Dirty Harry's Peak 12.13.17

 In an attempt to maintain a weekly schedule of hiking with my youngest last week we headed out to do Mt. Washington. Unfortunately for both of us I had lent my parking pass out to a friend and although it was returned it didn't make it back into my car. Not wanting to risk a hefty ticket I struggled to find another option. I had been up Dirty Harry's Peak a few time many years ago and since it was close I thought we would give it a go. We drove up and down the road to the fire training facility without being able to find the correct jump off point. On the way in we there was a single hiker coming down the road looking as lost as we were. Finally I found the correct spot to start our adventure but it wasn't nearly what I remembered. From the onset I new I was in the right spot but the road had been reclaimed making for exceedingly tedious travel. My little one quite enjoyed the higher order gymnastics involved on making any progress. Thinking surely this mess couldn't be long lived we continued on. I decided to detour from the unpleasant former road travel to the relative easy going in the forest. After some time I realized the reclaimed road wasn't going to morph into any easy route to the summit so we decided to head back to the car. After doing some research I realized there is a new trail being built to circumnavigate the tangled mess of the former route.


    Originally I had hoped for a route up Mt Washington since I now had my pass, but the sun was shining intently on the East side of I-90 making it for an appealing alternative. I found the new trailhead without issue and we parked and layered up since there was a biting wind. The trail shortens the distance to the bridge crossing the South Fork of the Snoqualmie considerably over walking the road. I was unclear where to look for the start of the new trail but immediately after crossing the bridge I spied a trail and we headed dove into the unknown. The trail is still being constructed but is easy to follow as it meanders up the slope hitting a couple of nice view points which we briefly took in. Around the 3 mile mark the trail reaches the old road be that I remember from previous trips, thankfully this portion of the road hasn't been reclaimed making for steady elevation gain. Once reaching the route I didn't have any aspirations of reaching the summit since the route was considerably longer in both time and mileage than what I had expected. Surely my 10 year old daughter wouldn't have the legs for the completion of this one. Since the there was a serious inversion in temperature, I couldn't imagine not taking advantage of the Spring like temperatures so after a hasty lunch we pressed on. Around 4200' we hit consistent snow which was a new experience for my daughter so I spent some time to pass on some wisdom that I have acquired over the years. I now knew that we were too close to turn around and after over 4 hours we were able to reach the summit for a short lived break.


  The down climb was a bit tedious for my little one but I was very proud to see her patience and grit making our way to the lower slopes. Thankfully the descent went quicker than expected coupled with some robust conversations made time fly by. Thankfully we outran the setting sun and found ourselves with plenty of time to make the rest of our evenings obligations. 


Approx 11 miles 3500ft of climb and 6.5 hours car to car. and one immensely proud dad
  

Bandera Mt. Kendyl's First Homecourt 100 Peak

   My work life has changed considerably in the last 6 months and routine hasn't been anywhere to be found. I took a new position that involves considerably more hours but this is offset with the routine that I have been missing. For some time I have wanted to get back to more regular treks into the mountains but golf kept winning out. One of  my coworkers has been talking to be about some of his trips and inspired me to give some more thought to heading out more often. While both my daughters accompany me in the summer my oldest doesn't hold much enthusiasm for our trips. Thankfully my youngest has shown a much stronger draw. A couple of weeks ago we did a very wet hike and I was amazed that despite getting soaked she wouldn't consider turning back, in fact she lobbied me to add some miles. With me having to drop my oldest off at school in Preston and my youngest free, a plan was hatched to pound out some miles. After tanking up with a few supplies we are on our way. I really wasn't even sure where I wanted to go. The weather was quite pleasant except the blinding sun that we were forced to drive towards, that didn't last for long.

    I decided that we could give Bandera a go, while I had been there eons ago I thought it would be a worthy test of my 10 year olds legs, and my suffering fitness level. Right on cue as we set off the rain arrived, I still in awe on how fast the weather changed. The trail was in good shape, around the 3 mile mark I suggested we should turn back because we weren't ideally equipped to handle the growing rain and wind. My daughter pleaded that we go at least another half mile in order for her to make it a 7 mile round trip making it her longest trip to date. While part of me thought it might turn out to be a poor idea, I relented. Soon we found ourselves at the junction with the climber's trail. As we headed up the steepish and rocky trail the wind and rain began building. My daughter was now fixated on the summit and despite the poor weather there was no stopping her now. Her good spirits remained intact until we reached a few false summit and the disappointment started to take there toll. Like a trooper she stuck it out to top out. As a father I have been blessed with many opportunities to be proud of both my girls but this was one of the more special times. I was thankful to see such determination to achieve a goal knowing this will suit her in future endeavors. As we headed down warm from the achievement , the weather did its best to douse that flame. It was quite miserable as we made our way back to the trail proper.  My daughter fought valiantly against the demons of the brewing bad attitude, keeping at bay long enough for us to reach the lower slopes were the wind thankfully abated. As we made our way down the weather seemed to warm as did my little ones attitude. I was thankful to enjoy the final 3 miles with some great conversation and laughs.


Approx. 7.5 miles 3000ft of climb 4:20  car to car

Not Quite Sleeepover Peak, Oversleep 4980'

I was feeling a bit under the weather and certainly very sluggish so I wasn't looking for anything overly taxing. I had a few ideas when I left the house because I wasn't sure what the weather and the conditions of the logging roads might be. I wasn't sure how low the snow level had fallen in the Southern Cascades so I was not overly optimistic if I would be able to drive all the way to Tacoma Pass. But the road was free from any snow which was quite a surprise for me. Also the weather was mostly benign. It was chilly so I layered up and headed the opposite direction on the PCT as I did last week.  The PCT meanders up the slope without much purpose which on this day fit my mindset.

After a few meandering switchbacks I reached a campsite with a sign pointing to a trail leading to water. On the way out I explored finding the water source further away than expected. Must be a nice oasis during the dry months where finding water might be problematic. Soon I started the long nearly level traverse towards my objective of Sleepover Peak 4880'. This is also where I hit snow, albeit just a dusting. I had hoped to leave the trail just south of 4566' and reach the logging road and follow the road to my higher intended target just to the SW. I found a good spot to leave the trail finding good footing.

 

I wasn't expecting too much cross country travel because the trail and the road are close together. I weaved my way up the slope making easy work of the elevation gain. Soon I reached an old road bed choked by many small trees, after trying a few different directions I realized that this might not be the best way to reach my objective, so I instead retreated to the PCT hoping to find a more pleasant option. I continued on for about a half mile where I spied a more pleasing road option above me, but to access this was rather short but a little too steep for my sluggish legs. I chose instead to continue on the PCT to see if I could outflank the ridge and try to find a more pleasing line of ascent. Soon I came out on a road junction with roads going in numerous direction. I was now off my printed map and while I knew the road that headed NW was my best bet, I didn't like the fact that it headed steeply downhill. The road heading SW not only headed steeply uphill but had recently been driven on giving me some curiosity where they might have been heading. The road continues for some ways before I reached a flat area, I decided to press on to see if I could find any higher areas. Soon I was under a knob that was clearly higher than any surrounding features, checking my altimeter it was also substantially higher than Sleepover Peak. I left the road and followed a good climber's trail to the summit. The point is 4980' is listed on the List of John as unranked point and is the Northern terminus of Blowout Mt's North Ridge. It does lack a few hundred feet of prominence to be considered a true summit but I felt like it still was a worthy objective. Since it was higher than Sleepover Peak I dubbed it Oversleep Peak.

 

 

Instead of retracing my steps down the climber's trail I followed the road back to my waiting footprints below. The trip out was very pleasant with a soft cushion of snow beneath my feet. When I returned to the car there were two Forest Service employees just suiting up. After exchanging pleasantries I inquired on what they were doing. Evidently they are setting up a wolverine station to try and determine if there are any in the area. I relayed that many years ago I had seen a wolverine near Hawkin's Mountain. The workers told me that there are actually 4 adults living in that general area. I found the whole conversation fascinating. With my goal being unmet I still made the most of a very enjoyable day.

 

 

Approx 8.5 miles 2200' of clime 3:45 car to car

Blanket Mountain and Bearpaw Butte 11/15/16

With plenty of peaks still to do South of I-90, I headed back to knock a few more of my list. I headed towards Stampede Pass and headed South on #41. I stayed on this until the signed junction heading towards Tacoma Pass and the PCT junction. Upon reaching the pass I turned around and parked. The weather was breezy and wet so I layered up. The plan was to take the PCT North and see if I could make it over Blanket which the PCT basically goes overtop of and continue on to Bearpaw Butte and if things went well head further to Snowshoe Butte.


The PCT was in great shape as I made my way up and over Blanket. I expected the weather to degrade into some snow showers which never materialized with any consistency. Soon I found myself at a saddle just East of Bearpaw. I drove into the wet brush finding it slippery and bit steeper than I was expecting. There were a few short lived breaks in the small closely spaced trees, but nothing lasting for more than a few feet. I thought that I couldn't get to much wetter so I continued on. There weren't any land features that could be seen because of the cloudy weather and the ridge is fairly broad giving me concern on becoming off line on the descent. Soon I found myself on the summit since there wasn't any views I didn't linger. Initially I was able to stay on line but as I feared there were no landmarks to keep me online. I got sucked to my right (north) and ended up being woefully offline. I hadn't looked at my map so I was unclear what elevation the saddle I had left from was. The downhill portion was much more slippery that going uphill and it was a major endeavor to remain upright. I started to feel a bit panicky because I was concerned I had dropped below my saddle elevation. I thankfully popped out on an old logging road on the North side, and followed that back to my jump off point. Feeling quite relieved I continued on the PCT towards Snowshoe Butte.


I was a bit whipped from the decent and wasn't really intending on continuing all the was to Snowshoe. Once I realized that there was a good road leading to the saddle I decided that it would be a fun Spring snowshoe to the Butte. I decided to head back, making my way quickly back to the car.


While I was a bit unnerved on my descent I was happy that I was able to keep a level head, and while I would have eventually found my was back to the saddle had I not run into the road. Running into the road did save some serious stress, making me want to take better care to mark a GPS waypoint in conditions when sightlines are non existent.


Approx 7 miles 2500' of climb 3:07 car to car


Map and a few pictures Here: