Forum Index > Trip Reports > 10/1-2/2021 Finney Pk 8110' ~ye olde annual larch hunt
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ozzy
The hard way



Joined: 30 Jul 2015
Posts: 475 | TRs | Pics
Location: University place, wa
ozzy
The hard way
PostTue Oct 05, 2021 7:52 pm 
Well it's that time of year again! When everyone does that thing...larch hunting! banana.gif I wanted to make sure to stay away from the masses and Finney Pk fit the bill! This one has been on the list for quite sometime now and I wanted to save it for a nice larch trip. The time was now! rocker.gif The weekend forecast looked great so I recruited old Hans again who I knew would be amped about this one! breakdance.gif We headed out to the west fork buttermilk early Friday morning. The temp was hovering around 30f so it took us awhile to get ready lol. When we arrived at 530am the parking lot was completely empty! We eventually got goin at 645am as the sun was coming out. The approach to fish creek pass kinda drags on, but once you're about 30mins away that's when the larches start to make their presence felt! eek.gif Star peak looks pretty awesome from this angle as well! The rest of the way up the pass was a breeze due to all the golden views.
the first of many lol
the first of many lol
big boi
big boi
Star pk
Star pk
back down towards twisp
back down towards twisp
Fish creek basin
Fish creek basin
The fish creek basin area had a condensed sections of larches and we were excited to make our way through! angel.gif Dropping a little from the pass we moved towards the star-baldy saddle. The trail was awesome and views were stellar! All the goldies made travel a little slow at times...it seemed every corner we turned unveiled something equally as badass! rocker.gif The larches came in all shapes and sizes, they are an interesting type of tree for sure. Upon arrival at the star-baldy saddle we took a break to admire the views all around. I think we made it there at 1230pm. We were stoked to be up in this awesome area, I had no idea it was this grand! wave.gif From the saddle we dropped again and headed towards the pass that leads to indian head basin. We stayed right at all forks. We also had our first views of Finney proper!! Dayyyuummm, we were so giddy to go scope out the bivy spots by the Finney tarns! humpy.gif At 7200ft we cut south from the trail cross country. It's easy to traverse the way to the lake that's down below the tarns, this lake is about 100ft lower. The area is a larch asylum of course and the lake/tarns are a worthy destination in their own right. We took our time past the lower lake then went up to the tarns and found a sweet bivy spot just to the east at 7200ft. Holy sh## what a badass basin we found ourselves in!! banana.gif We had some sick views of the north face of Finney looming almost 1000ft over head too! Wow! We took time setting up camp and drinking whiskey. The time was 3pm. cheers.gif
dropping into the basin
dropping into the basin
craziness
craziness
Hans diggin it
Hans diggin it
first good look at Finney
first good look at Finney
the lake below the tarns
the lake below the tarns
it was a pretty lake
it was a pretty lake
the tarn we camped by
the tarn we camped by
camp
camp
After an hour we dawned lighter packs and made the push for the summit. The col north of the peak is what you aim for, 7700ft. The views were getting better by the step it seemed and once we arrived at the col it was even better. The fernow group to the west and bonanza to name a few were cool looking! We could even see the boat dock at Lucerne down on Chelan! wave.gif Damn I've never seen that before. We dropped about 200ft from said col then worked around some cliffs til we saw an obvious gully that rose toward the summit area. The terrain was kinda loose and sh##ty in a few spots but overall it felt pretty secure, mostly choss and talus. The upper part was a boulder field that led to the summit. We topped out about an hour after leaving camp. Ooohhweee...the views were amazing and we even found a register! rocker.gif We were happy to see it was noted in the reg that we were indeed on the true summit! The bump to the east appeared to be almost just as high lol. moon.gif So more whiskey was had as we chilled for an hour or so, cheers! The climb back down was easy and we stopped at the col to catch a nice sunset before our descent back to camp. At camp the temp dropped quickly as we waited for the stars to come out. It was a pretty good show. It probably got down to 29f that night, nice fall weather lol. drink.gif borank.gif
up to the col
up to the col
Hans in lead
Hans in lead
larches find a way
larches find a way
almost there
almost there
Looking back at camp
Looking back at camp
gold
gold
Chelan down low
Chelan down low
views from col
views from col
the gully we took to the top
the gully we took to the top
on top at last
on top at last
Camp with star, Courtney, and oval
Camp with star, Courtney, and oval
cheers baby!!
cheers baby!!
Verification, thank god
Verification, thank god
the peeps
the peeps
the peeps
the peeps
towards the east
towards the east
back down da gully
back down da gully
easy enough
easy enough
oh the views
oh the views
yewwww
yewwww
the sun goes down
the sun goes down
The morning dawned and we didn't crawl out of our bivies until 730am. It's so hard to get moving when it's cold out. dizzy.gif It was nice having climbed Finney the day before, this allowed us to explore around the tarns in the morning! Just like the day before, every corner had something special to offer! A very spiritual world we found ourselves in! The majority of the time we were in complete silence just listening to the sounds of nature, the birds were chirping! We took in the area and took our time packing up camp. At 10am it was time to leave. It was such a bummer leaving this place! We retraced our route back home and the scenes laid out before every turn made the miles fly by! I was also stoked on how gentle most of the travel was, most of it was on trail. This makes for quick travel although it didn't feel like it at times. Overall I was still rather smoked from the trip though and all the visuals were almost too much to take in! Goddamn I love it! rocker.gif We made it back to the car around 4pm totally fulfilled for now. This was probably the best ever larch trip for myself and I'm already looking forward to next year! We didn't see anyone the whole time until we got back past the star-baldy saddle. The first people we ran into recognized us from NWhikers! Nice to meet yall Candy and Johnny, cheers! What a small world. It was great gettin out there with you again Hans! What a great few days to be alive! Cheers everyone! cheers.gif Stats: 24 miles and 7000ft gain (approx), also the lot was full when we got back. -- oh and sorry for all the pics again, it's hard picking the best ones lol. smackbum.gif
Frosty morning
Frosty morning
the tarn
the tarn
the tarn is more of a lake it seems
the tarn is more of a lake it seems
hold!
hold!
Finney basin
Finney basin
beautiful morning
beautiful morning
towards camp
towards camp
pondering
pondering
I don't wanna leave
I don't wanna leave
departure
departure
back at the big lake
back at the big lake
Finney
Finney
parting views
parting views
star
star
star is burly
star is burly
fish creek basin
fish creek basin

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I wanna have my kicks before the whole shithouse goes up in flames”-Mr Mojo Risin

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Fletcher
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Fletcher
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PostTue Oct 05, 2021 8:23 pm 
Killer larch trip.

ozzy
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Gimpilator
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostWed Oct 06, 2021 9:46 am 
Fletcher wrote:
Killer larch trip.
I second that.

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rocknclimb
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rocknclimb
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PostWed Oct 06, 2021 6:50 pm 
Jealous you got there during peak larch. Cheers buddy cheers.gif

When asked "Why do you climb"? Simply respond "Why don't you"?

ozzy
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ozzy
The hard way



Joined: 30 Jul 2015
Posts: 475 | TRs | Pics
Location: University place, wa
ozzy
The hard way
PostWed Oct 06, 2021 6:54 pm 
rocknclimb wrote:
Jealous you got there during peak larch. Cheers buddy cheers.gif
Thanks dood! After talking with you on our last trip that sealed the deal for Finney! You were right on with the beauty of the area! rocker.gif

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I wanna have my kicks before the whole shithouse goes up in flames”-Mr Mojo Risin
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geyer
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geyer
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PostWed Oct 06, 2021 10:48 pm 
Successful hunt, I'd say!

ozzy
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Lightning_bug
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PostThu Oct 07, 2021 10:04 pm 
Gorgeous pictures, ozzy! The tarns are such a magical place, and I'm glad we got to experience them right after y'all. I feel similarly that visiting them was a spiritual experience. It was so great to meet you and Hans. Small world indeed smile.gif looking forward to more of your awesome trip reports! -Candy

Theboywhocriedroute, ozzy
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ozzy
The hard way



Joined: 30 Jul 2015
Posts: 475 | TRs | Pics
Location: University place, wa
ozzy
The hard way
PostFri Oct 08, 2021 5:21 am 
Lightning_bug wrote:
Gorgeous pictures, ozzy! The tarns are such a magical place, and I'm glad we got to experience them right after y'all. I feel similarly that visiting them was a spiritual experience. It was so great to meet you and Hans. Small world indeed smile.gif looking forward to more of your awesome trip reports! -Candy
Hells yeah!! rocker.gif Glad y'all got back in there and had a killer trip! Awesome meeting/chattin' with you both! Cheers and thanks!

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I wanna have my kicks before the whole shithouse goes up in flames”-Mr Mojo Risin
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Theboywhocriedroute
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PostFri Oct 08, 2021 7:40 am 
Damn good buddy! That was glorious enough for me to finally make an account hihi.gif Always a killer time in the alpine with you bro! So sweet to meet Johnny and Candy too wave.gif I love how hikin with you has by default gotten me involved in this awesome community! Cheers everyone! Heres what I gleaned from our walk. Thanks for the write up man!

Tom, RichP  ozzy
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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostFri Oct 08, 2021 1:35 pm 
I can't think of anything to say. <=====that's a compliment.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert

ozzy
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