Forum Index > Trip Reports > Buck & Napeequa summits. Worth the effort.
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mtn.climber
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mtn.climber
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PostThu Sep 15, 2011 2:49 pm 
Rainie Too wanted to knock off Buck mountain (8528') before summer ended, and asked if I would join her. As extra temptation, she added that we could climb Napeequa (8073') on the same trip. Of course, I jumped at the chance. Our four-day adventure included beautiful flowering meadows, high alpine lakes, steep snow and rock scrambles, and even an unplanned bivy high on the shoulder of Mt. Berge.
Buck, Berge and Cleator
Buck, Berge and Cleator
Fortress mountain
Fortress mountain
Helmet Butte, Fortress and flowering hillsides
Helmet Butte, Fortress and flowering hillsides
More flowers
More flowers
The trail from Trinity to Buck Creek pass was mercifully shaded, which helped since the temps were in the mid 80s on Sunday. From there, we headed a couple of more miles to High Pass and set up camp. Fantastic views of high peaks surrounded us.
High pass views
High pass views
Full moon sets over Glacier peak
Full moon sets over Glacier peak
Triad lake
Triad lake
Only one other group was at High Pass. Turns out it was fellow NWHikers Tom Sjolseth, Don Duncan and Norm (sorry I forgot Norm's last name). They reconfirmed our planned route up Napeequa. A fun climb that finished with a class 3 scramble to reach the summit.
Napeequa
Napeequa
Glacier peak
Glacier peak
Cirque mountain from Napeequa summit
Cirque mountain from Napeequa summit
Southern views from Napeequa summit
Southern views from Napeequa summit
Climbing down Napeequa
Climbing down Napeequa
After descending, we headed off towards the Buck/Berge saddle to set up our next camp. It took us a few hours to reach the basin, which again offered beautiful views.
Buck from the pass we climbed over
Buck from the pass we climbed over
Sunrise at Buck/Berge saddle
Sunrise at Buck/Berge saddle
More views
More views
Fantastic views from Buck/Berge saddle
Fantastic views from Buck/Berge saddle
Buck/Berge saddle
Buck/Berge saddle
RT's plan had been to carry the gear up to 8000'. From there we would summit Buck, grab the gear, and head southeast towards Alpine Creek to exit. I convinced her that we could descend directly down from the Buck/Berge saddle. That way we could summit Buck without carrying all the gear. We were able to avoid most of the snow patches on our way to the Buck summit. After aiming for what we thought was the middle summit, we found ourselves on a knife edge ridge on the wrong side of the south summit. Using GPS and map, we corrected our mistake, and made our way back to the middle summit. There is a low angle snowfield to cross before the rock scramble, but crampons are needed. The summit block has a notch in the middle, and we aimed for the right side which looked higher to us. After getting there, we realized the left side of the notch is the high point. We dropped a ways and worked our way to the high point. There are maybe 1-2 class 4 moves that need to be made to reach the summit.
Clark mountain
Clark mountain
Buck's south summit
Buck's south summit
King lake from Buck summit
King lake from Buck summit
Buck summit.  Not lots of room
Buck summit. Not lots of room
Buck summit register
Buck summit register
Glacier peak from Buck
Glacier peak from Buck
Descent back to the saddle was uneventful. We packed up and started down steep talus slopes along the face of Mount Berge. According to reports, there is a steep ramp at 5900' to drop around the shoulder of Berge. We reached the shoulder and spent nearly two hours trying to find a route, but everything appeared to cliff out. It was near dark, so we set up bivy sites on the flattest ground we could find (not flat).
Steep talus field.  So fun we did it twice
Steep talus field. So fun we did it twice
Unplanned bivy site
Unplanned bivy site
Buck mountain
Buck mountain
The next morning found us climbing back up the talus field, and returning the way we entered. Sixteen miles later, we reached the cars and a packed trailhead. Turns out deer season begins today. An hour down the road and we celebrated our success at the 59er Diner. Our waitress was too nice to comment on our ragged and dirty appearance. If you're heading into the hills soon, stay safe.

Reach for the sky, cuz tomorrow may never come. Live the life of love. Love the life you live.
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raising3hikers
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PostThu Sep 15, 2011 5:10 pm 
Buck sure is a nice one, nice sunset shot at the Buck/Berge saddle. Good for you guys getting Napeequa also

Eric Eames
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twodogdad
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PostThu Sep 15, 2011 7:07 pm 
Overachievers up.gif tdd

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belowfellow
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PostThu Sep 15, 2011 8:09 pm 
nice work and great pics. up.gif

"Wilderness is bliss"
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Roald
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PostSat Sep 17, 2011 11:21 am 
Ooh, you probably were so close to that ramp as you rounded Berge's shoulder. It is not steep, but when you are in the brush it can be hard to find. Whatever, going back gave you the chance to hike through the High Pass area again! Sounds like a nice trip. I would like to visit Napeequa one of these days.

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lovetowonder
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PostSun Sep 18, 2011 7:34 pm 
Wow - strong work! I'm jealous!

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cartman
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PostSun Sep 18, 2011 11:20 pm 
Cool pics and trip. One way to exit would be to do what we did when we day tripped Buck, which is to reverse Justus' route when he went up Buck. No more than class 3, and the brushy stuff is mostly gentle huckleberry. And only two miles of trail to have to walk. This is a great route if wanting to day trip Buck. Or here's Stefan's description for what you were trying to do getting off of Berge: "Came out via the climbers path/cross country down to trail. First this section is easy to follow. Then it is absolutely terrible for about 40 yards through a section of slide alder you cannot avoid. Then you get to the “ledge” but make sure you know EXACTLY where this ledge is at. We were confused for about 20 minutes, but eventually found the ledge by mistake. The ledge is not exactly at where the steep part of the east buttress of Berge is at…but the ledge is about 50 BELOW the rocky part of the east buttress of Berge, and it is directly above a slab apron that is facing NE. Then we traversed slightly up and north. Klenke recommended going high. That is what I did. However, Mike and his son stayed somewhat in the middle of the basin below High Pass. I will say, they did a better job than I did. Although I went high and avoided a lot of brush, I had steep weedy and heathery slopes to contend with. They had brush, but they still were ahead of me by about 20 minutes. My recommendation, go high if you want to avoid brush…but stay in the middle if your goal is for time. We eventually reached the climbers path ramp to the Cleator east ridge. Found the camp, and followed a faint trail down the ridgeline until we lost it at 4900 feet. From there we basically went cross country down to around 4300 feet, crossed the creek and found the trail."

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mtn.climber
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PostMon Sep 19, 2011 10:14 am 
Cartman, Using Justus' route was our original plan, but I talked RT out of it and said let's go down around the shoulder of Berge instead. That way we wouldn't have to carry the overnight gear up Buck. Turns out, that would have been the better option. I'd like to go back and do it via Justus' route, just so I know.

Reach for the sky, cuz tomorrow may never come. Live the life of love. Love the life you live.
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nvoit
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PostMon Sep 19, 2011 1:42 pm 
The full moon and sunrise pics are stunning! Making me miss the cascades more and more...

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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Buck & Napeequa summits. Worth the effort.
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