At 5568 feet, 'Not So Sasse' Peak is unranked on the Back Court 100 list... located a half-mile west of and 162 feet lower than the treed summit of its big brother, Sasse Mountain.
We parked (2268') in a plowed area on the side of the Salmon La Sac Road... just north of the Cle Elum River Campground... crossed the road... where we quickly found an unmarked trail that led us over to a crossing (~2640') of Howson Creek after hiking a half mile.
The terrain steepened significantly after crossing the creek... wasting no time as we gained 2400 feet of elevation in less than 2 miles... reaching a ridge (~5000') that parallels Sasse Ridge... leaving a .75 mile hike along the narrow ridge... as we crossed over Point 5335 and on to the the 'Not So Sasse' summit.
We used our snowshoes from the Howson Creek crossing to the summit... and kept them on as we traced our steps back to ~4500 feet... where I led our group astray (easily making my list of top 10 route finding errors) by suggesting that we avoid the steepest part of the trip by staying in more open terrain and venturing a bit more to the north. But ugh!!... the 400 foot cliff band that we found at 4000 feet had us scrambling around to try and find the best way down. We put on our crampons/microspikes and found a ramp and gully system that got us off of the cliffy section. Deciding that we had had enough excitement for the day, we worked our way back over to the route we used on the way up and used it to get back to the car.
To quote Snowdog... "Did we really have time to take the shortcut?"
A little less than 6 miles roundtrip... gaining 3288 feet of elevation.
Sunshine in the morning turned to clouds by the time we were half way to our destination... with very light snow falling by the end of the trip.
A strong group of hikers could make a loop out of this trip by including Sasse Mountain, Howson Peak and Point 5159.
GPS track and photos of our trip to 'Not So Sasse' Peak.
..
"Teanaway 70" Peaks List... a guide to hiking and scrambling in the Teanaway Area.
----------------
0
"Teanaway 70" Peaks List... a guide to hiking and scrambling in the Teanaway Area.
----------------
A strong group of hikers could make a loop out of this trip by including Sasse Mountain, Howson Peak and Point 5159.
So, I assume your group is not in this category???
Obviously they don't have better sense than to follow directions coming from someone from Tennessee!
(Elle actually has been there before . . . Sasse Ridge 2010)
where I led our group astray (easily making my list of top 10 route finding errors)
...but like Rodman said: This turned a ho-hum hike into something a bit more epic
Great workout and fun day depite the luck of sun or not completing the loop
To quote Snowdog... "Did we really have time to take the shortcut?"
------classic line!
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
― MLK Jr.
0
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”
― MLK Jr.
A strong group of hikers could make a loop out of this trip by including Sasse Mountain, Howson Peak and Point 5159.
So, I assume your group is not in this category???
Obviously they don't have better sense than to follow directions coming from someone from Tennessee!
Truth be told... we drove over the pass with the idea of doing Point 5159 and Howson Peak... however, we got sucked to the north side of Howson Creek by what looked like slightly easier terrain. Then the possibility of making a loop trip of Sasse, Howson and Point 5159 kept us on the north side of the creek. At the time we didn't even know that our eventual high point had a name.
I can't speak for the other members in my group, but when I reached the summit of 'Not So Sasse' I knew it would take a much stronger hiker than me to do that loop... and a little research shows that just two weeks earlier, nwhiker Jeb came as close as a person can come and not quite finish the loop I referred to... here is a link to his report... The Sasse/Howson Loop.
And yes, no one should ever follow a boy raised in the Appalachia!!
..
"Teanaway 70" Peaks List... a guide to hiking and scrambling in the Teanaway Area.
----------------
0
"Teanaway 70" Peaks List... a guide to hiking and scrambling in the Teanaway Area.
----------------
leaving a .75 mile hike along the narrow ridge... as we crossed over Point 5335 and on to the the 'Not So Sasse' summit.
The first time I visited Not-So-Sasse I lost the trail and wound up picking my way along that narrow ridge crest from point 5335. It must have been challenging to do that on the snow.
Here's a map that shows the current (unmaintained) trail.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate NWHikers.net earns from qualifying purchases when you use our link(s).
Obviously they don't have better sense than to follow directions coming from someone from Tennessee! 
(Elle actually has been there before . . . 
Great workout and fun day depite the luck of sun or not completing the loop 
