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GeoTom Member
Joined: 19 May 2005 Posts: 3215 | TRs | Pics Location: Earth |
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GeoTom
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Wed Aug 13, 2014 3:37 pm
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"One peak is good fer now, I'll save the other one fer later" I thought to myself as I was sprawled on the summit of Mt. Fernow gazing over at Copper Peak. Get it? Fer-Now, Fer-Later? Not so funny? I shouldn't quit my day job just yet? Damn.
Here's the story, more or less how it happened (All times are estimates):
Sunday August 10, 2014
0300: Backed the truck out of the garage. The garage door was open, so no damage was done.
0314: Detour for Highway 522 closure. I'm behind schedule already, so maybe I should turn around and go back to bed.
0343: Finally arrive in Monroe. Safeway and Albertsons aren't open yet. I will need to find a sandwich elsewhere.
0515-ish: Stopped to fill the truck with gas and buy a sandwich at Coles Corner. Gas station sandwich...what could go wrong?
0623: Squeeze into a parking space at the Phelps Creek trailhead next to a younger couple getting ready for their Spider Gap-Buck Creek Pass loop. Notice that the skies are somewhat smoky.
0645: Start hiking the Phelps Creek trail. Pass younger couple. They wish me luck. I'm going to need it.
0750: Arrive at the junction with the Leroy Creek trail. Think about turning around and heading home. Decide to continue uphill.
0920: Arrive at Leroy Basin and search for a suitable tent spot.
0930: Find tent spot and drop my pack.
0931: Fend off attacking marmot and set up my tent.
Angry marmot is angry
0946: Filter enough water to fill the bottles I will carry to the summit and a bladder I plan to leave at camp.
1003: Stretch a little and take a short nap.
1029: Wake from nap and find my map and route notes.
1044: After considering turning around and going home, decide to start the ascent.
I headed uphill towards the visible low spot Pleasant terrain Go to the notch. No, the other notch. No! The other, other notch!
1211: Arrive at the ~7,700 foot saddle above the Gloomy Glacier. Look down other side, decide to turn around and head home.
Gloomy A bit of Fernow peeking around the corner A look west
1212: Reconsider my decision to turn around. Look for a safe descent into Gloomy Basin.
1224: Questioning my route choice, but figure that 'It will go'
1321: Arrive at the bottom of the Gloomy Glacier in one piece. Swat at the horsefly trying to kill me. Miss horsefly. Curse at horsefly. Consider turning around and heading home.
The moraine is getting closer
1332: Start up lower waterfall notch. The spray feels good.
1347: Arrive at the top of the lower waterfall notch. Photograph paintbrush.
1348: Gaze at the next part of the route. Decide to go home.
Partway up the first waterfall notch Paintbrush at the top of the notch I ascended the right side of the waterfall until I crossed over to the left. Makes sense, right?
1355: Somehow I am still ascending. And that g@##amn! horsefly is still trying to kill me.
1444: After a surprisingly pleasant ascent, I find myself staring at a partially snow covered talus field. Look for 'keyhole' notch through SW ridge.
1544: See 'keyhole' notch from below after a painfully slow ascent through loose rocks. Make note to find better descent route.
1546: Somehow squeeze my stout self through the notch and see the Spectacle Buttes and Mt. Maude obscured by smoke. Eyes start itching from the smoke. There's still enough visibility to see a nice ledge system leading to the SE ridge.
Still a ways to go Lingering snow on crappy talus Keyhole notch Smoky Spectacle Buttes and Maude Ledgy
1559: Arrive at SE ridge and see Copper Peak. Look up and smile as the rest of the way looks easy. No longer considering going home.
1606: Arrive at the summit and trip over the summit register. Press OK button on SPOT. Turn my phone on and have enough service to send Dani a text message. No reply. She's obviously left me for someone else.
I was on Fernow, I'll save Copper fer later. Soapy and the kids
1643: Start descent. Find another cairned route ~100 feet higher than my earlier traverse, but since I stashed my poles at the keyhole notch, decide to return the way I came.
Some of 7-Fingered Jack visible
1738: Stop to eat and drink a little. Wish I had brought the stove and a meal with me. Swat at the f@*&%ng horsefly again. This time he has a friend. I may not survive this onslaught.
1842: Arrive at the basin above the lower waterfall notch. See good camp sites and make note for the next time I pass through. Laugh at myself as I probably won't be coming through again.
1859: Arrive at the bottom of the Gloomy Glacier again. Dread the 1,100 foot climb back out. Consider crying.
Nice camps, but not for me Goodbye, fer now Paintbrush! Last 1,100 foot climb of the day
2008: Finish ascent out of Gloomy Basin. Took a slightly better route, except for the upper couple hundred feet of talus that moved if I thought about looking at it.
2009: Take a break watching the sun get lower over Chiwawa Peak.
2018: Trip over cairns that I didn't see on my way in. Maybe someone put them up after I passed through? Or maybe, just maybe, they formed spontaneously.
Almost sunset A view of the tarn I didn't visit Sunset near Fortress and Chiwawa Cairns I didn't see on my way in Goodnight
2115: Arrive at my tent to find eveything intact. Start stove for a late dinner and clean up a little in the nearby creek.
2134: Consider packing up and hiking back to the trailhead. Laugh at that idea.
2158: Go to bed. No more horsefly.
Monday, August 11, 2014
0558: Awoken by a deer nosing around the nearby fire pit. Unzip tent and say good morning. Deer stares at me without saying a word.
My alarm clock
0613: Fight through a swarm of mosquitoes to grab my food bag and find something for breakfast.
0636: Start breaking camp.
0701: Decide to head home.
0914: Arrive at trailhead to find my truck intact and the beer still cold enough. Look at watch, decide that it's not too early to drink the beer.
0915: Toss empty beer can back in the cooler. Change into clean clothes.
0928: Start drive home.
1130ish: Burger and shake at Zeke's.
1223: Get knocked over by Jasper as I walk inside the house.
The GPS track tells me I went ~16 miles with a hair over 8,100 feet of total gain. That feels about right. The mosquitoes were slightly annoying, but manageable. The flies were a bit more annoying to me. The sky was very smoky to the east and southeast, but hopefully that area got a bit of rain last night and today. I found the routefinding to be easier than anticipated, other than my little error at the top of Gloomy Basin on the way in. I also found the route easier than I expected, with much less exposure than I had read about in some descriptions, but maybe all that smoke was obscuring my vision.
The same photos and more on flickr: Mt. Fernow; August 10-11, 2014
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Fletcher Member
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Posts: 1870 | TRs | Pics Location: kirkland |
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Fletcher
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Wed Aug 13, 2014 4:23 pm
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Nice, I want to do Fernow this season. Hopefully after the smoke clears a bit.
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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 Aug 13, 2014 4:59 pm
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Fun report -- what number is this? I was in a party of 6 that started off a Fernow/SFJ/SB/Maude trip and we lost two that went home after the first day on Fernow. It's pretty brutal with all the ups and down.
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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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Wed Aug 13, 2014 5:23 pm
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Wow. I'm glad I did Fernow from Holden when one still could. It was actually pretty nice dayhike.
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ree Member
Joined: 29 Jun 2004 Posts: 4399 | TRs | Pics
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ree
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Wed Aug 13, 2014 6:40 pm
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U R funny.
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raising3hikers Member
Joined: 21 Sep 2007 Posts: 2343 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, Wa |
thanks for posting it's amazing how many miles those black flies will follow
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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 Aug 13, 2014 9:38 pm
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Nice work, Tom.
puzzlr wrote: | ...what number is this? |
Yeah, what he said. Asked.
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twodogdad Member
Joined: 21 Nov 2006 Posts: 846 | TRs | Pics Location: seattle |
That was an inspired--and inspiring--series of afterthoughts, Tom. Ah, the mystery of the dogged fly: is it one all the way or his brother or his two brothers taking turns at harassing you? But your "angry marmot" caption takes the funny biscuit. N
GeoTom wrote: | Angry marmot is angry |
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Dani Kimtah's Mom
Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 136 | TRs | Pics
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Dani
Kimtah's Mom
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Fri Aug 15, 2014 8:57 am
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Cute Tom, for the record I am still with you so you must be doing something right.
Keeping GeoTom in line since 1998
Keeping GeoTom in line since 1998
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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
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Fri Aug 15, 2014 10:09 am
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So typical - make it sound easy.
'we don't have time for a shortcut'
'we don't have time for a shortcut'
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Jetlag Member
Joined: 17 Aug 2010 Posts: 1410 | TRs | Pics
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Jetlag
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Fri Aug 15, 2014 10:52 am
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Useful route description, however tongue-in-cheek.
Love the "almost sunset" photo.
Not looking forward to driving that road again.
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wildernessed viewbagger
Joined: 31 Oct 2004 Posts: 9275 | TRs | Pics Location: Wenatchee |
Interesting. I had Fernow on this year's "Things to do list" via the Entiat. The wildfires have stifled my Entiat, Twisp, Pasayten plans. Nice effort !
Living in the Anthropocene
Living in the Anthropocene
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