Once again the weather didn't look promising and I didn't feel like driving a long ways to find some sun. I was very tempted to join Fletcher in is attempt of Dragontail and Witches Tower but in the end I didn't really wanted to get up at 2am to make that happen. I decided to head up Granite Lakes road that I had done the week before to see if I could get to Revolution Peak. The weather was thankfully warmer and drier than last week's outing.
I didn't really get an early start since I had all day. I found myself just short of the Middle Fork Bridge at 11:30. I love this shortcut and similar to last week it was muddy but it sure beats walking the road from the Mailbox Trailhead. I was a couple minutes faster to the Granite Creek Road than last week putting a smile on my face. Thankfully the brushy part just past the turnoff for Granite Lakes wasn't too bad and in short order I hit snow. There was a very annoying stretch where the snow had pinned the trees across the road and the clear are of snow had heavy melt water running underneath making for suspect footing. I was able to skirt between the trees and the running water on a small ribbon of good snow making it much less annoying than what it appeared. Once the pitch increased the going was easier. Once reaching a landing I left the road and started a traverse towards
Revolution. The clouds had dropped and I couldn't see more than 50 yards making picking the right line problematic. The snow was patchy and highly variable. There were a few areas with an inch of slushy snow over a couple inches of rock hard ice. In a past attempt I had reached the ridgline and found an annoying climber's trail that ended in a slabby area that I didn't want to tackle solo. I thought if I could traverse lower I would be able to reach easier slopes to reach the summit. This summit has always been a motivational problem since I know that I want to attempt Russian Butte via this route and I will need to climb Revolution again anyway.
I decided to forgo Revolution and continue towards the ridgeline and then head to the cabin on Thompson point. The more consistent snow on this line was more pleasing and soon I found myself at the cabin and had a nice lunch. I made quick work of the descent and was able to make it home in time to tuck the kid's into bed.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
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I was wondering if you could pass along some information (how to find and where it ends on the road) on the short cut from the bridge to the Granite Lakes road (to the lake). I've been up to Granite Lakes a few times (last time was 4/15 on WTA) and as you can imagine really dislike that long boring road up to the lakes. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThe trail starts few hundred yards before the middle fork bridge. It is well worn and easy to find if you are looking for it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I was going to give it a try but then decided to bring my bike and ride up the road (trail!) the first couple of miles to just past the Granite Creek Bridge. Hiked from there ...skipped Granite Lakes this time... and headed out to Thompson Lake instead. Cheers and happy hiking.
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