Tonga Ridge 8.4.09

****WARNING NO USEFUL INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT**




I had hoped to make a try for Shroud Mt. but with the wife nursing a unpleasant cold I thought it best to get the kids started and let another summer day slip away. After the wife showed signs of recovering my need to get out over rode my sense of duty. With the later start I knew Shroud was out so I thought something shorter was in order. I thought the Highpoint of Tonga Ridge would be perfect. The highpoint is just over the end of the Tonga Ridge road and SE of the more popular Mt Sawer. I have never read any reports for this peak so I thought I would go blindly. The plan was to use the logging clearly marked just East of Sawyer Creek and put me in close proximity of the summit. After coming to a logging road in pristine shape I made my way up. It wasn't the road I intended but it was in such good shape I thought it best to investigate. I was able to ride it quite high on the ridge and park. After walking a short ways I stumbled on a car parked which I thought may have been abandoned. The things inside looked fresh so I kept moving in the direction of my intended target. I broke out the GPS because the terrain was confusing to me. I was less than two miles out and less than 1000' below the summit but I was sure that there must be a better way. I walked back to the car to find my logging road. I was unable to find this road and ended up making my way all the to the end of the road and turned around. After wasting so much time I just did some exploring on the way out. After looking at my maps closer when I returned home I am just as confused.

Red Top Mt 7.25.09

I had tried to ski this peak this winter from the Mineral Springs Campground and had to turn around just passed the Red Top Campground. I wasn't bothered by not making the summit because I knew it would give a good excuse the bring the family back. After missing my family for the last two weeks while they were out of town, I surely didn't want to forgo another day tromping up some obscure peak by myself. I thought with the nice weather it was a perfect day to have a family picnic. After a few stops we were off. Both the kids seemed giddy with the possibilities of bagging another peak. I hope their exuberance for their father's passion continues. We made good time to the Mineral Springs turnoff and made our way up the good road. There is some active logging so caution should observed. Soon we were parked near a nice shady picnic bench to have a nice lunch. After lunch we packed up the car and started the short walk to the Red Mt. Lookout Trail. The trail is marked as .5 miles but I am quite sure it is only half that. The trail is somewhat steep in spots and is loose especially for little feet. The lookout was manned and Don was more than happy to show the wife and oldest around. I stayed below with the little on stowed safely in her backpack. There are some substantial drops near the summit it was a little tense for me to have the kids untethered. After some quick pictures we made our way back to the car. The second plan for the day was to take a drive to Bentrim Hill to knock another peak off my list. After driving on a rapidly degrading road that I "hoped" was the right road I decided that I would save this hill for next year's picnic and use the standard approach.




.5 miles 400ft of climb 30 min car to car.

Bootjack 7.15.09

With an extra day off and the family still away I had a full day to devote to climbing. I had hoped to camp the night before so that I could get an early start and pair Bootjack with Highchair. After having to stay later than expected at work on Tuesday I decided that staying home and getting some rest and just doing one of the peaks would be the right move. I let myself get some extra sleep and was out the door before 0900. The weather was beautiful so I had high hopes for the day. I reached the washout on the Icicle Road and unloaded the mountain bike. I knew that I would have to ride the road instead of walking the 5 miles to the BlackJack Trail. I passed plenty of people coming out using mountain bikes as well. I was happy that the dogs managed to keep a good pace and didn't bother any of the people we passed along the way. I passed one couple who's only comment upon seeing me riding with my full pack " you sure are ambitious". It gave me a chuckle for sure. I reached the unsigned Blackjack Trail in 45 minutes and stashed the bike. The trail is well worn but a little brushy in the beginning. The tread is very nice and the grade is more than managable. There are some blowdowns along the way. In one stretch I made the mistake of taking the Beagle off the leash to make it easier for both of us to make it through. You would think by now I would KNOW better. Sure enough he was off like a shot, baying as he went. I know calling him or chasing after him is not worth the effort so I pressed on. I honestly thought I would never see him again. His baying sounded very strange, almost like a dying dogs last chase. I had never heard him sound so strange. I did call for him on each West side switchback to no avail. After about 1500' of climb I gave up and concentrated on the task at hand. I was quite pleased with the time I was making. The trail does climb quite a lot of elevation but it never is very steep. Finally the trail breaks out into a nice ghost forest with a nice meadowy groundcover that was fully in bloom. Once the trail drops into the basin I hung a right and started up the ridge. I had hoped for a bootrack but there was none. Thankfully once reaching the ridge proper there is a good trail to lead the way. From first glance Bootjack seems far away and more imposing than what I expected. But much sooner than I expected I reached the summit area for a short class 2 scramble to the summit. The summit is a very nice seat to gaze at the surrounding peaks. I will add some pictures later but truthfully they didn't come out as well as I had hoped. I did not find a register so I left one, sans a pencil. I had a nice leisurely lunch since I had made the summit a full hour sooner than what I had expected. I could see the route to Highchair and it was farther than what I had expected but looks fairly straightforward. I repacked and was off for the descent. After dropping off the scramble portion I could hear some serious panting coming from just over a rise. It was my wandering Beagle looking as whipped as I have ever seen him. I thankfully had brought nearly 1.5 liters of refreshment for me and was also carrying water for the dogs as well. I hadn't expected to find any water on this route so my pack was heavily weighted with water. I did my best to get the water down the Beagle. With leash firmly in hand we were off for the descent. The trail is made for a quick descent and made it back to my bike in a little more than an hour. If there wasn't any blowdowns I think I could have made it under an hour. It was back on the bike for the long ride out. The Beagle was unable to go too fast so I gave some thought to carrying him as I rode. The combination of my less than skillful riding with a full pack and carrying a Beagle doomed that notion. The Beagle really struggled but he kept moving and finally we made it to the car. It took more than 30 minutes longer for the bike ride portion of the trip. As it turned out it was another wonderful day in the hills. On a curious side note, I had read Randy's report from this week in which they saw a unusual snake, twice. I thought there was the biggest worm of all time stretched across the road only to realize it was actually a snake. I am fairly certain it is the same type that Randy took pictures of. What are the odds?




Approx 18 miles 4400' of climb 7:30 car to car

Chain Lakes 7.12-13.09

With the family away I thought I would take a rare opportunity to do an overnighter. Originally I had hoped to do a loop trip taking most of 4 days but with work again rearranging my schedule I was forced to change my plans. The upside I was going to leave a day earlier but the weather window looked like that would be a bad thing. I was very pessimistic of my chances for summitting the three Back Court peaks around Chain Lakes and one I haven't done around Steven's Pass on the way out. I felt like this was well within reach IF the weather was at least marginal. I left the house after getting home at 3am early Sunday morning. After topping off on coffee I was on my way. I felt pretty good until I was through Monroe and I started to fade fast. I pulled off just before Index and made my way a short ways up a logging road and pulled over and slept. I was able to sleep more or less for a couple hours. Feeling 100% better I was again under way. I pulled off HY 2 on the Mill Creek Road. I hadn't read any recent reports so I wasn't sure of the conditions of the road. It was just as remembered it from previous trips and soon I found myself at the shortcut trail that meets the PCT just before Lake Susan Jane. For those of you that are not familiar with this little known trail I did the best I could to show it on my map. There is a parking spot but it was taken so I had to park a little further up the road. I made some final adjustments and was off. I was happy that I was getting a fairly early start giving me plenty of time to achieve my goals. I was hit with a light rain shower just after passing Lake Susan Jane. I wasn't pleased with this knowing that further along my route the trail becomes brushy. I passed a solo hiker heading to Chain Lakes as well. I was surprised on the amount of snow above Lake Josephine. There was enough tread showing to make route finding a breeze. I passed another 3 at the Lake Josephine outlet who were looking for someplace drier to camp. I descended to the valley below and made my way along the soggy Icicle Creek Trail. Where there wasn't standing water there was a small creek to cross. After what seemed way too long I passed back to the East side of the creek and could start looking for the Chain Lakes trail. The trai is signed and I was thankful to start climbing. The trail is a reasonable grade and I was soon at the start of the long traverse. The sun had burned through and I was able to see to the South and by the time I made it to the first lake it was complete glorious sunshine! I was overjoyed. I hung out all my wet things and set up camp. Since it was just after Noon I felt like I had plenty of time to relax before the real work started. I wish I had set out right away I think I would have had some success. The area around Chain Lakes is scenic so I did my best to capture it. The last time I had been there it was so cloudy I couldn't see a thing.


As I made my way to Bulls Tooth I could see the clouds above me growing quickly and to the West I could see the clouds pushing through the gaps quickly


I didn't want to be out in the exposed with thundershowers and I hadn't covered all my gear so I had no choice to beat a hasty retreat. By the time I reached the camp it looked like this:


I quickly covered everything and turned my attention to fishing. There seems to be plenty of trout in the lakes and streams of the area. I had some fun catching these small ones. I grew weary of cold wet weather and turned in quite early. I was able to get some good sleep. I woke once and the I could see the stars. I was overjoyed to think I would have a second chance for the next day. I again awoke to lightning flashes but I couldn't hear any thunder making me think all hope was not lost. But as thing go sometimes the rain started and kept on for two hours. I was happy that my improptu shelter made of my tent's ground pad strung in the trees and on the other side staked to the ground kept me dry all night.


When light hit I couldn't see more than 30 feet so I went back to sleep with the hope that the sun would win it's battle with the clouds. At around nine I decided that things weren't going to change and I broke camp. I wasn't looking forward to the wet way home but I put my head down and trudged on. By the time I reached Lake Josephine the wind started howling and I was very thankful that I really didn't have too much farther to go. I passed a lone camper at Lake Susan Jane who was huddled next to a tree covered with a tarp. I am guessing he had someone drop him off and was marooned until he was to be picked up. After a short conversation I am sure he was well passed miserable. I thankfully reached the car and switched into some nice dry clothes.



Approx 14 miles 4400' of climb 7 hours walking