Forum Index > Trip Reports > Frosty creek - Ladies pass - Chatter creek loop, 9/2-4/06
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Opus
Wannabe



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 3698 | TRs | Pics
Location: The big rock candy mountain
Opus
Wannabe
PostWed Sep 06, 2006 12:46 pm 
Many little weird things made this a fun trip! Bugs exploded colorfully on the windshield as we drove down the Icicle river road to a late start at the trailhead. We dropped our return car at Chatter Creek and continued on to the Icicle Creek trailhead. Many cars and people here; we were soon passed by a group on horseback. The first day was long - very long - getting to the rerouted Frosty Creek trailhead. Thankfully the trail is very flat and smooth up to that point so we cruised along at a good speed. Frosty Creek trail was a consistant uphill grade, but never too steep. Thankfully I had my poles to help with my sore knee from Vesper, but unfortunatley it also meant the camera had to stay in my pack. I didn't take a single photo until we reached Margaret Lake. We moved around to the backside of Margaret and found a nice campsite. Already nearing sunset we setup camp, prepared our bear bags, and dug into the birthday surprises we brought for our group leader. The chocolate cake survived nicely. The ice cream was more milkshake consistency but still incredibly tasty in the heat. After learning the Chinese version of "Happy birthday" and hearing the benefits of disposable paper underwear we turned in. Day 2 we headed up to Lake Mary and onward toward Edna. Mary was totally deserted and very nice. Here the group split, two hikers headed back to get home in time for the final day of Bumbershoot. The rest of us continued on. We returned to the main trail, not knowing that the Mary trail continued on and rejoined it, and started traversing up towards Mary Pass. The fall colors are really showing early up there! Lots of yellows, oranges, and some reds mixed in. The pass was very scenic and we stopped for a bit to rest in the rising heat. Off in the distance we could see Upper Florence, looking very nice and cool. Several others were heading there and we pressed on towards Edna. At the overlook above Florence we could see Ladies pass - it looked so far away! Thankfully it was much closer than it looked and we soon hit the Chiwaukum creek junction. At this point I was regretting not refilling on water at the creek below the pass. Then we saw Cape Horn - we have to go up that!? Again, thankfully it wasn't as bad as it looked. The colors on the traverse up past Cape Hoorn were fantastic! Lots of oranges and reds. At the top we spotted desolate Edna and began our descent. I pulled out the poles again for my gimpy knee and picked my way down slowly on the rolly rock. Down at lake level we found it was really Lake Nak-Edna! Three hikers on the far side were dipping, soon two more joined in on the far side, and later on two guys came up for a swim too. We pitched our camp on the ridge above the lake, cooked up some quesadillas, and after spotting one colored larch, hit the sack. Overnight rain threatened leading to many open/close cycles of the rainfly on my Rainbow. I stayed in the tent late until the clouds cleared and we started down. Down we went through very nice meadows and small creeks, past sunbleached boulders filled with peeping pikas and slightly yellowed larches to the pass below Grindstone. One final climb and then it was all downhill to the car. And what a steep downhill it was! I took some photos, then the camera went away again in favor of the poles. Still I was glad we did the loop in this direction. The temperatures were still rising and we had to refill on water when we hit Chatter creek. While hiking out we encountered some trail-potatos: two potatos and a onion basking in the sun on a rock beside the trail. Mabe I was just tired but for whatever reason this didn't seem odd to me, almost like they should be there, and I just pointed and said "potatos." Finally back at the car, hot and tired, we drove in to Leavenworth in search of food, stopped at Gustavs, and were on the road in time to get stuck in the Hwy2 traffic jam. Happily the car ahead was very amusing. The guy constantly was digging his ear, almost like it was waterfilled. It might have been too, since he floated alot down the road like he had no equilibrium. Many times we heard a "yeah!" from the car and saw a passenger give thumbs up towards a coffee stand or some random person. It was all very entertaining. I wanted to stay behind them but a giant diesel pickup forced its way in front and removed our entertainment. Passing through Startup we received a friendly wave from the local Redneck welcome wagon - a group of several women and shirtless old men, all equipped with beer, in a front yard across from the tavern cheering on the cars in the jam. After a long drive, and getting partially lost in Edmonds, we made it back to Seattle. Great trip!
Trip photos

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wildernessed
viewbagger



Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 9275 | TRs | Pics
Location: Wenatchee
wildernessed
viewbagger
PostWed Sep 06, 2006 1:20 pm 
Very nice, was that pic titled "Snowking" actually "Snowgrass" ? great colors, was thinking of doing something up there this weekend, your TR may be the clincher. hockeygrin.gif

Living in the Anthropocene
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Opus
Wannabe



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 3698 | TRs | Pics
Location: The big rock candy mountain
Opus
Wannabe
PostWed Sep 06, 2006 1:22 pm 
Ooops, yep. Fixed. Those Snowking trip reports are stuck in my head I guess. smile.gif

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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostWed Sep 06, 2006 7:23 pm 
Opus wrote:
While hiking out we encountered some trail-potatos: two potatos and a onion basking in the sun on a rock beside the trail. Mabe I was just tired but for whatever reason this didn't seem odd to me, almost like they should be there, and I just pointed and said "potatos."
rotf.gif Your brain was baked. Chatter Creek trail does odd things. I was on it once, and some guy and his family showed up with a parakeet. The guy was hiking with a parakeet in his shirt.

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



Joined: 02 Mar 2003
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Location: Going to Tukwila
Dayhike Mike
Bad MFKer
PostWed Sep 06, 2006 8:15 pm 
Opus...great pics! Really really nice... Now, I'm off to actually read you trip report. hockeygrin.gif

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke "Ignorance is natural. Stupidity takes commitment." -Solomon Short
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emlew
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Joined: 06 Aug 2006
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Location: seattle
emlew
Member
PostWed Sep 06, 2006 9:05 pm 
up.gif Nice report ! Love your photos. I just did that loop at the beginning of August. Amazing how different it looks in just one month : my photos are here I'm heading back to that vicinity in a few weeks, and your report has gotten me all hot and bothered about the larch viewing possibilities. Seems early for them, but I also could have sworn I saw some on the upper sections of the Chatter Creek (between Edna and Grindstone) beginning to color back in July. I figured it couldn't be, it must have been burned or something. Another weird Chatter creek hallucination maybe? biggrin.gif

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Stuart
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Stuart
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PostThu Sep 07, 2006 6:51 am 
I caught up with you at the junction just before going up Cape Horn. I was solo with the blue pack. I felt rude by not being chatty. But I was out of breathe and ready to get up Cape Horn. I did the same trip on the same days and stayed in the same spots. Great hike! Edna was really crowded. After dark, I climbed up onto the ridge above Edna to watch the moon. The entire mountain was lit like a christmas tree with lanterns and flashlights. Going from Icicle to Chatter turned out to be a smart choice. The descent to Chatter creek was brutal.
Edna
Edna

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Opus
Wannabe



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 3698 | TRs | Pics
Location: The big rock candy mountain
Opus
Wannabe
PostThu Sep 07, 2006 9:50 am 
Nice to meet ya! I was the guy in the oh-so-dorky straw hat. Sorry we weren't more talkative at that point also, I think we were all pretty baked from the sun and low on water. That and feeling like we'd been kicked in the shins seeing that last little climb up Cape Horn. embarassedlaugh.gif I was surprised by the crowds at Edna! We didn't see too many people up to that point. There we are in your photo making quesadillas!

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