Kachess Dam Road

The last couple years I have had a growing interest in trying something new. I tried some cross country ski trips but wasn't sold on being able to master the telemark turn. Last year I decided that I would look into a Randonee setup and started my search for something that would work on the cheap. I never quite pulled the trigger on anything but when I recently saw a complete setup with boots in my size I thought I would make an offer. It was obvious to me that the seller just wanted to get rid of the skis so I offered much less than the asking price. To my surprise he accepted and I went to pick them up before work on Sunday. I put off going until Tuesday with the hope of some new snow that I was sure would be helpful. I am not a skier so I thought it best that I try something where I didn't have to dodge any pesky trees. I still wanted to try and climb something that I hadn't been on top of before. I also wanted something that was less travelled because I knew I would have my hands full and didn't want any added distractions. My initial plan was to try for Easton Ridge from the East where I could use logging roads to get high on the ridge and boot the remainder. I was a little unsure about the area and when I got off in Easton I thought it might be better to see how far I could drive the Kachess Dam Road. The road was packed from heavy snowmobile traffic making it more difficult than my previous trip 2 weeks ago. I passed the tree that nearly hit my car which thankfully had a portion cut out. Where the car tracks had stopped last week now continued so I thought I would give it a go. I drove nearly to the Kachess Large Party Camp and parked. I could have gone further but I didn't want to push the issue.




I had skied this road a few years back and did Spring trips to some of the area peaks in the past so I knew the way. What I didn't know was how to use my new gear. After a couple of tries I was able to get the skins on and my boots locked up. The bindings took me a little longer to figure out but soon I was eating up some miles. Once I reached road 4824 I started to climb. I was quite happy with my progress and I climbed steadily on the hard packed road. Once I had climbed 1500' I thought I had better see how I was going to respond to the descent. I have a very low tolerance for speed coupled with my total lack of skiing ablilty I knew I might have ISSUES. As soon as I took off the skins I knew I was in trouble. The skis were more frictionless than I thought possible. I vainly tried to snowplow to decrease my exponential increase in speed. My first run ended in a jumble of gear. I decided to boot lower to a more benign spot, granted my first choice wasn't steep at all. Finding a grade that was more to my liking I gave it another go. I promptly lost one pole and distinclty remember thinking " Oh sh## now what". This run ended in another fall much less graceful than my first. I tweaked my leg pretty good and decided that proceeding in this fashion was not prudent in the least. Not overjoyed with the thought of booting 4 miles in my ski boots, I reapplied my skins hoping that they would slow me down enough to make is safe. Too bad for me they slowed me down to the point of not sliding hardly at all. It was faster to proceed this way than booting it, so I continued. Soon after I started having foot issues so I had to stop and remove my socks and just use my liner socks which thankfully solved that issue. I thankfully made it back to the car without any further issues. I really didn't expect it to go well and I was right..... anyone want a cheap randonee set up?





Approx 10 miles 1500' of climb 5.5 hours car to car

Kachess Beacon

I had hoped to try for a Home Court peak closer to home but the weather didn't look inspiring. I thought I would have a better chance heading further East. I met LiketoThruHike at Preston and we were off. Going up the pass the snow wasn't the issue but rather freezing rain. The road was in descent shape and soon we found ourselves in Easton. After sliding through the off ramp stop sign due to my lack of paying attention, I turned toward Kachess Dam Road. I was unsure if the road was plowed and as we went past Silver Creek Road there was a plow working. Since there are some homes on the Kachess Dam Road I thought there was a good chance they would plow that next. As I turned onto the KDR the snow was MUCH deeper than expected. There was recent travel leaving ruts but the center portion was putting the Subaru clearance to the test. I was sure it was deeper than my clearance would allow but the snow was so light that the bumper just skimmed it off the top and threw it on the windshield. I remembered the acess to the Silver Creek Road had been re-routed from the power line approach that I had used on my last trip. The ruts abrubltly changed direction down to the lake and there were none going any further. I turned around a parked. I thankfully always carry a snow shovel so I was able to clear out a space allowing an easy exit, or so I thought. The snow was the lightest I have ever seen it was deep but it was almost like walking without snow at all. Thankfully I had loaded the trail head on a previous trip and I noticed that we had passed the turnoff. I had rembered the road as being signed on my last vist. Since we were already geared up we decided to just walk to the trailhead and not risk getting the car stuck trying to park.




LTTH decided on putting snowshoes on from the beginning while I stayed in boots. I had planned on using the ridge directly to approach the beacon but when I saw that the Southern exposure had melted out the seasons earlier snow and what was remaining was surely the least consolidated snow possible. The Silver Creek Trail approach seemed like a better alternative. The trail was suprisingly easy to follow and was steeper than I remembered. Thankfully I was able to get a internet signal on my phone and I was able to read a report from Joey regarding the jump off point for the scramble trail to the beacon. I left the trail where he said the trail was. I was unable to see any sign of a trail but just merely headed up. There was defineltly not much bonding between the very crusty old snow layer and the light new layer. I stayed in the trees until reaching a spur ridge that we rode higher until reaching a more defined ridge. The going was mostly open and a very pleasant ascent. Soon I crested a small false summit and was surprised to not see any tower. I continued on until the tower came into view. The last portion had the deepest snow of the day and really got the heart going. I ducked out of the wind and snow and waited for LTTH who arrived soon after. We had a quick snack and I started to get cold so we beat a hasty retreat. The descent went very quickly and was quite fun sliding on the crusty old layer. Soon we were pack for the long road walk back to the car. Just as I rounded the last corner I was dismayed to see a tree had fallen narrowly missing the car. The branches were not actually touching the car but there wasn't enough room to walk in front of the car. The tree was much to big to move WTF..... what the hell are we going to do now? I was able to take the snow shovel and sheer off the branches far enough up the tree to give me some hope. We then dug as much snow out from under the tree and gave my self a landing area past the tree. I was able to have LTTH stand on the tree as I punched it and made it over without issue. Getting back into the ruts took some inspired driving but I made it and parked. Now it was time to see if we could make it back to I-90. Besides having to dodge some snowmobilers who were parked in the middle of the road and wouldn't move we had no issues. Snoqualmie Pass was challenging to cross but I took it slow and had no issues. I still can't believe a random tree would fall so close to the car without any wind and the lightest snow possible. I couldn't help but think the tree had been cut down on purpose we both looked and didn't see any tracks going into the woods. I would highly recommend this route provided you can drive close enough to the trailhead.



Approx 8 miles 2500' of climb 4:30 car to car

Kachess Dam Road

I had hoped to try for a Home Court peak closer to home but the weather didn't look inspiring. I thought I would have a better chance heading further East. I met LiketoThruHike at Preston and we were off. Going up the pass the snow wasn't the issue but rather freezing rain. The road was in descent shape and soon we found ourselves in Easton. After sliding through the off ramp stop sign due to my lack of paying attention, I turned toward Kachess Dam Road. I was unsure if the road was plowed and as we went past Silver Creek Road there was a plow working. Since there are some homes on the Kachess Dam Road I thought there was a good chance they would plow that next. As I turned onto the KDR the snow was MUCH deeper than expected. There was recent travel leaving ruts but the center portion was putting the Subaru clearance to the test. I was sure it was deeper than my clearance would allow but the snow was so light that the bumper just skimmed it off the top and threw it on the windshield. I remembered the acess to the Silver Creek Road had been re-routed from the power line approach that I had used on my last trip. The ruts abrubltly changed direction down to the lake and there were none going any further. I turned around a parked. I thankfully always carry a snow shovel so I was able to clear out a space allowing an easy exit, or so I thought. The snow was the lightest I have ever seen it was deep but it was almost like walking without snow at all. Thankfully I had loaded the trail head on a previous trip and I noticed that we had passed the turnoff. I had rembered the road as being signed on my last vist. Since we were already geared up we decided to just walk to the trailhead and not risk getting the car stuck trying to park.




LTTH decided on putting snowshoes on from the beginning while I stayed in boots. I had planned on using the ridge directly to approach the beacon but when I saw that the Southern exposure had melted out the seasons earlier snow and what was remaining was surely the least consolidated snow possible. The Silver Creek Trail approach seemed like a better alternative. The trail was suprisingly easy to follow and was steeper than I remembered. Thankfully I was able to get a internet signal on my phone and I was able to read a report from Joey regarding the jump off point for the scramble trail to the beacon. I left the trail where he said the trail was. I was unable to see any sign of a trail but just merely headed up. There was defineltly not much bonding between the very crusty old snow layer and the light new layer. I stayed in the trees until reaching a spur ridge that we rode higher until reaching a more defined ridge. The going was mostly open and a very pleasant ascent. Soon I crested a small false summit and was surprised to not see any tower. I continued on until the tower came into view. The last portion had the deepest snow of the day and really got the heart going. I ducked out of the wind and snow and waited for LTTH who arrived soon after. We had a quick snack and I started to get cold so we beat a hasty retreat. The descent went very quickly and was quite fun sliding on the crusty old layer. Soon we were pack for the long road walk back to the car. Just as I rounded the last corner I was dismayed to see a tree had fallen narrowly missing the car. The branches were not actually touching the car but there wasn't enough room to walk in front of the car. The tree was much to big to move WTF..... what the hell are we going to do now? I was able to take the snow shovel and sheer off the branches far enough up the tree to give me some hope. We then dug as much snow out from under the tree and gave my self a landing area past the tree. I was able to have LTTH stand on the tree as I punched it and made it over without issue. Getting back into the ruts took some inspired driving but I made it and parked. Now it was time to see if we could make it back to I-90. Besides having to dodge some snowmobilers who were parked in the middle of the road and wouldn't move we had no issues. Snoqualmie Pass was challenging to cross but I took it slow and had no issues. I still can't believe a random tree would fall so close to the car without any wind and the lightest snow possible. I couldn't help but think the tree had been cut down on purpose we both looked and didn't see any tracks going into the woods. I would highly recommend this route provided you can drive close enough to the trailhead.



Approx 8 miles 2500' of climb 4:30 car to car



Sorry no pictures the camera crapped out on me

Lake Lillian Road 12.7.09

Each peak has it's defenses, weather, terrain etc. Sometimes it is the things that are in our control, fitness level or motivation. Sometimes it's the small things. I had concerns for this day because of the uber cold weather but that could be addressed. I had concern for the pups and considered leaving them home, but they needed to get out. I met Zach at Preston and we were off. The goal was for The Dungeon which is a satellite peak of Rampart Ridge and is very visible from I90. I was disappointed to not be Able to drive past the sno-park adding some extra mileage. We layered up and were off. Although it was in the low teens it was manageable. We made good time to the turn off for the road that leads to the backdoor route to lake Lillian. The sun was shining but didn't do much to warm things. Just before we reached the end of road the snow depth increased and stopped the dogs in their tracks. As I said sometimes it is the little things, the snow was balling between their paws causing great discomfort. There was no option but to turn back. I have logged many trips of many miles in varied conditions and have never had a similar experience. The way out involved minimal beagle carrying but went well.




Appox 8 miles 1200' of climb 4 hours car to car

Iron Mountain (Blewett)

With inventory bogging my day off on Tuesday I sweet talked my boss into giving me Wednesday off instead. I knew the weather was going to be stellar and I sure didn't want to miss that glowing orbs fleeting visit. I was excited because I had a crew of 4 going and I laughed to myself thinking about not exceeding the party limit for the ALWA. As things go for me one dropped out in the morning because his car wouldn't start and since it was his friend meeting us from Ellensburg that made two down. I hadn't received confirmation on the 4th member so I went to the Preston park and ride just to be safe. I waited for ten minutes and when no one showed I went to the gas station and then came back just in case. Oh well it was sunny what did I care if I had to be the only one to enjoy it. Just before Snoqualmie Pass my phone rang and it was my wife, evidently in my haste to leave the house I hadn't noticed the slight nudge I gave the driveway gate was enough to knock it off the track and making it impossible for her to leave. Wow this isn't the start I was hoping for. I turned around and headed home when cresting Tiger Summit I looked on my phone to see what time it was and was shocked I had 13 missed calls. Of course my wife was able to fix the gate soon after hanging up and I didn't need to turn around. We both had a good laugh as I turned around and retraced my route. I knew my route wouldn't take a huge amount of time and since it was a road deproach I felt that I could still make it work even though I was way behind on time. Lucky for me I was able to drive to the gated road that I intended using for my approach. This saved about 3 miles of road walking effectively making up much of my lost time. It was very cold but I expected a pretty strong inversion so as I climbed I shed layers. The sun was glorious and unbroken, I had forgotten how much better things look when there is some sun on them. The road was mostly snow free and I probably could have driven around the gate but I wasn't sure that was prudent. Where there was snow it was packed down by what looked like 4-wheelers making the going slippery but easier than having to break trail. The road system didn't exactly jive with my map so I was never sure I was on the right track. Each switchback seemed to get me going further in the wrong direction. Thinking I was on a road not on my map I decided to leave the road and just head up. The going was mostly snow free and open making for a quick ascent. I thankfully regained the road cutting off a huge chunk of mileage. I continued on the road which mostly traverses until I reached another junction where instead of continuing on the main line I made the mistake of heading straight. I could see what I thought was my summit and the road was leading directly in that line. The road degraded into some brush and the way was no longer packed by machine. There was some sort of trench but I couldn't really determine what had made it. Adding to this unpleasantess the road was level or slightly declining. Growing weary of making no progress I really had to talk myself to once again leave the road and start climbing. Here the snow was deeper and not very well consolidated. Thankfully I again reached an upper road which I had to crawl through some annoying brush to attain. I was once again on a packed road and making good time. I was able to see the road switchbacking up to a small saddle and for the first time I knew exactly where I was. I left the road shortly before the saddle and was happy to find a brush free line with perfect snow for kicking steps. I reached a small saddle and dropped pack bathed in the warming sun that was shortly going to hide behind Miller Peak. I was able to tease a route through the rock outcroppings and soon I was on the summit. I snapped some quick pictures and gingerly made my way back to my belongings. I had a quick lunch and then plunge stepped back to the road. I cut some corners where I could and left the road again for a steep snowless descent back to the road system below. I was happy to make it out before needing the headlamp. Just an amazing day to be out.






Approx 10 miles 3000'of climb 5.5 hours car to car.