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Mike Collins
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Joined: 18 Dec 2001
Posts: 3086 | TRs | Pics
Mike Collins
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PostTue Dec 31, 2002 6:51 am 
This Homecourt Peak lies about 1 mile NE of Hancock Lake. It is approached by taking the North Fork Snoqualmie Road out of North Bend. After several miles a major intersection will be reached. On the right is a yellow elephant gate, #11, which gives access to Spur Road #10 for the Weyerhauser land on the other side. Weyerhauser will sell you a key to open the lock for $50. It is good for a year. Randy and I didn't have the key though and started walking up the road. The labyrinth of roads continues for 9 miles and will eventually get the hiker to within several hundred feet of this summit. The day was much too short to think about an 18 mile roundtrip hike/snowshoe outing. We were lucky to have a pickup truck give us a lift for 3 1/2 miles to Hancock Lake. We jumped onto the roof of his kennel which was in the bed of the truck. Merrily we rolled along at 15 mph listening to the bays of the hounds beneath us. They occasionally stuck their heads out the portholes in the sides to sniff the air. The newly fallen snow had brought the man driving out to look for fresh cougar prints in the snow. We hopped off the truck at Hancock Lake, elevation 2100 feet. It was a surprise to see the lovely cabins and homes along the north lakeshore. We walked on a trail made by the residents which serves as a sidewalk to access the homes. At the last residence, about halfway up the lake, we went NE upslope into the second growth. Our misery was just starting. This entire mountain has been logged. The brambles tugged at our legs holding us back. The slash was incredible. It took us 5 hrs to gain 2000 feet to where we broke out onto a logging road within sight of the summit. The snow at 4000' was about 3 feet deep and consisted solely of unconsolidated powder. We didn't hike to the top, we dog-paddled our way. The final route was from the east slope of the mountain as the angles were less there. This is a forested summit and it is not a pyramid but elongated, like the comb of a cock. So I suspect that is how John Roper proposed the name. We didn't linger on top as it was snowing. We put on dry clothes and tanked up with some food. The route down was to bang through the brush and connect with the logging roads back to the car. We left the car at 0700 and returned at 1645. This mountain would be good to do by mountain bike as all the roads are free of brush and trees. The gain would be about 3600 feet on road. The ride down would be a scream.

Fedor
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