Reynolds Peak, Chelan Summit — Saturday, Sep. 14, 2002

North Cascades > Methow/Sawtooth

PURPLE MTN LOOP & REYNOLDS PEAK Sep 13-15, 2002 Friday morning, Laura and I met Donna at Fields Point, where we boarded the Lady Express for a quick trip to Stehekin. There, we rode the shuttle bus several miles up-valley and debarked at the Rainbow Loop Trailhead. Hot, sunny, dry weather followed us for the next 6 hours as we hiked up Boulder Creek to the comfortable accommodations of Reynolds Camp (picnic table, babbling creek, and bear wire). After a leisurely breakfast Saturday morning, we shouldered summit packs and struck off through the forest on an eastward bearing. Dense firs gradually gave way to sparse larches and heather slopes below Reynolds Peak. We veered right and wandered through a delightful grassy basin, then ascended talus slopes to gain the 7300-foot saddle between Reynolds and Camels Hump. From here, a long northward traverse over sand, scree, loose talus, and rock ribs led to Reynolds' imposing southeast face. We scrambled up a Class 2-3 gully to a notch in the ridge crest, which features slightly exposed Class 3 climbing on nice rock to reach the summit. Laura and Donna prudently opted to take advantage of the lightweight rope that we had packed with us, so we completed the climb with running belays. Our ascent from camp took about 5 hours. Hazy skies prevented long-range viewing, but we enjoyed more than an hour of gazing from the warm summit. The register indicated that Outward Bound classes virtually own this peak during the summer months---several groups of a dozen or so instructors and students have signed in each year. Curiously, many of the independent groups mention climbing Reynolds via ""The Horsefly."" Does anybody out there know what this refers to? After retracing our steps to camp, we packed up and continued hiking toward Lone Mountain Pass. This location provides a splendid vantage of Reynolds Peak and its impressive architecture. For the next 3 miles, we traversed high ridges on well-worn trails as the sun sank behind Purple Mountain and turned the landscape from brown to gold to gray. I couldn't resist declaring this visage to be true ""Purple Mountain majesty""! We crested War Creek Pass in dusky light and descended to tiny Lake Juanita, where grassy flats provided a welcome campsite for the night. Sunday dawned with overcast skies but warm air. We arose at first light and quickly ate breakfast, then broke camp and headed up toward Purple Pass. I insisted that we take a sidetrip to Boulder Butte, an old lookout site, so we dropped packs and hiked up. The overcast was dissipating and allowed nice views in all directions, including straight down to Lake Chelan---6300 feet below us. We groaned at the thought of our impending plunge to lake level but were hoping to catch the Lady Express before she left Stehekin at 11:45. About 3 hours and a thousand swithbacks later, we hiked across the boat landing and directly onto the waiting boat, scant minutes before departure! Stats: 25 miles, 10,000 feet.