[flatsqwerl]

This little peak is down by mnt Rainier. Its not quite in the park ...but close. I approached from the Carbon river road. Casual parking was right at Tolmie creek. You start hiking at the decommissioned dirt road on the left side of Tolmie creek. There is room for a few cars...looks like a party spot at times. The road goes up and up relentlessly. There are some blow downs and snow downs but not very bad really. After about a mile the road crosses Tolmie creek. I took this road and the forks that pointed me to point 4898 which I was interested in getting on top of. From point 4898 I stayed on the ridge and made a beeline to the mighty POCH. There is a large open area between the 2 points which made for some fine views. Unfortunately, my camera died before I got to the ONE good view of Rainier...sigh. The snow was patchy until about 3500 ft. I used microspikes on all the snow going in and was glad I had them. Coming out I used the snowshoes for a while as well as the microspikes. I brought an axe and ski poles but they were not needed. Some route finding and map reading occurred at times. My map was old and there are a bunch of trails and roads up there that were not on my old green trails.

So, almost 3500ft gain and maybe 12 RT.

[Tim_Nair]

Looks like a great destination! Thanks for posting the Trip Report. After crossing Tolmie Creek, was there a decommissioned road you followed? I'm planning on just doing Poch Peak soon. Thanks!

[flatsqwerl]

Tim, the decommissioned part starts at the cars and only lasts a few hundred yards, if that.

[Tim_Nair]

Thanks - my somewhat data Garmin map shows a trail at the Tolmie Creek crossing, but if there's is one, I'm guessing it's snow covered. I'm planning on programming a few waypoints into my GPS before the trip - any suggestions?

[flatsqwerl]

Tim, It is a road, not a trail that crosses Tolmie creek. My only reference for the route is my old green trail map ( 1978 ). It shows a few roads, no trails. I also printed a close-up map from Caltopo mapper. It also showed the same roads as on the green trail maps. I've never used GPS stuff.. So, after crossing Tolmie creek, I followed the road for about 2 miles+/- ( guess) . At 3600ft elevation I left the road and headed south following the ridge line to a point, elevation 3881. From here I maintained a southerly line following the ridge to point 4898. ...then kept heading south on the ridge, descended a bit to a very broad wide open saddle, 1/2 mile N of Poch peak, which lies dead ahead in full view. The ridge route is treed often and does not offer views very often. Some of the route I followed roads that were not shown on my maps, but were close enough to the ridge line and made things efficient. It was a 7 hour day for me car to car.

[Anatoli]

The top half of this route is in the Evans Creek ORV Park. You can begin this hike much higher at the Park entrance later in the spring. I believe you can drive to the park entrance April 15 th snow conditions permitting. But be prepared for ORV traffic. This is one of the very few legal places for such on the west side.

[Anatoli]

For those with an appreciation for history, I offer this brief note: On August 29, 1833, twenty one year old Dr. William Frazier Tolmie, working for the Hudson's Bay Company, began the first known attempt by Europeans to climb Mt Tahoma. His route ascended the drainage now named in his honor, Tolmie Creek. The lower portion of the above described route follows this historic route. Tolmie was to halt his attempt near Spray Park. For further information see Murray Morgan's excellent book "Puget's Sound".

[flatsqwerl]

Anatoli, yes, i could tell there were a few ORV type trails up there. Some went directly up the ridgeline and were bare for a while ( and were useful for me :>) )