Forum Index > Trip Reports > Fernow, 7FJ, Maude, North Spectacle, Freezer, Icebox, Carne
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostSat Oct 03, 2015 11:34 pm 
After Heather returned from her AT hike we noticed a good weather window so we hit the Phelps Creek trail with 6 days worth of food. We went up to Leroy Basin and made camp there. Then we hiked up Seven Fingered Jack before dusk.
7FJ
7FJ
7FJ summit from false summit
7FJ summit from false summit
Fernow
Fernow
Gloomy Basin below
Gloomy Basin below
The next morning we hiked over a pass and dropped down to a tarn and then skirted around a buttress to reach Gloomy Basin. Instead of traversing a loose moraine we skirted around the backside of it. We could see the steep slabs of Fernow above.
alpenglow
alpenglow
Fortress and Chiwawa
Fortress and Chiwawa
tarn
tarn
loose ground
loose ground
Genius, Dumbell, Greenwood
Genius, Dumbell, Greenwood
Genius
Genius
Dumbell
Dumbell
Gloomy Glacier
Gloomy Glacier
traversing past v-gully
traversing past v-gully
the route above
the route above
We gained the upper plateau bench by ascending/traversing below cliffs to the right of a v-shaped gully. From the upper plateau we ascended scree to slabs and then scrambled up to a heather slope in the middle of the slab face. We traversed the heather and small trees and then scrambled up more slabs along the right side of a small waterfall stream.
Gloomy Glacier
Gloomy Glacier
steep slabs
steep slabs
Below some cliffs we crossed the stream to the left side and then scrambled up more slabs to an upper talus field trending diagonal right and then we came to a snowfield. From the snowfield the chockstone gully was visible above.
snowfield
snowfield
chockstone gully
chockstone gully
We scrambled up under the chockstone and then we were on the upper southeast face. Ledges trended northeast across several gullies. We traversed all the way to the east ridge where we could view Copper and then found blocky rocks with some exposure to scramble up to the summit. This route was rather slow going due to all the talus and we didn't return to camp until near dark.
traverse ledges on southeast face
traverse ledges on southeast face
Copper
Copper
exposure below the summit
exposure below the summit
Fletcher solo ::)
Fletcher solo smile.gif
Bonanza
Bonanza
Copper summit
Copper summit
panorama
panorama
Fernow 61/100 and 51/100
Fernow 61/100 and 51/100
ledges
ledges
tarn
tarn
On day three we had hoped to do South Spectacle Butte, but it was still on fire and the route passed very near a fire which we could see was moving up the slope. No thank you! I checked out the summit of North Spectacle instead.
7FJ ascent slope
7FJ ascent slope
Buck
Buck
Wolverine Fire on South Spectacle
Wolverine Fire on South Spectacle
Ice Box above
Ice Box above
Freezer
Freezer
lower Ice Lake
lower Ice Lake
North Spectacle
North Spectacle
Buckskin
Buckskin
Maude
Maude
7FJ
7FJ
Fernow
Fernow
Pinnacle
Pinnacle
Emerald and Saska
Emerald and Saska
South Spectacle north face
South Spectacle north face
north face
north face
Spectacle Buttes
Spectacle Buttes
On day four we started out by hiking up Maude and then checked out Freezer as well where we spotted some nice ptarmigan.
smoke in the valley
smoke in the valley
Maude alpenglow
Maude alpenglow
ascending Maude
ascending Maude
Glacier
Glacier
Maude south slope
Maude south slope
7FJ
7FJ
panorama
panorama
After Freezer hiked over to Ice Box. We ditched some gear below the access gully and then hiked up nice class 2 all the way to the summit of Ice Box. There was a pumice slope below the final saddle.
52!
52!
Dome and Sinister
Dome and Sinister
Clark
Clark
Maude summit
Maude summit
Maude from Freezer
Maude from Freezer
Ice Box
Ice Box
Ice Box above
Ice Box above
slope up Icebox
slope up Icebox
pumice below the summit
pumice below the summit
Ice Box summit
Ice Box summit
Spectacle Buttes
Spectacle Buttes
Maude and Ice Lakes
Maude and Ice Lakes
Ice Box summit
Ice Box summit
panorama
panorama
After Ice Box we hiked over to Carne and signed the summit log. Our original 6 day plan had included Old Gib, but weather was apparently moving in so we rushed down to the car at the end of the fourth day. It started pouring rain the minute we got there.
pumice
pumice
pumice
pumice
Carne
Carne
a bear!
a bear!
looking back from whence we came
looking back from whence we came
Carne register
Carne register
Here's some route lines.
route map 1
route map 1
route map 2
route map 2
route map 3
route map 3
route map 4
route map 4

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Fletcher
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Fletcher
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PostSun Oct 04, 2015 12:23 am 
Really awesome you guys! Bummer about South Spectacle, looks like we will have to go back and get that one together wink.gif

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Redwic
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Joined: 23 Feb 2009
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Redwic
Unlisted Free Agent
PostSun Oct 04, 2015 2:09 am 
Nice job! up.gif up.gif up.gif

60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
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Distel32
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Distel32
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PostSun Oct 04, 2015 6:45 am 
up.gif

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mehitabel
archyologist



Joined: 23 Mar 2009
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Location: the Emerald City
mehitabel
archyologist
PostSun Oct 04, 2015 7:18 am 
Looks wonderful! We signed the Carne register yesterday and I was kind of excited to be the next one signing it after you!

toujours gai toujours gai
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Triton
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Location: Duvall,WA
Triton
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PostSun Oct 04, 2015 7:51 am 
Terrific! Has the road to the trailhead improved at all?

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Jim Dockery
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Jim Dockery
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PostSun Oct 04, 2015 8:55 am 
Great trip & pics! I love Gloomy Glacier & larches up.gif up.gif

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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks



Joined: 13 Feb 2007
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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
PostSun Oct 04, 2015 10:00 am 
Sure, why not do them all as long as you're out there! eek.gif It took us two trips to get those in and I was wiped on both. One of my favorite parts was scrambling up the slabs to Fernow, partly because they looked impossibly steep from a distance but turned out to be relatively easy. I love it when things work out like that.

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mbravenboer
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mbravenboer
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PostSun Oct 04, 2015 1:12 pm 
Nice to see a report from that area! The larch trees are looking great! Does somebody know if the area is officially open? I was surprised to see any report from there, because I assumed it would still be closed. The FS has only published a verbal description of the remaining closure, and I'm having some difficulty understanding it. http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3848411.pdf

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostSun Oct 04, 2015 1:19 pm 
Good work, a friend and I spent a whole day trying to get up Fernow and finally had to Truro back short of the summit due to lack of light. It was far shorter from Holden. Love the area which was shut off for much of the summer.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostSun Oct 04, 2015 1:34 pm 
mehitabel wrote:
We signed the Carne register yesterday and I was kind of excited to be the next one signing it after you!
That's cool! smile.gif
Triton wrote:
Has the road to the trailhead improved at all?
It's just as bad as I've ever seen it. huh.gif
puzzlr wrote:
One of my favorite parts was scrambling up the slabs to Fernow, partly because they looked impossibly steep from a distance but turned out to be relatively easy. I love it when things work out like that.
We read that in several other reports, so I was mentally prepared for an intimidating view, but just like you said, it wasn't bad at all.
mbravenboer wrote:
Does somebody know if the area is officially open? I was surprised to see any report from there, because I assumed it would still be closed. The FS has only published a verbal description of the remaining closure, and I'm having some difficulty understanding it.
We were also wondering the same thing. We saw the closure order from September 17, however the Ranger on the phone told us that "not everything on the website has been updated yet" and then later we saw the September 28 Wolverine Fire update posted which says, "Chiwawa Road and areas previously closed on Wenatchee River Ranger District are now open". That's kind of vague, but we saw nothing at the trailhead which indicated any closures.
screen capture
screen capture

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mbravenboer
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PostSun Oct 04, 2015 1:35 pm 
Thanks for the info Gimpilator!

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Brushbuffalo
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Location: there earlier, here now, somewhere later... Bellingham in between
Brushbuffalo
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PostSun Oct 04, 2015 5:28 pm 
Great to see Heather is back out climbing! ( i can guess she is in shape agree.gif ) I am a little bit surprised to see that the Wolverine fire is still at it. All that pumice is from one of Glacier Peak's large explosive eruptions around 13,000 yrs before present (BP.) Much of the volcanic ash seen in various places in our travels in the NC is from those eruptions, not Mt. Baker, Rainier, or MSH. The ash is usually buried beneath a few cm or more of sediment and forest duff (unless uncovered due to a bit of surficial erosion) and is light gray and gritty when rubbed between the fingers. Watch for it in your travels east, southeast, and northeast of Glacier Peak, and consider that the large eruptions producing it, and the pumice Adam shows in his pictures, would have dwarfed by an order of magnitude the justifiably famous 5/18/80 eruption of MSH.

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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Michael Lewis
Taking a nap



Joined: 27 Apr 2009
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Michael Lewis
Taking a nap
PostSun Oct 04, 2015 6:59 pm 
So beautful. me must do sum dae

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n16ht5
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n16ht5
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PostTue Oct 06, 2015 9:41 am 
Wow. up.gif

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