[Guiran]

My friend Jim and I climbed Bacon Peak and Watson Peak over Saturday and Sunday. First time back in this area and it certainly won't be the last. After having been shut out of views in the north Cascades since last September (I entirely blame the weather), I decided that this would be a good weekend to check out Bacon Peak. Not many TR's floating around for this, but Putz-in-Boots helpfully forwarded along a very current route description from Fay Pullen. A very leisurely start saw us departing the Watson Lakes TH in a swarm of mosquitos and flies. We stayed on route as far as the Watson Lakes turn-off, missed the turn-off, fought uphill through some nasty brush, found the trail at the top, then chose to leave it too early and ascended steep snow and wet rock to the ridgeline. Fortunately, this appeared to get all the bad route-finding out of our systems. Good job, team. The ridge proved easy walking and around 1:45, we reached the saddle between the east and west peaks of Watson. We ascended the east peak in the finest of styles, by tunneling through some fairly gnarled evergreens. The west summit appears significantly more exposed with fewer options for brushy tunneling.

West summits of Mt. Watson

A nice, long glissade brought us back on trap and we followed boot track down and around a rock spur to the NW of Watson. Here we briefly (very briefly) considered climbing the peak by descending to Noisy Creek, but discarded the idea as fairly insane. Dropped over the pass at 5500' and descended with some good boot skiing to the Diobsub Lakes. No camp sites melted out yet. Sunday morning we got an early start from camp and descended all the way down to the head of Diobsub Creek via a snow-filled avy chute (probably not feasible once the snow melts and brush attains full force). We then ascended snow to a rock finger separating two waterfalls and climbing about 100' up on rock and mild brush. Here, we exited the narrowing gully to climber's right and were able to snake our way up into the main basin below bacon with minimal brush or other headaches.

Ascent route

Whirly snow

Our route took us up moderately steep snow to the highest pass in the picture, at which point we dropped down onto mellow snow and contoured up to the summit.

Bacon Peak

Green Lake

The views were great and we were happy.

It's sunny and Jim's happy.

The sun is in my eyes.

Green Lake

Shuksan

Pickets

All too soon it was time to head down. That went fast enough, but then it was time to start climbing up. First from the head of Diobsub Creek to camp. Then 1000' from Diobsub Lakes to the pass to the N. of Watson. Then lots of up and down along the glaciated flanks of Watson. Then back up to the turn-off to Anderson Butte. On Saturday, we estimate we climbed something like 2500' (maybe). But on Sunday, all that up (plus climbing to the summit) was something like 5000'. Needless to say we were quite tired upon returning to the car. Good times had by all. Need to get back and do Blum and Hagen soon.

[payton]

awesome view of the Pickets! Glad Sunday turned out to be such a clear day to see them.

[Tazz]

One of my dream peaks since the Tr by Tom. Can't wait to get up there. Good stuff guiran!! BTW whirly snow shot rocks!!

[Tom]

[Backpacker Joe]

That didnt quite look right... Nice pics though...

[peltoms]

Yeah the bugs love the start of the Watson lake trail. That is a tough traverse to Bacon, though it looks easy on the map.

[Yana]

Nice! The view of the pickets is absolutely stunning.

[Guiran]

Tom: thanks for the correction. How is the route once the snow melts out? We were wondering how hard it was for you guys to get up to the tarns to the south of Bacon?

[Tom]

It was brushy sidehilling from the Diobsuds to the tarns but not unreasonably bad by North Cascade standards. Our misery was compounded by the sun and the black flies which hounded us mercilessly.

[Tazz]

Sweet!! thanks Tom.hmmmm (looks at calender )