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Bloated Chipmunk Cock Rock Searcher
Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 2993 | TRs | Pics Location: Margaritaville |
For Saturday, Team Bloat headed to the south Cascades once again to nab a peak. Our 1st choice was South Point, but a rd. report from mid-June indicated that FR 20 to the trailhead was closed. Given it was an older report we opted to head out there anyway, & if said rd. was still closed, we could do the nearby Smith Point as its trailhead was much lower on that same FR, well before the washout.
Well, all 3 of us must of been distracted b/c we accidentally whizzed by the turn off & were soon going to enter the town of Randle. I had already been talking about wanting to do Tongue Mtn. again sometime; I had made it most of the way to the top 9 yrs. ago w/a couple of friends, but neither one of those people were too hot on the idea of scrambling the last bit to the summit & I didn't bother looking too hard for a route up either. MM suggested we could keep on going & just do Tongue instead of turning back for South Point, & so it was. Plus, this way we could get a good look @ Juniper Ridge w/all its cool peaks, something else on our endless list....
From Randle, we turned south on FR 23 & took it to 25, then 29, then 2904. The last rd. has a bunch of annoying speed humps but perhaps it has helped w/keeping the rd. intact. We soon arrived @ the empty TH which is directly across the TH at the north end of Juniper Ridge.
Bugs were plentiful, the trail register was not.
TH Todd's pretty excited considering it's an empty TH register.
The trail starts off as a pleasant, flattish forest walk. We appreciated the shade as it had already warmed up nicely. My pack felt so light compared to last wk.'s Harding trip. Today would be light, short, & easy.
Sun coming through the trees The boys on the trail Sign @ junction
Upon reaching the junction, we headed uphill to the right toward Tongue. The trees thinned out & soon we found ourselves on open brushy slopes with views to the south and west. Todd busted out the machete he's long been threatening to use.
Sunrise Pk. Nearby nub Brushy trail Todd uses the machete Tongue comes into view
After just a few switchbacks we were in the cleft of the Tongue, with the lower summit to the right (easy trail to the top) & the true summit to the left (somewhat sketchy loose trail). From the gap there is a huge drop off to the Cispus River.
We paused for a bit, then searched for the trail up to the top. Todd managed to pick up a loose rocky trail that hugs the ledges of the summit block. 1 switchback in particular is pretty exposed to the 3200' drop. We all made it up OK, though it was a little nerve wracking for me. No wonder I didn't attempt it 9 yrs. ago...
The summit of Tongue Rainier The boys head up the final exposed trail (of sorts) to the summit of Tongue Mt. Adams & the lower summit of Tongue
A couple minutes later we were on the top of Tongue. We had a 3 volcano view, although St. Helens was pretty washed out. There was a lot of smoke in the valleys below, presumably from wildfires but we saw no flames.
Adams w/smoke in the valley as seen from the summit of Tongue Barely visible St. Helens Rainier Lots of smoke Goat Rocks Wilderness in the distance Campsite atop Tongue The boys on the summit of Tongue Todd's livin' on the edge
We lounged for awhile, happy that we got some Tongue today. We took the obligatory summit photos, & yes - this included a tongue shot.
On the way down, Todd attempted to fix the one sketchy switchback. I just wanted to get down to the saddle.
Todd w/a 3200' drop behind him Looking back @ the summit of Tongue
From the cleft we took the easy trail up to the south/lower summit & got some pics from there.
Rainier, zoomed Adams & Todd Adams & the Cispus River valley Tongue, MM, & Rainier Wildfire Peaks along Juniper Ridge Shadow shot Shadow puppets
The trip down was pretty quick, & we decided to stop by the Layser Cave on the way out, another place I had been....~ 3 yrs. after my 1st Tongue. It's a quick easy trail downhill from the parking area along a spur rd. from FR 23. Not much had changed in 6 yrs.
Layser Cave TH sign The boys on their way to the cave The boys arrive @ the cave Interpretive sign Map The cave MM enters the cave Da boyz in da cave Map of nearby peaks, incl. Tongue
& we even got a last glimpse of Tongue.
Tongue as seen from Layser Cave trail Tongue, Adams, & Juniper Ridge
Home is where the hiking is.
"Peaks that have come and gone four times should halt a man in his steps." -- William O. Douglas
A balanced diet is a margarita in each hand.
Home is where the hiking is.
"Peaks that have come and gone four times should halt a man in his steps." -- William O. Douglas
A balanced diet is a margarita in each hand.
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Yet Member
Joined: 23 Apr 2005 Posts: 2634 | TRs | Pics Location: Happily Ever After |
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Yet
Member
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:42 pm
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I don't see any tongue here. Please rectify the situation.
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Yana Hater
Joined: 04 Jun 2004 Posts: 4212 | TRs | Pics Location: Out Hating |
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Yana
Hater
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:42 pm
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I like the freaky shadow shots!
PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
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Toonces unleashed
Joined: 16 Dec 2005 Posts: 2401 | TRs | Pics Location: On the pavement, thinking about the government |
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Toonces
unleashed
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:58 pm
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This TR deserves a Pulitzer for "Best Title."
If you show fear, a monkey will bully you.
If you show fear, a monkey will bully you.
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MountainMan Member
Joined: 15 Jul 2008 Posts: 365 | TRs | Pics Location: San Diego |
Here's my pics:
Tongue Mtn. from the road. BC on the trail Sunrise Peak Nice "Nearby Nub" as BC called it. BC and Todd almost to the saddle. Looking down gulley on east side of Tongue. Rainier with side of Tongue. Rainier with cloud. Smokey valley and "Nub". Adams and smokey valley, looking south from Tongue Mtn. Mt St Helens Rainier and North Ridge of Tongue Mtn. MM, BC and Todd on Tongue Mtn. Group tongue on Tongue Mtn. Tongue shot undeer Tongue Mtn. BC under Adams. BC does Nixon pose on lower Tongue. Shadows Zoom of a nearby peak. Hmm...volcano or forest fire?
At Layser Cave:
BC at Layser Cave BC in Layser Cave. Tongue Mtn, Adams and Juniper Ridge.
Slow down, take notice, savor the moment, appreciate the world around you and everything that you have.
Slow down, take notice, savor the moment, appreciate the world around you and everything that you have.
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Eric Peak Geek
Joined: 21 Oct 2002 Posts: 2062 | TRs | Pics Location: In Travel Status |
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Eric
Peak Geek
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:55 pm
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I was up the road towards South Point just last week and it is in fact open FWIW.
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Magellan Brutally Handsome
Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 13116 | TRs | Pics Location: Inexorable descent |
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Magellan
Brutally Handsome
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Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:03 pm
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Timely report. We are going down in September to get some Tongue and Juniper to 'finish' the Dark Divide. The shadows crack me up.
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goats gone wild Mr. Goat
Joined: 19 Aug 2007 Posts: 2524 | TRs | Pics Location: Vampireville |
on the cool shadow shots.
.....leaving me wanting to return over and over in what ever capacity that may be, even if one day my knees are too old and I can only see the mountains from my porch.
Jason Hummel
.....leaving me wanting to return over and over in what ever capacity that may be, even if one day my knees are too old and I can only see the mountains from my porch.
Jason Hummel
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Bloated Chipmunk Cock Rock Searcher
Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 2993 | TRs | Pics Location: Margaritaville |
Eric wrote: | I was up the road towards South Point just last week and it is in fact open FWIW. |
Yeah I forgot to mention in the TR that on our drive out, we spotted the turn for FR 20 & headed up a little ways to check it out & discovered that it is now open.
Home is where the hiking is.
"Peaks that have come and gone four times should halt a man in his steps." -- William O. Douglas
A balanced diet is a margarita in each hand.
Home is where the hiking is.
"Peaks that have come and gone four times should halt a man in his steps." -- William O. Douglas
A balanced diet is a margarita in each hand.
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EastKing Surfing and Hiking
Joined: 28 Mar 2007 Posts: 2082 | TRs | Pics Location: 77 miles from Seattle! |
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EastKing
Surfing and Hiking
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Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:49 pm
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YouTube | SummitPost
Saw the depths of despair. Now I am salvaging what time I have left on Earth.
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treeswarper Alleged Sockpuppet!
Joined: 25 Dec 2006 Posts: 11276 | TRs | Pics Location: Don't move here |
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treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
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Fri Aug 07, 2009 11:02 am
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Bloated Chipmunk wrote: | Eric wrote: | I was up the road towards South Point just last week and it is in fact open FWIW. |
Yeah I forgot to mention in the TR that on our drive out, we spotted the turn for FR 20 & headed up a little ways to check it out & discovered that it is now open. |
And it should be getting repaired next week. It has been very rough with a slide and cracking on it.
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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Eric Peak Geek
Joined: 21 Oct 2002 Posts: 2062 | TRs | Pics Location: In Travel Status |
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Eric
Peak Geek
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Fri Aug 07, 2009 11:30 am
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Yeah there are several places both above and below that TH where the road is starting to sluff off into oblivion. That's good if the USFS is doing repairs but even still, it might be worth tagging any peaks you want to do in that area sooner rather than later in case that road really fails.
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Mtn Dog Technohiker
Joined: 01 Aug 2004 Posts: 3336 | TRs | Pics Location: Bellevue, WA |
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Mtn Dog
Technohiker
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Fri Aug 07, 2009 12:30 pm
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Footprints on the sands of time will never be made sitting down.
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Bloated Chipmunk Cock Rock Searcher
Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 2993 | TRs | Pics Location: Margaritaville |
Home is where the hiking is.
"Peaks that have come and gone four times should halt a man in his steps." -- William O. Douglas
A balanced diet is a margarita in each hand.
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meandmyaussies Member
Joined: 01 Nov 2007 Posts: 182 | TRs | Pics Location: The Quah |
Nice TR and photos although I have to admit that after reading the TR title I thought the report and photos would be a lot different...
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