Forum Index > Trip Reports > Spider Gap - Buck Creek Loop: Aug 6-10
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Soccer_Dad
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Joined: 28 Mar 2006
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Location: Montevideo, Uruguay (really)
Soccer_Dad
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PostSun Aug 12, 2007 1:10 am 
I went with my brother-in-law from Portland. I’ll spare the typical details about the route. Those have been reported many times before. Monday thoughts - Phelps Creek to Larch Knob: I found the trail to Spider Meadow less interesting than advertised. I found basically only our conversation to help pass the 5.2 miles until the first views at the meadow. The trail from the meadow up to the knob was actually better than I was expecting (I was thinking it would be more like the vague route up to Robin Lakes, from last year’s trip). It looked like there were a lot of campsites. We found a great campspot overlooking the meadow. Some front must have come through in the night, because we had gale-force winds at the tent - and we were sheltered. At one point, the wind blew the tent so hard the back side touched our faces. We wondered about the astuteness of going through a “gap” in those conditions, but it calmed down by morning so we were ok.
View from Larch Knob campsite
View from Larch Knob campsite
Tuesday thoughts - Larch Knob to Lyman Lake: It’s pretty clear that the Spider “Glacier” is instead a permanent snowfield (in other words, no movement, meaning no crevasses). We looked at the choice of a wild route in varying conditions through scree, heather, and bare rock, or walking up the gentle snowfield with boot tread and trekking poles, and voted for snow (as did the two parties before us). In August conditions, the snowfield is the way to go.
Spider "Glacier"
Spider "Glacier"
There were two obvious trails on the other side, one going down, and one traversing to the right. I recalled a note about a mine entrance near the pass in one book, so we chose directly down the snowfield, and that worked for us. The traverse went across a fairly steep snowfield (as opposed to the pretty gentle show leading to upper Lyman Lake) so it looked significantly riskier. Upper Lyman is a fabulous place, as everyone who has been there knows. There’s lot of outliers of glacial ice. The most intriguing was the very toe of the glacier, which was covered in debris, but had been eroded underneath (subglacial meltwater?).
Lyman Glacier
Lyman Glacier
Lyman Glacier toe
Lyman Glacier toe
The rest of the day was uneventful. Clouds came in. We made camp at Lyman Lake (with dozens of others). Some mosquitoes. No views. Wednesday thoughts - Lyman Lake to Middle Ridge: We found that there’s a campground just under Cloudy Pass on the Lyman Lake side, and wished we had pushed on. Nice views from up there, and the wildflowers were nice. We saw a couple “national park” deer, you know, the kind that aren’t bothered by being around humans.
Deer at Cloudy Pass
Deer at Cloudy Pass
Pretty much the rest of the route - Cloudy Pass, Suiattle Pass, Miners Creek - was typical. It was still a bit cloudy, so our views were limited. We did pass a group who had a weather report of clearing for the next two days (which is what happened), so we were happy to hear that. We picked Middle Ridge to camp. We didn’t need to push to Buck Pass, and I’m not sure we wanted to get there late anyway, being as popular as it is. This turned out to be a great decision. At the crest of the trail over Middle Ridge, there are a few campspots. Even though there didn’t appear to be any water nearby, we were beset by bugs. A trail led off up the ridge (it’s shown on the maps) so we wandered up about 10 minutes and found a little-used campsite just above a half acre meadow of wildflowers, with superb views north, and peek-a-boo views through the trees to Glacier Peak.
Glacier Peak, from our Middle Ridge Campsite
Glacier Peak, from our Middle Ridge Campsite
After dinner, we were intrigued by the improving weather conditions and the well-used trail going on past our campsite along Middle Ridge, so we went exploring. We figured that the trail must lead to either a great viewpoint, water, or a fabulous campsite. After a 20 minute walk, we realized we hit the jackpot - all three! We found a ~20 acre meadow filled with Indian Paintbrush, with a stream and fabulous views. On the top of the ridge, we found a flat meadow (suitable for a few tents) with a fire ring and a clear view of the top of Glacier Peak as well as unobstructed views to the north. Wow! If we ever go back to the area again, high Middle Ridge camp will be a target for us. It even looked like there were routes/game trails leading over the next shoulder toward Pass No Pass - an interesting exploration we didn’t have time for.
Middle Ridge Meadow flowers and Helmet Butte
Middle Ridge Meadow flowers and Helmet Butte
Paintbrush and Glacier Peak
Paintbrush and Glacier Peak
High campsite on Middle Ridge
High campsite on Middle Ridge
And quite a sunset that night!
Sunset from Middle Ridge
Sunset from Middle Ridge
Thursday - Middle Ridge to Buck Pass: An easy day - only 4 miles with packs, and 1000 foot loss and gain. We woke up in clouds, but they burned off to reveal Glacier Peak in all its splendor. After a short walk to a break in the trees to snap dozens of photos, we booked over to Buck Pass, getting there around 11 am, well before anyone else arrived, so we had our choice of campsites. We chose the one with the view. After setting up camp, we set off for a trip to Liberty Cap. The north side of Liberty Cap was awash in Lupines. …And a friendly marmot. The preferred route seems to be to follow the trail around to the far side, then climb up from the south.
Lupines on Liberty Cap
Lupines on Liberty Cap
Friendly marmot on Liberty Cap
Friendly marmot on Liberty Cap
While I was on the central peak, Rod walked over to the north peak. I think this is my favorite shot of the trip. Rod above the cliff on the north peak of LC, the Middle Ridge meadow we visited the evening before is in the nearer background, Plummer Mountain is in the background on the left, and that really interesting peak, sitting way off in the distance on the right. Does anyone know the name of that peak?
View from Liberty Cap
View from Liberty Cap
Friday - Back Pass out: We got rained on Thursday night. Oh well, a walk in the rain or having wet clothes, or putting the tent away wet wasn’t a problem - we were going home. It was a long hike out. I can’t imagine how it is to go up those 10 miles to the pass. It’s a good trail with adequate water (we had filters) at stream crossings and a nice grade that allows you to keep a good stride. Still, it took us about an hour longer to get out than we had hoped. The trip was so spectacular, we can’t imagine anything (other than winning an Enchantment lottery) to come close. I suggested we take a less exciting trip next year just to “clear the palate” for a great 2009 trip. ;-) John

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yew
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Joined: 12 Dec 2005
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yew
non-technical
PostSun Aug 12, 2007 10:29 am 
nice flow
Well done. Your TR has a nice flow to it.

"I aint jokin woman, I got to ramble...We gonna go walkin through the park every day." - Led Zeppelin
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Magellan
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Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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Magellan
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PostSun Aug 12, 2007 11:17 am 
Very nice. Thanks for recomending the best camp sites.

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AttemPT
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Joined: 30 Jul 2007
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Location: Wenatchee, WA
AttemPT
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PostSun Aug 12, 2007 12:24 pm 
Ditto on the campsites- love that kind of info for future planning.

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Dayhike Mike
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Joined: 02 Mar 2003
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Location: Going to Tukwila
Dayhike Mike
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PostSun Aug 12, 2007 8:51 pm 
up.gif up.gif Thanks for the TR, soccer_dad!

"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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wamtngal
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wamtngal
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PostMon Aug 13, 2007 8:14 pm 
Soccer_dad, We just got back from our 8 day, Aug 6-13, Spider-Buck Loop (we did some side excursions, including Image Lake)...we were also camped on Larch Knob (we were the group on the knob directly left as you entered the area) during those gale-force winds...our tent has mesh in the back and by morning we felt we were in a desert sand storm...what a way to start a trip! Agreed though, it was a great trip and the weather wasn't too shabby either. My TR is coming soon...

Opinions expressed here are my own.
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