[Sultan Guy]

Like many other hikers here I often get ideas for future trips from other hikes. Gazing at some far off peak, lake, or ridge can lead to a place on my mental “to do” list. Such was the case one time last year when I was on the PCT a bit north of Kodak Peak when I sat and studied the dramatic sweeping ridge from Longfellow Mtn. to Mount Jonathan with Whittier Peak dominating the middle section. As soon as I returned home I researched this ridge and found only a few TR’s to Whittier. Not very technical but seldom done because of the long distance and physical effort required. Perfect! My kind of trip! I set aside a weekend hoping for decent weather and planned to drive to the Little Wenatchee TH Friday evening and camp so as to make an early start easy. The weather forecast called for rain on Saturday but I hoped that being east of the crest would break things up some. My vague plan was to go for one night and either traverse from Longfellow to Mt. David if possible, or just to Whittier and then return, or possibly down to Indian Creek. The only beta on the route from Whittier to Jonathan I had was the typical Beckey “First keep on the ridge to the saddle then on to the S to avoid a cliff”. I had one friend bail out on me so I opted to go solo (I need to recruit more fellow NWHikers). Going on a solo hike to the Poet Range sounds like a soul searching experience and I made sure to listen to some appropriate tunes on the drive over. The “Into the Wild” soundtrack by Eddie Vedder is great for a mountain drive. Say what you want about Chris McCandless, that guy lived life to the fullest and paid the ultimate price. The lyrics to “End of the Road” are awesome. “Won’t be the last Won’t be the first Find a way to where The sky meets the earth We come and go It’s alright And all wrong For me it begins At the End of the Road” I rolled into the end of Little Wenatchee Rd. at 8 PM, and set up my tent in the woods with bright stars overhead. I was awoken by a light rain and/or a large diesel truck around 5:30 AM and was on the trail by 7.

full of piss and vinegar

As I ascended the Poe Mountain Trail the cloud ceiling lowered, the wind increased, and the rain became heavier. I heard a very loud gunshot and began yelling “HELLO” as I quickly realized I was dressed in black and blue clothing and didn’t want to be mistaken for a bear. I rounded a bend in the trail and found a dead grouse at my feet. A hunter was off the side of the trail searching for his kill. I alerted him to where it was and we chatted for a bit. He came in from Irving Pass. I wish I could say that the views from Poe to Longfellow were outstanding but the visibility was poor.

ridge from Poe to Longfellow

I did see LOTS of blueberries in this stretch and it looks like nobody has been up here picking.

where are the bears?

Come and pick me

At Longfellow the way trail contours around the west side and I came upon two hunters with small pack goats huddled beneath a tarp tent to escape the wind and rain. From this point the trail becomes increasingly faint and I left it to proceed back up to the ridge line at about 5,600 feet. My first glance to the east towards Whittier was of complete nothingness. I tucked down behind some trees to escape the wind and contemplate my choices. Option 1- Abandon Whittier for today, continue on to Bryant Peak and find a place to make camp. Option2- Drop down to the east and make camp near the headwaters of Papoose Creek. Option 3-Wait for a while. After 30 minutes of waiting I started catching glimpses through the mist and clouds below. Papoose Creek valley came into view and slowly the ridge out to Whittier revealed itself.

Papoose Creek valley

Ridge to Whittier slowly being revealed

Still no summit but I could clearly see the ridge. The rain stopped but the wind continued. I decided to go for it and dropped to the east and started the two mile traverse towards Whittier Peak.

but where is the summit?

still no summit

Finally the clouds parted

Soon after the peak emerged from the clouds. Would the weather hold? If sidehilling were to ever become an Olympic sport I know a great place to hold the competition!

Sidehill Olympics

The route to Whittier is two miles of sidehilling over talus and boulders. Lots of marmots along this route.

SG enroute

Summit getting closer

towards White River valley

With some minor route finding challenges I got up and over the northwest ridge without difficulty and summited at 2:30PM. Very gusty winds at this point with the summit going in and out of the clouds. Not too bad-7.5 hours from TH with full pack, and waiting for visibility to improve. I located the register and as previous TR’s have indicated this mountain does not get many visitors. I was only the second recorded ascent this year, the only other one being in July.

Longfellow from Whittier

Looking down the north face

located summit register

1 label

Register

Looking towards Mt. David

windblown Northwest Ridge

A careful inspection of the ridge towards Mount Jonathan did not look promising. I would be faced immediately with a lengthy exposed Class 4 technical downclimb to gain the south face and beyond that I saw several dubious cliff bands. Let’s see-downclimbing wet technical rock with a full pack, solo, down a section that I had not come up. Not wanting to make the 11 o’clock news I searched for other options. On the north face directly beneath an icefield I saw some benches of moraine and grass. It was now almost 3:30 and the clouds were gathering once again so I scurried to find a route down. While descending the ridge I almost stepped on a golden eagle that had his back turned to me. I am not sure who was scared more!

Icefield on north face

Below the icefield

I descended ridge on right corner of picture

Mt. Jonathan

Mt. Saul

My camp at 6,400 feet on north side of Whittier

The icefield was really neat looking and I had views all the way down into Indian Creek. I found a nice flat gravel spot near flowing water, elevation 6,400 feet and immediately set up camp. I was cold and no sooner had I crawled into my sleeping bag for some rest at 5 PM when it started raining hard. For the next several hours I was bombarded with strong gusty winds and constant rain, heavy at times.

View from tent in storm

I managed to heat some water for dinner but otherwise remained in the tent. Took some Vitamin I (Ibuprofen) at 8 PM and went to sleep exhausted. At some point after midnight the wind subsided and it got very cold. When it became light I could see fresh snow on the summit of Whittier.

Fresh morning snow on Whittier Peak

Starting descent into Indian Creek

The morning dawned partly cloudy but I could see sun across Indian Creek and many other places except where I was. Oh yeah, I am on the north face freezing my ass off! Any thoughts of regaining the ridge to Mount Jonathan were squashed by the fresh snow. Unknown route with snow and solo. Ummmm no. Time to enact plan B. I studied the route down to Indian Creek from camp and on the map. Not too steep, only 3,000 feet.

Mt. Jonathan-north face

Unnamed peaks on Whittier/Jonathan divide

Upper stream valley

The brush was totally soaked and the temperature was in the upper 30’s when I started off. On the way down I found not one but two deflated balloons about a half mile apart. WTF! What are the chances of that happening in a super remote valley? Is this a balloon graveyard of sorts?

Balloon #1

Balloon #2

I stayed east of a prominent rock subpeak and through a combination of game trails, my mountain “spidey” sense, and sheer stubbornness I reached Indian Creek trail in 2.5 hours. Not sure about the ratio of these

Stream valley I descended

Finally I was in the sun.

Indian Creek valley looking sunny and warm

I stripped off my completely soaked shell gear and basked in the sun while I peered back towards Whittier 4,000 feet above me. The fresh snow still had not melted on the north face.

Whittier from Indian Creek-4,000 feet up

The hike out the Indian Creek Trail was uneventful and so easy it seemed like an interstate. This trail although scenic is a bit boring. I stopped a few times to lounge in the sun and once to make some coffee but still reached the White River TH at 3 PM.

Fine fall color

Do I look tired yet?

Standard White River tourist picture

I consider myself lucky to have had a brief weather window to summit Whittier Peak. Mountains like this and Kyes Peak which I did last year seem to be usually done in a 12-14 hour push. I prefer the concept of bringing lightweight camping gear and making a two day trip. Takes the pressure off of returning by dark and lets me experience the alpine zone in the evening. I am still very curious about the route from Whittier to Mt. Jonathan. If anyone has any experience doing this or knows someone please chime in. From Indian Creek I studied a possible route on the north facing slopes.

[RichP]

Love it! That's one of those often seen and seldom done summits. Perfect camp spot too.

[Magellan]

Great TR! Nice pictures, and quite an adventure.

[tomastaylor]

Great report! How did you get from White River TH all the back around to the Little Wenatchee TH to your car?

[Sultan Guy]

[Get Out and Go]

Yikes, leap-of-faith brush bash to drop down to Indian Creek. Didn't the crowds of people up there annoy you? Great work...

[Movenhike]

excellent trip!

[bgs8379]

When you dropped down to Indian cr. Did you ever come across parts of the old Papoose trail?