[ree]

Cashmere Mountain 5/24/2014 Our intention was a prominent peak on the west side of the Cascade Crest, but THAT wasn't going to happen with the forecast of rain and clouds. What's the point of the effort if you're socked in? Well, better not ask that question with this crowd. Nevermind. The forecast was decent for the east side of the crest, so we decided on our alternative, Cashmere Mountain. At 8,501',Cashmere Mountain makes the list of top 100 highest peaks of Washington. Admittedly, my view of Icicle Creek peaks is rather tame, but I was fooled by ignorance. Cashmere is a nice hulking peak, with lots of gain, and pucker-factor scrambling on top. Wow, Memorial Day weekend crowds were out, tour de force. It was CROWDED. Trailheads, parking lots, trails... I'm really blown away by how many people go out with not enough water, clothing, etc. And of course, there was more than one dog owner contemplating ignoring the ban on bringing dogs on the trail. Both dog owners said they consulted the WTA website looking to see if bringing their dogs were okay, but said there was no mention of it on the Eightmile Trail. So they brought dogs, only to be disappointed. Throngs of people were on the Eightmile Lake Trail, but at Little Eightmile Lake, we turned north and headed towards Lake Caroline, where crowds thinned considerably. The trail switchbacked steeply up to a bench, and as it leveled out, snow became consistent (approx. 6,100'). Continuing to climb, we reached the hilltop above Lake Caroline. We came upon Opus and Lindsey, some mountaineer acquaintances, at the high point above Lake Caroline. It blows my mind you can be in the middle of nowhere and come across people you know... but I guess it is a small world, especially in the hiking community up here. We scrambled down around Lake Caroline's outlet, and meandered to a flat spot in the snow near Little Caroline Lake. We dropped our packs and headed north east to Cashmere Mountain's southern shoulder. It was a loonnnnng trip upwards, over tundra, rocks, and snowfields, leaving trees and brush behind. The southern reaching shoulder of Cashmere Mountain is wide and grand, giving spectacular views of Mt. Stuart, Assguard Pass, Colchuck Lake, etc. It was pretty easy travel, considering the elevation. We crossed a saddle between Cashmere Mountain and Point 8,219' and headed up a bootpath on Cashmere's west ridge. We saw boot prints in a northern-aspected snowfield with a frightening run out, and thinking we could avoid that and scramble to the summit from the west ridge, we headed up. It turned out that getting to the actual summit was impossible from there, given our equipment shortages and day light running out. So we all were content to enjoy the view on the western ridge of the summit, and have snacks. We called it "good enough" and headed back down, arriving at our camp around dusk.

Steve inspects brand new sign

burnt log and Eight Mile Creek

Rest stop at Little Eight Mile Lake

Eight Mile Lake

glacier lilies galore

Our objective: Â Cashmere Mountain

making our way up to Cashmere Mountain with Mt. Stuart peeking in bg

Little Annapurna, with Ass Guard Pass

3 labels

Snow-bound Annapurna; ColdChuck Lake

tundra heaven

2 labels

Eileen and Stuart

the east side mountains

boot path up west ridge

Mt. Stuart

Mt. Axis

scrambling up the west ridge

you can see the "trail" on the left

Icicle Ridge

Mt. Stuart, with Rainier on right

mountain couple

glad to be sitting down... for once.

weather coming in from the west

Mt. Stuart on left, Mt. Rainier on right

color-speckled climbers come down

snowy camp

kitchen kamp

Snow was soft and deep, but great for plunge-stepping. The next day, clouds had moved in, and we headed back down to the Eightmile Lake trailhead. We managed to dodge rain, but showers were intermittent on the way back to the car. Still, the thongs of tourons poured in en masse on this holiday weekend.

Holes in the rocks

Axis and Eightmile Lake

paintbrush bliss

hole in the rock

[SergioNapelo]

[ree]

Hey Sergio - That is hilarious. I mean, why even bring a camera? - If some stranger will take shots of you and prominently feature you in a trip report... Save some weight. You are the Elvis of nwhikers or something... A tamer trip for sure for you. I know what you are capable of...

[SergioNapelo]

I will be checking pictures from our group, I think some of them took pictures of your group also I had to choose between going to the top of Mt. Colchuck, or be on a hike with children group on that day... Three of my sons were in that group, so I went with them. We did spend two nights and three days camping also! (By the way, I am also in Opus trip report picture from the same day... )

[Fletcher]

Cashmere is a fun one. When I did it, that snow traverse on the west side was like bullet ice. No axe penetration. And bad, bad runout. Scared the sh## out of me.

[loper]

Thanks for bringing the camera Ree! Can't believe I left mine in the car. Such stunning light and scenery!

[ree]

Sergio, I remember meeting you at the calendar social? No? Good choice, to choose to go out with family instead of the challenging-mountain-notch-on-belt. I wonder if you will scare up any photos... Fletcher, Cashmere is a really fun and challenging one. I'd like to do it again late season. Hey Loper, thanks for the great time. Yeah, I forgot my camera more than once.

[Blowdown]

[Jetlag]

I really like the "color-speckled climbers coming down" photo. Neat to see at least three separate groups of NWHikers cross paths at one spot . . . and not know it immediately.