likely rain shower. But all this while, the clouds dissipated, and the sky was again bright blue when we reached the trailhead, where Jared had cold drinks waiting for us. During our drive home, Karen lazily flipped through the Schurman sketchbook, no doubt wondering which peak would be her next. Stats: 8 miles RT, 3700 feet gained, 3.5 hours up, 2.9 hours down.

Climbed Hibox Mountain today via the Rachel Lake trail. Used the ""75 Scrambles"" book for beta, and it was accurate in almost every regard. One addition to assist in finding the climbers trail (or definite boot path as she calls it): the first major clearing is at ~2 miles, and the second at ~2.5 miles. The boot path is fairly obvious after passing the second major clearing and is fairly easy to follow most of the way. If you lose it, just trend right without going into the slide alder and vine maple. This will allow you to eventually gain the ridge right of the summit and then work westward to the summit. We encountered very little snow along the way, though did use the ice axes for a couple of steep snow fields. I would probably just leave them at home and navigate around the snow. There is a fair amount of snow on the north side of the ridge crest, but this is so short that I would just not worry with it. Having said that, some may wish to have an axe just in case. This is a great scramble with lost of opportunity for cross country travel in a variety of environments from forest to alpine. The final ridge scramble is also great with just enough exposure to keep things interesting. The views from the summit are great, though we dealt with quite a few clouds today. We also saw several goats which was really cool. As a measure of how much this summit is visited, we were only the fourth party of the year to sign the register, and we met a fifth on our descent.

The trail was in good condition. Pretty wet with all the snow melt, but not too bad of a climb all in all. The hike up was pleasant, then we (Barbie, Sci, Sophie, and I) set up camp around the lake and continued up the western ridge on the trail that circles the lake. Up over that ridge is quite a little bunch of lakes, still frozen over but beautiful nonetheless. We explored for the rest of the day, and then skied back down to the eastern side of the lake. Quite the night though as the rain and wind battered our tents and tore out guylines along with tent stakes. The dogs even fought for shelter in my vestibule. Which is barely big enough for one of them. An easy day hike but an excellent exploration hike; lots of great places to roam.