When I first heard the news about going to Sourdough Mountain I was very much excited because I knew what area the mountain was located... the North Cascades, home of some of the most beautiful peaks in Washington. I wake up at about 4:20 a.m. to get ready, and at 5:00 a.m. Miss Iris (BadDog) picks me up, the reason we left so early was because it takes around 2.5 hours to get to the trailhead.
When we get to the trailhead I could see Colonial Peak glowing, we knew we were in for a good day. Our pace up the trail started out real good, we both were amazed at how fast we were flying up the mountain. On a normal mountain usually there is less slope so you have to go more distance to get more elevation, but here it was quite easy to make. About an hour and a half in according to Miss Iris's altimeter we had made over 2,000 feet. At around 4,000-4,500 feet we started hitting snow. I thought zipping off my pant legs into shorts would be a good idea, and then putting gaiters over that, later I ended up regretting that idea, but atleast I now know better. Some parts were a little icy, and others I was sinking a little. We found a ski trail which was not only good for showing the way, but was icy which provided well for not sinking in. The sun was now hot over us, and soon we started sinking which is when we decided to put on our snowshoes.
I realized atleast from my point of view that it did not make much of a difference who broke trail, when ever Miss Iris broke trail it did not make it a whole lot easier for me which is why I decided I might as well. As we headed up we came across what Miss Iris called the Crux, unlike most years it was a lot more melted out. I gave the ridge a try but as I was going I started to slip and I knew it was not going to be a very safe ridge, especially with the cornice above. So what we did was head under the ridge and then up though some trees. I started to worry as I was going up because some of my steps were slipping back, it would not be that big of a deal, but falling in shorts and a short sleeve shirt in snow is not my version of fun.
Mount Davis
After this we get back on the ridge, no cornices at this point thank goodness. As we go up I realize I was starting to get cold, not because of it acually being cold, but due to the cold breeze. I end up having to take off my snowshoes, gaiters, and boots. Now I had my pant legs back on which felt good, putting everything back on was a pain, and my hands became numb or almost numb a few times. I will admit it took a little while to put everything back on because I would have to keep putting my hands under my arms to warm them up, and it was a bit painful. Miss Iris gave me a hot pack which helped, and then we headed further up to a view point. Miss Iris did not go further earlier while I was putting on my gear because she knew I would love the sight of the wind blown slope untouched.
Elephant Butte
Looking South West
We got to a point on the ridge were we could make a choice, "we could summit, or" looking over my left shoulder "we could go further up the ridge because it has more beauty". I'm pretty sure EastKing would have went for the summit because there was no worry, but I choose beauty instead. For some reason this reminds me of a quote "A Fork in the road, I choose the road less traveled by, it has made all the difference." -Robert Frost
The ridge acually went higher than the summit itself which made me wonder why they chose Sourdough to even be a summit. As we went further and further East the beauty kept getting better and better. At one point looking at all the mountains all around it felt endless! Once I knew that we were heading for some of the far off points I was thrilled at this point, for some reason there was a new feeling in me, I was surged with energy and wanted to explore as much of the ridge as I possibly could.
It got late in the day and we were pretty high up, we decided to call it good, according to Miss Iris we gained 6,000 feet of elevation during this trip. One of the down sides of the trip was for the past few weeks I have not been able to find my camera charger so the camera was low on power. I would take a dozen photos then the camera would run out of power, I would warm it up with my hands and get a few more photos until I got what I wanted. Atleast I got almost 100 photos, and most importantly experienced the beauty of this place. The decent was fun as well, we had much conversations (we had some on the way up as well) and the view was something we could never get tired of. For a while I was in my own thoughts going down and then I would remember again that I was in the mountains which brought a huge smile to me.
The Way Down
Sourdough Mountain
Me and Sourdough
After passing the crux and such to our amazement there was another guy spending the night up, he was in for a nice sunset. We had a few spots that were icy, but it was decent for the most part. Once on the trail I was flying down the mountain... well then I would end up having to slow down. The Sunset was also gorgous, photographing some of the peaks thought the trees was difficult because I had to zoom in a deal, then hold the camera steady, focus it, and then it would end up running out of power! I would wait a moment and then have just enough power to capture the photo before it ran out of power. It was interesting to see how long the tips of the peaks remain glowing. We soon had our headlamps on.
Somewhere along the line, probably around 2,000-3,000 feet high one of Miss Iris's snowshoes fell off. We found this out as I was having a noise bleed which fortunately she had tissues to help. Soon we were at the car. On the drive home before Marblemount Miss Iris noticed something that felt like a bite, it was a tick! We pulled over and I saw it crawling on her, I never knew they were so big, perhaps because it had already gotten it's meal, but flicking it off of her was worrisome. We were both worried about ticks being on us on the way home, fortunately we did not encounter any more. Miss Iris also bought me some more chocolate milk and a meal on the way home. Once again a very fun trip, this was among the most beautiful of ones I've done this year! A Huge thanks to Miss Iris for taking me and being great company!
It was this trip that I came up with the quote "I can't have the adventure of a life time just once!".
Great TR Flow!
Glad you were able to take advantage of the companionship and the great weather.
6,000 feet of gain is no small feat.
I took the day off work and considered a trip to Sourdough (since it's been on my list for YEARS) but, being solo, I just meandered up toward Artist Point, viewing Shuksan from the opposite side of where you were.
Moreover, it's great to see you on a premier excursion without so much paparazzi style drama.
"Ill habits gather unseen degrees, as brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas." ~John Dryden
My Trip List
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"Ill habits gather unseen degrees, as brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas." ~John Dryden
My Trip List
Gorgeous sunsets. What is it with snowshoes coming off on these trips
Nose bleeds are always a sign of a good day in the mountains, with the nasal passages dried out by the sun and dry air.
Great report and fantastic pictures Josh and what a perfect day to go there.
The mountains sure are beautiful with the snow on them.
Thanks for sharing and thanks to hikerbiker for the labeling the peaks.
"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
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"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
too wonderful for words. But you know what is said about pictures, and your pictures, Flow, are worth at least a million words.
Thanks for naming the peaks; I often have no idea what I'm looking at and really appreciate when people tag their mountains.
Did you head over to the lookout? though I think it's still banded shut.
awesome tr ... totally awesome pix .. way to go!
o and thx for labeling .. the peaks look so beautiful and now i know which is which .. can't wait to get up there sometime to do some of my own exploring ...
PHOTOSFILMSKeep a good head and always carry a light bulb. – Bob Dylan
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PHOTOSFILMSKeep a good head and always carry a light bulb. – Bob Dylan
good job josh and BD. glad to see the two of you have been able to team up for some awesome trips, especially this one. stetattle ridge was probably my favorite scenic trip of all last year and possibly ever.
Great report my friend. Thank you for sending me the link. You sure had better views than I did when we were up there but you didn't get to go swimming like we did. There are a lot of tarns on that ridge top.
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Nose bleeds are always a sign of a good day in the mountains, with the nasal passages dried out by the sun and dry air.
Im glad you enjoyed yourself but it was a skin track.
Nice photos it truely is a beautiful area.
