Forum Index > Trip Reports > Big Jim Mountain, 7763, Big Lou Mountain, 7763, Lake Augusta
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Fred Beavon
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Fred Beavon
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 9:52 am 
There are three pairs of peaks on the Back Court list with the same elevation. This pair ties in at number 14. The Hatchery Creek Road opposite Tumwater Campground on Highway 2 is narrow at times, but it leads to a hugh grassy level parking lot that I am sure is usually mostly empty. Thimbleberries, my favorite, slowed me down near the beginning of the trail. I missed the turnoff trail to the Badlands probably since I was huffing and puffing too much going up the trail. No matter, I was headed to Lake Augusta. The 100 Hikes in Washington's Alpine Lakes book calls Lake Augusta the star of the waters and Big Jim Mountain the star of the skies in this region. The burn area the trail goes through is quite pretty and when the gusts of wind are strong enough, an interesting whistling sound is made. Also pretty are the many wildflowers. Large Lake Augusta is indeed superb and there was a pleasant cool breeze coming off the lake to ward off the heat. The summit of Big Jim Mountain cannot be seen from the lake for it sits back from the ridge. The quickest route up is to go around the lake on the right or east side and then head up. I went around the left or west side by mistake going up Point 7571, but then just followed the ridge over to the summit. The register left by Fay Pullen in October, 2001 was missing so I built a cairn and buried one underneath it. I highly recommend Point 7571. It has a better view than Jim Hill for it looks directly down on Lake Augusta. Returning over 7571 and down to the saddle, there appeared to be another prominent peak farther south. Without a map but lured by the easy ridge, I headed in that direction. From Point 7443, the route looked easy enough so I continued on up to the peak, Point 7760+. Bad news. Point 7763 farther along the ridge appeared higher so I had to plod on. The effort was worth it though, for I was pleasantly surprised to find in the register that it was "Big Lou" Mountain. Lake Ida looked pretty from here. It took about five hours to Big Jim Mountain. Only 1 and 1/2 hours from Big Jim to Big Lou but I kind of cheated by leaving my pack at the lake. What I missed most was water to drink. 11 hours car to car at a leisurely pace back down due to heel pain from plantar fasciitis. 7/19

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dicey
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Joined: 11 May 2004
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 10:11 am 
I have missed that trail junction too, probably because I was frustrated by having to continually clamber over the same blowdowns multiple times on the switchbacks shakehead.gif Mosquitoes chased us away. How were they for you?

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/
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Fred Beavon
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Fred Beavon
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 10:43 am 
I missed the Badlands trail on the way back down too, and I was looking for it. But there were some possibilities that I perhaps didn't check out thoroughly. I noticed mosquitoes at the parking lot, so I hopped back in the car and put my pack on in there. After that I didn't notice any bugs or mosquitos the rest of the day and didn't get any bites, perhaps because I mostly kept moving. Higher up, occasionally there was a breeze that perhaps helped keep them at bay. At the lake there was a really nice breeze coming off the water. On the high ridge, there were nice cool breezes. On the return the last couple of miles back down to the car, I could hear buzzing sounds so I didn't stop. Perhaps if I had stopped, they would've bothered me. The bugs seemed to be only around the first couple of miles of trail. There were no blowdowns on the trail yesterday, but they had been recently cleared from the looks of the freshly cut wood.

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Get Out and Go
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 10:48 am 
Wow, you da man! Dayhiking Augusta alone is enough work for me, let alone the 2 summits. I've taken my teenage son to Augusta on overnighters a couple times and discussed the argument of "light pack long dayhike" vs. "heavier pack with mileage spread over 2 days". Done it both ways.

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
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Fred Beavon
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Fred Beavon
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 10:54 am 
Lake Augusta looked like a dream place for a campsite. I like going light, but it does involve more risk. My 20 year old daughter I'm sure would love the lake, but I'm not sure she'd enjoy the distance.

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Randy
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 11:22 am 
Good report. I did Big Jim a few years back via the Badlands trail. I was wuss though and was over come by de-motivation and passed on Big Lou.

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Fred Beavon
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Fred Beavon
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 11:39 am 
I read your report after my trip, but before your reply. I should've done the search on Big Jim before I left home. Anyway, that is a great report. I really enjoyed the pictures. Unfortunately, I don't take a camera. If I do Big Jim again, I'll try your route for variety's sake. I had thought of making a loop returning via the Badlands, but Big Lou changed my plans.

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Get Out and Go
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 1:37 pm 
Last year we dayhiked Lake Ida in June via Chatter Creek. We almost went up Big Lou, but alas, not enough gas in the tank. It's kind of a brutal route off-trail to get to the lake. Think I would prefer the Hatchery Creek approach and spend the night next time. In the photo you can see Big Jim to the left in the background.
Big Jim, Ida and Big Lou (and Steve)
Big Jim, Ida and Big Lou (and Steve)

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
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Justus S.
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 3:14 pm 
Nice job and thanks for the report. I did Big Jim last year. I followed the ridge from the Lake Augusta/Icicle Ridge Trail junction straight to the summit. It goes, but it might not be faster than taking the trail to the lake. Big Jim was cloudy with no real views for my trip. I wanted to do Big Lou, but figured I’d save it for a clear day. Plus, I was tired from those many miles of trail. I believe, there was a sign for the turnoff to the badlands. I don’t think that the tread was very noticeable, so you might not see it. I believe the badlands trail begins in a open area where the main trail is pretty flat, but I could be wrong.

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Fred Beavon
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PostWed Jul 20, 2005 4:35 pm 
Regarding <following the ridge to the summit so one would not lose the elevation gained to go to Lake Augusta> that was another route I was considering returning by until I was sidetracked by Big Lou. It was seeing Big Jim on your log that you recently sent me that spurred me into going there yesterday. Thanks.

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Leafguy
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PostThu Jul 21, 2005 7:47 pm 
Took this trip last summer. We went in via Hatchery Creek and Icicle Ridge trail to the lake. We exited via the Big Jim Mtn. Lakes and Battle Canyon Creek to the Badlands trail. I have never encountered worst bugs anywhere than at the Big Jim Mtn. Lakes. Nothing even close. We darn near sprinted thru there. Kind of a gnarly little bushwack to the Badlands trail, but not a killer. There is a great little campsite, complete with waterfall, where the creek and the Badlands trail meet. My Tarptent Cloudburst fit perfectly but a dome tent could be a problem. Honestly, I was somewhat disappointed with Augusta. Too many horsies have made their mark. Lake Ida definitely tops it IMO.

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Fred Beavon
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Fred Beavon
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PostThu Jul 21, 2005 9:47 pm 
That was interesting what you had to say about horses. I saw no sign any had ever been there, but I must admit I didn't explore around the right hand side of the lake. The shoreline seemed quite pristine last Tuesday.

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wildernessed
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PostThu Jul 21, 2005 10:03 pm 
Great TR, I have been eyeing that area and was up Hatchery Creek Rd. very early spring in the snow and ice most of the way before reaching my risk limit with the truck. I have heard mixed reviews on the Hatchery Creek > Icicle Ridge > Lake Augusta trip with a peakbag of Big Jim, I guess I will have to just make my own opinion. Can't be bad if your in the wilderness with solitude, waterfalls, creek, lake, and mountains. It's really a hop and a skip and I have drove by it this year in favor of several other trips.Thanks. hockeygrin.gif

Living in the Anthropocene
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Fred Beavon
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Fred Beavon
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PostFri Jul 22, 2005 6:56 pm 
Regarding waterfalls, I noticed two quite attractive ones shortly before the lake that the trail goes near.

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Quark
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PostSun Jul 24, 2005 11:00 pm 
I really liked Hatchery Ck. trail and Lake Augusta. We had an excellent time this weekend even though we didn't bag Big Jim. There's lots of variety on the trail once you get past the jct. w/ the Badlands trail (up til then, its a little ho-hum). Janet and I had Grande Plannes of doing Big Jim on Sunday, and hiked to Augusta Saturday. But today, we went left of the lake instead of right as Beave said to do, bailed on the plan, and ended up just bagging Pt 7571 above the Lake and then hiking out. I told Janet about what Beave said, but have you ever tried to argue with Janet? But in her defense, the scree slope does look ugly (hard-packed, cliffy) and running the ridge looks doable and fun on the map. Anyone who doesn't know any better would choose left instead of right. Maps aside - in reality, we didn’t like the idea of running the ridge from Pt 7571 to Big Jim. It was too icky for us at this time. The unexpected Ick, time constraints, and Janet's gimpy foot nixed the plan. Too hot for scree slopes. So rather than drop all the way down to the lake, then back up again, we got lazy and hung out on a big rock on the shore of the Lake, then chewed the fat with some fishermen that had come in on their horses, heralded by a pack of yipping coyotes! It was great. The campsites at the Lake are a little horsey-worn, but clean, not filthy at all. The old growth larches are ruined, with exposed roots due to hobbling. I would not want to camp there if horsefolks were there overnight due to close proximity of the camps. We ran into 2 packstrings today, one on a daytrip, and one headed up for an overnighter. It was very windy at the Lake all night. The hike out was uneventful, except the trail grew by about 3 miles. Yes, it’s true: overnight, a whole stretch of very boring and hot, stifling forest has stuffed itself right there between 4,850’ and the trailhead at 2,800’. I have a call into the USGS to report the incident. Somewhere, a boring forest is missing.

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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