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Trip Report

McClellan Butte — Sunday, Jun. 14, 2020

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass
Tons of snow on the NW slopes

Just to reiterate the other trip report from today (6/14), I'd highly recommend traction, and potentially an axe. Due to (what must have been) a miscommunication at the trailhead when I asked for beta, I didn't bring my spikes or axe, and spent much of the last mile with regrets. I was also hitting the upper section in the early evening, so it may have been starting to ice up as the temperatures dropped, but I really wished I'd had spikes, not because the actual bootpack was sketchy, but because a slip would have resulted in pretty massive slides into trees or cliffs.

Snow starts at roughly 4100', and I was shocked that multiple feet were left on the trail. On Granite and West Granite (where I was earlier in the day), snowline was dramatically higher, though I wasn't accounting for aspect/tree cover.

Be careful of all the different bootpacks - some of them lead to some pretty stupid situations. I may have accidentally trodden the dumb paths down a bit more, so just make sure you're ready to turn around and trying a different route.

Otherwise, the trail is in great shape, and I hit the summit scramble after it had dried out in the afternoon sun. Beautiful views!

View SE along the spine of McClellan
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