[mtn.climber]

Kim (atop Mastiff): Do you want to knock off Howard, too? Dave: I really don't want to come back the way we went up. Kim: We'll go down via Lake Crescent Dave: Okay, let's do it. Our adventure started a few hours earlier, at the Merritt lake trailhead. We started up the trail at 8:20, and ran into continuous snow a couple miles up the trail at 4500' elevation. Kim had entered waypoints into her GPS for the entire hike, so we reached the lake shortly after with no problems.

Merritt lake

Climb above Merritt

Merritt lake

From there we gained a saddle above the lake, with plans to head down a ramp to Lost lake, where we would work our way around the west side and begin our climb up Mt. Mastiff. The ramp was much steeper than anticipated, so we backtracked and climbed down, aka postholed, a rock and tree filled snow ramp to the east side of Lost lake. When we reached the lake, we both agreed that we didn't want to have to climb back up the same way.

First view of Lost lake & Mastiff

Lost lake reflection

Lost lake & Mastiff

We went around the east/north side of the lake, and began our long haul up the steep slopes of Mastiff. Views got better as we gained altitude. Snow was perfect for booting, despite the occasional posthole, and we reached the summit at 1:20 (elev. 6741'). Someone had signed the register about 30 minutes ahead of us, and we spotted him climbing towards Mt. Howard. We figured since he was breaking trail, we'd follow his steps and knock off Howard, too.

Mastiff ridge

View from Mastiff ridge

Mastiff summit

Mastiff summit

Lost lake from high on Mastiff

Climbing higher

Kim arrives at Mastiff summit

Howard from Mastiff

Stairmaster to Howard summit

Nearing Howard summit

An hour passed, and we found ourselves standing on the windy summit of Howard (elev. 7063). We checked GPS, map and compass headings to begin our descent towards lake Crescent. We should have went directly south from the summit, but a couple of bad decisions led us further east until we were seperated from Crescent by a ridge with a sheer face. We checked the map again, and decided if we kept descending we'd come out at the Royal creek drainage, which would allow us to pick up the Nason Ridge trail for the hike out. Unknown to us at the time were the sheer cliffs that stood between us and Royal creek.

Howard summit view

Mastiff from Howard

Howard summit view

Rock mountain

Howard summit view

By the time we realized it would be difficult, if not impossible, to reach Royal creek, we had descended so far that the idea of climbing back towards Howard was a last-ditch option. We crept along cliff edges trying to find a weakness that would allow us safely down, but kept getting turned back. It appeared our only choice was to turn around, and then we spotted a steep snow ramp off to our right. The brush/trees were so thick that we weren't sure we could reach it, and if we did, could we descend it without cliffing out before reaching bottom. We spent the next hour (it seemed much longer) clinging onto branches, roots, etc., as we lowered ourselves foot by foot closer to the ramp. And without views, we still didn't know if we would be able to descend. Finally we neared the ramp, but had about a 10-foot drop onto steep snow. Luckily the snow conditions were perfect, and we were able to slide/jump onto the safety of the ramp. Shortly after, we reached the creek where we took a well-deserved rest.

Kim on the snow ramp

Couldn't go down here

Snow ramp that led us to safety

Lots of cliffs

Royal creek

We followed Royal creek down to the Nason Ridge trail (all under lots of snow, but our GPS confirmed we were back on track). There was one more tough stretch climbing back up the ridge, but soon we began a long traverse that led us back to a point on the Merritt lake trail. Finally seeing a trail under our feet brought us much happiness/elation/relief. From there we quickly headed back to the cars, arriving at 7:45, a little more than 11 hours after starting. We quickly agreed that we deserved a special treat, and with the 59er Diner only a few miles away, that filled our need.

Well deserved dinner spot

Despite our mistake on the descent, it was a great trip with a great climbing partner. As we noticed scrawled on one of the summit registers, "Gotta Love the Cascades". Trip facts: Distance: Lots Elevation Gained: Lots Lesson: Make sure to head to Lake Crescent on descent, and not try to shortcut.

[Rainie Too!]

Fabulous trip Dave! Not everyone does the east ridge via Lost Lake. I really liked that ridge walk!

Dave doing the east ridge to Mastiff

Last trek up Howard Thank you for finding the way down that cliff face, even if my arms are a few inches longer now! It was a beautiful bowl probably few people visit.

[lovetowonder]

Wow- looks like an adventure! I especially like your detailed "trip facts" at the end.