Forum Index > Trip Reports > little jack - 2014-04-13
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iron
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iron
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PostWed Apr 16, 2014 9:10 am 
little jack was on my list of early season, good weather window, kind of trip list. knowing that hwy 20 was plowed and/or snow-free well beyond the east bank TH, plus the awesome forecast, made this trip a no-brainer for the weekend. there are few things in peakbagging better than a combination of early season, blue skies, and hwy 20. we packed 6 people and bikes in 2 cars. i got to ride ultra-bitch in r3h's truck, which is like the normal bitch position, but far more cramped. we unloaded at the ross lake TH where things are snow free and got ready to roll. 4.5 miles later following some easy, chilly biking, and we were at the east bank TH. from the restroom, we headed down and right to reach the bridge crossing over ruby creek, just downstream of its convergence with panther creek. great water colors and volume this day!
once on the other side, we walked the trail eastward for a few minutes until finding the first non-horrible spot to ascend. brush was relatively minimal, all things considered. the worst part of the ascent for the first 2000ft or so was the loose talus under a green moss blanket; if your weight was too far forward, look out below!
this time of year is perhaps in my top 2 for favorite time to be in the mountains. birds are out. warmth is just starting to saturate the forest. fresh spring smells everywhere. gorged creeks. and blue skies too. today was no exception.
we hit snow around EL 3400' on the SSE ridge. dave and gabriel were step kicking animals, so i just hung out in the back, which is a nice change of pace. when i reach 60, if i can do half of what dave does, i'll be happy. views slowly start to emerge through pockets in the trees. countless memories of good times in the past few years instantly churn up, many of them with those in my group today, and even more of them with hotpantz who is at home, recovering from double hip replacement surgery.
tricouni, austera, primus
tricouni, austera, primus
thornton, triumph
thornton, triumph
stetattle ridge and southern pickets
stetattle ridge and southern pickets
after a short break to eat and sunscreen up, we continued on toward more alpine terrain with ever emerging views of crater and big jack! the trees in this area really framed the mountains in a way similar to those at image lake where they frame YES! peak just perfectly.
there is some seriously fine spring ski touring terrain up here. if you go, i'd suggest taking the regular trail (3 miles longer, each way, but probably brush free) and setting up camp around EL5600 (or higher). endless awesome aspects with panoramic views abound!
eventually the mellow ridge tops out and you are treated to pure goodness, everywhere.
fury to luna
fury to luna
after 90 minutes on the summit, we reluctantly headed back down.
dave's snowshoe broke, so in addition to kicking most of the steps up, he got to posthole for half of the way down. never once did he complain.
soon it was back into the forest, then trail, then bikes. r3h was happy to again find a flat tire awaiting him. somehow, despite having an assortment of spare tubes, pumps, etc, we couldn't get a combination to work. for whatever reason, the shraeder valve didn't fit through the rim hole on his bike. weird. whatever, r3h said he was feeling unsatisfied without a roadwalk, so i guess it was all good.

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Stefan
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PostWed Apr 16, 2014 9:23 am 
very nice! took a lot of coordination with 6 bikes....and then 5 bikes on the way down. broken snowshoe....smile.gif good on you all!

Art is an adventure.
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GeoTom
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PostWed Apr 16, 2014 9:29 am 
up.gif Sweet looking trip guys. Dave still had one non-broken snowshoe, so he had nothing to complain about.

Knows literally nothing
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Rainie Too!
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Rainie Too!
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PostWed Apr 16, 2014 9:37 am 
Nice to see the old faces among the young whippersnappers! You didn't mention BOO's tenacity and good humor, one of my inspirations!

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raising3hikers
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raising3hikers
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PostWed Apr 16, 2014 9:45 am 
it was a great time to get back into the north cascades. however, i think i'm done with biking!
mossy carpet
mossy carpet
iron
iron
some nice rocks
some nice rocks
here comes gabriel and dave
here comes gabriel and dave
some wind blown snow hanging around
some wind blown snow hanging around
matt
matt
hollywood, always in fashion
hollywood, always in fashion
little jack
little jack
jack mtn
jack mtn

Eric Eames
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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot



Joined: 30 Jan 2007
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Location: Shoreline
Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot
PostWed Apr 16, 2014 10:05 am 
Little Jack Summit Dance, plus attempted throwing Brett off the edge
Little Jack Summit Dance, plus attempted throwing Brett off the edge
Date: 4/13/2014 Party: Iron, r3h, Dave Creeden, Gabrielx, b00, Matt Destination: "Little Jack" 6745 (USGS Crater Mountain) 625P Riding bikes from the gate to the trailhead turned out not so bad, since it was somewhat downhill. Going back up from Ruby Creek, the first 600 feet was quite steep with loose rock embedded in dirt and moss. After a quick flat traverse right at 2250, the next 1000 feet was somewhat steep but in better forest. Then on the ridge, it was actually some nice uphill forest. Beyond where the ridge turns at 5100 feet, it was a fine wide open ridge crest for easy hiking. The snow was surprisingly well consolidated.
Little Jack GPS Track
Little Jack GPS Track
Bikes at East Bank trailhead
Bikes at East Bank trailhead
Confluence of Ruby & Panther Creeks
Confluence of Ruby & Panther Creeks
Dirty rocky steep ground at the start
Dirty rocky steep ground at the start
Admiring Jack on the way up
Admiring Jack on the way up
The final ridge up to Little Jack
The final ridge up to Little Jack
Wonderful warm comfortable sunshine on the summit:
Mike writing "Carrie" on the snow
Mike writing "Carrie" on the snow
Brett arriving after writing "Aybe" on the snow
Brett arriving after writing "Aybe" on the snow
Lounging on the summit
Lounging on the summit
Summit group photo
Summit group photo
Crater & Jack dominated the local area.
Crater
Crater
Jack
Jack
Upper south face of Jack
Upper south face of Jack
Little Jack provides a grandstand view of all the peaks lining the North Cascades Highway. Situated above the Ross Lake bend in the highway, you can look all the way southwest to Diobsud Creek and southeast to Rainy Pass. Without trying too hard, I could count over 80 peaks visible.
Snowfield Group: Snowfield, Horseman's Pack, Colonial, Neve, Needle, Paul Bunyan's Stump, Pinnacle, Pyramid, Big Devil
Snowfield Group: Snowfield, Horseman's Pack, Colonial, Neve, Needle, Paul Bunyan's Stump, Pinnacle, Pyramid, Big Devil
Icecap Traverse: Tricouni, Primus, Klawatti, Austera Towers, Eldorado, Dorado Needle
Icecap Traverse: Tricouni, Primus, Klawatti, Austera Towers, Eldorado, Dorado Needle
Ragged Ridge & Elija Ridge
11 labels
Ragged Ridge & Elija Ridge
Prophet Range & Chilliwack Group: Bear, Prophet, Genesis, Redoubt, Moxes, Spickard
9 labels
Prophet Range & Chilliwack Group: Bear, Prophet, Genesis, Redoubt, Moxes, Spickard
Looking up the Big Beaver Valley, with mighty Pumpkin Mtn in the foreground
5 labels
Looking up the Big Beaver Valley, with mighty Pumpkin Mtn in the foreground
Sourpatch, Stetattle, Elephant, & Fury all stacked directly in front of each other
7 labels
Sourpatch, Stetattle, Elephant, & Fury all stacked directly in front of each other
Pickets: Thornton, Triumph, Davis, Hagan, Despair, Sourdough, Glee, Baker, Terror, Inspiration, Degenhardts, Stetattle, Sourpatch, SE Fury, East Fury, Elephant, Crooked Thumb, Challenger, Luna
22 labels
Pickets: Thornton, Triumph, Davis, Hagan, Despair, Sourdough, Glee, Baker, Terror, Inspiration, Degenhardts, Stetattle, Sourpatch, SE Fury, East Fury, Elephant, Crooked Thumb, Challenger, Luna
Some wider panoramas from Little Jack:
Looking south across SR20, Ragged Ridge to Snowfield
44 labels
Looking south across SR20, Ragged Ridge to Snowfield
Looking southeast up SR20, Ballard to Gardners
20 labels
Looking southeast up SR20, Ballard to Gardners
Going back down:
Departing the summit
Departing the summit
Further down the ridge
Further down the ridge
Me & Crater
Me & Crater
Moonrise on the bike ride down
Moonrise on the bike ride down
Special thanks to Iron for organizing this trip. Stats: Road bike gate to East Bank TH: 9 miles, 110 gain, 460 loss Little Jack from East Bank TH: 11 miles, 200 loss, 5180 gain Round trip: 20 miles, 5950 gain, 10:45 hours

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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b00
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b00
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PostWed Apr 16, 2014 11:21 am 
ok, i think it is time to not mince words; iron you are selfish! let me explain. it started even before the trip began with him organizing, trying get just the right people(with one obvious exception), picking the peak and figuring out the route and logistics. check this out, this is the route iron drew up for our trip: http://www.hillmap.com/m/ag1zfmhpbGxtYXAtaGRychULEghTYXZlZE1hcBiAgICAg9WwCgw. hey, once one of us puts up a map with the actual gps track on it, and you overlay the two, you would think he traced the route. stop stuff like that iron, you are showing up the rest of us. that is selfish! then we get to our meeting spot in everett and he volunteers to sit in the absolutely most uncomfortable spot you could think of, so we can use two cars as opposed to three, so we can be environmentally conscious and save everyone gas money. i would challenge anyone to ride two blocks like that, let alone to the north cascades. of course eric and i have to sit in the comfortable seats while iron suffers and never even complains. just selfish! we start our off-trail part of the hike and because iron knows i am too slow on steep uphill like that, especially at the onset of the hike, iron stays in the back to provide me with adult supervision and he is even visiting with me to keep me company. i am behind everyone at every rest break and the others are waiting for me at the summit for 45 minutes(they would have waited longer at the summit for me if they had not waited so much earlier :>) he misses the opportunity to visit with the others, instead he wants to make sure i have company and am happy. just selfish! dave breaks a snowshoe and who do you think helps out? you got it. just selfish! the locksmith, eric, has a flat tire. who do you think rides his bike back to the car to get the pump? you got it. just selfish! when we drive back, who do you thinks gets crammed into same uncomfortable spot as he had on the way in? you got it. just selfish. iron you are just so selfish that i am putting you on my "do not climb with" list for the next three days! you are just selfish! :>) ps to dave and gabriel - you are selfish too, for kicking such great steps and being so nice! ps to matt and eric - you are only a little selfish for being so nice!

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n16ht5
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n16ht5
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PostWed Apr 16, 2014 12:27 pm 
great pictures

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Jetlag
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Jetlag
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PostWed Apr 16, 2014 9:23 pm 
Inspirational on so many levels! I completely agree on the magical combination of hwy 20, sunshine and . . . well, I only need those two!

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Magellan
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Joined: 26 Jul 2006
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Magellan
Brutally Handsome
PostWed Apr 16, 2014 9:29 pm 
Great stuff, Iron and company. up.gif I'll be up there soon.

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Matt
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot



Joined: 30 Jan 2007
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Matt
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PostWed Apr 16, 2014 11:58 pm 
I added a dance video and lots of photos above. Views of the crest lines above SR20 were great; you could see pretty much every peak along the hghway from Marblemount to Rainy Pass.

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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cascadetraverser
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PostThu Apr 17, 2014 8:30 am 
Way to go!! up.gif up.gif

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b00
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b00
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PostThu Apr 17, 2014 6:14 pm 
little jack aka pt 6245 4-13-2014
the summit of little jack with jack mt posing behind the group
the summit of little jack with jack mt posing behind the group
spending time with friends
biking on road(hiway 20 closed for the winter) closed to cars soaking up the views in the north cascades
enjoying some exercise on a fine sunny sunday ascending a peak for the first time that sounds like a dream come true, and it was :>)
8.54mi 816' gain bicycling 8.18mi 5159' gain hiking 16.72mi 5975' gain total
matt prepares to shoot our group on the summit of little jack with jack mt left and crater mt center right 0:23 bicycle from car to trailhead 0:13 transistion to walking 5:24 trailhead to summit 0:44 summit stay 3:16 summit to trailhead 0:10 transistion to bicycle 0:30 bicycle from trailhead to car 10:40 car to car
last year's northern route jack team points out their summit with pride equipment: snowshoes, (brought but did not use ice axe nor crampons)
ps to matt - love the labels on all the peaks in your pics! ps to iron - you are a selfish photographer too! all your pics look better than mine :>)

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Redwic
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Redwic
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PostThu Apr 17, 2014 7:23 pm 
iron- I really enjoyed this TR. Good job on a very worthy objective! up.gif up.gif up.gif P.S.- I wish hotpantz a full & speedy recovery from surgery! She should be feeling much better and back in the mountains with you in the very near future. winksmile.gif

60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
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Magellan
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Magellan
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PostThu Apr 17, 2014 10:49 pm 
Doubling down on wishing HP a speedy recovery. up.gif That is a tough surgery.

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