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awilsondc Member
Joined: 03 Apr 2016 Posts: 1323 | TRs | Pics
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What an interesting and nuanced trip this was! I had unique weather, challenging conditions that left me constantly questioning weather or not to continue, and a good sunrise along with some early fall scenery... lets start from the beginning.
It rained for several days before this trip. In fact, freezing levels were low enough it wouldn't have surprised me if it had snowed a touch too. I started out at the trailhead a couple minutes before 4am. I was going to have to do everything but run to make it to the tarn in Upper Royal Basin for sunrise around 7am, 8 miles and 3200 ft of gain in. Fortunately it's a great trial in and I set a strong pace. I got off route once when a washout joined the trail for a short bit, but I backtracked and found the trail. Another stop to filter water and soon I was at Royal Lake. The night had been clear, but clouds were moving in which I was expecting. I continued on admiring some alpenglow on Deception and Clark as I made my way to the upper basin. My efforts to get to the tarn by sunrise paid off and I arrived at 6:47. A few minutes later the first light appeared to the east.
Royal Lake at night Alpenglow on Clark Looking back at Lower Royal Basin Arriving at the tarn
It had been a horrible summer for sunrises and sunsets for me. Sixteen opportunities and only two that I'd rate higher than a 3/10. That was about to change. The clouds to the east put on a show of yellow, orange, blue and purple. The peaks lit up with the first light of the sun. Like watching the dying embers of a fire, but in reverse the peaks gradually heated up until the rock looked like iron pulled from the forge. It's striking the colors these peaks can get in the early morning sun. I remember a similar experience at sunrise from Fricaba a few years ago. I ran around the tarn in a fury taking pictures and soaking in the glorious morning light. It was deeply satisfying. As the sun drew near the cloud layer the light on the peaks became a pale yellow and soon the light faded all together. Almost as soon as the light had faded, it began to rain.
First light Clark on fire Sunrise Yep, that'll do Satisfying Deception reflection The yellowing Last light
The rain was light and only lasted 15 minutes or so. This was when I began to become apprehensive about the rest of the trip. What if the rocks were wet and slick on the class 3? Could tell by looking up at Mount Deception there had been some snow recently. What if there was snow on the scramble section? I though about bailing, but I had come so far I figured I'd at least check out surprise basin and just go until it wasn't a good idea to go any further. I was a bit slow getting going again, but soon found myself at Surprise Basin.
Rain begins Fire and rain Rocks in a pond After the rain Milky Trees
Surprise Basin is an interesting place! I could tell temperatures had reached freezing at night since the pond was iced over. It was starting to warm up though and chunks of choss began to release and tumble down the steep walls on either side, echoing as they fell. Surprise! Every few seconds there would be another one. Surprise again! It was very eerie. I started to become significantly concerned about rock fall on the route. I spent a lot of time observing and listening. Almost all the rock fall sounded like small pieces and I figured I'd be safe in the valley away from the cliffs and steep slopes. Most of the rock fall was on chossy slopes and the ledge route up Clark looked like more solid walls of rock and not as loose. I proceeded with caution. In the mountains we all listen to our intuition, our gut instincts... that little voice that says, no that snow finger doesn't look good or I think you should try the traverse instead of that sketchy section of rock or to turn around and bail if thing's aren't safe. We all listen to that voice and it helps keep us safe. That voice doesn't really have a name, but I've been calling mine Jake lately. I'd listen to Jake a lot on this trip and he was telling me to keep going until I couldn't.
Surprise basin Frozen Surprise basin pond Interesting rock Snow leading to the saddle Clark New snow meets old At the saddle
I cautiously made my way across Surprise Basin. The snowfield was extremely icy and I tried to cross by walking on choss frozen in the ice, but eventually I put on microspikes. Thank goodness I brought them, they saved the trip! Footing was great with spikes on and I soon found myself at the saddle, the start of the ledge and the scramble route for Clark. The ledge was chossy at first, but soon I ran into snow. Uh oh. It was about three inches and frozen stiff which was helpful as it provided traction. No issue so far, but I was worried about the down climb at the end of the ledge. As I rounded the corner I got the bad news. Yep, snow on the entire scramble section. I seriously considered bailing here and spent about 10 minutes weighing my options. The first part of the down climb to this little tree didn't look too bad but I couldn't tell if I could make it safely beyond that. Again, Jake was telling me to go until I couldn't so I put my microspikes back on and headed down to the tree. I was very cautions to not do any moves I wouldn't be able to reverse and stuck to a strict three points of contact.
Once at the tree I had to search around a bit, but I was able to find a safe down climb to the ledge below. Whew! The second ledge traverse wasn't too bad even with the snow and soon I found myself at the summit scramble. It looked steep and a bit gnarly, especially covered with snow! I was extremely slow, cautions, and deliberate with every move and while it was challenging I made it to the summit without incident! Yay! But... I didn't want to stay long. The frozen snow was great, but it was starting to soften up and I didn't want it to get too wet and slippery. I took a few pictures and signed the register. The last to sign in was a guy from Sequim in his mid 70's who soloed it about a month ago. He wrote it was the hardest scramble he's ever done. It's a legit scramble that's for sure, but the rock is solid!
Start of the ledge Snow on the ledge, Deception and Mystery beyond Around the ledge Down climb this Walkinshaw Final scramble to the summit Summit views Clark's register Johnson
Leaving the summit, I had to down climb a few parts facing in. Usually I can down climb things facing out but not this scramble, not in these conditions. When I got back to the traverse the snow was really softening up and was mushy and slick. That frozen snow was so nice! I was grateful I had started as early as I did. After the short scramble back up to the first ledge I was relieved to find the snow on the other side of the mountain still frozen. The descent back to the saddle was without incident. I had originally planned on climbing Johnson too, but there was still a lot of rock fall coming down the route up Johnson and I had my fill of scrambling class 3 on snow so it will have to wait until another day. On the way back, a stream of running water in the ice field caught my attention. I followed it towards the pond and came across several moulins, some a good 30 feet deep! Since I didn't eat on the summit, I had lunch on a boulder by the pond enjoying a few moments in this unique place.
Water carved ice Two streams meet Moulin Flow Swirl Rocks in a pond, my friends... rocks in a pond Clark Surprise basin pond
On the way down to Royal Basin the sun was coming out. Fall was just starting up in the Olympics and there were a few fall colors out on the way down to the lake and half way back to the car. It was nice to be able to take in the sights on the way out. It was a great trip! I'm so glad I was able to catch a nice sunrise and bag a quality peak!
Turning into a nice day! Last stop at the tarn Descending to Lower Royal Basin Last view of Clark Fall colors on the trail Shroom Stream Reflection Copy cats Easy trail Stump Dungeness River from above Moss and River Dungeness River
~19 miles 5500 ft gain 12 hours
zimmertr
zimmertr
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raising3hikers Member
Joined: 21 Sep 2007 Posts: 2343 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, Wa |
Beautiful tarn pics! Wow.
I like that you've been thinking about Jake on your trip. Clark mtn is one of those memorable trips I had with him.
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neek Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2011 Posts: 2329 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
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neek
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Thu Oct 01, 2020 9:00 pm
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Man, you got some stellar shots. I need to get out in questionable weather more.
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Bootpathguy Member
Joined: 18 Jun 2015 Posts: 1787 | TRs | Pics Location: United States |
You have any wall space remaining for anymore of your fantastic images?
Experience is what'cha get, when you get what'cha don't want
Experience is what'cha get, when you get what'cha don't want
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Kenji Member
Joined: 18 May 2010 Posts: 319 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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Kenji
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Thu Oct 01, 2020 10:33 pm
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Great shots!!
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olderthanIusedtobe Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 7692 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
Lots of great pics. Maybe it was better in person, but that light layer of new snow on steep terrain near the summit looks super sketchy from here.
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awilsondc Member
Joined: 03 Apr 2016 Posts: 1323 | TRs | Pics
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silence Member
Joined: 25 Apr 2005 Posts: 4420 | TRs | Pics
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silence
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Fri Oct 02, 2020 6:44 am
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PHOTOS
FILMS
Keep a good head and always carry a light bulb. – Bob Dylan
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olderthanIusedtobe Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 7692 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
awilsondc wrote: | You know... it WAS super sketchy! Actually it was worse mentally than physically. The snow was frozen and I did the whole route in microspikes and traction was good. Hand holds were mostly available on rock and while obviously not ideal it was probably only half as bad as it looks like it would have been. Still though, I'd rather not repeat such an experience. |
I'm glad all went well. It sounds like the snow wasn't quite as stable on your way down.
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bobbi stillaGUAMish
Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 8012 | TRs | Pics Location: olympics! |
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bobbi
stillaGUAMish
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Wed Oct 07, 2020 2:44 pm
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I love it all! the upper royal basin is the best!
thanks for all your beautiful and stunning photos!
p.s. I'm sure you waved to my bobbi's big boulder on the moraine
bobbi ૐ
"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
bobbi ૐ
"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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olderthanIusedtobe Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 7692 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
bobbi wrote: | p.s. I'm sure you waved to my bobbi's big boulder on the moraine |
You need to get a plaque put on that thing so we all know when we're passing by your boulder.
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awilsondc Member
Joined: 03 Apr 2016 Posts: 1323 | TRs | Pics
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olderthanIusedtobe Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 7692 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
awilsondc wrote: | Now I wanna know which boulder it was! |
She can tell you for sure, but I'm pretty sure it's on a big moraine in the main basin, below Deception, maybe below Deception/Fricaba saddle. I think it's one of those car or house sized boulders.
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JasonK806 Member
Joined: 15 Jul 2016 Posts: 64 | TRs | Pics Location: Olympia, WA |
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GaliWalker Have camera will use
Joined: 10 Dec 2007 Posts: 4916 | TRs | Pics Location: Pittsburgh |
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GaliWalker
Have camera will use
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Thu Oct 08, 2020 8:30 am
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