Nasikelt Peak 8.29.07

Last week I had some mishaps while summitting Nasikelt Peak and it was time to clean up the mess. I had some trouble downclimbing last week and was forced well below the elevation of my stowed belongings. I was running low on time and the way back was guarded by some wet slippery heather. I felt my best move was to make a return trip. Today I parked in the same spot near the end of the Mill Creek Road and was off. Today's only goal was to retrieve my belongings and have a leisurely day. I had no problem finding my was back to my pack and enjoyed the lunch that I had packed for the previous week's trip. The downclimb wasn't without it's tense moments but before long I was back on trail. I gave some thought to climbing Lumiere Ridge but nixed it to lack of time. Shortly after passing Lake Susan Jane I found a good trail going my way. I intially disregarded the idea of taking this trail. When I heard voices below me I backtracked and made my way quickly down the great trail to connect with the Mill Creek Road. Nearing the bottom I passed a man who when seeing my pack seemed very happy to see me. Evidently he and another man had climbed Nasikelt earlier and were very concerned to find my pack without me anywhere near it. Evidently they were so concerned they had spent two hours on the phone with search and rescue. Soon the trail dropped me around 4100ft on the road and it was the short climb back to the car. I waited for the other climber who I knew was parked above me to come driving by. I stopped him to appoligize for any undo concern I may had caused. The climber was a very expierenced with complete Bulger List to his credit. He was little less than moved with my explanation. I could tell he was quite angry with me but he did well trying to hide it. I do want to pass on my most sincere applogies for anyone who I may have inconvienced or worried. Sometimes in life what may seem like silly decisions from the outside are perfect ones in the moment. My only regret was writing up my trip report from last week. Had I not posted the idea no one probably would have climbed Nasikelt any time in the near future.




Approx 5 miles and 1800ft of climb 3:30 car to car

Nasikelt Peak 8.20.07

Nasikelt Peak is located South of the Upper Mill Creek Road and just NE of Josephine Lake. Nasikelt ranks #77 on the HC/100 list and judging by the small summit register is not visited very often. I was happy to be able to drive to around the 4200ft level on the Mill Creek Road. I could have driven farther but the risk soon outweighed the reward. I parked and was off the remainder of the road to connect with the PCT. I passed one man who was lost and I set him straight. Once on the PCT it was a short traverse to Lake Susan Jane and the Junction with the Icicle Creek Trail. I stayed on the Icicle Creek trail until it starts it descent to Josephine Lake. I left the trail and made my way to the saddle at 5200ft between Nasikelt and Pt. 5463. Once on the Nasikelt's West ridge the going became more defined. I could follow a faint climber's trail until I was forced to traverse to South side for the final push to the summit. I signed the register and made my way back. The clouds rolled in and I had a hard time with route finding I erred on the way down and ended up in the small basin to the NW of Nasikelt. I felt I was flying blind because of the cloud cover and because I had misplaced my map on the way up. The clouds lifted enough to get my bearings I could see the Mill Creek Road below me but the drop was quite steep. I thought maybe I could shorten the route out by traversing at 4600ft to connect with the PCT at lake Susan Jane. Some pesky cliff bands stopped this idea and I was forced to reclimb to the ridgeline. The going was fairly easy and soon I picked up what looked like an old trail. As I climbed the trail became easier to follow even having obvious blaze marks in the trees. I passed a couple of signs for the Forest Boundary and once I went over the top of Pt. 5463 there was a benchmark affixed to a tree. I dropped down to thankfully reconnect with the Icicle Creek trail and was off for the return to the car.




Approx 7.5 miles 2800ft of climb 5:30 car to car.

Kaleetan Lake 8.14.07

With a promotion more than doubling my work week and the birth of my second daughter finding time for the trails has been challenging. After the longest summer gap between trips I was more than eager to get out. Trying to make up for lost time I wanted as many miles as I could fit into a day. I was interested by some old reports claiming that there is a old trail from Kaleetan Lake to Caroline Peak. There is no short way to Caroline's summit and this certainly wouldn't be the shortest. I had been to Kaleetan once before on a day hike and knowing the length I wasn't thrilled to have to start at the Pratt Lake trailhead instead of the shorter Talapus Lake trailhead. As usually the case I was running behind and didn't leave the car until nearly noon. Of late I have had some boot problems, either my feet have grown a half size or my boots have shrunk. I chose to wear sandles until the Kaleetan Lake Trail. I dumped pack and switched to my boots..... too bad for me they have become even worse fitting. It was obvious to me they were a no go. I just left them next to the trail and put my sandles back on. I was a little concerned about wearing sandals on a long forgotten trail but much to my surprise the trail was in great shape. I steamed into Kaleetan and had a well deserved dinner. To keep from being eaten alive by the bugs I did some scouting for the rumored trail. I didn't have any success. The area North of the outlet is very brushy so I poked around the marshy area which bypassed the worst of the brush giving me access to more open forest. With little time left it was back to the business of making my way back to the car. As I was crossing the Pratt River I heard a low flying chopper which was obviously looking for a lost hiker. It flew less than a hundred feet directly over my head. By the time I made it to the junction above Pratt Lake it was time for the headlamp. Only seeing one person the entire day I was suprised to see a flashlight heading towards me below the Ollalie Lake turn-off. I was even more suprised to see a man leading a young child and wife. It appeared to me the wife was less than pleased about not yet being at Ollalie Lake. Not too long after I again saw some headlamps making there way towards me. This time it was 3 guys making their way in to search for the missing hiker. I gave them some info and again was off in the darkness. I very gingerly made the rest of the way to the car.




22+miles 5800ft of climb 10:45 car to car





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