Forum Index > Trip Reports > Aimless hikers find their way to summit of W. Granite - 4/06
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Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver



Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 1763 | TRs | Pics
Location: Welcome Pass
Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver
PostSun Apr 06, 2008 8:52 pm 
You do the math - this is a quiz. 3 - 1 = 7!! Yes, it's the NW Hikers new math! Somehow, hikers seem to appear! At first, it was Jim K, Middle E and the driver who were on for today; then, poof, Opus appeared; then viola, Trail Pair; then OMG Dicey needed a diversion today; then there was the loss of Middle E due to an attack by vicious XC skis on a downhill at (Cold) Clear Creek; soon would appear Type E to possibly fill in; but then our "early hour" (8:30 a.m. at the trailhead?) meant we would lose an "E" eek.gif But, who should show up, but Joe! He would be only a partial companion - veering off at Olallie Lake, due to a prior commitment and needing to get back early. So, friends, this is how NW Hikers do math! doh.gif lol.gif Now, on to the trip report. (P.S. with Bob and the driver back from their respective journeys, a summit would be possible after last week's aimless miss on North Mountain without them! biggrin.gif winksmile.gif ) Today was not supposed to be the better weather day of the weekend, but we thought we would take our chances and plan a trip close to home so if we got soaking wet, we wouldn't have far to go. Dicey, Logan, Opus, Jim K, the driver and Gusto met up at the 65th Park & Ride at 7:30 a.m. The weather was ok in Seattle - but it didn't sound so promising heading east. Two dogs and four people wouldn't work in one vehicle, so we split up into two and off we headed for a trailhead time of 8:30 a.m. where Joe and Trail Pair were waiting. But wait, Logan was impatient and wanted to get started.
Logan impatient with Gusto!
Logan impatient with Gusto!
Pushy little runt. But she had Gusto soundly under control! The weather was so-so, as you can see from this picture there was a mix of rain and snow falling - supposedly the snow level was 2000', so we should see more snow than rain today.
Assembling for the ascent
Assembling for the ascent
The good thing is that the first 4 miles of this hike are primarily in trees, so we shouldn't get too wet. Our route (David will probably post the GPS track) would take us from the Granite Mountain trailhead - as far as the Pratt Lake turn-off - to just past the Olallie Lake turn-off and then pretty much straight up to the ridge and all the way to the summit of W. Granite.
Creek crossing
Creek crossing
Hint of blue above
Hint of blue above
Just before we headed up (and before Joe split off) we stopped for a snack break (Gusto likes hiking with Trail Pair - they have their priorities firmly in place - they take snack breaks every two hours!)
He's going to give me some of that!
He's going to give me some of that!
Come on, Bob - hurry up!
Come on, Bob - hurry up!
Another victim
Another victim
Soon, we needed to put our snowshoes on, as the fresh snow was deep and made traction difficult - this was at about mile 4. Joe would head down toward Olallie; and in a few hundred yards, we ran into the solo snowshoer who was ahead of us - a woman who wasn't quite sure where she was headed, but was following the track that was still evident. We passed her at this point and suggested she could follow our track if she wanted to. Meanwhile, we started up the ridge and the weather had changed again, we actually began to see some blue sky above and a "few" views.
Glimpse of Bandera from ridge
Glimpse of Bandera from ridge
Talapus Lake from ridge
Talapus Lake from ridge
Peek-a-boo of Pratt Mountain
Peek-a-boo of Pratt Mountain
There was an interesting snow creature that appeared . . .
Snow mole - there seems to be a theme!
Snow mole - there seems to be a theme!
We made our way to the first bump - Carla referred to it as Red2 - the visibility wasn't so great at this point, so no real views except this one . .
Jim on summit of Red 2
Jim on summit of Red 2
As we made our way farther up the ridge away from Red2 and toward the summit of W. Granite, we looked back and could see two more snowshoers coming up behind.
Two snowshoers coming off Red 2 towards W. Granite
Two snowshoers coming off Red 2 towards W. Granite
Meanwhile, our band of merry hikers continued on toward the summit - about 350' left to go.
Bob and Jim heading up towards W. Granite - with a touch of blue sky behind
Bob and Jim heading up towards W. Granite - with a touch of blue sky behind
Switchbacking  to summit of W. Granite
Switchbacking to summit of W. Granite
Heading to summit of W. Granite
Heading to summit of W. Granite
Looking back to Red 2 as clouds move in
Looking back to Red 2 as clouds move in
The snow actually was in very good condition - plenty of "grip" - unlike the hapless hikers on Arrowhead last week. There were a few areas of windblown snow/hard pack, but nothing that changed our course.
Hmm - windy?
Hmm - windy?
Meanwhile, the two snowshoers below us, caught up to us just below the summit of W. Granite. It turns out, this was the first snowshoe trip for one of the guys and his first snowshoe summit!
Success on the first snowshoe trip.
Success on the first snowshoe trip.
Guys on the first snowshoe summit!
Guys on the first snowshoe summit!
It was time for another snack . . .
Logan checking for snacks
Logan checking for snacks
and the wind had picked up and the clouds moved in
Olallie Lake from ridge
Olallie Lake from ridge
Seeking refuge from the wind, our group headed for some trees . . .
Group heading to trees to get out of wind
Group heading to trees to get out of wind
but this area turned out to be a virtual wind tunnel!
Spring?
Spring?
So, Bob and I headed to the other side of the summit, where the wind was less and we could grab our lunch without freezing. It was about 12:30 p.m. (took us just under 4 hours to get to the summit). We left the summit about 1:10 p.m. Carla was whining about doing Granite/lookout, but just about that time, we got hit with a wind-whipped snow storm and the visibility dropped to almost nothing (wait 15 minutes and the weather will change - which it did! hmmm.gif agree.gif ) - so down we headed - and, of course, as we made our way down the ridge and back towards Red2, the weather began clearing.
Carla and Logan heading back to top of Red2
Carla and Logan heading back to top of Red2
Granite with lookout from Red 2
Granite with lookout from Red 2
Close-up of Granite summit with lookout
Close-up of Granite summit with lookout
Jim K with W. Granite summit in clearing skies
Jim K with W. Granite summit in clearing skies
We met a skier headed up who was going to head for W. Granite and Granite - but by now, we missed our "window" for a Granite ascent and continued down, catching a few more views on our way.
Humpback Mountain from W. Granite ridge
Humpback Mountain from W. Granite ridge
We took our snowshoes off at about the same location where we put them on - but, by now the temperature had warmed some and the snow had softened considerably - making it slippery on our way down in several places. It doesn't sound like it's going to get really cold during the next week, so it might not ice up too badly, but it could be sloppy. We made it back to the cars in about 2 hours. A total of about 9 or 10 miles and probably 3900' of total gain. We really lucked out with the weather - because as we were heading back towards Seattle, we got hit with a deluge of rain - stopped by the time we got to North Bend for our Starbucks fix - and then back in Seattle to some sunbreaks. Great trip and a good group. up.gif

Four-paw buddy lets me tag along!
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Opus
Wannabe



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 3700 | TRs | Pics
Location: The big rock candy mountain
Opus
Wannabe
PostSun Apr 06, 2008 9:20 pm 
Great trip! And better weather than the forecast called for. Nice to be above the rain. I've attached the GPS tracks though my Garmin is still having issues. At least it got the interesting parts of the route. Full trip photos here.
GPS tracks
GPS tracks
Creek crossing
Creek crossing
Snowy trees
Snowy trees
Nearing the top
Nearing the top
Ridgetop
Ridgetop
On the ridge
On the ridge
Cones
Cones
Shades of gray
Shades of gray
Summit
Summit
Distant Granite
Distant Granite
Ridge
Ridge
Red-2 ridge
Red-2 ridge
Spikey monster
Spikey monster

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Coasty
I like Salmon!



Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 762 | TRs | Pics
Location: Kodiak, AK
Coasty
I like Salmon!
PostSun Apr 06, 2008 9:21 pm 
Looks like it was a great trip.. sorry I missed out on it... the slog up Si wasn't very exciting... Jason B

http://www.BackpackGearTest.org The Most Comprehensive Interactive Gear Reviews and Tests on the Planet!
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Type E
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Joined: 19 Aug 2006
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Type E
Member
PostSun Apr 06, 2008 9:29 pm 
Glad you had a great trip. Although the 8:30 start isn't early it does make it hard when you don't get off work until 2 AM. Keep me in mind if I know ahead of time I can switch to get off earlier. E!

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Joe
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Joe
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PostSun Apr 06, 2008 9:29 pm 
A few more photos
bob
bob
Kolleen-dicey-and-logan
Kolleen-dicey-and-logan
dicey-and-gusto
dicey-and-gusto
rest-of-the-gang
rest-of-the-gang
Suzanne-and-Jim
Suzanne-and-Jim
Opus
Opus
Spring time in the mountains
Spring time in the mountains
Olallie-Lake2
Olallie-Lake2
Olallie-Lake-outlet
Olallie-Lake-outlet
Olallie-Lake3
Olallie-Lake3

Joe
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GeoTom
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GeoTom
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PostSun Apr 06, 2008 10:30 pm 
Nice job all, but even Jasper questions your math... uhh.gif He does say hi to Gusto, but has yet to meet Logan.

Knows literally nothing
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot



Joined: 30 Jan 2007
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
PostSun Apr 06, 2008 10:38 pm 
Sounds like a great group. If an unleashed dog holds the leash of a leashed dog, do they cancel each other out, or is it synergistic, or antithetic, or synthetic, or what?

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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goats gone wild
Mr. Goat



Joined: 19 Aug 2007
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goats gone wild
Mr. Goat
PostSun Apr 06, 2008 10:59 pm 
Looks like that trail-snack-robbing-bandit is on the loose again. No doubt he's licking his lips before he goes in for the kill. Glad you all had a good time. biggrin.gif up.gif

.....leaving me wanting to return over and over in what ever capacity that may be, even if one day my knees are too old and I can only see the mountains from my porch. Jason Hummel
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EastKing
Surfing and Hiking



Joined: 28 Mar 2007
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EastKing
Surfing and Hiking
PostSun Apr 06, 2008 11:01 pm 
Great trip report and photos. up.gif

YouTube | SummitPost Saw the depths of despair. Now I am salvaging what time I have left on Earth.
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Middle E
no more moustache



Joined: 10 Feb 2008
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Location: Seattle, WA
Middle E
no more moustache
PostMon Apr 07, 2008 7:57 am 
Sadies Driver wrote:
...then there was the loss of Middle E due to an attack by vicious XC skis on a downhill at Clear Creek...
Dang, I'm envious of you all making the summit! Actually, it turns out you guys took a different route from the one Brewmaster and I did in February -- we stayed pretty low until past Ollalie lake and then went up the WNW ridge. I imagine the two are of similar difficulty. My hobble is diminishing and hopefully I'll be OK for the weekend. (BTW it was Cold Creek trail that got me).

pithy yet insightful signature
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TrailPair
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TrailPair
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PostMon Apr 07, 2008 8:00 am 
Another beautiful ridge walk, lacking blue skies. Here are some of our photos.
Dicey, Bob and Pratt Mt.
Dicey, Bob and Pratt Mt.
Granite Mt. from West Granite
Granite Mt. from West Granite
Two snowshoers joined us at the summit
Two snowshoers joined us at the summit
Small patch of blue
Small patch of blue
Opus on the summit
Opus on the summit
Hoar frost on icicles
Hoar frost on icicles
Driver, Dicey, Opus, Jim K, and  Trail Pair
Driver, Dicey, Opus, Jim K, and Trail Pair
Two snowshoers joined us at the summit
Two snowshoers joined us at the summit
Ridge to Red 2.
Ridge to Red 2.
descending
descending

This thing called work is interfering with my play
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don b
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don b
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PostMon Apr 07, 2008 9:34 am 
Seems this was the trip to do. I skied it on Thursday and Randy and Beave did it on Saturday. Did you see any evidence of prior visits? I went directly up the ridge after crossing the major drainage from the Granite basin and descended the face north of your route from the summit to above the lake. Great days out there.

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Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver



Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 1763 | TRs | Pics
Location: Welcome Pass
Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver
PostMon Apr 07, 2008 9:44 am 
Matt wrote:
Sounds like a great group. If an unleashed dog holds the leash of a leashed dog, do they cancel each other out, or is it synergistic, or antithetic, or synthetic, or what?
Matt - it's probably more like "pathetic" - that little female had Gusto firmly under control!!! agree.gif s.d.

Four-paw buddy lets me tag along!
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Opus
Wannabe



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
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Location: The big rock candy mountain
Opus
Wannabe
PostMon Apr 07, 2008 11:28 am 
Middle E wrote:
Sadies Driver wrote:
...then there was the loss of Middle E due to an attack by vicious XC skis on a downhill at Clear Creek...
Dang, I'm envious of you all making the summit! Actually, it turns out you guys took a different route from the one Brewmaster and I did in February -- we stayed pretty low until past Ollalie lake and then went up the WNW ridge. I imagine the two are of similar difficulty. My hobble is diminishing and hopefully I'll be OK for the weekend. (BTW it was Cold Creek trail that got me).
It's a very nice ridge route. Never too steep in any place but still enough to make you work for it. The ridge run from the top of Red-2 (named for the red 2 on the map) to West Granite is very nice. I managed to pick up a hobble myself. Hopped over a little creek crossing and rolled my ankle on a rock. We should have a hobbling race. It could be a league event - foot hobblers vs knee hobblers from the other thread.

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Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver



Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 1763 | TRs | Pics
Location: Welcome Pass
Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver
PostMon Apr 07, 2008 11:35 am 
Middle E wrote:
Sadies Driver wrote:
...then there was the loss of Middle E due to an attack by vicious XC skis on a downhill at Clear Creek...
My hobble is diminishing and hopefully I'll be OK for the weekend. (BTW it was Cold Creek trail that got me).
Cold? Clear? confused.gif It was a Cold, Clear Creek - that you and Opus should probably stick your feet into to take down the swelling!!! New name for the group - The Hobbling Hikers! embarassedlaugh.gif s.d.

Four-paw buddy lets me tag along!
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