Previous :: Next Topic |
Author |
Message |
neek Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2011 Posts: 2337 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
|
neek
Member
|
Fri Sep 10, 2021 1:22 pm
|
|
|
It's been hard to focus on writing this with all the amazing trip reports trickling in from the three-day weekend. Stop distracting me, folks!
I went up Phelps Creek on Monday, when everyone else was heading out. (Yes, the road is still as bad as ever.) My plan was to climb Dumbell and Greenwood on the first day, Dark Peak on the second, and Sitting Bull on the third. This was a bit too ambitious, so I settled for North Star instead of Dark. And I failed to find a way up Sitting Bull. Too bad, because it's rarely climbed, and would have a great view.
Day 1:Dumbell and Greenwood
The route to these two peaks from Phelps Basin is no secret. There is some fun and easy scrambling on Dumbell, and Greenwood is a walk-up. The ledge between the two is fun because it looks scarier than it is. Aside from one minor squeeze point, it's comfortably wide. Turns out these two peaks are Bulgers--I didn't even know! I was hoping to make it all the way to Lyman Lake after climbing them, but at some point it became clear I wasn't going to make it nearly that far. I settled for the lovely site at 6200' on the Spider Gap trail and cooked my dinner in the dark.
dumb trick Spider Meadow Heading up Phelps Basin Dumbell Some guys I met coming down from Dumbell Heading up talus slope on Dumbell Fun scramble bit on Dumbell Final ridge to Dumbell summit Bonanza was with me for a good bit of the trip Glacier Peak behind Fortress and Chiwawa Fernow, 7FJ, Maude Golden Horn and Tower The ledge to get around Dumbell is wider than it looks and not scary Greenwood Lake between Dumbell and Greenwood Selfie Evening light on Dumbell Phelps valley From camp below Spider Glacier
Day 2: North Star after considering Dark
Dark was not in the cards for today. I knew that, but was in denial until reaching the gap between North Star and Bonanza and seeing just how much further it was. Oh, but let me back up a bit. The Spider "glacier" was a bit icy in the morning, and microspikes helped. The view from the top was as grand as I remember from 7 years ago. Instead of heading down to the lakes, however, I went level along a trail that showed up in Gaia. Crowdsourced maps never lie, right? The trail vanished into scree, which I slowly picked my way across. I eventually made it to a lovely ridge that sees few boots. But where it supposedly went back down to the Lyman Lake trail, there was a sheer cliff. Good grief. I backtracked (uphill) a bit, and found a way down. After some shifty talus, I was back on beautiful terrain, so no complaints. Thanks, lying map.
I set up my tent at the Cloudy Pass site and traversed NE below Cloudy Peak and North Star, reaching the gap which was obviously going to be my turn-around point at around 3pm. I wanted to run up that SW ridge of Bonanza, but wouldn't have gotten too far. Instead I opted for North Star (I did Cloudy on my previous trip). Started by heading directly W up the ridge, but it doesn't go. Went back down and took the normal route below the ridge. Smoke was quickly rolling in, but still low in the valleys. On the way down from North Star there was still plenty of daylight left, so I practiced close-up photography of interesting soggy areas, and reached camp at dusk. I had already soaked my dinner, so it cooked up very quickly.
Continuing up, looking back Spider Glacier Smoke creeping in Spider Gap Sitting Bull on left Other side of Dumbell Bonanza Marmot Cloudy, North Star, Bonanza Clark's nutcracker Lower Lyman Lake Lower Lyman Lake outlet I later noticed the tiny bear in this zoom shot Some very early larch color Approaching North Star - Bonanza saddle North Star Bonanza from saddle Looking north from saddle Heading up North Star North Star summit pano
Day 3: Sitting Bull FAIL
I really didn't expect this to work out because I had no idea which way to go. Leaving the PCT and its many thru-hikers at 5100', I just started heading up, following my motto of "when in doubt, walk toward the summit". Cliffs in the way? Scale them. Well, that didn't work so well, and even though I was getting into sketchier terrain, for some reason I kept going. At some point I realized how stupid this was, and started gingerly downclimbing. It was very exposed, not fun. I had gone probably halfway up the cliffy bit. Things would have been easy above. Oh well. Back on stable ground, I scoped out a few other options for next time. I've heard of an approach from the NE, but if one is coming from the S, I think the thing to do would be to 'schwack up the forested slope on the right side of my picture below, eventually getting above the cliffs. It would be tedious. One more for the revenge list.
Smoky morning Sitting Bull - summit is on the right, and I think you go up that forested slope on the right. I tried a gully just to the right of those trees in the middle Going up this was a bad idea The easier part of the downclimb I think this is the South Fork Agnes Creek trail Dark Peak - for another day... Mushroom resembling a giraffe White crowned sparrow Not really sure! Looking northish from Cloudy Pass trail Going back to Cloudy Pass - smoke has vanished Cloudy Pass Back at lower Lyman Looking back at Cloudy and North Star Upper Lyman Lyman Glacier Going back up to Spider Gap Hole Back on the other side - 7FJ, Maude, etc
It was a long hike out, but I wore minimal shoes on trail, so my feet were fine. Despite cutting back the agenda, this was my best trip of the year so far, and I can't wait to go back.
BensonM, rstoddard24, Bowregard, Prosit, fourteen410, Dave Weyrick, Nancyann, hapemask, RichP, Gimpilator, rubywrangler, Eric Gilbertson, Tom awilsondc
BensonM, rstoddard24, Bowregard, Prosit, fourteen410, Dave Weyrick, Nancyann, hapemask, RichP, Gimpilator, rubywrangler, Eric Gilbertson, Tom awilsondc
|
Back to top |
|
|
Tom Admin
Joined: 15 Dec 2001 Posts: 17853 | TRs | Pics
|
|
Tom
Admin
|
Fri Sep 10, 2021 1:27 pm
|
|
|
Good stuff, nice to see the fall colors coming out. Hopefully the weather will hold for an extended hiking season.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Gimpilator infinity/21M
Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA |
Great report! The peaks in question are Sinister and Gunsight.
>>>"Not really sure! Looking northish from Cloudy Pass trail"
|
Back to top |
|
|
Roald Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2007 Posts: 367 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
|
Roald
Member
|
Fri Sep 10, 2021 1:57 pm
|
|
|
Wow, what an impressive trip! And your pics are beautiful. The meadows on the traverse below Cloudy and North Star are pretty sweet, and probably even more so with autumn colors coming out.
|
Back to top |
|
|
RichP Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 5634 | TRs | Pics Location: here |
|
RichP
Member
|
Fri Sep 10, 2021 2:43 pm
|
|
|
Nice set of photos.
williswall
williswall
|
Back to top |
|
|
Fletcher Member
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Posts: 1870 | TRs | Pics Location: kirkland |
|
Fletcher
Member
|
Fri Sep 10, 2021 3:07 pm
|
|
|
Beautiful Nick! I’ve been trying to get out to North Star all summer but haven’t made it yet.
|
Back to top |
|
|
raising3hikers Member
Joined: 21 Sep 2007 Posts: 2344 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, Wa |
neek, you hit that area at a good time! great pics phelps basin, cloudy pass is so nice..
|
Back to top |
|
|
puzzlr Mid Fork Rocks
Joined: 13 Feb 2007 Posts: 7220 | TRs | Pics Location: Stuck in the middle |
|
puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
|
Fri Sep 10, 2021 9:36 pm
|
|
|
That looks like a really great trip. And you seem to have hit a weather/smoke window perfectly.
neek wrote: | Cloudy Pass |
This is a poster child shot of why not to drive a vehicle through mountain meadows. How long has it been?
|
Back to top |
|
|
Nancyann Member
Joined: 28 Jul 2013 Posts: 2318 | TRs | Pics Location: Sultan Basin |
|
Nancyann
Member
|
Fri Sep 10, 2021 10:21 pm
|
|
|
Nice work, Nick, I especially enjoyed your close-up pictures and those fall colors!
|
Back to top |
|
|
Brushbuffalo Member
Joined: 17 Sep 2015 Posts: 1887 | TRs | Pics Location: there earlier, here now, somewhere later... Bellingham in between |
Textbook picture of a xenolith. The inclusion is schist. . As granodiorite magma intruded the host rock (schist), fragments of schist were broken away from surrounding rock but not melted.
'Xenolith' (literally 'foreign rock') is one of very few geologic terms starting with X.
Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
|
Back to top |
|
|
fourteen410 Member
Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 2629 | TRs | Pics
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
neek Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2011 Posts: 2337 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
|
neek
Member
|
Sat Sep 11, 2021 9:36 am
|
|
|
Thanks all - fun trip, definitely ended in a better mood than I started.
Brushbuffalo wrote: | Textbook picture of a xenolith. The inclusion is schist. . As granodiorite magma intruded the host rock (schist), fragments of schist were broken away from surrounding rock but not melted. |
Thought you might chime in. Thanks! Wikipedia says "Schist is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity". Good to know. Please let me know if I ever start showing pronounced schistosity.
puzzlr wrote: | This is a poster child shot of why not to drive a vehicle through mountain meadows. How long has it been? |
Right? Aerial imagery shows the track extending past Cloudy Pass. Came all the way from Holden once I guess?
|
Back to top |
|
|
Bowregard Member
Joined: 05 Feb 2019 Posts: 562 | TRs | Pics Location: Sammamish |
Fantastic photos. From landscapes to wildlife to macros you really covered the spectrum well.
I love the meadow shot especially the upper section. The wispy clouds really add to the scene:
|
Back to top |
|
|
Malachai Constant Member
Joined: 13 Jan 2002 Posts: 16092 | TRs | Pics Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny |
The Meadow pix might be a leftover from prospecting activity on Miners Ridge in the 1970s.
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
|
Back to top |
|
|
RichP Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 5634 | TRs | Pics Location: here |
|
RichP
Member
|
Sat Sep 11, 2021 1:17 pm
|
|
|
I don't think cars ever made it to Cloudy Pass. More than likely the result of heavy horse use in the past. The area around Lyman Lake was lovingly restored after many decades of heavy use. I talked to one of the people involved and they packed up grass seedlings to plant after busting up the hard pan around the lake. I spent a summer up there as a wilderness volunteer and one of my duties was shooing people from camping on the grass right beside the lake in spite of signs indicating not to do so.
neek
neek
|
Back to top |
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate NWHikers.net earns from qualifying purchases when you use our link(s).
|