[iron]

after tackling the mighty jim hill the day before, hotpantz and i headed out to the indian creek/white river trailhead. well, first we stopped at the 59er for some shakes. bonus points to the guy working the register that complimented my legs: "man, do you workout? you're legs are so huge!" fun times. we arrived at the trailhead around 8:30pm. most of the campsites along the road were full, so we camped at the car. well, just away from the car. it felt like cheating. here, in a beautiful spot, with only a handful of cars, no people, no bugs, perfect temps. and then, trying to place how something like that is even possible in a world with BILLIONS of people. amazing. WA rocks. a leisurely start of 830 had us heading out on the beautiful indian creek trail. many memories were jogged for me as this was the location of my first ever backpack trip back in 2005. the white river area was also the site of some therapeutic rehab while i was recovering from a broken hip. for those considering between the white river trail or indian creek trail to get up towards the PCT - take the indian creek trail. it's so pleasant.

fine place for a morning stroll

reflecting on the raging white river

photosynthesis

typical scene in the indian creek / white river areas

we crossed the creek coming off mt. david. felt cold at this time of day; later, after rising ~18", it would feel wonderful.

fording the creek off of mt david

vortex

then, the stretch of trail between here and the indian creek bridge had quite a few skeeters. we thought we'd be in for a long day if they continued, but fortunately, after crossing indian creek, the breeze picked up just enough to keep them moving along without bothering us.

unreal color

tree hugging

indian "creek"

open fields

playing in the grass

soft hairs

i did little research prior to this trip. figured the trail up to airplane lake would be easy enough to spot. stefan mentioned, in 2003, that it was right across from a fire ring. well, it kind of was. actually, it's about 50ft before you see a couple of campsites on the S side of the trail near the 4.5 mile mark.

where to leave the indian creek trail

hotpantz and i went our separate ways: me to get my body cut up from the brush, and she to take some time to write a wedding speech (maid of honor duties) and soak her hips while enjoying the sun. i was on the fisherman's trail for about 2 minutes. then, downed logs obliterated everything. i fought through this stuff, but didn't re-gain the trail for another 500 vertical feet or so. i was too far left, near the creek coming out of airplane lake. your goal should be to go straight uphill at the downed logs, then pay attention to the right. regardless, after soaking my shirt through with sweat, i was rewarded with a very nice view of a waterfall.

airplane lake creek

eventually, brush forced me to the right where i found the trail. i was able to follow it to ~5000' before snow covered it. i then traversed left and slightly up to gain the outlet, avoiding rock bands to the right.

umm, let's go right

saul as seen from the outlet of airplane lake

airplane lake and saul

fishy

several paths appeared to airplane peak. i went left of the summit to allow me to drop my pack on the ridge. several false summits and a little scrambling gets you to the top. no register, but still some wire and wood scraps up there.

view from airplane peak

trail going up to boulder pass

at saddle, saul on L, YES! peak center, clark on right

YES! peak

tenpeak and thunder basin

david and poets

kololo and YES! peak

saul

if you've ever wondered why the white river trail sucks so badly after boulder creek trail, here's why:

white river valley

i followed the ridge from airplane peak towards saul. at times, you need to take some ramps on your L. alternatively, it appeared one could drop to the R via snow slopes, but you'd lose more elevation. after the saddle, it was 98% snow to the summit.

airplane lake

ridge heading towards saul

luahna and clark

ridge to summit of saul

summit rocks

a mountaineers register, placed in 1984, awaited my inspection. lots of familiar names in there.

what will i see?

been here awhile

views were great. one of my favorite areas on the planet.

indian creek through white river

indian head

kololo, glacier gap, and YES! peak

heading down, i decided to take a series of connecting snowfields down to the lake instead of retracing my steps on the ridge. i had doubts if it would work since i could never fully see the route from any one vantage point. all i saw were rock walls, waterfalls, and discontinuities.

route down to the lake, airplane peak above

sun cups forming

my route down

it worked fine enough, though there's lots of running water underfoot in places. i was happy to make it back to the outlet without punching through a snow bridge. retraced my steps back to the trail. it was easier to follow going down, especially after i cleared it of all branches within reason. i never saw the paint marks or flagging mentioned in a previous TR, so i'm not sure what's up with that.

shades of paint

nearing the bottom, the trail petered out. i checked my altimeter and it told me only 100' vert to go. i laughed. no sweat i thought. didn't matter what was in front of me. then i looked up.

only 100' to go, eh?

okay, where's that trail go again? i found it (skier's left) and stayed on it to where i started the day. down a little blood, but jacked with endorphins.

a few battle scars

cruised the trail back to the TH in about an hour to find hotpantz enjoying a book in the sun while sitting next to a raging white river.

what it feels like for your feet

puffballs

raging torrent

a great day to be out!

[wildernessed]

Very nice back there in the fall also. I was looking at Jim Hill from Signal a few weeks ago, and thought maybe now would be a good time to do it, but maybe not looking at your TR from there.

[HitTheTrail]

[Justus S.]

Great area to visit. Thanks for reminding me of my trip up. I really liked the views from Saul. The lake is pretty too in the fall.

[Nietzsche's Horse]

[raising3hikers]

Had no idea those peaks had such great views. Definitely looks like a good trip, thanks for the report

[klar]

sweet spot! best sign ever .....

[b00]

did you see fast feet and my names in the register. i love those john gilbert lists of bearings, i've seen them on a few peaks. :>) ps - nice legs, good blood shot :>)

[iron]

yes, would have been nice to see that sign. guess i didn't go far enough on the indian creek trail. wood: i saw many names, yours included. you're da man.

[Snowdog]

[silence]

sweet trip and climb ..

[DIYSteve]

Love that place! Indian Creek is way to go. Iron, did you see any names in the register (besides Jonathan Pryce and Anita and me) who did the Indian Head HR? It's a very cool route and deserves of more attention. If anyone is interested, PM me for details (and be prepared for a couple hours of exposed 3rd class scrambling).

[HitTheTrail]