[NinJosh]

In an effort to get one more T100 for the year, I set out to Phelps to do SSB on Saturday. I received little interest from partners so set out solo to tackle her. I camped out at Alpine Meadows CG Friday night and got all my gear sorted and had a nice dinner before the long day ahead. Saturday morning I forced myself up and to get ready. I started hiking and within 20-25 minutes I arrived at Box Creek. From there it’s pretty much straight up through the open forest at first, then following the ridge up into Basin below Ice Box Peak. Continuing on with little breaks, I made it to Ice Pass in 3 hours from the TH. I descended into Ice Lakes and made my way to the lower lake, then found the outlet stream and followed it about 200-300 feet down and started traversing over to SSB. I crossed the gully which was a lot easier than I expected, then continued up to gain the ridge. About 30 minutes from the summit the clouds had really rolled in, almost instantaneous. I had been pretty good about punching in waypoints on my way up into my GPS, mostly due to thinking id be coming home in the dark, not a whiteout! I could still see enough I felt fine continuing and the terrain was easy which made things a less nerve-racking. I took about 5-10 minutes on the top to sign the register and eat in a hurry before making my way back down. It was 1:35pm exactly 6 hours from the car. The way down the ridge took a little longer than expected due to conditions; I also had a little route-finding error towards the lower end of the ridge just due to visibility. It cost me about 30 minutes and I soon found my way back to the gully once more. At this point the clouds finally started to lift and made things way easier to travel. I was getting a slight bit worried it would take me all night long to get back if these clouds didn’t go away. I put the throttle down and pushed on all the way to ice lake pass only to stop for a quick picture or two. 5 quick minutes there and left the pass at 5:25pm, I knew I’d have to battle some of Box Creek in the dark but how much…I ended up making stellar time on the way back getting to the car at 7:10pm.

[RichP]

Cool 1st post .

[Distel32]

[raising3hikers]

glad you got it josh!

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Box Creek FTW. Looks like you had a great day out! Nice work.

[Dustin Trails]

Welcome to the site and thanks for posting! Looks like a nice trip, SSB is pretty high on my list for next year.

[puzzlr]

That's a lot to do in a day! Hope to hear from you again soon.

[Justus S.]

Thanks for posting. Nice job!

[b00]

what a brilliant idea to approach via box creek :>)

[Tom_Sjolseth]

I agree, brilliant idea to go up Box Creek. Even if I am a bit partial

[HitTheTrail]

[evergreen199]

Thanks for sharing your trip, NinJosh. I was coming in along the Carne Mt. high route while you were ascending SSB - it sure was nice when the snow stopped and the weather cleared in the afternoon.

[NinJosh]

The faint path you see, yes is the beginning of the Box Creek Route which will meet up with the CMHR. You end up cutting off a lot of time using that route. From below, you follow the "trail" which rapidly disappears, continuing up through open forest to the ridge just W/NW of Box Creek. Staying on the ridge proper provides the easiest travel until you reach the basin. This was my first time up but my 3rd time down Box Creek (all in the dark) stay close but not to close to the creek or it gets cliffy. Hope that helps!

[HitTheTrail]