Hardscrabble Lakes, Gold Pass 5.28.07

Since I had a big day planned another early start was in the cards. I picked up Coasty by 0500 and soon were making our way down the Middle Fork Road. I was armed with some very recent trip reports and spurred on by the impending gate closure at Dingford Creek I wanted a summit of Big Snow. I was very pleased by our arrival time near the end of the Middle Fork Road. This was about the only thing I was pleased about for the next hour. I quickly realized that one tire was losing air so I quickly changed the tire with the temporary spare. How was I going to drive the 26miles of crappy road to make it out? Well nothing we could do about it now, I was very thankful it was a holiday weekend increasing the chances of a helping hand if needed. The next problem was getting packed I seemed to have a much harder than normal time with that. The third nail was the weather it was a persistent drizzle making the brush approach even less fun. The final straw was the pack grabbing brush that we were forced to bash our way through. All these things were unpleasant but they couldn't rival how unpleasant my demeanor was. Without nearly enough sleep I had a bit of trouble keeping a smile on my face. After we broke out of the brush I was thankful that most of the first boulder field was melted out. At about 4000ft we hit new snow as well as more consolidated snow. I managed to get us to Lower Hardscrabble in around 2 hours. We made our way along the left side of the lake and then climbed to the Upper Hardscrabble. We had short snack and then set out to find the gully to reach Gold Pass. We dropped pack at around 5000ft and quickly climbed the gully to reach the 5800ft pass. I had hoped to have some views but instead our broken sun changed to visibility of less than 100ft. Since we both had obligations on the home front we were very near our turnaround time. I had to err on the side of caution because I knew the road out would take much longer with my gimpy tire situation. After some debate we plunge stepped/slow motion glissaded back to our packs and had lunch. The way out went much quicker than I expected. I was somewhat worried about the rotten snow conditions and route finding between the Lower lake and the car. I was pleased to keep us on trail nearly the whole way out missing the worst of the bad snow. This trail is not for everyone I think it would be easier with no snow or more snow but not this in between period. We managed to make it all the way out with only short periods of worry. I am again disappointed not to achieve the day's goal but I was much more disappointed with the lack of views from the ridge. This is one of the most scenic vantage points It was a shame not to see more.




Approx 8 miles 3200ft of climb 7 hours car to car

Chatter Creek 5.21.07

I once again had grand plans and I knew everything would have to align perfectly to achieve the day's goal. The plan was to use the Chatter Creek Trail to make a summit attempt of Grindstone Mt. The day started off well enough I managed to get out of bed at the unseemly hour of 0400 and was soon on the road. I was happy to stop and pick up Coasty who was once again brave enough to spend the day with me and the dingos. As we crossed over Snoqualmie Pass I was suprised to see the temp at 34 degrees.... isn't almost June? I knew we were in serious trouble when snow removal crews were out in force clearing Blewett Pass. To make matters worse I was pulled over for passing in a no passing zone wasting even more precious time. I really don't know what the officer was talking about I was clearly in a passing zone. We finally made it to the moved Chatter Creek Trailhead and after some gear repair and repacking for cooler temps we were off. The new trail is meaners while gaining elevations slowly until it merges with the old trail. For the next 1500ft it gets down to business. We hit new snow at around 3300ft making for most unpleasant travel. The trail is moderately brushy which was compounded by the wet heavy snow plastered to everything. At around 4300ft the trail crosses two branches of Chatter Creek. The first we managed by scooting across a well placed log. The second crossing gave us much more trouble we were forced to drop down quite a ways before we found a suitable crossing. After the crossing the trail became much harder to follow but I managed to keep us on route until well into the basin. There was enough snow in the basin that following the trail became unimportant. Grindstone is a huge mountain and it was very inspiring for me to see it plastered with new snow. By now the weather had warmed well into the 50's giving me plenty worry about the avy conditions. Soon my fears were realized when we heard some healthy avy's let go. It was apparent that time and the snow conditions were not on our side so we hunkered down at 5400ft for an extended lunch. It was simply amazing waiting for the next slide to release. Our route was clearly in front of us and it will still be there next time I try. The way out went rather quickly and we had much less trouble with the creek crossing even though the water was much higher. We both were suprised when there was hardly any signs that it had snowed on the lower reaches of the trail.




approx 8 miles 2800+ of climb 5:30 car to car





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Hard Knox 5.14.07

Hard Knox or South Thorp Mt. as it is sometimes referred to is #45 on the HC/100 list and as such needed to be climbed. I was blessed with near perfect weather unbroken sun but not too warm. I was pleased that the major overhaul of my boots had been completed and they looked great. I had a feeling they might need to be rebroken because of the extensive repairs so I chose this because the majority of the climb was on logging roads. The Thorp Mt group can be accessed in a variety of ways I chose to use the East Lake Kachess Road( Kachess Dam Road) for the days adventure. I was pleased to be able to drive up to around 3000ft where the road abrubtly ends in an impassable tangle of fallen logs. I doubt that this will be fixed anytime soon. As I suspected my boots gave me trouble from the onset. I think it took me nearly 10 minutes to get them relaced and on to my feet. I was off. The bare road that quickly changes to consolidtated snow. I followed the logging roads until a junction at 4700ft where I left the road climbing in a more direct route to my summit. I rejoined a upper road for a short while before again leaving for the hard snow in the shade of the trees. I now switched to snowshoes which I felt gave me some more stable footing. I followed the basin that a creek flows through until 5200ft where I crossed to the North side and began climbing steeply Northward. I had reached by turnaround time but I was only 600ft from the summit so I pressed on. I broke out the ice axe because it was steep enough to give me pause and paired with the variable snow conditions I thought it prudent. The pitch lessens near the summit and I was confused on which of points was highest. The Peak Baggers's Asylum identifies the Eastern point (5841) as the highest. I didn't have a good line of sight to determine for sure which was the highest. My topo program definitely shows the West as the highest point. I was content that my summit was highest. I wish I had more time to find out for sure. I snapped some pictures and then I was off. I had some time to make up so I did my best to shave some time on the way out. I ended up making it home in time for the rest of the evenings plans.




Approx 9miles 2800ft of climb 4:30 car to car

Mailbox Peak 5.7.07

Since my boots were in for a long overdue and much needed overhaul I was forced to pick something with no snow. I was short on time as well so that narrowed my possibilities to just a few climbs. I was hoping for a try for West Defiance (Pt. 4926) which is just SE of Mailbox Peak. I have been up Mailbox many times so knew the route well and I wasn't overly optimistic of success. I knew the traverse from the Mailbox Trail would be made much more challenging by my lack of proper footwear. I started the long grind up with some much warmer than expected temps. I always have a hard time acclimating to the warmer weather early in the season. I wasn't trying to set any land speed records as I made my way of the mostly clear trail. I have been walking on snow for so long now I had forgotten how much faster the elevation ticks off when you are on dry ground. I reached 4500ft and left the trail making a rising traverse towards my goal. I had some problems getting any purchase with my trail running shoes making me wish I had my boots. I reached the saddle between Mailbox and West Defiance and was forced off the ridge. My options were to drop steeply or backtrack. I decided that maybe this summit was best left for another day. I made my way back on the North side and popped out on Mailbox's summit. The weather was ideal and the views were 360 degrees. I am intrigued with the basin towards the SE. I could have easily dropped to the consolidated snow in the basin and made a snow ascent of West Defiance. This route would force more elevation gain but I am sure It would be much more enjoyable. I lounged for a while enjoying the nice sunshine. I was a little concerned with the descent because of the muddy conditions between 3000-4000ft but I managed to stay upright. Once I reached drier ground I picked up the pace running long stretches. I was very pleased that I would have made Mailbox in just under two hour if I had went straight instead of detouring. I managed to drop in less then 1:15. Mailbox if nothing else can be a good judge of one's fitness level. Just to put the icing on the day I again (this is occurring at a freaky rate ) won $50 on a scratch lottery ticket. Just to sweeten the day further I was able to make it back for the evening bite and had a wonderful evening on the lake.




Approx 6 miles 4100ft of climb 4 hours car to car