Paddy Go Easy Pass 7.3.06

I always have had fond memories of Paddy Go Easy Pass so I eagerly left somewhat early this morning. I was looking to scout a route for Tucquala Peak (pt 6821) which lies SE of Sprite Lake. The plan was to leave the trail around 5300ft and traverse NE to attain the ridge line and see if any routes were within my abilities. At 5150 there is a very good boot path leading in the direction I wanted so I took it. The path is easy to follow and leads to an old mine site which I found fascinating. There are train tracks coming out of the cave along with a very strong flow of water. I am guessing that the miner's may have dug into the water table. I wouldn't have wanted to be in the mine when that occurred. From there I just climbed the path of least resistance until I topped out on the ridge above Sprite Lake at around 6200ft. I had hoped to attain the ridge farther SE on the other side of South Paddy Go Easy (pt 6566). I decided to climb the peak that is just East of Sprite Lake. The slopes are short and still snow covered so it was a quite pleasant ascent and made for a quick descent back to Paddy Go Easy Pass. The trail was covered with snow at the pass so it took me while to find the trail. After poking around for a bit I rejoined the trail for the quick return to the truck.

Dingford Creek, Horseshoe Lake 6.26.06

I had grand plans for the day, but with such warm temps I decided to pare back my day. I was hoping for a summit of Sorcery Mt.(Pt. 5273) which lies just East of Horseshoe and Goat Lakes. I managed to get an early enough start to have some cooler temps on the way up. There is a good fisherman's trail that starts between the 4th and 5th branches of Goat Creek. The trail starts between two large rocks and soon crosses the 5th branch of Goat Creek. The trail stays on the East side of the creeks for the balance to the climb to the Horseshoe Lake. I made my way around the Eastern shore until I found a great campsite on the NE shore. I dropped pack in the cooler shaded side of the lake and thankfully was cooled even further my a nice breeze coming off the lake. The campsite has a huge stone firepit and even some well constructed stone seats. It was already in the Mid 80's and climbing steadily even though it was well before noon. I climbed on my general line toward Sorcery Mt. until I reached a very sunny brushy portion. I was not in any sort of mood for a sweatfest so I headed pack to my pack. I was only looking for a half day today anyway. I lounged for an hour watching an Osprey floating on thermals above me. The trip out was not as hot as I had feared but was hot enough to sap alot of my energy.

North Chiwaukum 6.19.06

I managed to get out of bed by 6:30 which isn't always easy for me. I had a big day planned and I wanted to get home by a reasonable hour. I don't particularly like Hy 2 and it always seems to take longer than I would like to get to my destination. I still managed to be walking by 10:30. The plan was to hike the Whitepine trail for about .25 mile and then leave the trail just past the old clearcut. I wanted to access the long spur ridge that tends SE towards Pt. 7132. I was hoping a summit of this peak. It is not on the Back Court 100 list because it lack of prominence but it is still a worthy summit boasting a 4400ft gain. I had hoped to follow the ridgeline to Chiwaukum 3(Pt. 7423) which ranks a healthy #23 on the Back Court list. I was plagued from the outset with a weak minded day. All I could think of on the Whitehorse trail was that the climb was a bit more than what I was looking for on this day. I started to think a easy trail walk would be a better fit on this day. I managed to talk myself into a least leaving the trail and just see ""how it goes"". The ridge goes fairly well there were alot of blow downs the first 500ft of climb. I was able to see bits and pieces of a climber's trail and was able to follow for long streches. The grade is a grunt for the first 3000ft but relents a bit until you reach around 6200ft where the grade thankfully eases. Snow started around 5200ft and was patchy until 6000ft where is becomes solid. The snow was great and I made better time on the more open ridgeline. The snow stops around 6800ft and the final push to the summit is snowless and not technical in the least. I was quite shocked to see bootprints in the snow, at least I am not the only crazy out there. The views from the summit were lessened with the somewhat heavy cloud cover. The wind picked up greatly on the summit I am guessing at least 35-40 mph. I am sure the route to Chiwaukum 3 is quite straight forward but I wasn't thrilled with the idea of running the ridge with such strong winds. I decided to descend as quick as possible to my pack I had stowed below me. I enjoyed some well earned nourishment in the shelter of a tree well. The portion of the descent on snow went very quickly but once I was off snow I erred a bit and descended in a more westernly direction. The grade was steep enough to be very vigilant, I was thankfull to have an ice ax. I was very pleased to rejoin the Whitepine trail about a half mile from where I had left it. I was quite pleased that I had beaten my poor mindset to add another summit. I was however quite bummed to have lost my favorite sunglasses on the way down. I am sure the chances of someone ever finding my glasses are much less than me winning the lottery.








4400ft of climb 3:50 up and 3:00 down.

Icicle Ridge High Point 6.9.06

I was looking for a long elevation gain where snow wasn't a huge factor. I had read some reports for this trail so I knew snow wouldn't be an issue. The lower portions of the trail need brushing and since it had rained recently I became quite wet. The cloud ceiling was around 6500ft so views were mostly stunted. The grade is quite pleasing but it is still a substantial 4700ft of climb to the lookout which comes in at 7029ft ranking it #36 on the Back Court list. Snow becomes consistent around 6800ft and is pretty solid on the North Side below the lookout. I was glad that I brought plenty of clothes because of the cool windy weather. I didn't have any problems finding a straight forward route to the remnants of the lookout. The lookout itself is on an immense flat rock that requires you to use some handholds that are provided for you. I merely touched the summit and quickly made my way back to my pack that I had stowed in a more sheltered location below me. I quickly ate my lunch and then I was off for the long descent to the truck. I was quite pleased with the 5.5 hour car to car time. I, however, was a bit disappointed with the lack of views from the summit. I am sure that the lookout is a wonderful vantage point. Even though I was quite wet by the time I returned to the truck I am sure that it was much better than trying this climb on a warm sunny day. I was simply amazed with the volume of water in both Icicle Creek and the Wenatchee River.