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iron Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6391 | TRs | Pics Location: southeast kootenays |
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iron
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Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:28 pm
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in my lifetime, i've had 4 or 5 best friends. i was fortunate enough to have 4 of them join me and hotpantz at our wedding two summers ago. i was equally fortunate to have 3 of them join me for, what i hope, is a somewhat regular occurrence of doing a backpacking trip together.
friend 1, 2-canes, was my dormmate for 2 years and roommate for another 2 years. he is able to make me laugh like no other person on the planet.
friend 2, ck1, was my college paddling partner for 2 years, steel bridge teammate for 3 years, house-construction-partner for 1 long summer, and likes to keep me in check from time to time --- not easy to do, though he and his wife get one in here or there.
friend 3, fiasco, was my college paddling partner for a year, steel bridge teammate for 3 years, housemate for 5 years here in seattle, and can beat me in just about any athletic endeavor when motivated.
together, we set off on a long-ass 8hr drive to the chewuch TH. of course, this was after their flights were delayed and they didn't arrive in seattle until 1a. we left at 5a. i suggested they not even sleep, but was quickly corrected that never is 3hrs of sleep worse than 0hrs.
day 1
at first, the forest started out with a nice understory of fireweed giving color to an otherwise charred area. cool, i thought. but that ended soon, yielding instead to a semi-monotonous death march on the first day. nice planning!
we plodded along at a good clip until 2-canes got his first blister. a hole in his socks did not help. not a good start. soon, things became painful for him and would remain so the rest of the trip. eventually, we reached four point lake, which was nice, but not great. the guys were happy to have the packs off.
day 2
the day dawned bright and warm. ck1 and i set off for remmel, taking a scrambly detour instead of the trail. the others slept soundly.
i was surprised remmel offered as nice and expansive views as it did, spanning most of the north cascades from the start of the cascade river road through the pickets, the pasayten, and the chelan sawtooths.
our route down was via the trail and beautiful and larchy.
we packed up camp and set off for remmel lake. i was quite surprised by the beauty of this lake's setting. there was a group of nice older dudes that had stayed a week at the lake, catching fish and drinking beer --- gotta love horsepacking vacations; they did!
while the guys rested, i took a stroll around the lake. lots of sweet smelling tundra. in fact, this trip was quite the reminder of my work assignment a few years back where i stayed and worked out of coldfoot, alaska, and got to tromp around tundra for days. pretty amazing smell and feeling to be on tundra.
reluctantly, we had to leave. the alpine flavor of the lake definitely rejuvenated the group, and i'm sure made blisters feel less horrible, even if temporarily. fortunately, we soon reached amphitheater basin which was equally stunning and beautiful.
next up was upper cathedral lake. very nice! there was one solo camper at the W end of the lake, who offered a snarky opinion we mostly ignored, and we proceeded to camp about dead center on the lake. after a cold, and unexpectedly long (10 minute) swim due to a temporarily lost sandal, we settled in for an amazing golden reflection sunset radiating off the cliff walls of amphitheater. wow.
the gold eventually gave way to what made the water appear as though it held the blood of a thousand men.
finally, the sun gave in.
day 3
ck1 was again game for a morning peakbag trip. the night before, i explained the subtle, yet important, differences between bagging and tagging a peak. off we went to pt7685. easy walking from camp and soon we reached the top of this nice little bump.
the purple flowers of the tundra fields became more and more pronounced at this point of the trip.
we returned from whence we came, packed up (thankful the herd of goats did not eat our stuff), and headed through the towering peaks of cathedral pass.
the trail was flat and not all that interesting between cathedral and apex passes. soon, we reached the creek W of wolframite. ck1 and i headed up to tag that one too while fiasco and 2-canes proceeded onward. flowers and tundra both improved the further up we went.
down we came where we ran into the tungsten mine buildings. quite the infrastructure!
we couldn't help but toss the horseshoes while we were there.
we met back up with fiasco and 2-canes at pt7161 and then plodded on underneath bauerman ridge and teapot dome. we found campsites due E of teapot dome with ample running water and called it good. this evening, we polished off the remaining 1.5L of baileys to kill some weight. fun times were had, mostly at my expense.
day 4
kind of a repeat of the previous two days. ck1 and i headed up haig and later met up with 2-canes and fiasco at louden lake. haig was pretty, but some dumbass cairned the crap out of the hillside. i kicked them all down. if you need cairns here, you should stay home.
things finally became beautiful again at louden lake. phew, i was starting to worry this whole trip would be a mix of semi-crappy forest with occasional smatterings of flowers or lakes.
the guys were still smiling, so i was happy.
we went through horseshoe pass and onto smith lake. beautiful flowers everywhere!
smith lake was nice enough. good views of arnold and armstrong. we set up camp and this time fiasco joined ck1 and i as we raced the rain up arnold. meanwhile, 2-canes got to sit and relax in the tent as the thunder came a-clappin'.
we debated doing armstrong, but after reaching the saddle between it and arnold, we sensed the wind shifted and the storm was closing in on us. time for a nice jog back to camp. it quickly became a sprint.
just as we dove into the circus tent, the hail started coming down. glad that tent fits three dudes comfortably enough!
soon, the storm passed and we emerged from our shelters to enjoy the views and talk of good times.
day 5
morning came clear and chilly, but beautiful. the precip from the day before helped brighten things up. it was straight up glorious this morning.
the number of lupine en route to sunny pass is astounding. when you look in the far distance, you eyes will see huge patches of purple scattered all about the mountains. it's breathtaking.
all too soon you drop into big horn basin before making the final uphill push to windy pass. we couldn't pass up the opportunity to tag topaz, so ck1, fiasco and i headed over to enjoy its grippy, sharp rock.
we tagged windy, too, but i for some reason do not have pictures there, perhaps due to rain and hail. then, all downhill. 2-canes gritted his teeth for the painful descent as his blisters never improved and only got worse since his first few hours of the first day. trooper, i tell you.
all told, with the peakbagging, it came out to 77mi and 17,000'.
i'm lucky my friends let me subject them to stuff like this and not question it for one minute. i knew that'd be the case, but, still, i am thankful. i hope this is a tradition we can carry forward in the coming years as life, and distance, try to separate us a little each year.
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iron Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 6391 | TRs | Pics Location: southeast kootenays |
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iron
Member
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Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:30 pm
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about the names:
2-canes: for his reliance upon the trekking poles following the start and progression of his blisters.
ck1: because he kinda looked like a calvin klein model with his gear and general manly physique.
fiasco: for our previous forays into the cascades when neither he nor i were experienced, often ending in WTF moments.
some panos:
remmel lake
upper cathedral lake
cathedral pass
nighttime
louden lake and horseshoe pass
great basins
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Magellan Brutally Handsome
Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 13116 | TRs | Pics Location: Inexorable descent |
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Magellan
Brutally Handsome
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Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:06 pm
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Great photos, and a super story to go with them.
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Jetlag Member
Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 1410 | TRs | Pics
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Jetlag
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Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:10 pm
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The TR and photos are great . . . but I like the introduction best. Thanks for taking the time!
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puzzlr Mid Fork Rocks
Joined: 13 Feb 2007 Posts: 7216 | TRs | Pics Location: Stuck in the middle |
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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
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Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:17 pm
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What fun! Hope to see many successful sequels.
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Backpacker Joe Blind Hiker
Joined: 16 Dec 2001 Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics Location: Cle Elum |
Youre a lucky man Eyerun. Congrats.
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
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Conrad Meadow bagger
Joined: 25 Aug 2006 Posts: 2298 | TRs | Pics Location: Moscow, ID |
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Conrad
Meadow bagger
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:38 am
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The guy in the blue shirt standing on top of Arnold, poles in the air, in a thunderstorm. Darwin award?
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GaliWalker Have camera will use
Joined: 10 Dec 2007 Posts: 4916 | TRs | Pics Location: Pittsburgh |
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GaliWalker
Have camera will use
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 6:19 am
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What a nice report. Some pretty cool photos too. My favorite part of the report was how you began with a photo of all of you, dressed to the nines, and ended with another photo of the group, in hiking attire.
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raising3hikers Member
Joined: 21 Sep 2007 Posts: 2343 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, Wa |
looks like a great time in some good spots
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RichP Member
Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 5628 | TRs | Pics Location: here |
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RichP
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 7:57 am
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Nothing better than getting out with a group of buds.
Really nice pics too.
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Don Member
Joined: 25 Apr 2005 Posts: 2013 | TRs | Pics Location: Fairwood, WA |
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Don
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:25 am
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A most excellent and timely report! Love the Upper Cathedral panos. Glad you are able to share such fun times in the mountains with your buds. Cheers on keeping it an annual event!
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BarbE Member
Joined: 28 Jul 2006 Posts: 1153 | TRs | Pics
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BarbE
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:40 am
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Most excellent TR and pics! Especially love the storm cloud shots
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b00 Member
Joined: 29 Sep 2003 Posts: 1144 | TRs | Pics
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b00
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:44 am
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excellent! i've been waiting for this t/r.
:>)
please, lower your heads ... a moment of silence for the orphans :>)
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Snowdog Member
Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 1027 | TRs | Pics Location: on (& off) the beaten path |
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Snowdog
Member
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:42 am
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What a stellar trip & TR ! Pics were so lovely, esp with your descriptions of fields of flowers & blood red lakes!
Does it really take 8 hrs to get to Chewuch TH?
'we don't have time for a shortcut'
'we don't have time for a shortcut'
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dicey custom title
Joined: 11 May 2004 Posts: 2870 | TRs | Pics Location: giving cornices a wider berth |
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dicey
custom title
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 11:26 am
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b00 wrote: | please, lower your heads ... a moment of silence for the orphans :>) |
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