[raising3hikers]

With a very last minute change of plans due to the smoke, Josh H and I met up for a climb in the N Cascades with a promise of more smoke but a cool area anyways. We left the Bridge Cr TH promptly at 6am on Saturday heading down the nice PCT route to the junction of McAlester Cr. The trail is in great shape as we crossed the log over Bridge Cr and up to the McAlester Pass trail. Once on the trail to the pass, a couple down logs were over the trail which made me think the enormous mess of logs up higher were still in the way. To our relief, the rest of the trail is logged out and in very nice shape up to the pass. Despite the hazy smoke in the area, it was still a nice area to be at as we headed off trail at McAlester Pass. We eventually found a nice boot path to follow on the E side of East Rainbow Ridge that lead to a lovely lake. Larchy forests with a mix a good blueberries were had as we headed up higher in the alpine trying to follow the faint path.

a larchy lake

We didn't have to bushwhack much at all on our way up higher on Rainbow Ridge. Despite the haze, our localized views of the meadows and forest were awesome.

Rainbow Ridge

After hiking though some great terrain, we aimed for Pk 7237. The boot path went to almost 6900' before we went off trail to tag the peak. From there, we headed straight down the slopes to Lake 6495. It was another nice spot to be at and we set up our camp before noon. We grabbed some water at the lake and then headed off towards Bowan Mtn. Nothing difficult as we went through meadows, boulder fields and only a little bit of scree to the S ridge. Then a traverse over some ribs and gullies but the rock was pretty good for North Cascade standards. There are several pinnacles to avoid, that's why its best to stay low and traverse before going up. Once on the summit ridge, I thought it would be the summit, but still another false one to bypass before the real one is viewed.

Bowan Mtn

A couple years ago, I viewed Bowan Mtn on my way to McGregor, it stood out as something I'd like to climb. I was happy to find the rest of the route barely class 3 on the way to the summit. No register was found, like many in the area. We headed back down and reached camp thinking we had enough time to daytrip this. We didn't go any further, but Josh took a nap while I took a nice swim in the lake.

broad face of Bowan (Josh in the middle)

We woke before sunrise, packed up and were again hiking by 6am. We wanted to tag East Rainbow Ridge on the way out. We took the ridge route and found much clearer views than the day before. Wonderful larch lined ridges and easy walking got us to the next summit.

sunrise near McAlester Pk

Josh navigating some slabs on the way out

Bowan Mtn

Bowan, McGregor and Arrow from Rainbow Ridge

We were at East Rainbow Ridge summit at 8am. We set a goal to be back at the TH by 11 and we did it. Josh set a great pace on the trail from McAlester Pass and was nice to get back early. That's exactly the way I like to do things, much Thanks to Josh!! 27.5 miles 8300' elevation gain

[Stefan]

Lotsa miles in a short time. Sorry you had to take a nap in between!