A challenging, but highly rewarding, four day backcountry loop, from Big Snow to Mt. Hinman ( eastern peak ). Been flirting with this route for years on the Google Earth dating app, and finally summoned the courage...
Disclaimers:
- Big Snow to Chetwoot is definitely 'wilderness' no-trail backcountry
- Chetwoot onwards is more 'established' backcountry routes
- Middle portion follows Foss/Necklace Alpine Lakes High route (ALHR)
- This part is fairly popular so won't cover too much here
- This is a backpacking high route, with some scrambles
- Rather then a true "crest" mountaineering HR
TL;DR;
- Big Snow Mountain / Gold Lake is a beautiful area,
- You definitely feel 'out there'
- In character with the place, will just list critical waypoints
- Tried Chetwoot south shore option to avoid the infamous bushwhack
- Route 100% snow free, except Hinman Glacier ( what's left of it )
- Summited Iron Cap ( standard route )
- Summited eastern peak of Mt Hinman ( see bottom for discussion of which might be the "true" summit )
- Blueberries in full force, typically 4300-5000', but is transitioning
- Body scratch total for trip: 62
- Great wx first day, then was inside the smoke filled ping-pong ball
- Only met/passed a dozen folks the whole trip, but all super cool, including:
- Catherine, heading out to climb Overcoat ( looked amazing from Big Snow )
- Carly, shared a blood red sunset & stories at La Bohn
- M & S, high on Mt. Hinman, doing an amazing bike/hike/climb adventure through the region
Approach:
- Started/Ended at Dingford TH ( middle fork )
- Garfield potholes have been filled
- Dingford road is legendary in it's roughness,
- Not sure why it gets so little love given the popularity of the middle fork
- 4WD may not be needed, but wouldn't do without high clearance
- TH toilet clean, and stocked
- Spruce mine was active based on cars/noise ( old link below )
- Used bike as far base of Hardscrabble TH:
- Road with full pack was ~95% bike-able uphill, 98% downhill
- Surface varies from smooth to bouldery
- Was quite tiring on my old non-suspension bike, but still was worth it
Hardscrabble TH to Upper Hardscrabble:
- TH not marked, but obvious up short rutted slope
- Trail to lower Hardscrabble pretty good shape, little overgrown in places
- Bit scrappy at 4000' near the 'bivy' rock
- Big Snow's massive East prominence looms ominously above
- Lower to upper Hardscrabble goes climbers left of nice falls
- Look for ribbon after couple big boulders
- Didn't see obvious camps, but know people do camp there
Upper Hardscrabble to Big Snow Mountain:
- Trail starts out easy/obvious, but then unsure what to recommend
- Went climbers rightward, but ended in a hellish bushwhack
- Including a 12' slide on ball bearing pine needles :)
- Suspect climbers left may be better, but don't know for sure
- Try to find the most 'open' path, aiming for ~47.53492, -121.34390 @4948
- Big Snow Gap Gully
- Once you get to the talus, the rest is easy boulder hopping
- Gully Snow free
- Exiting the gully is a wow moment, with great views of Gold basin, and back across the valley
- Big Snow Summit
- Follow the famous slabs upward towards summit
- Tarn at 5850' is currently dry
- Path to summit is straightforward, but quite long
- Amazing views all around, especially across to Overcoat/Chimney/Lemah/Chiefs
- Saw campers down at Big Snow Lake ( Myrtle lake approach )
- Thanks to whoever built the fun quartz summit cairn :)
Big Snow Mountain to Gold Lake ( Camp I ):
- Some folks take the 'western' drainage which would be a more direct to camp
- But since my pack was near the gap, I took the 'eastern' drainage
- Note, if you drop directly, you will get cliffed out
- Instead from the gap start towards the two ~5500' tarns, looking for cairns
- Then follow cairns down a gully to lower shelf
- From there pleasant rambling to lake
- Was getting twilight, saw blueberry scat, and black bear paw prints
- Don't normally take bear spray in ALW, but glad I did for this trip
- 1x site SE lake, then a up/down route around lake to get to...
- Several great sites on the peninsula/bay
Gold Lake to Chetwoot:
- Several options, none easy
- Most folks acquire the NW ridge Wild Goat somewhere around 5300-5500'
- I probed a couple early gullies, but didn't commit as couldn't see the way ahead
- Instead chose a cairned gully further north:
- Starting ~47.55717,-121.34657
- Topping out at ~47.55836,-121.34561 @5240 ( cairn )
- From here some folks drop down quickly, but weary of more bushwhacking...
- Did a little up, then sidling descent towards main Wild Goat talus ~47.55684,-121.34256
- From there dropped heather slopes, then talus, to turn the corner ~47.55846,-121.33215
- Ascend, tending climbers right, some cairns, some faint boot paths, some talus, some bushwhacking
- Eventually arrive at small tarn ( more bear prints ), and the col above Chetwoot
- Next the expected "crux" of the day, which way around Chetwoot?
- Most reports describe a hellish bushwhack following NW shore
- Certainly could feel the pull, as offers fastest bird-fly way round
- But chose to try the South shore, which worked well, except for final talus
- From col, sidling descent to above the SW bay ~47.55443,-121.32225
- Ascend easy slope just enough to clear the chossy gully
- Traverse really enjoyable heather benches with great views, then easy talus
- To avoid the last cliff, you will have to ascend 100-200'
- Then descend, aiming for NW corner of lake
- The talus in this section is steep/loose enough to be slow going
- In the end, not sure which way is 'best', but without more knowledge would probably go the same way next time as prefer talus over bushwhacking
Chetwoot to Iron Cap Lake ( Camp II ):
- Joined the Foss/Necklace ALHR
- Wow, civilization, complete with humanoids and regular cairns!
- Considered doing iron cap via W ridge...
- But was a long route with full pack, and timing didn't work
- Trail to Iron Cap Lake is pretty, and fairly straightforward, albeit you will still lose the trail briefly in places
- Really neat views turning the corner at ~47.56092,-121.29518
- Warm night at Iron Cap Lake due to smoke,
- Hard to sleep with the Eurovision Pika/Marmot contest reverbing off the cirque
- Real 'alpine' feel
- 1-3x sloping sites
Iron Cap Summit:
- Forgot to research this, but apparently guessed right on NE ridge route:
- At flat area on main trail ~47.55799,-121.28288
- Look up, and follow climbers rightward talus finger, with cairn at apex
- Follow scrub/bolder cairn trail until break out of bush
- Aim for summit following easy heather/talus
- Great views of Overcoat/Chimney, worthy side trip, easy class 2 if on-route
- When descending stay above line of trees that mark the eastern cliffs
Iron Cap to La Bohn Lakes ( Camp III ):
- Continue the meandering Foss/Necklace ALHR trail to Tank Lake slabs
- Was last at Tank lakes several decades ago and is still super pretty
- Smaller tarns dry, so even nicer a month or so a go
- Trail drops fast down towards the Necklace Valley
- Nearing the bottom decided to traverse talus towards La Bohn
- But suspect it wasn't worth the trouble vs. just going down to meadows and back up
- Ascent to La Bohn Lakes:
- Gully route half melted. Spoke with Carly who said it wasn't fun
- Anyway the water fall route has always appealed to me, so went that way
- Steep and clambery, but felt safe, with periodic views of falls
- Topping out is abrupt and delightful, right at the bench tarns
- Whole area from here to chain lakes is stunning
Mt Hinman ( "eastern" peak ):
- Had a long way to go, so just planned to go up "just a little" to get a view, but you know how that goes...
- Route up to 7200' was snow free, straightforward and quite enjoyable, although it is a long way
- The first obstacle is a short ice/snow patch, sure easy when soft, but at the time was icy, so...
- Tried first to skirt on rock above ice, but...
- Was that horrible teetering unconsolidated glacier talus
- Took the ice/snow on return, no worries with softening ice
- Traverse/ascend to reaching the N ridge corner at the edge of the main upper glacier
- Sad to see how much glacial retreat there's been
- Lots of cute LBBs ( little brown birds ) feasting on ice bugs
- I did carry some ancient instep spikes with me, but the ice was still morning-hard
- So didn't fancy the direct ascent up the "bulge", with a long run-out on gritty ice
- Instead traversed low angle ice to the rock rib on the far "eastern" peak
- Followed easy rock up to ridge prominence at the eastern end, with views down towards Daniel
- There seems to be a lot of confusion over where the "true" summit is, see discussion at end
- Without better gear, or waiting for softer ice, the risk/reward of getting to the middle summit wasn't worth it for me on this day
- Probably could have followed the rock moat, but concerned it was that crappy rock as earlier
- So playing it safe, called it good, and enjoyed the amazing near views ( far views shrouded by smoke )
- Then started the almost 6000' 17mi descent to car...
La Bohn Lakes to Dingford TH:
- Descent to Chain Lakes is quick and easy
- Chain Lakes stunning, worthy of spending time
- Some waterfalls still running, but would amazing a month or so ago
- Cool mining cabin ruins and "display" at S end
- Then, you guessed it, yet more talus...
- At the constriction I think was on auto-pilot and messed up...
- Followed cairns down a gully that dumped me out at the top of the talus field
- From there it was slow going through talus
- Many cairns placed all over the place, suspect many were old mining folk ones
- Instead watch the GPS, and look for what looks like the 'new' trail
- At the bottom joined what appears to be said trail at...
- The mine tailings with rusty rails, visible from the lake
- Followed scrappy boot paths around Williams lake
- Lake is pretty, and reeded, quite different from the alpine ones
- Crossed outlet, then descended to Dutch Miller Gap junction
- From there smooth sailing to horse camp, then Dingford TH
- Nice river slab/slides at 47.54511,-121.27567, and 47.51590,-121.33426
- Was getting near dusk, so felt a bit like a cat toy for cougars
- A few short rises along the way getting between you and French fries
Once again amazed at how lucky we are to live in the PNW with places like this on our doorstep.
Mt Hinman question for anyone in the know:
- There seems to be confusion over which is "true" Hinman summit
- I traversed the glacier, then climbed the highest "eastern" peak, uphill from where the photo was taken.
- Had been assuming the true peak is on the "middle" of the long ridge in the last photo, above the ice
- However, researching it a little back home, the sources seem mixed on whether the middle or the eastern peak is the "true" summit:
- GAIA marks the summit to the east of the track, indicating eastern?
- CalTopo marks it west of track, indicating middle?
- SummitPost ( link below ) seems to indicate the eastern:
- "traversing the heads of two glaciers, past a long, sharp ridge, to reach the summit at the easternmost mound of rocks. The long ridge seems every bit as high as the "summit," and it would be interesting to know which is truly higher"
- Becky seems to indicate eastern:
- "Ascend this easy ridge ( it crests along the top of the Hinman Glacier ), then E to the summit"
- Asked a friend, and she suspects the rarely climbed western spires might be higher
- To my eyes the middle peak looked a tad higher, but it could be an optical illusion because of the ice making it look more impressive
- Doesn't really matter to me, just curious, as any of these options was good enough for me
- If it does matter to you, then plan on walking the ridge to be sure
Comments
NW Trekker on Tank Lakes, Gold Lake, Big Snow Mountain, Chetwoot Lake, Iron Cap Mountain, Williams Lake, La Bohn Gap, Mount Hinman
That sounds like an epic trip! Do you have gps track? Thanks for sharing!
Posted by:
NW Trekker on Aug 22, 2023 01:09 PM
gps track
Sadly no. Mainly haven't because it chews up battery on my phone/inreach.
Would be nice though :)
Posted by:
fadenz on Aug 22, 2023 02:37 PM
neil bresheare on Tank Lakes, Gold Lake, Big Snow Mountain, Chetwoot Lake, Iron Cap Mountain, Williams Lake, La Bohn Gap, Mount Hinman
Brings back so many memories with good friends on the High Alpine Lakes Traverse. Bonnie Lake one of my favorite lakes along the way, did you see any sign of people going that way from the 5,400' saddle between Iron Cap and Williams Lake? Thanks for the report.
Posted by:
Neil48 on Aug 22, 2023 05:58 PM
traverse
Nice. Re question, and assuming you mean La Bohn lakes ( let me know if not )...
I saw total of 8 folks over two days in the area, coming and going different directions ( Necklace, Williams, and over Hinman towards Daniel ).
Posted by:
fadenz on Aug 22, 2023 06:48 PM
Bonnie LaKE
Bonnie is west just below the Tank Lakes and above Otter. Dad took me there the HARD way when I was 14 down the cliffs. Just a special area. Will do what you did again with an E-bike and make the loop.
Safe travels my friend, see ya out there.
Posted by:
Neil48 on Aug 22, 2023 08:57 PM
Traillesstraveled on Tank Lakes, Gold Lake, Big Snow Mountain, Chetwoot Lake, Iron Cap Mountain, Williams Lake, La Bohn Gap, Mount Hinman
been to Bonnie lake many times mostly coming up from Delta lake. fishing hasnt been so good there the past couple of times. Not alot of people get into it thankfully
Posted by:
Traillesstraveled on Aug 23, 2023 05:30 AM
Bonnie Lake
Amen to not alot of people get into Bonnie. have been that way to Azurite via Delta and Otter, will have to try coming from Otter. Stocking these lakes is difficult to say the least for the Trailblazers and Highlakers, with more and more pressure of people getting out. I support these groups the best I can.
Will visit Otter in a couple of weeks will post a report here.
Posted by:
Neil48 on Aug 23, 2023 01:24 PM
onewhohikes on Tank Lakes, Gold Lake, Big Snow Mountain, Chetwoot Lake, Iron Cap Mountain, Williams Lake, La Bohn Gap, Mount Hinman
Most of these lakes are naturally reproducing and are not stocked. Exception are some in Necklace valley. Otter, BH, Chet, Ang, Bonnie, Delta, naturally reproducing.
Posted by:
onewhohikes on Aug 23, 2023 02:16 PM
Blender of Smoothies on Tank Lakes, Gold Lake, Big Snow Mountain, Chetwoot Lake, Iron Cap Mountain, Williams Lake, La Bohn Gap, Mount Hinman
Enjoy Otter, but please don't post a TR. There's been enough mentioned here already.
Posted by:
Blender of Smoothies on Aug 24, 2023 05:33 PM
Traillesstraveled on Tank Lakes, Gold Lake, Big Snow Mountain, Chetwoot Lake, Iron Cap Mountain, Williams Lake, La Bohn Gap, Mount Hinman
I agree 100 %. Trip reports like this send people to places where they will get hurt. Several people have been injured and killed on this route so please refrain from posting them.
Posted by:
Traillesstraveled on Aug 25, 2023 09:30 AM
CarlysHikes on Tank Lakes, Gold Lake, Big Snow Mountain, Chetwoot Lake, Iron Cap Mountain, Williams Lake, La Bohn Gap, Mount Hinman
I agree that this terrain is rough and holds the potential to hurt people. But I have to disagree about refraining from posting reports. This land is for public use and we should all be able to explore it. I appreciate reports like this one because it is so informative; sharing information with each other lessens the risks associated with the outdoors by allowing us to enter the terrain as prepared as possible.
Posted by:
CarlysHikes on Sep 05, 2023 05:39 PM
Traillesstraveled on Tank Lakes, Gold Lake, Big Snow Mountain, Chetwoot Lake, Iron Cap Mountain, Williams Lake, La Bohn Gap, Mount Hinman
I happen to disagree with you there. People don't practice LNT. They leave their garbage behind, make fire pits and rings, chop down trees, etc. Look what they did to Jade lake. Toilet paper in the trees, garbage strung around, it's disgusting. They the ink they are at home and mom will pick up after them. Let the places with official trails get the attention, and don't give out your secret areas.
Posted by:
Traillesstraveled on Sep 06, 2023 08:00 AM
Dream Delay on Tank Lakes, Gold Lake, Big Snow Mountain, Chetwoot Lake, Iron Cap Mountain, Williams Lake, La Bohn Gap, Mount Hinman
What a trip! Thank you for the report.
Posted by:
Dream Delay on Apr 04, 2024 09:02 AM