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Alpineadam
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Alpineadam
Mr
PostTue Jul 21, 2020 11:37 pm 
Wouldn’t it be cool if you could turn Melakwa trail and snow/gem lake into a loop? We thought we could get from the shoulder of Kaleetan Peak to “Melakwa pass” last week. We brought a 30 M rope, climbing gear and crampons. We couldn’t find a route. Could anyone help me?

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Bootpathguy
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Bootpathguy
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PostWed Jul 22, 2020 6:38 am 
Alpineadam wrote:
Wouldn’t it be cool if you could turn Melakwa trail and snow/gem lake into a loop?
That loop has been established. Off trail 101. Its a fun adventure from upper Melakwa Lake over to Gem Lake. In my opinion, half the fun is finding your own route

Experience is what'cha get, when you get what'cha don't want
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Mike Collins
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Mike Collins
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PostWed Jul 22, 2020 7:30 am 
I have done that loop with snowshoes in the winter. It is fun to walk atop Snow Lake. Two cars makes it more feasible.

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Randito
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Randito
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PostWed Jul 22, 2020 8:46 am 
Mike Collins wrote:
Two cars makes it more feasible.
One complication is that recently the USFS and the sheriff have made RD 58 , the old Snoqualmie pass road one way east bound. Last weekend a sheriff's deputy was positioned at junction of RD 58 and Alpental road to enforce after the new one way signs had been removed by vandals.

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zephyr
aka friendly hiker



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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
PostWed Jul 22, 2020 9:56 am 
Alpineadam wrote:
... We thought we could get from the shoulder of Kaleetan Peak to “Melakwa pass” last week. We brought a 30 M rope, climbing gear and crampons. We couldn’t find a route. Could anyone help me?
I am sure that many more experienced climbers on here, could address this. But in 2009 I scrambled Kaleetan with a TNAB buddy in September when most of the snow had melted that year. On our return we descended the peak a ways and then took an avalanche gully down to the slope below Melakwa Pass. It was a lot of scree and loose rock. Once we arrived at the pass we descended more scree slopes to Chair Lake and walked along the shores a bit towards Roosevelt. But it was getting late and we had to return back over the pass and back to the TH before dark. ~z

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coldrain108
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coldrain108
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PostWed Jul 22, 2020 12:44 pm 
Randito wrote:
Mike Collins wrote:
Two cars makes it more feasible.
One complication is that recently the USFS and the sheriff have made RD 58 , the old Snoqualmie pass road one way east bound. Last weekend a sheriff's deputy was positioned at junction of RD 58 and Alpental road to enforce after the new one way signs had been removed by vandals.
I figure a bicycle left at Alpental would do the trick, easy ride back down to Denny TH on the old road. Were they stopping foot/bike traffic from going westbound or just cars? I was at the PCT TH couple of weeks ago, hiking to Red pond and beyond, and it seemed like the road was all foot traffic.

Since I have no expectations of forgiveness, I don't do it in the first place. That loop hole needs to be closed to everyone.
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rossb
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PostWed Jul 22, 2020 6:50 pm 
Yeah, I haven't done it, but my hiking buddy did, using a bike. I have gone from Melakwa Pass to Chair Peak Lake, which was the inspiration for the loop. If memory serves you don't go straight down the pass (as you might imagine, looking at a map). You traverse slightly to the west. I would recommend taking that approach. From the pass, just work your way down and whenever it gets nasty, veer left. (From Kaleetan to Melakwa Pass is straightforward -- it is an alternate route to the top).

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zephyr
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
PostWed Jul 22, 2020 7:18 pm 
rossb wrote:
If memory serves you don't go straight down the pass (as you might imagine, looking at a map). You traverse slightly to the west. I would recommend taking that approach. From the pass, just work your way down and whenever it gets nasty, veer left.
We went down from Melakwa Pass traversing down and angling right / east. Most of the snow had melted. The lake was completely melted out. And there were a few hard-packed snowfields in patches, but mostly it was talus, scree, and boulders. There is a slabby portion around on the east side where the outlet is. ~z

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Randito
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Randito
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PostWed Jul 22, 2020 8:48 pm 
It is also possible to loop all from the Snow Lake trailhead. Follow the climber's route to "The Tooth" to the entrance to Pineapple Basin and then work right/North and cross the Bryant/South Chair Peak pass and drop down to Melakwa Lake. This is more of a scramble route than other sections, but there is a boot track leading to the Bryant/South Chair pass -- less of a track down to Melakwa lake -- there are some minor cliff bands so some care is needed descending from the pass to Melakwa lake.

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostFri Jul 24, 2020 7:55 pm 
If you want to bag Kaleaten from Chair lake pass descend a ways until a gully appears to skiers left ascend the gully to a head wall and ascend choss and steep dirt to a minor pass. Thorn to climbers right and ascend an easy gully to the top. On return descend ridge to Outhouse and follow trail to Denny Creek.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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puzzlr
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puzzlr
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PostMon Jul 27, 2020 10:54 pm 
This TR shows a route from the shoulder of Kaleetan to Melakwa Pass. I have heard it referred to as the "White ledges" route. I have not done it, but someone who has said it's all class three or lower in good conditions. But as others have said, the easiest way to do the Melakwa-Lake to Chair Peak Lake to Gem Lake route is to just walk up the valley above Melakwa Lake. A boot trail goes left of the lower lake, right of the upper lake.

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Alpineadam
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Alpineadam
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 12:28 am 
Thanks for the response. I felt like we could get down a chute on the shoulder of Kaleetan right next to the rock that you need to drop under to get by on the regular route. It was just a small notch that widened out some to a snowfield about level with the pass. With our rope I thought we could do it but my partner (maybe correctly) thought it was too sketchy and there wasn’t any sign it had been done. The main slope of Kaleetan seemed much harder. I looked back over previous posts and immediately saw that the common way is to hike up the scree from Melakwa lake. Funny how it all makes sense when you go back to the reports after failure.

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Alpineadam
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Alpineadam
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 12:52 am 
This TR shows a route from the shoulder of Kaleetan to Melakwa Pass. I have heard it referred to as the "White ledges" route.[/quote] Yes, that’s the info I was looking for. The route pic especially. Thank you. I looked down at that area and thought Nope! Everything was either loose or rounded and smoothed the wrong way, or hidden. A narrower gully on the other side of he saddle looked more promising to us. But I’m a puppy compared to so many of you. Maybe if I had this beta we would have had the confidence to try. For now, with my name on the Kaleetan peak register already, we ll take the scree up the valley from Melakwa when I attempt the loop again. Also I’m finding myself going the opposite direction as everyone because it seems to me that coasting downhill on my bike from Alpental makes the chosen direction a no brainer.

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Randito
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Randito
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PostWed Jul 29, 2020 3:24 am 
Alpineadam wrote:
Also I’m finding myself going the opposite direction as everyone because it seems to me that coasting downhill on my bike from Alpental makes the chosen direction a no brainer
Except that the USFS has replaced the one way signs removed by vandals where RD 58 joins the Alpental road and at least during periods where west bound I-90 might be backed up the WSP is stationing an officer at that point to enforce the one way east bound restriction.

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Joseph
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Joseph
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PostSat Aug 01, 2020 9:13 am 
Did this a few years ago - lots of fun. Hiked to Melakwa lk, then over Melakwa pass, some route finding after that - which I agree is fun. Then along a narrow ridge down to Gem Lake. I stashed my bicycle at Alpental parking lot, then had a fun ride down to Melakwa lake TH.

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