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.

South Bessemer Road 11.24.10

After monitoring the weather all week I was excited to see the predicted dry day for Tuesday. I was hoping for a hike merely for conditioning and wasn't swayed by the fact that I had already summited the peak. I received a PM from Bad Dog showing some interest in tagging along. Liketothruhike signed on as well so the plans were laid. I had some concern regarding having Bad Dog taking her dog, not because I was concerned about her dog's behavior but because I am never sure how my dogs will react to anything. Later in the week she let me know that she was going to bring all three of her dogs. Being unsure how this would play out we made contingency plans. When I left the house it was very warm and was raining. This was the worst combo for the hike I had planned. Starting at 900' meant a long walk in the rain. What happened to the dry forecast? After meeting up in Preston we were off for the bump fest that is the Middle Fork Road. We parked and attempted to let the dogs socialize which wasn't as bad as I feared but wasn't good enough to warrant continuing. I do wish to pass on my apologies for my dogs aggressive behavior. It seems to only happen when he is confronted with very submissive dogs. I do believe things would have been sorted out but Bad Dog decided to air on the side of caution and make her way towards Granite Lakes instead. After gearing up LTTH and I were off. From the onset I think motivation was difficult for both of us and yet we plugged on. After finally reaching snow around the 3.5 mile mark the rain seemed to intensify. It was apparent to me that the snow level was much higher than our intended goal and we would be trudging in the rain for quite some time. At around 2700' we stopped and both looked at each other and decided that this did indeed kinda suck. We made quick work of the descent and thankfully had dry clothes in the car. It always is refreshing to me that the day didn't have one aspect went as planned and yet I had a great time, just not enough to warrant continuing. Thankfully there is always next week.




Approx 8 miles 1800' of climb

Mount Margaret South Summit 11.17.09

After last week I wanted something with a shorter drive and something I hadn't already climbed. My idea was to do the South Summit of Margaret and traverse to the true North Summit. Although Margaret's Summit is high enough to be included in the Home Court 100 it lacks 60' of prominence and thus is not included. I was happy to see a trip report over the weekend giving me more hope of attaining the day's goal. Having a trench in place already would make it much easier. Having not scared away Liketothruhike last week he signed on and a co-worker Zach showed some interest as well. Having some extra horsepower would certainly be a bonus. After reading the dire forecast for 75mph ridge winds I came up with a back up plan that would be safer that thankfuly we did not need to use. After switching cars in Preston we were off. The quarters were cramped with 3 climbers, gear and two annoying dogs. Thankfully the drive was not long. The weather was wet but not windy. After exiting exit 54 we used the road that parallels I-90 and I was able to drive quite a ways before being stopped by the slippery snow. I did a 100 point turn to get turned around and parked. The mainline of the road was groomed so we just booted it until the turn off the Margaret summer trailhead were we switched to snowhoes. We were able to follow the buried trench greatly easing the work. However the going was still slow. We took turns breaking trail and I was very thankful to have partners for this one. It is doubtful I would have had any success without their great help. We were able to weave our way through some brushy areas giving us access to the upper roads. Once On the upper road I had us head West and head for the trees which I hoped would give us a nice crust making going easier. Since the trench ended we were on our own and the portion which gave us access to timber for me was the hardest of the day. Thankfully we reached the trees and true to form the crust was able to hold all our weights. We crested a small point and I thought we were on Margaret's South summit. We dropped along the ridge and stopped for a short lunch. After what seemed like a long portion of flat area we began to climb again. Once I saw a glimpse of the next highpoint on the ridge I knew we were farther South than I had hoped. Once reaching the exposed ridge both the wind and snow increased. We reached a 8 foot wall of snow that I was worried we wouldn't be able to go around or over. I dropped pack and broke out the ice axe. I was able to claw my way over the point with out too much trouble while LTTH was smart and found an easier way traversing to the West around it. Both dogs and Zach followed behind me without difficulty and followed the ridge North until we reached The South Summit highpoint. As we made our way the last few feet we were serenaded by a group of birds encouraging me to finish it off. We discussed dropping to the saddle between the South Peak and the true summit. We decided that we probably didn't have enough time or in my case legs to make it. The descent went well with the exception of a couple of entertaining falls on my part. I think we were all very happy to make it back to the car. This trip was for me harder than it should have been highlighting my lack of conditioning. Thankfully I should have more time to remedy that. It was nice to have some company for once and I hope to repeat this in the near future.




Approx 10 miles 3200' of climb 7 hours car to car

MIssion Peak 11.09.09

After reading some posts for hikers looking for mid week partners I spent the week PM'ing to try to get a group trip out. The weather wasn't cooperating and I was back to going solo. After a speedy recovery from a cold I was happy to have like2thruhike to sign on. After a 7am meeting we piled into the Subaru and were off. I was delighted that it was dry going over both Snoqualmie and Blewett saving some time. I had considered leaving the dogs at home because Tanner had a split nail and was open and not healing in the least. I was forced to super glue it together earlier in the week and it seemed like it would be a go. After packing up I let the dogs out and immediatlely the nail broke open and for the first time was bleeding. I had for once thought ahead and brought another tube of super glue and thankfully it became a non issue. Since I had been in the area before and I figured the snow coverage would be sparse I wanted to avoid the basalt fields that I remembered from the Northern approach. I really didn't want to spend alot of time on rocks with sketchy snow coverage. Instead I thought it would go to use the access roads for the ski slopes to gain the ridge. I had hoped to first summit Wenatchee Mt. and then traverse to Mission Peak. Since Mission Peak was my primary goal I decided to do that first instead. Just before reaching the ridge we dropped pack and layered up. Since we were on the East side we had been sheltered from the wind. I had a strong suspicion that once on the ridge the winds might be intense. After a short slippery traverse we reached the ridge and were greeted with strong gusty winds. Thankfully we both had taken eye protection because it was doubtful we would have been able to continue with out. There appears to be a trail on the broad ridge and soon we crested a small high point. Since visablitliy was limited I broke out the GPS and were were 40' short of our needed elevation. We dropped to another saddle and climbed the remainder to Mission Peak's summit. I was thankful that we were on the summit because the winds seemed even stronger and we couldn't see what was ahead to the North. Thankfully once scrutinizing the maps I am confident we indeed on the true summit. We had seen lots of worker's on the way up prepping the slopes for the upcoming season. Thankfully every one was pleasant. It was new for me to see a handful of fans hooked to hoses actually making snow. There were a few immense slag piles burning as well on the way up, which again was a surprise to me. We took a slightly different route on the way down and it seemed to take twice as long for the descent. I was thankful to have some good company and enjoyed hearing about the trials of thru hiking our country's great major trails. Even though the weather didn't allow any views it more than made up for with allowing me to feel it's strength. A great day to be out.




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