Lichtenberg and Union June 15-16, 2013

This was the first real backpacking trip of the summer. Sam, Sarah, Derrick, and I decided to embrace the snow and go in search of some peaks. We set our sights on Lichtenberg, Union, and Jove off of the Smith Brook Road on the east side of Stevens Pass. We headed out Saturday morning and began our hike a little after 10:00 am. The road still had some snow patches so we had to park the car just before the first set of switch backs. We walked the road to just a little bit before the big hairpin turn to the point where the creek was very near the road and we were in line with the ridge up to Lichtenwasser Lake. From here we took a barring and headed up the ridge line almost due south. On our way up we crossed a fishermans trail and followed that up towards the lake. There was even a handline set out along one steep section. Overall the going to the lake was pretty easy and we were there in a little over an hour. Snow did not become consistent until around 4,600 ft. 

This is where we crossed the creek

Taking a break from 'shwhakin up the mountain

Lichtenwasser Lake

The lake was mostly frozen with some melting around the edge. There were still several feet of snow pack, but the tree wells were starting to melt. We set up camp and dug out a table for lunch. It was a beautiful warm sunny day. After lunch and a little relaxing we began our walk up the northeastern ridge of Lichtenberg. The snow was nicely compacted and the walk was really nice. It was very strait forward, not too steep and had increasingly nice views. We pulled out our ice axes but there were really only a few short section where we needed them.

Our campsite table

Glacier and Union Peak as seen from the ridge

Making our way up the northeastern ridge

Before too long (under and hour) we reached the base of the summit block. Directly in line with the ridge, the peak juts up as a cliff so continuing on our current trajectory was not an option. We were worried about skirting to our left because of the large cornices we had seen along the bowl. Instead we decided to poke around to the right and see how that looked. It started as a nice climb up the snowfield, however, we started to become unsure how and where we would be able to transition from the snow to the rocky summit. Sam continued up ahead and found a spot where we could safely step off the snow although it was slightly precarious. There were about 20 feet really steep snow that started to push my comfort zone and make me really thankful for my ax. 

This is where we came up

Once we were all on a little bit of solid ground it was time for the final push to the summit. This last section was about 20 feet of rock climbing/scrambling. There were good holds the entire way, but falling here would not have been pretty. Once on top we all let out a little sigh of relief and took in the amazing view. 

Up on solid ground

The panoramic view from Jove to Hinman

From our new vantage point we could see that there was one break in the cornices on the southeastern saddle that would have been possible to climb through. In hind sight, I would have preferred to traverse the bowl and then come up the southeastern ridge (which is an easy walk to the summit), but our route got us where we wanted to go. 

Large cornices above the bowl

Steward poking out

Glacier Peak

McClausland in the front the Monte Cristos and Sloan in the back 

We made it!

So did Sam...

...and Sarah!

Steep slopes on the northern side

A nice hangout spot a bit north along the ridge

Looking toward Lake Valhalla

After about an hour on the summit we headed back down to the lake. We were able to glissade two short runs in the bowl, but there were enough trees that we had to plunge step a lot of the way. We hit one pretty slick spot that gave Derrick, Sam, and I some practice with our self arrest skills, but overall the descent wasn't too bad. 

We glissaded near the bottom of this photo

The next morning we headed back down towards the road. We walked about 1/4 of a mile past the hair pin turn and headed up the much overgrown trail that leads towards Union Gap. We later learned that there is a newer trail that goes directly from the turn in the road, but our USGS map didn't show this.We took the trail until it flattened out and headed up the ridge line toward Union. The going was slow. We stayed right along the spine of the ridge which is rocky in places. We didn't hit snow until over 5,000 ft and even then it was patchy and not very ideal. I think this walk up would have been more pleasant a few weeks ago with a little more snow coverage. We found this bushwhack much slower than the one up to the lake.

Lichtenberg from the road

We made our way up to the unexciting peak of Union and decided that we would call it a day. We were pretty tired after our previous day and were worried the extra ridge walk to Jove was going to put us home pretty late that night. Going back down was much easier than we were expecting which was a pleasant surprise. We felt pretty good about our decision to turn around because it began to rain pretty hard once we hit the road. Coming down Union would have been much harder in the rain. We made it back to the car at around 3:30 and were feeling pretty accomplished from our weekend of scrambling.  

Our approximate route

Denny Mountain (no summit) - June 9, 2013

As part of the Bushwhacker's scrambling class, we headed up to Snoqualmie Pass to practice our snow and ice ax skills. It was a fun day with surprisingly nice weather. We started at the Alpental parking lot and began heading up beneath the lifts. We practiced walking with our ax, moving in balance, and turning. Near the junction of Lower International and Cascade Traverse, we set up a bench and began practicing self arrests. Basically you get to lower yourself down a slope in a bunch of different positions and practice stopping with your ax. It was a little unnerving practicing going down head first on your back as you must trust someone to hold your feet while you dangle upside down into that position. We learned a lot of important skills and played in the snow like a bunch of kids. 

Doug one of our instructors

Getting ready to launch myself (and hopefully stop)

Once we had mastered our self arrest, it was time to put it all together and do some climbing. We headed up the International ski run taking turns leading and kicking steps. It's tiring work, but also surprisingly meditative. You can really get in a rhythm and all your mind is really thinking about is taking the next step. Eventually we made it to the top where the last ski lift ends. At this point you're almost to the top of Denny Mountain, but not quite. We took in the view and hung out on the stationary lift chairs.

Up we go!

Our last skill of the day was glissading which basically means sliding on your butt down the mountain using your ax to control your speed and direction. This was by far the best part! We descended via the Edelweiss Bowl, which was my first ever descent down a black diamond ski run (although it was entirely on my rear!). From there we picked our way back down to the cars, plenty tired and ready for dinner and beer in North Bend. 

White River Camping and Mt Sauer - May 11-12, 2013

Derrick and I ended up with an unplanned 3-day weekend and decided to head out for some car camping. Although things are starting to melt out it was a little challenging to find too many longer hikes that were snow free. The weather was also a little bit rainy so we decided to head east of the mountains.

Our original thought was to camp at Fish Lake right near Lake Wenatchee. However, we were unable to find any camp sites near the water that weren't already taken. Our next thought was along Lake Wenatchee, but a big storm in December has left many roads closed due to blow downs. We perused a few other forest service roads that pushed the off-road limits of the civic. Then we checked out our map and decided to head up the road along the White River.

I'd never been back in this area before and it was much more scenic than I had imagined. We drove for a ways and decided to see how far back we could get on some of the forest service roads. We almost made it to the very end of the road before hitting a patch of snow that blocked access. We then headed back to the turn out for Auto Tour Stop #4 and found a nice campsite along the roaring river. We thought we were going to have it all to ourselves until a family with a camper pulled in. Luckily they were pretty far away and the river drowned out any noise. It looked like we might have been the first people to camp there for the season as the site was littered with fire wood.

Our campsite by the river

We had a relaxing evening, grilled some burgers, and sat by the fire til turning in for the night. The next morning we debated for a while on our plan of action. We decided to check out the other three auto tour stops along the drive. One led us up a long winding road to what we assumed would have been a look out, but we were stopped after several miles by a large blow down. Then we considered the grooling hike up to dirty face lookout, but weren't sure about the snow. We settled on Sauer Mountain in Peshastin, not too far from Leavenworth.

Flowers along Sauer trail

Sauer was a nice hike and actually a bit steeper than I imagined. It was a nice climb through lots of meadows of flowers. Arrow leaf balsam root, indian paint brush, and lupine were all putting on a nice show. At the top we had good view of the Enchantments and the south end of the Glacier Peak wilderness. After the hike we made a quick stop in Leavenworth then headed back to Seattle.

Lupine

Arrow Leaf Balsam Root and Lupine

Our lunch break a little bit below the summit

Panorama from the top

Clouds moving in over the Enchantments

More flowers

Penstemon

Derrick at the top

Me and Leavenworth down below

Heading back down

Goldmyer Hotpsrings May 4-5, 2013

We finally got a sunny weekend, unfortunately the mountains had super high avalanche danger leaving us with few options. Luckily we were able to score a reservation at Goldmyer hotspring for a weekend of relaxation.  Sam, Sarah, Derrick, and I headed out of Seattle after a lazy morning and out to the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River.

Goldmyer is a privately run hotspring on the edge of the national forest. It's not very far from Seattle, but involves a fair amount of dirt road driving to really get there. We parked at the Dingford creek trailhead (same place we departed for Derrick Lake) and headed along the road.

Things are starting to melt fast in this area as you can tell from all the roaring creeks. It was so nice to be out in the sun and looking up at the beautiful mountains of the Cascades. The hike in is about 4 miles and relatively flat. We decided to do some luxury backpacking which meant we had some pretty loaded down packs. Sam even hauled in a giant frying pan.

We arrived at Goldmyer around 3:00 and were greeted by the grounds keeper who lives on site. He check our permits and gave us the low down and we headed to pick out a campsite along the river. We set up our tents, suited up and headed to the hot springs.

The springs are about a quarter of a mile from the camp and well worth the extra walk. There are four pools. The hottest one is in cave that has been blasted out of the rocks and goes back for about 20 feet. Below that is a second small pool that is the perfect temperature. Below that is a larger slightly cooler pool. Lastly there is a small cold pool. I will note in case anyone is interested in going that the hot springs are clothing optional so you might want to reconsider if your shy about nudity.

Enjoying the pools

It was great to soak and relax and enjoy a sunny day. It was cool enough in the trees that the springs were very pleasant. Sam and Derrick spent most of their time jumping back and forth from the cold pool to the hot pool. There were a few other folks enjoying the water, but the limit the visitors to 20 per day so it never felt crowded.

Sarah in the second pool

After some soaking it was back to camp for a stir fry dinner. Then back to the pools for a night time soak. In the morning we had pancakes and egg scrambles. We packed up our gear, got in one more soak and then hit the trail. It was hard going back to work the next day after such a beautiful relaxing weekend. Derrick and I agreed this is our favorite hot spring in Washington.

The river which runs right by the hot springs

Under the big log is the cold pool

High Hut and the MTTA trails - April 5-6, 2013

Months ago Sarah and I decided to make reservations to some of the huts of the Mt Tahoma Trails Association out near Ashford, WA. You have reserve these huts pretty far in advance so it's a bit of a gamble when it comes to the weather. Unfortunately, our forecast was looking a little bleak--rain, cold, cloudy, but we headed out with high hopes.

We arrived at the trail head not sure what to expect. We brought skis and snowshoes. The road to the trail head was snow free, and the snow began about a quarter of a mile up the road. We were really hoping to cross country ski and had heard rumor of recent grooming so we left our snowshoes at the car and headed up in our ski boots. This we later learned was the wrong choice.

We soon hit snow and strapped on our skis. The weather was above freezing and the snow was kind of a slushy ice mix. There might have been grooming a few days ago, but with the recent rain all we had was a mildly compacted mess. We quickly discovered that even with waxless skis traction was going to be a bit of an issue. After a few hours of skiing and slipping our way up we finally made it onto the ridge. Here the snow was a bit colder, but slipping was still a problem. The wind was also quite strong making us really glad to see high hut in the distance.

We made our way into the hut and found it empty. We quickly started a fire and shed all our wet clothes. It was very homey inside and a nice reprieve from the slog up. On a clear day high hut is staring down Mt. Rainier with panoramic views. Unfortunately, with the weather all we saw were clouds. We made dinner and were getting ready to play a game of boggle when we saw a light outside. A couple from Seattle had just arrived.

Drying our clothes inside the hut

One of the sleeping areas

The kitchen

Looking towards Rainier 

They came up on backcountry skis with skins and informed us that another couple was on their way, but probably wouldn't be in until quite late. We chatted for a while as they made their dinner. Eventually it got late and Sarah and I head to bed, unsure if the other couple was going to continue in the dark or turn around.  Sure enough at about 10:00 they rolled in, exhausted but in good spirits. The girl had also brought up cross country skis and had an equally challenging day.

Warm potato stew...delicious!

The next morning we awoke to more clouds and took our time making breakfast and coffee. It took a little motivation to leave the warm cabin and head out into the weather, but we did eventually. It had snowed a bit overnight creating a layer of powder on top of ice--not ideal conditions to say the least. Our original plan was to head over to the yurt for a second night, but after about an hour of falling and sliding our way down the mountain we had second thoughts. We were struggling a lot with the conditions and just couldn't get much control coming down. At the junction, we decided heading back to the car was sounding a bit more appealing than trudging on for another few miles.

A brief break in the clouds allowed for a few views

The view in front of the hut

The valley down below

All in all, it was nice to check out a new area and the huts are great. Next time though, I would choose snow shoes over skis. It doesn't seem like the grooming is frequent enough to make it doable for most cross country skis. Another hour or so and we were at the car. Made a stop in Elbe at the train diner for some lunch and then headed back to Seattle.