Mount Index — Friday, Aug. 22, 2008

The MidMountain Mountaineers were out for a trip up Mt Index. We started at the locked gate on road 62 and biked about 6.5 miles up to around 2600 feet. We ditched the bikes when the going got too rough and began the walk up the forest road. The alder was jungle-thick in some places, but we finally got up to the end of the trail at about 3900 feet. Then the fun began. We turned up hill and gained about 600 feet in a tenth of a mile and then traversed under cliffs following a flagged trail to the tarns on the 4700 foot bench. We pumped some water and took a short break before continuing up. We made it up to the saddle at 4900 feet at about 1:30pm. We then followed the ridge up through the trees and then hit the snow field, which appeared incredibly steep and is right above a 2000 foot cliff. Not wanting to make our way across (even though we brought ice axes), we spied an alternate route up the gully to the right of the usual scramble. We dropped our packs and headed up staying to the right and using the trees and plants to haul ourselves up. After that, it was an easy walk up the rocks and heather to the summit where we arrived a little after 3pm. The views were beyond description. We could see Seattle and Bellevue, Puget Sound and the Olympics, Glacier Peak, Rainier, Kaleetan Peak, and countless other peaks and ridges; simply incredible. We stayed long enough to soak up the views and snap a few pics. The trip down went faster (of course) and with lots of veggie belays and a few slips and bumps we made it back to the bikes just as dusk was settling in. After a pleasant ride out, we got back to the cars around 9pm and enjoyed a few, well-deserved refreshments. What a day!