[Jeb]

There is a sign less than a mile down Monte Cristo Road/Trail that warns of damage to the road ahead due to mud slides, directing hikers instead to take a bypass trail. I learned on the way out that this is not necessary as the road seems to be repaired, despite the sign. At the outhouse I took the trail marked "Weeden Creek". The trail is well maintained although slightly overgrown in a few spots, and occasionally very steep. A half moon was visible over the mountain for my entire ascent to the lake. There are only 2 snow patches left on the South face of Del Campo Peak, 3-4 on Gothic Peak, and one large one on the saddle between hugging the edge of Foggy Lake. I skirted around the right side of the lake and followed the bootpath up a small ridge toward Del Campo where I ran into a group of cavers from Seattle who were preparing to make the climb. They headed up while I had a snack and rested up with Maverick. I watched a pair of older gentleman as they emerged from behind a small ridge to the West and just below the summit, and then traversed to the east across the South face a few hundred feet above where the rock face meets the talus field. They seemed to have remained for the most part upright, which they confirmed by describing an "easy class 3 scramble with a bootpath at times." By the time I reached the top of the talus field I had seen a group descend from the East face, just to the West of the big deep gully. The cavers and another pair of climbers took this route, and after comparing the apparent exposure and considering my dogs ability I chose the path more traveled and was glad I did. I don't recommend bringing a dog past this point, as there is constant exposure on this route and more dramatic exposure for what I could see of the other. I had to assist Maverick with at least 5 tall moves on the way up and down. I am beginning to think he is half mountain goat. Views from the top are outstanding! Monte Cristo towers over Silver Tip Peak. Glacier Peak, Baker, and Rainier tower over everything. There was little to no wind all day, which also kept the wildfire haze down and visibility up. There was smoke rising from Southwest of Baring Mountain but I haven't been able to find any reports of a fire in the area. There is a summit log in an ammunition box with plenty of room left. The descent was thankfully much easier than I had expected and there was plenty of light left to run up Gothic Peak, but Maverick's paws were starting to crack and get raw so I decided not to push it so after filtering some ice cold water from the lake we had an uneventful return trip.

Del Campo Peak

My route is in green. What I could see of the other, more exposed route is in red

Summit

Summit Log

Gothic Peak

Vesper Peak, Sperry Peak, and Big Four Mountain

Sloan Peak and Glacier Peak

Pumkin pie on summit

Wilfire NW of Mount Rainier

View larger size in new window293

[The Angry Hiker]

Where the heck was the summit register? I practically tore the place apart looking for it.

[zephyr]

[The Angry Hiker]

I must've been sitting on it.

[Dane]

Nice report chad! i'm one of the cavers you met up there...we had fun climbing with you, hope to see you at a grotto meeting! Josh ending up tearing his ACL on the hike out...thankfully he was able to peg-leg out while i carried his pack. Maverick is indeed a special pup, this ain't a dog hike!

[Jeb]

It's good to hear from you dane! Bummer about Josh's ACL, I hope he won't be out for too long. I will be at the meeting next week in Milton.

[Jeb]

As for the loose rock that I should have mentioned as a safety concern in my report, i witnessed and caused a scary amount of rockfall. Nearly everyone making the climb wore a helmet and everyone should. It's also very important as always to maintain awareness of, and plenty of separation between parties on ascent/descent.

[wolffie]

Rats. Al & Gwynnie are crushed. Maverick beat them to it. It's true: if dogs are so smart, how come they can't untangle their leashes? And why are they stupid about rockfall? There are places where a dog should not be at all, and places where a dog should not be when anybody is under them (or above them -- dogs frequently try to catch flying objects in their mouths). I've heard a rumor that Artist's Point is no closed to dogs because of a rockfall accident. ?? So Al & Gwynnie are gonna do Del Campo in winter. Without oxygen.