Figured today would be a fabulous day to bounce up Bessemer Mountain for the first time *without* it being buried under a gazillion feet of snow. Interesting to finally see what the upper terrain is like (hint: it's about the same as below. Rocky road bed.)
I arrived to one other car at 6:45 am this morning. There are a couple trees down along the way, but overall, everything is in fine shape. Creek crossings doable with ease. I was pleasantly surprised that for the most part, I was shielded from the vicious wind that I could hear. This made the climb actually very hot! I was down to a t-shirt and wished I had shorts instead of pants. Trail is snow free until you hit about the last 1/2 mile. However, it's patchy and rarely more than a couple inches. I did not need traction or gaiters. Of course, this will probably change in the next few days...
Summit views were beautiful today, and once at the top, I was really exposed to the insane wind! I did go the 100 ft further to the true summit of S. Bessemer. There was a bit more snow, which made for an interesting descent. The true summit has unobstructed view to the northeast (you can see Glacier peeking out!), otherwise, views are the same as the false summit where the road ends. Could see Baker, the Olympics, Tahoma, and many peaks towards Snoqualmie Pass and beyond! Well worth the long climb to get there!
I started to run into people on the descent, but probably saw only 7 or 8 people all day.
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