North Ridge (Cle Elum) 8.14.12

 I had hoped to do something a bit more substantial today but as is the case far too often I didn't have enough time to fit much more than a half day. I had hoped to run the whole North Ridge until I reached the high point of the ridge which lies on the Southern end of the ridge. I had the misfortune of running into construction and road closures that put that plan into trouble. I had been up the road that reaches the North Ridge Trail head earlier in the year on a snowshoe outing. It sure went faster to drive up the road instead of ploughing up it on snow. Once reaching the trailhead I was surprised at the intense heat. I had expected cooler weather today and I was not too optimistic of running into water for the dog on this route. I thought I would give it a go to see how far I could get.

Granite and Trico 7.30-31 2012

With a rare opportunity with the family away I hoped to squeeze in an overnighter. I sent out some posts and was able to persuade Fletcher and Rob to join me on some climbing in the Robin Lakes area. I had reports of doing all five area peaks in a short period of time so I thought I would give myself a head start and camp at Robin Lakes the night before. I managed an early start and soon I found myself at the trailhead. I was anxious to test out my new pack with an overnight load. I managed to stow everything I needed without having to strap extra stuff to the outside. I like the new setup very much, thankfully. The weather was sunny but cool and there wasn't a bug to be seen. I set an easy pace since I knew I had all day. I made good time to the junction with the Tuck Lake Trail and headed up the trail that has degraded a bit since my last time up it many, many years ago. Once reaching Tuck lake I only remember that it was tough to find the right trail to get you to the Robin Lakes Trail. Too bad I didn't remember which of the myriad of trails is the right one. In the end I got sucked down to the lowest of the lakes and had to traverse back to find the trail.

BootJack 6789' 7.18.12

I was looking for something on trail and with some decent vertical. I had been up Bootjack a couple of years ago and remember the trail as being efficient and pleasurable. That trip I was forced to ride my bike 5 miles from the washout to access the trail. This year the road has been fixed and I was able to drive all the way saving much time and aggravation. The trail starts about a 1/4 mile before the signed Jackpine trailhead. The trail is easy to spot if you are looking for it although it is not signed.


I left a little later than I would have liked but I still had plenty of time. I was concerned for the predicted afternoon thunderstorms. I left the ice axe and crampons lessening the chance of being struck my lightning. If the weather looked safe I had hoped to make my way along the ridgeline to Highchair. The weather was dry but recent rains made some of the brush lining the trail wet, but worse was the humidity but since the temps were lower is was quite pleasant. The trail joins the Jackpine trail and to your left is a junction with the tread to Bootjack. The trail is in great shape and the grade is efficient in the dispatching of the 4000' of climb to the summit. I just kept a moderate pace and soon I broke out on the ridgeline in a beautiful ghost forest. I stayed on the trail until I reached a small saddle with a perfect view of the summit above me. I left the trail following the ridgeline to the summit. I had no issues with making the summit which is a wonderful regional viewpoint.


I relaxed for some time carefully watching the brewing thunderstorms in the area. I searched for the summit register that I had left on my last visit but was unable to find any register. I assessed the route to Highchair and felt I could make it there and back in 2 hours. I wasn't quite sure about being able to outrun the thundershowers that were drifting my way. I was caught on a ridgeline once in a thundershower and I desperately wanted to avoid that happening again. I decided to prolong my summit stay instead.


On my previous summit of Bootjack I had really pushed the pace on the descent because of the great tread and was able to descend the 4000' in just over an hour. This trip I was not so aggressive and still was able to make the round trip in 5 hours.

The day was a perfect fit for what I needed for this day.

Approx 9 miles 4000' of climb 5 hours car to car

Lumiere Ridge 5651' 6.26.12

   Once again the weather gods were not going to be with me. I felt like I needed to head East to find bluer pastures. I again didn't want to get up super early so I struggled to find a back up. I thought the rain probably wouldn't be too heavy and If I could find a brushless route I felt like a walk in the rain wouldn't be the worst way to spend the day. I had been up nearly to the summit of Lumiere Ridge #82 on the Back Court 100 on a very warm day. Once reaching the summit ridge I met a heavily corniced ridge acting like a sprinkler system. Already having seen some slow moving slide on that day I didn't want to tempt fate for the last 50' of climb. I knew today I wouldn't have any similar issues. I left the house rather late and didn't reach the Steven's Pass Ski Area until nearly 2pm. With the long days I felt like I had plenty of time. The weather was more like November than late June and I was forced to put on my winter pants and shell.

Hard to believe it is almost July!

   Instead of trying to follow the PCT I instead headed to the lodge to acess the ski runs. I had done this route a couple of times in the past and I steamed up the slopes until I reached the ridge line near 5100'. The snow was reseptive so I stayed just in boots. Once cresting the ridge I was tempted to glissade to the bottom of the hill on the other side. I couldn't see more than 50' making that less than ideal. I easily made it to the bottom and started a descending traverse. The goal was to make it to Lake Susan Jane. I remember my last trip and the snowmobilers highmarking the steep gully directly South of the lake. On that trip I wanted to use that gully becasue it would put me a mere 500' below the summit. I didn't however use that gully in order to keep both myself and the dogs aways from the rocket sleds. Today I found less trafic as I started a mostly level traverse at 4600'. I found a gully that I was sure wasn't the one I wanted but I was intrigqued on how close I could get to Power Outage Peak 5480 which is a smaller highpoint on Lumiere Ridge. For this steepish gully I put on crampons and found pretty straightforward going to the ridge line. Once on the ridgline I could see the peak 100' above me but with portions of it shrouded in clouds I couldn't see a good route. I thought I remember reading it to be more involved that what I was looking for on this day.