Solomon Peak aka Fish Eagle Peak 7.7.09

There has been some debate about the true name of this peak. I climbed 7095' and I will leave it at that. My chaotic schedule forced me to miss last week so even though this week a strong case to stay home could have been made, I pressed on. Selfish as it is sometimes I just need to get out. I made good time to the South Scatter Creek trailhead and was happy that the weather was perfect! Cool partly cloudy and breezy. The breeze kept the hordes of mosquitoes thankfully at bay. Lately I have been struggling with my mental state and fitness level but that was not in the cards for the day. I felt great and the legs were in good shape as well. For those of you that have navigational issues this trail is not reccommended. The first creek crossing has a particularly slippery looking rock that is indeed very slippery. In short order I was forced to wade the creek. I wasn't bothered since I am so used to walking in wet boots. I managed the second crossing without getting any wetter. Once in the marshy basin the trail becomes very hard to follow. I merely went the way that felt right and was rewarded each time with worn tread. Once passing a large avalanche debris field I took in the views and intended route.


I think most people press on to Fish Eagle Pass before heading towards the summit. I had read there was some class 3 scrambling on the ridge that I wanted to avoid. I decided the green slopes above me would be an easier time. Once I pushed through the small swath of annoying trees I reached the grassy slopes. In retrospect I would have been much better to continue a bit further before leaving the trail. I used this for the descent and was less annoying. The footing was good and I was able to rip unimpeded chunks of elevation. I was running short on time but with the rate I was going I felt like I could make up some time. I angled more towards the SE ridge and was able to find a nice gully going my way. There is much loose unstable rock in the gully so be forewarned about those of you with partners. I was able catch a nice rock in the shin and managed to mainline the beagle with a smaller rock. I popped out on the ridge a mere few feet from the summit. I eagerly signed the register seeing alot of familiar names. The views were nice for most of the local peaks and somewhat obscured for peaks further out.


I didn't have much time to linger so I just freewheeled the descent. I tended more more easterly and found it easier than my ascent line. I was able to find the trail with no issues and did fine trying to follow it back to the creek crossing. The last time I had used this trail by the time I had made my way down it was dark and I had descended too far forcing me to cross the creek lower and have to climb to regain the trail. Today was much the same only I didnt't climb high enough to rejoin the trail. I decided to just wing the descent and just keep traversing until I surely would cross the trail. The terrain is benign but is filled, at least for me, lots of hazards. I drove the area just above my right knee into a sharp protruding branch deep enough to cause myself considerable concern. Thankfully it wasn't a bleeder. Not more than 5 minutes later I shredded my right shin which I aggravated a few moments later leaving a substantial gash with a fun flap of skin just hanging there waiting to catch itself on the next branch. Growing weary of traversing I decided to start my descent. This is not recommended. I was forced down a nice toe betweent the two branches of Scatter Creek. Just when I thought I was going to have to climb back up to find a better situation I found some good tread. On my descent I had seen some flagging that was obvioulsy not the maintained trail I was happy to see it morph into some obvious tread. I followed this new trail and crossed Scatter Creek on the NORTH side and had to do an upleasant traverse to reach the North Scatter Creek Trail above me. I thankfully joined the trail and was just a mere 500' above the trailhead. The rest went without incident and I just waded the road crossing of Scatter Creek which is still high enough to give some cars some issue. I was very pleased to have a much better day but paired with the two worst injuries I have received climbing made it for a bittersweet day.




Approx 10 miles 3900' of climb 6 hours car to car

Rainy Lake 6.23.09

With a full day to devote to a climb and the weather cooperating I was looking forward all week to something longish. I was hoping to summit Preacher Mt. high above the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie. I was dismayed to see the road closed sign still up. I knew it was open on the weekend but I was worried that it may have been closed during the week for further road work. I thankfully passed an open gate and had no issues reaching the massive Middle Fork parking lot. I had been to Rainy Lake many years ago so I had a rough idea of the route. I had read 1k's recent report so I knew the crossing of Rainy Creek had changed. I had no issues getting across, it is important to know the crossing is upstream from the convulence with the Middle Fork. The area is braided so many of the channels can be stepped over. Once across I was concerned about finding the trail right away which was a non issue because the trail parallels the creek for the first few hundred feet. The trai itself was easy to follow until it reaches an area of substantial blowdowns but it is so heavily flagged that the lack of tread was no issue. Of late I have been struggling with both my mental state and fitness level and today was even worse. For the lower portions of the trail it felt as if I had my emergency brake firmly locked. With such a long ways to go I knew my pace jeapordized my goal for the day. I kept plugging away and found that once I reached the steeper finish my legs reacted well. I hadn't bothered to set my altimeter so I was surprised when the trail started to descend to the lake. It sure is nice when the surprise is on the side of lessening the amount of climb needed. The lake is still mostly frozen and seems much smaller that it appears on the map. I really didn't make much of attempt to try to talk myself into continuing. I had planned on crossing the outlet and using the subtle ridge to reach the more benign upper slopes. From my vantage point it appears the traverse to Little Rainy Lake is on easy snow slopes. From Little Rainy it appears to be an easy finish. I was intrigued with the snow filled gulley leading in a more direct line. I know some have used this for their approach but I couldn't quite see how the gulley ends. I guess with all the extra time I had I should have explored more. I had a leisurely lunch while batting the infestation of gnats. The descent took longer than I would have liked because it it quite slippery. About half way down I ran into 1K and we chatted for quite some time. It was sure nice to see someone from NWHikers. It is a truly a rare occurence for me. For the most part I enjoyed the Rainy Lake "trail". It does pass through some majestic trees. There are plenty of these monster trees down on the ground to contend with. For you history buffs there is a nice plaque on a rock near the campsites. I found it difficult to read what it said because it is in poor shape.




Approx 9 miles 3000' of climb 7 hours car to car

Chatter Creek 6.9.09

After missing last week I wanted to get out and do a little extra elevation. I had tried last year to do Grindstone but a late May snowstorm forced us to lay low in the basin below the frequent avalanches. I was hoping for a mostly snow free ascent to the basin and my guess was right. As is common knowledge at this point the Icicle Creek Road is closed just passed The Ida Campground. I was able to arrive just after 0800 giving me adequate time I hoped. The weather was partly sunny and very comfortable temperature wise. I was nearly eaten alive by mosquitoes along rushing Icicle Creek. I was hoping this wouldn't be a problem for the entire day which it was thankfully not. I wasn't sure how far it was to the Chatter Creek trail and I was dismayed it took my 30 minutes burning valuable time. The trail was in fine shape from the onset unlike myself who was struggling with motivational issues. My new position at work has added some extra hours and with my wife in the midst of her busy season, I didn't realize how much it has been taking out of me. Of course my aspirations haven't quite adjusted to this new regime. I was feeling quite overwhelmed with the enormity of the day I had planned. I forced myself to plod on resisting the urge to just lay in a nice sunny spot. I reached the Chatter Creek crossing at 4400' and happily made my way over the first portion over a well placed log. The second crossing was another story. I spent 20 minutes trying to find a suitable crossing. Finally I rearranged a few logs across a narrow portion to an island in the creek. This wasn't a suitable crossing for the Beagle so I brought back the Beagle toss. I don't make a habit of this but he seems to enjoy his short flights. I managed the crossing and jumped the other channel and thankfully rejoined the trail. The trail degrades pretty quickly after the crossing becoming very brushy saturated with running water. It is however pretty easy to follow even under patchy snow in the basin. Once in the basin the views open up.


After crossing an avalanche debris field I lost the trail. I just climbed above and traversed until I ran across the trail. The trail again gets serious about climbing but thankfully snow free. There are long stretches where the trail is overrun by running water. Once cresting I was able to see my first objective the small pass just West of 7112'. I wasn't crazy about the long traverse of the cirque to get to that point so I dropped pack. I clearly wasn't comfortable continuing with my plan, but my legs were feeling pretty good. I decided that the slopes East of me looked benign enough for me to reach the ridgeline 1200' above me. I kicked steps up the stable snow with a little more verve in my step without my bloated pack. I reached a small saddle between 6801' and a higher eastern point. I climbed both just for fun. The Eastern point came in at 6893' and had a unusual monolith near the crest which I didn't bother to climb. The view are wonderful of the Chiwaukums area but the lighting was less than desirable for the stunning view to the South.


The descent to my stowed belongings went very well and I wolfed down a quick lunch. The trail back to the creek crossing was tedious but went well. Instead of trying my method of crossing from the ascent I merely waded across without issue. Since the trail below the crossing is in such good shape I jogged portions which my legs seemed to love. Once I reached the road the mosquitoes doubled their effort to drain me dry. I pushed the pace and upon reaching the car I speed changed. Lucky for me the mosquitoes weren't fond of a moving car with the windows down.


Although today was another struggle for me mentally I was quite pleased with the end results. A day of varied conditions was punctuated by a massive thundershower just before Snoqualmie Pass. It was raining so hard that I was sure that my car wouldn't have any paint left.



Approx 12 miles 4400' of climb 8 hours car to car

Thompson point 5.26.09

Earlier in the week the weather looked stellar for the whole extended outlook. I decided with some nice weather it was prime time for a long day. As the week wore on I realized that my Tuesday was again going to be less than perfect weather wise. Stubborn as I am I decided to try to make it work anyway. I was hoping for a combo of Revolution Peak and the long ridge traverse to Russian Butte. I was able to get myself out of bed at 4:15 after getting very little sleep. I was surprised that it was already light enough to see and the weather was very warm and more importantly dry. Feeling like things might still work out I made my way to the Granite Creek Road. I had thrown out some emails about the rumored shortcut that connects the road from further up the MFR. I also considered taking the mountain bike but in the end I was content to just walk. I started off with great legs and made the bridge of Granite Creek in under an hour. The pitch increases after the bridge as did the cloud cover and precipitation. I added another couple layers to ward off the cold and wet. I hit snow just before the signed junction for Granite lakes. I was able to follow a previous track which the bonus of having the same stride length as myself. The snow was somewhat sloppy but not enough to make snowshoes mandatory. I kept pushing up the road until I was able to take the branch that heads more Easterly away from Point 5124. I had done this on a previous trip and resisted heading straight for the ridge. I remember a sticky point along the ridge that I wanted to avoid. The weather now had degraded further to a point that the only a view I had was the inside of the cloud. I started a long descending traverse to try to reach the end of the clearcut and enter the woods in an area with a reasonable pitch. The going was tedious but the snow held my steps which comforted me because of the rather steep slope. I was able to reach the forest and found a nice gulley to reach the ridgeline high above me. The snow in the forest was much firmer and since I had left my crampons in the car I was leery to ascend. I felt like that I wouldn't have too much trouble reaching the more benign slopes above. My concern was for the descent. It was apparent that there was no way I would make Russian Butte so a return visit would be in order. Instead of pushing the issue after some debate I decided a lower traverse to avoid the steeper portions. After nearing the road I decided that I would make my way up to the ridge to see if that might go for me. I crested to Point 5124 and had lunch. The weather became even worse and since I was wearing everything that I had brought and still was cold I decided to bag any further climbing. I descended to the cabin and then just free wheeled the descent to cut some distance. I was able to shave some distance and thankfully some time. I was happy to reach the snowless road below and made quick work of the long descent.




Approx 16 miles 4700' of climb 8:45 car to car