Forum Index > Trip Reports > Quartz Ck, Blue Lk, Benchmark, W. Cady loop, 8.11-13.2010
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Opus
Wannabe



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 3698 | TRs | Pics
Location: The big rock candy mountain
Opus
Wannabe
PostFri Aug 13, 2010 8:27 pm 
Felt like escaping to wander yet again and air out. Along the way I got it into my head that it would be nice to hike 30 miles for my 30th birthday. I overshot my goal a little but still close enough. Left work early Wednesday and made the long drive over Jacks Pass and the Beckler Road. Set out just after 6pm on the Quartz Creek trail and made it to Curry Gap about 7:30. A very nice swimming hole along the way. Trail is also pretty overgrown in places with stinging nettles. Clouds dropped on me at Curry but bugs were not bad.
Quartz Creek trailhead
Quartz Creek trailhead
Trees
Trees
Swimming hole
Swimming hole
Trail
Trail
Curry Gap
Curry Gap
Out of camp later than planned at 7:30 and up the Bald Eagle Mountain trail. Also overgrown in places and I was soaked from dew. On the ridge I made my way up Bald Eagle Mountain. More difficult than I expected due to brush (though not sure I took a good route) and it took longer than I wanted. Bugs on the summit were horrendous and views so so; not worth the effort. Descent took awhile.
Sign
Sign
Sloan Mountain
Sloan Mountain
Flowers
Flowers
View from Bald Eagle Mountain
View from Bald Eagle Mountain
Back on trail and made good time to June Mountain. Some blow downs along the way. Not many flowers but lots of corn lilies. Had lunch on top of June Mountain along with lots of mosquitoes. Ran into another hiker here. Descended to Little Blue Lake on rocky trail. Little Blue lake is nice and the water a good swimming temperature. Moved on to Blue Lake and setup my tent to ditch my gear. Took a light pack and went up Johnson Mountain (forgetting to bring my water bottle!). Met a nice older couple on the ridge who came in from White Pass. Views from Johnson were good but lots of clouds coming in and breezy.
Bee
Bee
Ladybug
Ladybug
Trail to June Mountain
Trail to June Mountain
Blue sky
Blue sky
Clear water
Clear water
Sky
Sky
Looking back
Looking back
Lilies
Lilies
Blue Lake
Blue Lake
Johnson Mountain lookout site
Johnson Mountain lookout site
Water
Water
Descended back to Blue Lake to figure out where I wanted to go now. Too early to setup camp so I packed up and headed up the Blue Lake High route towards the PCT. This is more a boot path than a real trail but not too bad. Dropped down to Dishpan Gap on the other side and met the PCT. Thought about camping at Wards Pass or anywhere with a view of Glacier Peak but it was socked in with heavy clouds. Opted to move on to Lake Sally Anne and shorten my hike out. Camped here with a nice older couple. Clear skies on this side of the ridge and I saw many meteors, including one very bright one.
Flowers
Flowers
Junction
Junction
Meadow
Meadow
PCT
PCT
Lupine
Lupine
Traditional photo
Traditional photo
Out of camp on time about 6:45 and moving on. The PCT is nice to hike when you want to make up miles; good tread, not too steep. I'd wanted to go up Skykomish Peak too but walked too far past a good ascent route, oh well. Continued on and refilled on water at Cady Pass. Climbed up and met the West Cady Ridge trail from the PCT. Continued up and had lunch on top of Benchmark Mountain. Great views! Signed the register (which needs a real book) and packed out a water bottle someone left.
Calm water
Calm water
Trail and peaks
Trail and peaks
Flowers and waterfall
Flowers and waterfall
Sign
Sign
Meadows
Meadows
One tree
One tree
Grouse
Grouse
View from Benchmark Mountain
View from Benchmark Mountain
On the way out I met a hunter/guide with binoculars looking for deer, a pair of dayhikers, and a family hiking up along with their 80 and 82 year old grandparents!
Trail towards Rainier
Trail towards Rainier
Forest
Forest
Exit trailhead
Exit trailhead
Great weather and some awesome scenery! Bugs were present and annoying in a few places but on the whole not too bad. Click here for all the photos. Route used: Quartz creek to Curry Gap, Quartz Creek trail #1050 Curry Gap to June Mountain, Bald Eagle Mountain trail #650 June Mountain to Blue Lake, Pilot Ridge trail #652 Blue Lake to Johnson Mountain (&back), Johnson Mountain trail #652.2 Blue Lake to Dishpan Gap, Blue Lake High Route trail #652.1 Dishpan Gap to Saddle Gap, PCT #2000 Saddle Gap to Benchmark Mountain, exit, West Cady Ridge trail #1054 Total miles (per Greentrails): 34.6

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bonobo
Owl Juggler for rent



Joined: 23 Jun 2004
Posts: 818 | TRs | Pics
bonobo
Owl Juggler for rent
PostFri Aug 13, 2010 8:35 pm 
Awesome birthday hike! Looks beautiful and how great to be out there for the shower. You must have cleaned freddies out of FT cans. I was looking for some there today!

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TrailPair
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Joined: 17 Apr 2005
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TrailPair
Member
PostFri Aug 13, 2010 8:35 pm 
Nice trip up.gif

This thing called work is interfering with my play
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Opus
Wannabe



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 3698 | TRs | Pics
Location: The big rock candy mountain
Opus
Wannabe
PostFri Aug 13, 2010 8:46 pm 
I haven't been able to find the Fat Tire cans at Freddy's or QFC this year. I found this case at Ballard Market.

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Movenhike
\m/..mmmmetal\m/



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 642 | TRs | Pics
Location: Leavenworth, WA
Movenhike
\m/..mmmmetal\m/
PostFri Aug 13, 2010 8:50 pm 
Dang! I just turned 30 too! I took a couple-a groundbreaking (4 me) hikes as well. Nice pics. Great looking loop.

"Make it your Friend" -John Bull
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chiwakum
not credible



Joined: 29 Jun 2009
Posts: 980 | TRs | Pics
Location: Ballard
chiwakum
not credible
PostFri Aug 13, 2010 9:24 pm 
I love that area. I'm glad you did the high route between PCT and Blue Lake. It's a great place to catch a sunset. Beautiful pics.

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Sore Feet
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Sore Feet
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PostFri Aug 13, 2010 10:06 pm 
Looks like the flowers are still behind up there too. Hopefully this weekend will help fix that.

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Pass-n-Thru
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Joined: 07 Jul 2010
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Pass-n-Thru
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PostSat Aug 14, 2010 9:31 am 
That BLue lake is amazing. I wonder how deep it is? Great trip.

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Triton
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Joined: 26 Aug 2009
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Location: Duvall,WA
Triton
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PostSat Aug 14, 2010 8:57 pm 
Hey, that was my sister, niece, parents (80 and 82 y/o) and myself you saw on the way down. Nice to see where you went.

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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
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Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostSun Aug 15, 2010 11:48 am 
Such a nice trip! No one else camped at Blue Lakes? I can't wait to get up there - after the bugs, though. up.gif

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
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Opus
Wannabe



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 3698 | TRs | Pics
Location: The big rock candy mountain
Opus
Wannabe
PostSun Aug 15, 2010 7:20 pm 
The older couple coming down from Pilot Ridge may have stayed at Blue Lake. They were thinking either the lake or up near the top of June Mountain. Aside from them, nobody. Bugs surprisingly were not bad at the lake. Much worse on top of June Mountain and Bald Eagle ridge.

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Grizzy
Yellow Cedar Hugger



Joined: 16 Jul 2006
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Location: Switchbacks
Grizzy
Yellow Cedar Hugger
PostSun Aug 15, 2010 9:34 pm 
Love the pictures! they are wonderful as usual, I especially like "Meadow" (and "Traditional" of course) up.gif up.gif up.gif up.gif up.gif

All the birds have flown up and gone; A lonely cloud floats leisurely by. We never tire of looking at each other - Only the mountain and I. ~Li Po~
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iron
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iron
Member
PostMon Aug 16, 2010 12:31 am 
happy birthday and welcome to the 30 crowd. we rock smile.gif

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wamtngal
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wamtngal
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PostMon Aug 16, 2010 7:43 am 
Looks like a great trip, Opus -- an area I have yet to explore. What tent setup is that? Looks unfamiliar to me with that band of yellow fabric.

Opinions expressed here are my own.
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Opus
Wannabe



Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 3698 | TRs | Pics
Location: The big rock candy mountain
Opus
Wannabe
PostMon Aug 16, 2010 11:26 am 
wamtngal wrote:
What tent setup is that? Looks unfamiliar to me with that band of yellow fabric.
It's a Tarptent Moment. Pretty much a shrunken and stretched version of the Rainbow with a vestibule. I'm pretty happy with it but in some ways like my old Contrail better. It pitches with only 2 stakes very easily though and seems very stormworthy.

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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Quartz Ck, Blue Lk, Benchmark, W. Cady loop, 8.11-13.2010
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