Rock Lake 6.15.05

was only looking for a half day today and with the weather dry I thought I would give something brushy ago. My plan was to drive to the end of the Maloney Ridge Road. I thought there might be a fisherman's trail that led to Rock Lake which lies in the shadow of Malachite Peak. I found the trail right away it leaves the road just past the Evans Lake trail and just before the turnaround that ends the road. As I suspected the trail was a bit brushy for the intial 200ft of climb but soon reached some more open forest. The tread was well worn and not hard to follow. I made great time to the small pond just east of Pt 5389. I suspected the trail might traverse to the lake but instead it stays right on the ridgeline. The trail becomes much more of a scramble as it makes its way to the saddle. I was forced to use my hands and had to be quite careful in some areas of minor exposure. I crested and was on to the descent to the lake. The trail follows the ridge to the South until around 5100ft where it drops steeply to the rockslides below. The route is cairned through the rockslide and in the areas of lingering snow I was able to follow some recent footprints. The lake was stunning and there were some decent campspots in and around the many inlets on the North Shore. After last weeks Beagle escapades I left Baxter on the leash for the majority of this trip. I was actually quite suprised in his willingness to follow behind me leashed. I frequently dropped the leash in the many tricky areas where I felt I needed both hands. I did fish a bit catching one small brook trout. My main goal was to scout a route for a northern ascent of Malachite Peak. I think it wouldn't be hard to at least get to the summit block via this route. If I would have left the trail about 200ft above the lake and contured on the rockslides there seems an easy scramble to the lake at 5245. From lake 5245 it appears that it would be no trouble to cross to Panorama lake and then on to the Saddle between North Malachite ( pt 6208) and Malachite's main summit. From there it's all conjecture. This trail while is less than 3 miles is not for everyone I would not like to do this on a wet day or a morning with a heavy dew. To attest to this trails difficult nature it took me 1:45 to reach Rock Lake. I will surely be back in the future to continue towards Malachite Peak summit.

Hawkins Mt. 6.7.05

I managed to get out of bed somewhat early and was off to Teanaway, hoping for some drier weather. As it turned out it was a wise choice I only some some light drizzle and some light snow showers as I made my way to Hawkin's summit. I stopped for a bit at Gallagher Head Lake and then made my way up the jeep road that bends around to Hawkin's highpoint which is it's Western Summit. I dropped pack at around 6100ft. Just as I was about to make my way to the summit my ever annoying Beagle caught a scent and was off. I tried to follow him as he dropped elevation cursing his name at every opportunity. I dropped 400ft of elevation before I gave up and returned to my pack. My hope was that he would be there waiting for me. Of course that wasn't the case. I decided to wait abit hoping for his return, after he had been gone for well over 30 minutes, I feared he had fallen in the gully where the Northern Fork of Big Boulder Creek flows. I dropped into the gully and dropped about 250ft without finding him. I decided to climb out of the gully, and as soon as I reached easier ground I heard Baxter baying. After more than 45 minute he found his way back. Needless to say I was enraged but my relief won out and I was off to scramble the last 1000ft, leashing the dog of course. The remaining 300ft of road climb was steep but went quickly. I left the road and picked my way to the saddle between Hawkins main summit and it's eastern summit ( The Thimble ). There is very little snow so much of the scramble is on scree but footing is fairly good. Once I reached the saddle I headed West and easily reached Hawkin's 7160+ ft summit. The weather was quite cool and windy with almost no visibility and it even snowed lightly. I searched for a summit register with no luck. It took me about 2 hours to 6100ft and then about 45 minutes to the summit. The descent went easily as I quickly returned to my pack. On the way out I scouted a climbers trail to High Esmerlda. There is a trail that leaves the last switchback before Gallagher Head Lake. I had let the Beagle off the leash for the last part of my summit bid, Thinking by now he would be too tired to run off. As I gave thought on giving Esmerlda a go, the beagle was off again. After waiting for a short time I decided to continue my descent, thankfully rejoined 20 minutes later by my dog. I of course releashed him and passed on my 3rd objective of the day of Koppen Mt. Even though it seemed like I spent most of the day fearing I had lost my dog, it turned out to be a great day. I really don't know what to do about my wandering pup. Some times life just doesn't give you a good option. I can't go without him, and I surely can't let him roam free and I don't think either of us appreciate the whole leash thing either. As I reached Snoqualmie Pass on the drive out it began pouring, I sure was glad I hadn't chose a climb on the Western Crest

Bear and Deer Lakes, Dorothy Lake 5.30.05

I decided to take one of my co-workers, Isac, who had never been backpacking before. I chose the Lake Dorothy trail because I knew there wasn't alot of elevation gain to the lake. My hope was we could camp at Bear and Deer Lake. From the outset it was apparent to me that Isac wasn't comfortable carrying a overnight pack. I off loaded as much of his pack onto mine as I could fit in and on. With the holiday weekend there were more people than campsites so I was worried about finding a suitable home if and when we reached our goal. To Isac's credit he stuck it out and made it to the saddle above our intended destination. The weather was just becoming warm as we reached the saddle but that was short lived. As we dropped to Bear Lake the weather became quite cool and foggy. The lakes were fogged in so bad you couldn't see the lake from more than 15 feet away from it. I thankfully found a nice campsite besides some moving water. After setting up camp I decided to do some scouting for my trip's goal of Little Bulger Peak. I dropped to Deer Lake to find the weather even more wet the fog was condensing on everything making it seem like it was raining heavily. In my life I have seen just about everything but nothing prepared me for what I saw just before I reached Deer Lake. I saw a man gathering firewood off of the trail, as I approached, I thought is he wearing Speedos? As I drew closer I realized that what he was wearing was a shirt..... and that was it. It took a while to register, so I wasn't really sure what to say as I passed. I had hoped to use the isthmus between Bear and Deer Lake for my approach on Little Bulger but I nixed that idea when I saw the man bringing that firewood in that direction. I returned to camp, giving up on any climbing becuase of the lack of any visibility and the extremely wet conditions. I hoped the morning would bring dry conditions for my second goal of Mile High Mt. But when I awoke it was even wetter so we broke camp and made our way back to Dorothy. At Dorothy we found drier weather and Isac tried his hand at some fishing with out any results. I on the other hand was too lazy to even set up my rod. This trip was very crowded, and with two dogs made it less than enjoyable. I am not sure I will have a return hike with Isac but I was proud of him for sticking it out. To add to the overcrowding theme it took us two hours to reach Sultan from the trailhead due to heavy traffic. We were stopped without even moving for long stretches I cannot believe a major highway would ever be so backed up. I finally made it home to dry out all my things.

Horseshoe Lake, Sorcery Mt. 5.25.05

I was hoping for a summit of Sorcery Mt. which lies just East of Horseshoe Lake. I made my way down the Middle Fork Rd which for once improved as I made my way to the Dingford Creek Trailhead. After bumping my way to the trail head I found some pleasant sunny skies to greet my climb up the first grade. After a short time the grade lessens and becomes mostly flat. I reached the many brances of Goat Creek in less than an hour. There is a fisherman's trail that leaves the Dingford Creek trail just after the fourth branch of Goat Creek. There is a couple of big rocks and the trail starts right between them. The trail is quite easy to follow and the grade isn't too bad. After about 200ft of elevation the trail crosses the fifth branch and continues on the east side all the way to the outlet of Horseshoe Lake. I found a nice sunny rock to soak up some much needed sun and to plan my attempt at Sorcery Mt (pt. 5273). I made my way around the east side of the lake and climbed to a subtle spur that tends mostly east. I kept mostly on the Northern side and found some open areas that would, I am sure take me to the saddle just north of Sorcery's summit. Just as I made it to the northern side the Beagle caught a scent and was off down the southern side. I backtracked trying to keep a straight line of sound so that I could coax him back. With no luck for more than 5 minutes I made my way back to my pack that I had stashed back at the lake. Just as I made it back I was much relieved to be rejoined by my annoying pet. I still had plenty of time to make my way back and rejoin my climb but I did not have enough desire to do this. I just stayed and enjoyed a simply magnificent afternoon at a lake that probably doesn't get visited too often. This lake is well worth the effort as it is less than 2 hours from the trailhead. The descent went without incident and I made it back before I knew it.