Union Peak

Saturday morning I headed east toward Steven's Pass. Once over the pass I took Smith Brook Road up a few miles and parked at the Smith Brook trail head. There were a few cars there when I arrived at roughly 8:30 am. It was an overcast and cool morning and the day before had been a lengthy and vigorous lightning and rain storm. I thought perhaps that deterred a few would-be hikers for today.

I started up the Smith Brook trail and climbed the well groomed and nice trail until about the 4500 ft level where there is a large rock field. There is where I started to climb the ridge going in a north east direction. This was mostly large rock at first so it took some meandering around to find a good route. But eventually I got on top of the big rocks and was climbing the ridge heading in that same direction as the route turned more into forest. I made my way through the trees and underbrush until about the 5300 ft level and turned north west and followed that ridge up to the peak. I did a lot of bush whacking, and got completely soaked. It didn't rain at all, but as I mentioned it rained a lot yesterday and all those plants held onto that water until I got there. It was like hiking through a sprinkler all day.

As I approached the peak, it was hard to tell where the exact highest location was. The peak is a very gentle sloping dome shape. Honestly pretty anticlimactic. Plus it was cloudy and foggy all day so there was virtually no views at the top. Pretty mundane. But I'm sure the views are very pretty when there is something to see. My plan was to continue on to Jove Peak today as well, but considering the poor visibility and the fact that I was completely soaked and cold, I didn't see the point in continuing today.

At the top I laid on the ground for a good 30 minutes and took a quick cat nap while trying to dry off/warm up. It was quite chilly up there for an August summer day. But once my synthetic pants dried it got a little easier to tolerate the cool temperatures, and even though it wasn't raining I put on my rain gear and headed back down intent on staying dry while bush whacking. As I came to the rock field portion I think I found an easier, safer option down to the trail than the way I came up. And as I got back onto the main trail I encountered several people on their way to Valhalla Lake I presume. I made my way back down to the parking lot to find it completely full of cars (it is a relatively small parking lot) with cars lining the road in both directions. So it turns out the previous day's lightning storm didn't deter as many people as I thought.

Region: Central Cascades, Stevens Pass, East
Distance:  3.4 miles
Elevation Gain:  1680 ft
Peak Elevation: 5696 ft
Difficulty: S2, T2
Pass Requirement: No

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Devil's Gulch

So this was quite a unique adventure for me. I don't usually do mountain bike trips, in fact I don't think I've been a proper mountain bike for at least 10 years. But I was asked to help take some of the youth from our church out on a mountain bike trip. So I obliged. We left town around noon on Friday and headed east toward Wenatchee. After a few hours of driving we arrived at the trail head of Devil's Gulch where the boys and a couple leaders were going to ride up the mountain to our campsite. Another leader and I were going to drive up to our campsite and take all the gear and set up camp and have dinner ready for the boys once they finished climbing the mountain on their bikes.

The boys starting their trek up the mountain at around 3:00 pm and expected to be at camp around 7:30. So we had some time to kill. So the other guy I was with new of a state park where we could hop on our bikes for a couples hours to kill some time and have some fun. So we started riding, heading up the hill looking for a lake that he knew about but couldn't ever find previously. We climbed for a bit and after a while we got up above the trees and could look down at the valley and see the towns of Wenatchee and Cashmere. It was pretty cool. We climbed a bit more searching for this lake, but never did find it. Eventually we decided it was time to head back down and get camp set up. We were bombing down the mountain and since it was Eastern Washington the trail was dry. My buddy in front of me was kicking up tons of dust and my sunglasses were covered in specks of dust. As we came out of the trees the sun was shinning right in my eyes through my dust covered glasses, needless to say I couldn't see anything. Not good when flying down the mountain on a bike. I couldn't see the large rock or root or dip in the trail or whatever it was that I hit that caused me to fly over the handle bars and take a nasty spill. After a few seconds of gathering myself to make sure I wasn't seriously injured (which I wasn't, just some scraped knees, legs, elbow and hands) I got back on the bike and continued down the mountain, a bit more cautiously.

We made it to the truck then drove to our campsite to set up camp and got dinner cooking. We expected the rest of the crew to show up around 7:30 pm so we had dinner ready by then, but they never showed. So we waited...and waited...and waited some more. At around 9:00 we got worried and tried calling them to see where they were, but they had no cell reception. So I drove to the trail head where they were supposed to come out onto the highway. Not there, so I waited there for them to show up...and waited...and waited. Still didn't show up. At around 10:00 pm they finally got cell service and called for me to come pick me up at a lower elevation closer to where our campsite was. So I drove over there and found them riding down a forest service road. They were absolutely exhausted and out of water. So I gave them all some water, loaded up the bikes in my truck and drove them all to the campsite. Once at the campsite, we quickly ate (mostly) cold dinner and went to bed.

The next morning we ate some breakfast, took down camp and bandaged up any wounds we had. Then we drove all our bikes and crew up to the trail head where they were supposed to come out of last night. We started biking around 10:30 am. We climbed about 600 feet or so on our bikes before we began our long and fast descent. It was a grueling ride up, especially for those who rode all the way in yesterday. After climbing we reached the peak and got some amazing views of Wenatchee below. It was pretty cool to look down on the valley as you ride a narrow sketchy trail with a cliff inches away. But eventually we got to go downhill. That was way fun. I felt like I was riding the brakes the whole way down and still was cruising down the mountain faster than I wanted to be going. All of the boys fell at least 3 times on the downhill portion, but luckily none were very serious. Just attention getting. It took us a few hours to ride the 15 or so miles of the downhill portion of Devil's Gulch trail. Then we rode about 10 miles on the road into the town of Cashmere. And finally after being scorching hot in the near 100 degree weather and completely exhausted with wounds and sore butts we got to enjoy some awesome BBQ at Country Boy's BBQ in Cashmere. That was some good eatin'. After lunch we drove over the pass and back home.

Region: Central Cascades, Stevens Pass, East
Distance: 14 miles
Elevation Gain: 3200 ft
Peak Elevation: 4963 ft
Difficulty: Difficult
Pass Requirement: Yes, Northwest Forest Pass

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Barclay Lake

Today we hiked with some friends to Barclay Lake. There were 5 of us with 4 kids. This is an easy hike and pretty flat that is covered in shade by trees almost the entire way. My 3 year old daughter walked almost all the way to the lake before she wanted to ride in the pack. One of the other 3 years old boys walked the whole way, in and out. I was pretty impressed.

Once you get to the lake and the trees clear you see Mount Baring soaring high above you. It is quite spectacular. I have hiked here only once before, like 5 years ago, and the lake is much smaller now. Lots of water has disappeared, I imagine it has something to do with the alarmingly low amounts of snow this past winter.

After taking a break at the lake and eating a quick lunch and having the brave 3 year old boy swim in the lake for a bit we headed back down. It was a beautiful day and great to get out and enjoy the sunshine with the family and some friends. This is a great hike for families and kids of all ages. Definitely should be on the list for getting kids started and interested in hiking.

Region: Central Cascades, Stevens Pass, West
Distance: 4.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 500 ft
Peak Elevation: 2423 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Pass Requirement: Yes, Northwest Forest Pass

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Labyrinth Mountain

Today was my first trip that I have led with the Mountaineers. I led a group up to Labyrinth Mountain. This trip was intended for alpine scrambling students so I posted the trip as a slow easy pace, and boy am I glad I did. It was crazy hot that day, 96 degrees. We stopped a lot to drink lots of water and rest in any shade we could find.

The first part of the trip is on a trail that takes you to Minotaur Lake which, luckily, is very well shaded by tall trees. The climb to Minotaur Lake is very steep but short. The lake is quite beautiful with Labyrinth Mountain as its backdrop. That was to be our destination.

After reaching the lake we squirted the side of the lake and headed toward the mountain. The climb to the top of Labyrinth is open, with no shade to protect us from the blistering sun. There is a footpath that leads you to the top, but it has many different off-shoots and some fade rather quickly. So after a while we kind of just trudged up the hill toward the top. After a good climb in the heat we reached the summit and enjoyed the views of the many peaks in every direction. We ate some lunch signed the summit registry.

Then we headed back down to the lake. At the lake we took a good rest and some took off their boots and soaked them in the cool water. After feeling refreshed we headed back down the steep trail under the cover of the tall trees and made it back to the cars. It was a good trip, and a successful first trip as a leader. Hopefully many more to come!

Region: Central Cascades, Stevens Pass East
Distance: 5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2800 ft
Peak Elevation: 6350 ft
Difficulty: S2, T1
Pass Requirement: Yes, Northwest Forest Pass

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Boardman Lake

This morning we hiked up to Boardman Lake with some friends who all have young kids. This is a good easy hike for young people and families. The trail is easy, short, and mostly flat. Gaining just 300 feet of elevation on your 1 mile hike to the lake. The day was pretty foggy, and had lots of low clouds although it didn't rain, which was nice. Our three year old daughter hiked all the way to the lake by herself. But she rode in the pack on the way back.

 

My wife carried our new born on some sort of baby carrier on her stomach, which the baby seemed to enjoy. Although the weather could have been better and views grander with fewer low clouds it was a good day to get out in the woods.

This is a great way to introduce young kids the the wilderness. Lots of large old trees to wonder at, and a peaceful short hike to a lake with established campsites. Highly recommend for beginners to enjoy the great outdoors.

Region: North Cascades, Mountain Loop Highway
Distance: 2 miles
Elevation gain: 300 ft.
Peak Elevation: 3100 ft.
Difficulty: very easy
Pass requirement: Northwest forest pass.

As always check out all the photos from the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Experience Field Trip 2015

Today was the Experience Field Trip for the 2015 Alpine Scrambling Course I was helping teach through the Everett Mountaineers. After having covered all the basics it was the students turn to show what they know and take the lead on a real scramble. We had several groups going to different locations, I went with the group going to Guye Peak at Snoqualmie Pass.

Guye Peak is a short but steep climb and normally this time of year still has lots of snow. But not this year. Not a single instance of snow until we reached 4800 feet, and then it was just small patches where the sun doesn't shine on a regular basis. There was one 30 foot section that was pretty steep that required good ice axe skills, and that was pretty much it. The rest was pretty much a walk up.

We took the trail from the Alpental ski area up to Guye Peak, and on our way down we went back down the other side (on purpose) out through the Common Wealth Basin. The weather, temperature-wise, was excellent. Not too cold, and not too hot even when we got moving. But the visibility was non existent. Lots of fog in the parking lot, and once we reached the summit, you literally couldn't see anything but white all around. It was actually kind of eerie, looking off the edge and not seeing anything.

Despite not having a great view at the top, it was a great day with a great group. Lots of fun, and it was a good end to the course. Look forward to scrambling with these students in the coming summer and upcoming years. Great job everyone!

Region: Snoqualmie Region, Snoqualmie Pass
Distance: 6 miles
Elevation Gain: 2100 ft
Peak Elevation: 5168 ft
Difficulty: S2, T3
Pass Requirement: Yes, Northwest Forest Pass

As always check out all the photos of the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.

Snow Field Trip 2015

As a volunteer instructor for the Mountaineers I went up to Mt. Baker to help teach snow travel and ice ax arrest skills as part of the alpine scrambling course over the past weekend. The snow fall this year has been alarmingly low and the snowpack has suffered greatly. Luckily if you gain enough elvation you can still find some snow.

We began the weekend with basic travel on snow, how to hold and walk with an ice ax, how to step, where to step, traveling up, down, and across snowy/icy hills. We then got into glissading and how to stop yourself; ice ax arresting. We spent a good portion of the first day then hurling ourselves down the mountain while trying to stop ourselves from sliding too far. We went down on our butts, on our stomachs, on our backs, with our pack, without our packs, every way you could think, and learned how to stop ourselves from sliding to our demise.

After  good long while of sliding down the mountain we had a short demonstration on how to dig a snow pit to learn about different snow layers and avalanche conditions. After that informative display we headed back to the lodge to eat some good food and rest for the next day.

The next day we did some more ice ax arrest practice, and then we took a short hike up to Huntoon Point. It was a short scramble, but gave the students a great opportunity to practice navigation skills, and all their newly learned snow travel skills. Each student took turns leading and got the pleasant opportunity to kick steps in the new snow.

The views form Huntoon Point were pretty awesome with the clear blue skies and mountains in every direction. Some of which were Mt. Baker and the allegedly most photographed mountain in the world: Mt. Shuksan. It's easy to see why it may-or-may-not be the most photographed mountain...

At the top of Huntoon Point we ate a quick lunch, and socialized as a big group, and then had the joy of glissading down one at a time. That is by far the funnest part of snow scrambling. Then we headed back down to our cars and drove home. It was  great weekend and had lots of fun and sun.

Region: North Cascades, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Distance: 6 miles
Elevation gain: 1200 ft.
Peak Elevation: 5150 ft.
Difficulty: Easy
Pass requirement: None.

As always check out all the photos from the hike and every hike by clicking on the "Photos" tab.