Forum Index > Trip Reports > The Adventures of GeoTom Sawyer & Jasperberry Finn; 11-07-10
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GeoTom
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GeoTom
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PostMon Nov 08, 2010 11:42 am 
2-legger: GeoTom Roller in snow: Jasper Access: Highway 2 > Foss River Road #68 > Road #6830 > Spur #310 Maps: Green Trails #175 Skykomish and #176 Stevens Pass Trails/Route: Tonga Ridge Trail #1058 > Mt. Sawyer Trail > Off-trail travel > Tonga Ridge Trail again Summits: Mt. Sawyer (5,501) and Mt. Finn (5,280+) Mileage: A little less than 6 Elevation Gain: GPS said ~2,800 total, which seems a bit high to me but who can question technology? The story The weather forecast was not encouraging for the weekend, and Saturday was spent at home raking leaves and trowing frisbees for Jasper. We needed something more before the work week started again, and decided to check out Tonga Ridge and Mt. Sawyer before the roads became totally snow covered. Fortunately I wasn't texting while driving as we came to a sudden stop when I saw this about 4 miles up Road 6830:
We got out, assessed the situation, then drove around.
We got out, assessed the situation, then drove around.
After safely driving around the obstruction, we soon reached the empty trailhead and set off hiking with some wet snowflakes falling from above. The views were limited, so we kept moving until we reached the junction with the Mt. Sawyer Trail. Somehow I lost the trail less than 50 vertical feet from the top, but we pushed on and soon found ourselves gazing at the nearby clouds from Mt. Sawyer's summit. I ate a sandwich, Jasper had a few treats, and I placed a call to Dani to share the good news of our summit conquest.
Follow the stubby tailed dog
Follow the stubby tailed dog
Snow roll!
Snow roll!
Brightness behind the clouds
Brightness behind the clouds
Berries
Berries
On the Mt. Sawyer Trail
On the Mt. Sawyer Trail
I. Want. The. Treat.
I. Want. The. Treat.
Leave the fingers!
Leave the fingers!
Since it was still early I decided to try for the unofficially named Mt. Finn. I would have liked to have been able to see the peak before heading towards it, but the weather gods had other ideas. We tried to stay on the crest of the ridge connecting Sawyer and Finn, but a rocky section a couple hundred feet below Sawyer's summit posed a problem. If dry we may not have given it a second thought, but the thin snow on top of the rocks wasn't appealing to me or my stout friend. We descended below the obstacle to the south, and managed to reach the saddle between Tom and Huck without incident, other than getting soaked from the wet vegetation. I looked up and was surprised to be able to see Finn looming overhead. We picked up the pace a little and soon found ourselves on the top of Mt. Finn. Or so I thought at first. While taking a break I checked the GPS and noticed that we were actually on the point marked as 5,258 on the map, and the actual summit of Finn was few hundred feet to the west and maybe 30 feet higher. As the clouds came and went I could even see a slightly higher treed bump where Finn should be, so I told Jasper that we would walk over the top of it on our way back. In the spirit of the peak names, I decided to call Pt. 5,258 Becky. Silly, but it sounds better than Injun Joe or Muff Potter.
Route to Finn from Sawyer
Route to Finn from Sawyer
It's getting brighter...
It's getting brighter...
A Mt. Finn sighting
A Mt. Finn sighting
Almost to the top of Finn
Almost to the top of Finn
Sawyer from Finn
Sawyer from Finn
Jasper admires the views
Jasper admires the views
Thoroughly unimpressed with the views from the actual Mt. Finn summit, I didn't even bother getting the camera out of my pocket. The batteries were on their deathbed anyway. I thought it would be a quick and easy descent back to the Tonga Ridge Trail, but somehow I kept wanting to descend further right than I needed to. A check of my GPS track corrected my internal navigation error, and shortly I tripped over the trail. Jasper led the way back to the truck with a snow/rain mix assaulting us (again, it was falling from above). A milkshake at Zeke's and some more frisbee tossing in the backyard completed the day.

Knows literally nothing
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Go Jo
of the lykkens



Joined: 08 Jun 2003
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Go Jo
of the lykkens
PostMon Nov 08, 2010 2:59 pm 
GeoTom wrote:
A milkshake at Zeke's
I was thinking of doing a variation of this trip (minus the actual hiking & peak bagging) and wondered if I could get a little beta concerning which route you chose flavor-wise?

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Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver



Joined: 24 Apr 2006
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Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver
PostMon Nov 08, 2010 3:42 pm 
GeoTom wrote:
Route to Finn from Sawyer
Route to Finn from Sawyer
I think you ought to do a "Find Jasper In This Photo" contest! This time of year, it would be hard to spot him, so to speak. lol.gif Nice trip - always wondered about that other little bump!

Four-paw buddy lets me tag along!
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woutervw
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Joined: 02 Oct 2010
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woutervw
In search of trips
PostMon Nov 08, 2010 3:44 pm 
GeoTom wrote:
Snow roll!
Snow roll!
Dogs are all the same. I keep wondering if Zoey makes snow-dogs or dog-angels.

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Type E
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Type E
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PostMon Nov 08, 2010 5:54 pm 
I see the snow has melted quite a bit since I was there. Did you see any sign of my footprints? E

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GeoTom
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GeoTom
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PostTue Nov 09, 2010 9:22 pm 
Go Jo wrote:
I was thinking of doing a variation of this trip (minus the actual hiking & peak bagging) and wondered if I could get a little beta concerning which route you chose flavor-wise?
First I leaned towards raspberry as I had enjoyed one only a couple weeks earlier, but I decided to try something different. Then I thought about espresso, but it was getting late in the day and I didn't want to be awake all night, so I finally settled on chocolate. Yum.
Sadie's Driver wrote:
I think you ought to do a "Find Jasper In This Photo" contest!
To be fair, the photo you picked doesn't even have Jasper in it. lol.gif
woutervw wrote:
Dogs are all the same. I keep wondering if Zoey makes snow-dogs or dog-angels.
I asked Jasper, but he didn't respond.
Type E wrote:
I see the snow has melted quite a bit since I was there. Did you see any sign of my footprints?
I did see some old footprint impressions near the top of Sawyer and again as I was descending Finn.

Knows literally nothing
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Magellan
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Magellan
Brutally Handsome
PostTue Nov 09, 2010 10:02 pm 
Nice trip you two. up.gif up.gif
Quote:
...the thin snow on top of the rocks wasn't appealing to me or my stout friend...
I had to look back up at the top to see which one of you was writing the TR. clown.gif

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Matt
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
PostWed Nov 10, 2010 12:15 am 
Good to hear from you and Jasper. Nice job naming the peaks.

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