[iron]

a last minute change to the gameplan (previously west mac) had us driving up to BC and the silver skagit road. we left seattle around 6 and with stops and border crossing stuff, we were packed up and departing around 11am from the "trailhead". later season, i would recommend fording the skagit like we did. earlier season - your call. info here. a short 1km walk takes you from car to the skagit. it is very beautiful here and obviously a good spot for fly fishing based on the folks we saw fishing. however, previous reports from the area suggest the bugs can be incredibly bad. this is not an understatement as we encountered them on the way out and they were probably not even that bad compared to other years or time of year.

the trail up to galene lakes was brushed out a few years ago, but downed logs have reemerged. we did our best to clean up all the ones we could, but some logs up to 16" dia still cross. the first part of the forest is okay, but nothing special. once we crossed galene creek on some slick rocks, the forest became dead silent and incredibly mossy. it was very surreal.

awesome switchbacks make it feel like you're barely working. soon, we were on a ridge dividing galene and silver creeks. views to the S popped up.

sadly, the trail loses those views for a bit, but serious amounts of blueberries and huckleberries offset that loss. eventually, we reached middle galene lake. some campsites and old equipment scattered about. we rounded to the north side of the lake and headed up to reach upper galene. had we gone S, i think we would have found a bootpath, but we didn't have that info at the time (we found a trail for most of the way on our down route).

we made it to the upper lake before 5pm (after probably an hour of delays from the berry eating) and took a swim (coldest of the year). the sun, sadly, went behind the ridge way too early. rather than set up camp, we thought we'd take a walk up to the ridge and sit in the sun. once there, we quickly realized we'd be moving camp up there. so, back down, get the gear, load up on as much water as we could carry, and head back up. it was worth it.

we couldn't believe the splendor up here. there's nothing i love more than long, wavy grasses in the mountains. there was a plenty. oh, and some nice views.

downright pleasant temps overnight allowed me to roll out of the tent before the tent was superheated - so that's some kind of record. breakfast first and then off towards silver ridge east (pt 6434).

we followed the ridgeline for most of the rest of the day. we crossed the border swath and shook our heads for awhile.

dropped packs and tagged the summit of silver ridge east. a fay pullen register greeted us. we shed some tears thinking about franklin and the joy he emanated and how wonderful this trip surely was for he and dicey and don beavon.

from here, the ridge dropped us into the forest where bear scat and peeled back bark was everywhere. we found a flattened out spot in the grass where we presumed mr. bear was sleeping not long ago. up, down. up, down. we tagged silver ridge west (pt 6570) and crossed the camp spot dicey and franklin shared. franklin noted (paraphrasing) how perfect it was - sleeping with his head in canada, his feet in the US, with larches and white granite boulders around him; it took no convincing whatsoever to want to camp in such a spot.

after more head shaking at the site of cut alpine trees (like 4" diameter and a hundred tree rings) at the border swath, we continued on.

the next obstacle was pt 7103. previous parties have gone climber's left around the summit via a loose, steep gully. and so did we. it was less than pleasant, but on the way down, we took its NE ridge which was super awesome with grippy white granite slabs.

once beyond pt 7103, we dropped a bit on loose, avalanchy dirt/scree and then traversed to a middle patch of snow that was our first water source for the day. while we brought 'pons and an axe, they were both unnecessary as it was easy to avoid the snow and just walk rock. heavier/later snow years would likely prove different.

past the snow, we dropped poles and headed up the 700ft of class 3, joyous ramps and scrambling. good stuff!

if you do this route, please try to avoid the black lichen. it's very old and as big and fluffy as i've seen. there are plenty of lichen-less rocks to scramble up.

at a ledge on the ridge, we got our first ever views of silver lake. there is no other lake in WA with such color, grandeur, or magnificence.

after catching our breath from the awe of the lake, we continued up to the summit.

views here were okay too.

we savored the moment and experience for as long as reasonably possible. after a truly amazing summer of jaw dropping moments (ruth mountain summit camp, mt olympus glacier and icefall), this one might have topped it for me. part of the problem with being a peakbagger is your bar keeps getting raised. things that were once awesome are now just average. not here. not silver lake and the chilliwacks. we retraced the route, minus the part around pt 7103.

we could tell ominous weather was moving in for the winter.

fortunately, we escaped unscathed.

back at our bear spot, we were joking he'd be there in the same spot, waiting for us. well...

mr. bear decided to head up the same ridge we wanted to, so instead, we did a brushy traverse to cut the corner back to our intended destination. thanks mr. bear! it was another rough night at camp.

the next morning, we packed up and headed towards wright mtn (BC peak).

we dropped packs at a saddle from which we would later traverse back to upper galene lake (to get my sunglasses i'd left there accidentally --- otherwise we could have just dropped to middle galene) and headed up along the ridge towards wright.

for the most part, it was a pleasant ridge. at one point, the route suggests you drop and traverse a marmot path. we obliged, happily.

we summitted, reflected on the weekend, and reluctantly departed.

we took another swim at the lake - still cold, but this time there was sun.

the mosquitoes picked up about 1500ft above the skagit river. we knew there was happiness on the other side, so it was all good.

it is a wonderful area. others have climbed this peak in a day from the silver creek valley when there's more snow. me, i'd do it in late september post-bugs. silver lake is worth the extra time it takes to get to the trailhead, hike all that trail, and walk all those miles. the ridge rambling is truly stellar.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

[cascadetraverser]

Wow, what a place; those grassfield seem pretty unique in that stretch of the NCs. I have got to get up there. Looks like Carrie has become the 6 million dollar woman! Glad to see she is doing so well. Hopefully pain free??

[raising3hikers]

wow! you guys really picked the right time to go there, it's beautiful. that's a nice bear pic, he looks mad!

[GeoTom]

Very nice iron. Glad you two escaped that severe weather that was approaching.

[Yana]

Wowza! Great pics.

[Stefan]

those long tall grass pictures are something else. especially in the mountains! that is so cool!

[RichP]

Beautiful place indeed.

[Nietzsche's Horse]

[Magellan]

Looks delicious!

[iron]

yes, hotpantz is doing very well with her new bionic hips. basically pain free there, but working through some possible side effects of the new alignment (mainly in the knees). overall, she's about 10000% better than last summer at this time. and yes, she shared the beers with me. the bear didn't look too mad to us. we could tell his adrenaline was pumping though as we startled him. he was breathing very hard and drooling. based on the summit register entries and the size of the bear, we surmised we might have been the first humans he has ever seen???

[BarbE]

Spectacular!

[DIYSteve]

Wow, that's some cool terrain Gotta get there

[iron]

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Yeah, that's a pretty tough spot to beat. You guys have had a good year, and this just tops it.