Forum Index > Trip Reports > Tuck & Robin, Granite & S Granite, E & W French, 10/17-18
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot



Joined: 30 Jan 2007
Posts: 4307 | TRs | Pics
Location: Shoreline
Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
PostSat Oct 30, 2010 9:50 pm 
Peaks: Granite 7144, South Granite 7080, East French Ridge 6767, West French Ridge 6748 Lakes: Tuck, Robin, South Granite tarns, Granite Mtn Potholes Party: Matt, cartman Dates: October 17-18, 2010 Back in 1991, I hiked up to Robin Lakes. I remembered the beautiful blue of the lakes, and the classic calendar view of Mt. Daniel. But I hadn't realized how much more was in the area. Four Backcourt Peaks up above. Lakes below at every turn. Fields of tarns on the ridges both south & north of Granite Mtn. The complexity of water forms in Lower Robin - a narrow isthmus above the lake, a peninsula, a lake within the peninsula, the island between the peninsula and shore. And the granite. If I went back again, I think I could spend all day just admiring the fields of granite. Acres and acres of gleaming slabs, boulders, faces, sweeping and curving all around.
Map
Map
Sunday: Tuck & Robin Lakes, South Granite Peak & Tarns To Tuck Lake We hiked in the usual way - four miles up the Deception Pass Trail, then steeply upward on the badly eroded trail to Tuck Lake, with it's picturesque island.
Fall color & Cathedral Rock
Fall color & Cathedral Rock
Red Leaves & Silver Logs
Red Leaves & Silver Logs
Island in Tuck Lake
Island in Tuck Lake
Tuck Lake to Robin Lake Above Tuck Lake, the path turned treacherous. Fresh snow and ice filled all the shadowy nooks as the trail twisted steeply to climb up toward Robin Lake. But finally we came to the acres of granite slabs below Robin Lakes, dry and bright in the sun, but rather infested with an outbreak of cairns.
Icy path above Tuck Lake
Icy path above Tuck Lake
Granite slabs infested with many cairns
Granite slabs infested with many cairns
Robin Lakes With blue sky overhead, Robin Lakes looked as pretty as always.
First View of Lower Robin Lake & Granite Mtn
First View of Lower Robin Lake & Granite Mtn
Island in Lower Robin
Island in Lower Robin
Lower Robin Island, viewed from near outlet
Lower Robin Island, viewed from near outlet
Reflection in Lower Robin
Reflection in Lower Robin
Toward Granite Mtn To reach Granite Mtn, we headed up the ridge that's south of Lower Robin. Sort of hard to even look ahead, with such pretty views of the lakes widening behind us.
cartman heading up the ridge south of Robin
cartman heading up the ridge south of Robin
My shadow looking back at Lower Robin
My shadow looking back at Lower Robin
Lakelet within the peninsula on Lower Robin
Lakelet within the peninsula on Lower Robin
cartman higher on the ridge, with Daniel behind
cartman higher on the ridge, with Daniel behind
Higher view of Robin Lakes & Trico
Higher view of Robin Lakes & Trico
South Granite Cartman continued on to Granite Mtn. I had been there before and wanted more time to explore the South Granite tarns, so I angled over directly to South Granite.
South Granite Tarn 6600
South Granite Tarn 6600
Another south granite tarn & Mt. Daniel
Another south granite tarn & Mt. Daniel
cartman on Granite summit
cartman on Granite summit
View of French Ridge from South Granite summit
3 labels
View of French Ridge from South Granite summit
Late Light at South Granite Tarns After poking around the tarns and a swim in Tarn 6600, the light was already growing late and more golden.
Late afternoon light at South Granite Tarn 6600
Late afternoon light at South Granite Tarn 6600
Moonrise over South Granite
Moonrise over South Granite
My shadow walking past a smaller tarn
My shadow walking past a smaller tarn
Even the smallest puddle reflects the peaks
Even the smallest puddle reflects the peaks
Evening shadow walking past blocky granite hillsides
Evening shadow walking past blocky granite hillsides
After Sunset at Robin Lakes I returned to Robin Lakes via the more typical Granite Mtn route down the rib to the isthmus between the lakes. By then, the lakes themselves were already in shadow.
Last light above Upper Robin
Last light above Upper Robin
Lower Robin after sunset
Lower Robin after sunset
Moon over Granite Mtn
Moon over Granite Mtn
Monday: East & West French Ridge, Granite Mtn Potholes Morning at Robin Lakes As we headed out in the morning, pastel light made the lakes blush and gave an otherworldly tone to the surrounding peaks. East French
Otherworldly morning view
Otherworldly morning view
Pastel morning at Lower Robin
Pastel morning at Lower Robin
Then we went to do the East & West summits of French Ridge. This turned out to be more work than I had expected, with ups and downs through 4 cols (Granite-Trico, Granite-West French, West French-6555, and 6555-East French), plus some snowy slabs and steep noses. The beginning was easy - hiking north along the shores of the lakes to the wide ridge and tarns at the Granite-Trico col, where we met the only other campers that we saw all day. We curved down easy slabs around the northwest end of Granite, but then the shaded northerly side became slippery with snow. The cliffy end of Granite required dropping below the col on steeper terrain, which looked questionable with the snow, but it also turned to talus rather than slabs, which gave better footing. We hiked back up about 100 feet to the 6200-foot col, which surprisingly had a few larches.
Descending to get below the col between Granite & French
Descending to get below the col between Granite & French
We wanted to do East French first, so bypassed the actual summit of West French for now. Travel was straightforward up West French's SW ridge and curving back down onto the NE ridge, which had a surprisingly steep nose. Some more open dirt areas were icy, so we scrambled down through small trees and rocky drops on the nose, with the cliff's of the peak's east face rearing up above us.
Descending past steep east face of West French
Descending past steep east face of West French
Then it was just a prolonged up and down ramble to East French: through the 6200-foot col, up the easy meadowed south ridge of 6555, traversing circa 6400 feet past the summit of 6555, down the steeper east nose of 6555, crossing a bit below the next col circa 6250, and then up meadows followed by big blocky rocks to East French 6767.
Route from West French to East French (viewed later from summit of W French)
2 labels
Route from West French to East French (viewed later from summit of W French)
East French
East French
West French The predicted "mostly sunny" weather had so far been mostly cloudy, so views were somewhat gray. Looking back tward Granite, however, the fields of slabs were impressive, especially below the 6555-W French ridge - tier upon tier of curving bulwarks interlaced with ledges and lines of trees.
Klonaqua Lakes from East French
Klonaqua Lakes from East French
Granite slabs below West French
Granite slabs below West French
South Granite, Granite, & West French
South Granite, Granite, & West French
Along the way back to West French, the skies began to clear, bringing a cheerier blue color back to the lakes. Where we had previously traversed across circa 6500, we turned upward, crossed a broad meadowy area, and arrived at the summit. We had heard that the summit boulder was a problem, but a very strong handhold hidden on top gave assistance pulling oneself up (could be hard to reach if you were a few inches shorter).
Heading back up toward West French
Heading back up toward West French
Matt on West French summit boulder
Matt on West French summit boulder
Eric on West French summit boulder
Eric on West French summit boulder
Klonaqua Lakes & the Crade from West French
Klonaqua Lakes & the Crade from West French
Granite Mtn Potholes At the Granite-French col, I made a side trip westward to visit the Granite Mtn potholes. I wanted to traverse circa 5900 along the line Randy & Collins had used, so that I could run past all three potholes from lowest to highest. But I trended too high to avoid snowier parts of the slabs, and ended up back on the main ridge above the potholes, with just a brief swim in the ridgetop Pothole 6316.
Lower Granite Mtn Potholes & Lake Phoebe
Lower Granite Mtn Potholes & Lake Phoebe
Lower Granite Mtn Potholes, West French, & Point 6555
Lower Granite Mtn Potholes, West French, & Point 6555
Then it was back past the ridgetop tarns to our camp, where Eric had waited for me.
Tarn near Trico-Granite Col
Tarn near Trico-Granite Col
Boulders in Upper Robin Lake
Boulders in Upper Robin Lake
Hiker in Upper Robin Lake
Hiker in Upper Robin Lake
Lower Robin Island
Lower Robin Island
Exit We hurried down racing darkness. I managed to just barely reach the main trail without my headlamp, but I was traveling more by foot-braille than by sight at the end. Afterthoughts If I were doing this trip over, there are three things I'd do different. First, I'd locate our camp farther away from the lakes, either up on the ridge or perhaps hidden between trees on the isthmus. The site we used was bare and caused no physical impact, but it was very visible and would interrupt the view of the lake if others had been present. Second, I'd want to communicate plans much more clearly as the day developed. When I went to explore the Potholes, it was under strong protest from cartman, who was very concerned that it was unsafe to separate at that point. It was a serious issue, and if anyone has questions, let me know in a pm or separate thread. Finally, not so much something I'd have done different, but something I'd gladly go back for, is just to take my time wandering around, exploring all the nooks and crannies of the lakeshores and ridges, discovering more of the delightful variety of intersections of water & granite.

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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Layback
Cascades Expatriate



Joined: 16 Mar 2007
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Layback
Cascades Expatriate
PostSat Oct 30, 2010 10:12 pm 
Nice guys. up.gif

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Scrooge
Famous Grouse



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
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Location: wishful thinking
Scrooge
Famous Grouse
PostSun Oct 31, 2010 10:03 am 
In conclusion, Matt said
Quote:
Finally, not so much something I'd have done different, but something I'd gladly go back for, is just to take my time wandering around, exploring all the nooks and crannies of the lakeshores and ridges, discovering more of the delightful variety of intersections of water & granite.
up.gif up.gif A good thought, that might be applied wherever we go.

Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you....... Go and find it. Go!
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rossb
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rossb
Member
PostSun Oct 31, 2010 10:29 am 
Excellent trip report. The writing, the photographs and the layout are superb -- this is like reading a magazine article. As to the trip itself, I think it was a great idea to visit French Ridge. It never occurred to me, when I visited the area earlier in the year. I camped on a ridge above the lake (mostly to avoid mosquitoes) and then did a day hike the next day. I ran through my checklist (Trico, Granite Potholes, Granite Ridge, from north to south, assorted potholes next to South Granite) and then called it a day. I was actually planning on spending a second night at Robin, but decided to hike out that night, partly because of the bugs (they were terrible) and partly because I felt I had done just about everything. If French Ridge had occurred to me, then maybe I would have spent another night. Here is a set of pictures of my trip, with more description and a map: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rossbl/collections/72157624605796646/

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Ingunn
Hiking Viking



Joined: 01 Feb 2008
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Ingunn
Hiking Viking
PostSun Oct 31, 2010 11:39 am 
Aah, wonderful. I've been waiting for another Matt TR, and it seems the wait was worth it. up.gif Also, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WENT SWIMMING! *shiver*

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the Zachster
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the Zachster
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PostSun Oct 31, 2010 12:42 pm 
It is good to take in everything you can on trips like this. Thanks for sharing your experience and great photos! up.gif

"May I always be the kind of person my dog thinks I am"
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loper
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Joined: 11 Aug 2007
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loper
Member
PostSun Oct 31, 2010 2:41 pm 
Way to capture the beauty of the area! And good to see a Matt TR. I have been gone alot this summer but seems like there was a dirth of your usual TR.

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MLHSN
What goes here?????



Joined: 09 Sep 2007
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Location: Wenatchee
MLHSN
What goes here?????
PostSun Oct 31, 2010 8:23 pm 
up.gif good read, thank you

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Type E
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Joined: 19 Aug 2006
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Type E
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PostMon Nov 01, 2010 3:17 am 
What a great trip in such a wonderful area. It is too bad that it has become so popular. I found a great camping spot between the lower and Middle Granite Potholes that I can't wait to go back to. I followed a portion of your route to Upper Klonoqua which I wouldn't guess sees to many visitors. I still trying to figure how Randy and Mike C did that a similar trip to yours under very similar conditions as a day hike. Glad you were able to squeeze one more great trip out this year. E

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bkings5
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bkings5
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PostSun Jan 23, 2011 5:23 pm 
Wow this is a stunning hike. Is there clear way to get down to the Klonaqua Lakes from East or West French? I've been looking for a way to these lakes and it seems as though the trial to the Klonaqua lakes is pretty much gone. Thanks smile.gif

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Dayhike Mike
Bad MFKer



Joined: 02 Mar 2003
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Dayhike Mike
Bad MFKer
PostSun Jan 23, 2011 5:52 pm 
You should be able to easily work your way down to upper Klonaqua (the little, unnamed one on the map) from several directions. My recommendation would be to check out the bench with tarns just north of Granite, then saunter north to reach it. From Upper Klonaqua, it's a bit of brush, but reasonable terrain to get down to the larger Klonaqua Lakes.

"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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D. Inscho
Not bored yet...



Joined: 28 Feb 2010
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Location: Bellingham,WA
D. Inscho
Not bored yet...
PostSun Jan 23, 2011 9:51 pm 
Splendid narrative. Regarding your question, explore & range freely in reposed landscape! Blast ye strict partnership; follow your bliss! I've been twice buggered by poor Sept weather there. Your visit shines with fine timing.

http://david-inscho.smugmug.com/ The key to a successful trip is to do the planning during work hours. -- John Muir “My most memorable hikes can be classified as 'Shortcuts that Backfired'.” --Ed Abbey
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