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Matt Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 4308 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
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Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:45 am
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This trip included Putz-in-Boots, Suzanne R, Billie B, John H, and myself.
Being weather wimps, we were looking for a destination on the dry and sunny side of the Cascades.
After having eliminated every other peak in the area because someone in the group had already climbed it, we settled on Teanaway Butte.
Actually, Teanaway Butte provided a grandstand view of all the rest of the Teanaway peaks and the Stuart range, most of which were sunlit except Stuart itself.
Various trivia digressions before proceeding with the report:
Trivia 1: Everyone in the group was sick or injured in one form or another – sore throat, injured knee, asthma, allergies, nasty viral infection from Peru, etc.
Trivia 2: All but one person in this group ascended Snowgrass Mtn on 9/24/06, even though we were in three independent parties. I was there with Torok, then we met Putz & Beth coming up, and then we met Suzanne, John and their group coming up.
Trivia 3: Since Teanaway turned out to be a former lookout summit, it continues my annual winter tradition of making a long road walk on snowshoes to ascend a lookout peak where I could have driven almost to the top in summer, following Red Top in 2006 and Evergeen in 2005.
Oh, were you expecting the report to contain actual information about the trip itself? Okay.
We did the trip as a loop. On our way in, we hiked the Jungle Creek Road to Liar’s Prairie and then walked up the ridge to Teanaway Butte. On our way out, we traversed cross-country over Point 4385, “Tarzan Butte.”
Teanaway Butte Loop
When we arrived at 29 Pines Campground, we found the ground melted bare in many places. The skies were blue and sunny with scattered puffy clouds overhead, and a view of Stuart fully sunlit looking up the North Fork Teanaway Road. (Except for a couple small snow patches, the North Fork Road was melted out and looked like it would be driveable for quite a ways further.)
We hiked up the Jungle Creek Road for about 4.5 miles to its end at Liar’s Prairie, putting on our snowshoes about halfway. Standing in the middle of Liar’s Prairie, I could appropriately say that it was a very entertaining and scenic road hike.
Starting up the Jungle Creek Road
We angled south to reach the ridge crest and then followed mostly open slopes upward past two false summits to the final summit at 4679 feet. Along the way, the sky became more overcast, but still had many sun breaks, alternating with a chilly breeze. Most of the travel was on easy open slopes, with a moderately steep section between the prairie and the ridge.
The open summit had wide views of all the Teanaway Peaks. Stuart hid its head in the clouds, but we could see the whole Enchantments crest of Sherpa, Argonaut, Colchuck, Dragontail, & McClellan. Ingalls also stood out clearly from slopes east of the summit. Plus lots of nearer Teanaway Peaks whose names I can never keep straight, BillEarlNavahoWhateverEtc.
Teanaway Butte Summit Group Enchantments Crest Argonaut, Colchuck, & Dragontail Fortune, S Ingalls, Ingalls
The summit also had interesting debris to explore. On top were a few foundation pieces of the lookout. On the west side were some steep rock pinnacles. In the woods were the scattered weathered remnants of an outhouse.
Rocks & Bent Tree Weathered Outhouse Remnant Summit Tea
We made our return trip more entertaining by traveling cross-country over Point 4385, nicknamed Tarzan Butte, because it is above Jungle Creek. From Teanaway Butte, we returned to the wide 4500-foot knoll SE of the summit, and then headed down the east ridge toward Tarzan. Circa 3900 feet the ridge splits, and we got off-course by following the northern branch, which drops into the valley. We realized our mistake before too late and traversed back to the south branch, then followed it to the col at 3500. From there we booted up the west side of Tarzan, which was almost bare of snow. Thank goodness for dry almost-brush-free Teanaway terrain.
Tarzan from Teanaway 4500 Teanaway Butte from Tarzan Tarzan Butte Summit Group
The summit of Tarzan was tree-covered, but had a few views. The deadbeat group refused to beat their chests in a Tarzan yell for a better picture.
The east side of Tarzan has a less distinct ridge, so we followed an 80 degree bearing down the steep upper part, then easy terrain lower down as the ridge became more distinct, and we quite neatly intersected the 4WD road at about 3950 feet. Then we just followed the road back to Jungle Creek, arriving just a quarter mile from the N Fork Teanaway and 29 Pines.
Blue Skies at 29 Pines
Round trip about 11 miles, 3700 gain (lots of ups and downs), 8 hours.
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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Tazz Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 7902 | TRs | Pics
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Tazz
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Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:56 am
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rockin TR and trip folks!! Thanks matt! some great images too!
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wildernessed viewbagger
Joined: 31 Oct 2004 Posts: 9275 | TRs | Pics Location: Wenatchee |
It's getting time for a Teanaway rotation, but I'm looking up Entiat also.
Living in the Anthropocene
Living in the Anthropocene
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Yet Member
Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 2634 | TRs | Pics Location: Happily Ever After |
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Yet
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Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:11 am
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I enjoyed the photos and the TR composition. Matt, how do you manage to keep it informative, engaging, and awe-inspiring? And what kind of tea do you usually take? Enquiring minds wanna know.
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Matt Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 4308 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
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Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:24 am
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Yet wrote: | And what kind of tea do you usually take? |
For day trips, Constant Comment.
For overnight trips, Constant Comment in the morning and Earl Grey in the evening.
I actually like Earl Grey better, but it deserves to be sipped slowly, rather than gulped quickly as I usually do on a cold summit.
At multi-day campsites, I end up with a whole line of tea bags hanging to dry on a stick or rock near the stove.
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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