We have been curious about what this area would be like in snow since the reports that we’ve seen are from summer.
We parked at the Pyramid Creek Sno Park and snowshoed up Fs Rd # 7060 about 1/2 mile, to just beyond a Y junction with an unnumbered road. There we found a convenient spot to get up on the SW ridge that leads to Pechugh Pk (5505’), crossing FS 210 at 3500’, and reaching FS 7036 at 4800’.
Our approximate route . . .
Our approximate route . . .
On the SW Ridge of Pechugh Pk
Some sections of the ridge are steep . . . but no obstacles
The ridge was steep in places, but had no obstacles and went well in thin snow – with microspikes. We arrived at Fs Rd 7036 to find that it had been freshly groomed for snowmobiles, so it was a nice road for snowshoeing, with not 1 snowmobile track on it yet!
We went along the road, enjoying the wide views, and found a nice spot to get up onto the west ridge of Pechugh Peak. We snowshoed up the west ridge which was very pretty with young trees and many alleys.
On FS 7036 about to go up W Ridge of Pechugh Pk
On the W Ridge of Pechugh Pk, Colquhoun Pk and Katawak in backgrnd
On the W Ridge of Pechugh Pk
On the W Ridge of Pechugh Pk
On the W Ridge of Pechugh Pk
A view West
A view West
There were large old trees near the top. Even though the summit was treed, good views were available going up the ridge and above cliff faces. There were some really nice balconies on either side of the ridge. We had lunch in the sun with a good view of Mt Rainier and surrounding peaks. We descended our route.
Tall trees and short trees near the summit of Pechugh Pk
Nice woods near summit of Pechugh Pk
The summit of Pechugh Pk
Summit area of Pechugh Pk
Summit of Pechugh Pk
Windy Gap N (CL) and Pyramid Pk (CR) from Pechugh Pk
Kelly Butte (R) from Pechugh Pk
Kelly Butte from Pechugh Pk
Kelly Butte from Pechugh Pk
Katawak from Pechugh Pk
Sawmill Ridge from Pechugh Pk
Noble Knob area from Pechugh Pk
Noble Knob area from Pechugh Pk
A nice angle on Mt Rainier . . . Curtis Ridge nicely highlighted (CR)
This is a really nice area with some great views of peaks from an angle we haven’t seen before. We have plans to come back and hit some of the other bumps along the road.
Thanks for the correction and additions to the peak IDs! I really enjoy figuring out all these peaks, and even more like figuring them out right. The labeling help is appreciated!
I have made a version 2 of NW view pano. I have labeled Pk 4560+ (Lost Lake Quad) as Rumble Mtn per List of John (does that work ok?).
Kitya - I take a series of overlapping photos with the same exposure level and then use photomerge/panorama in Lightroom. I then add labels in Photoshop with text and line tools. Thanks for your interest!
RichP - Yes, the sno park does seem to provide some good access to some peaks. Yesterday (03-16) we went up the same hill again, but then went to Windy Gap North via its long NW ridge.
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