Forum Index > Trip Reports > Wildhorse Creek towards Snowgrass - 2015-02-16
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mbravenboer
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PostTue Feb 17, 2015 6:29 pm 
In my series of overly ambitious winter hikes that despite failure to reach the destination turn out to be a lot of fun anyway, this time it's Snowgrass. Last year one of the most fun hikes we did was the Wildhorse Creek towards Big Chiwaukum. The actual goal at the time was Snowgrass, but that was a bit too ambituous. I ended up climbing the slopes of Big Chiwaukum to some good views, and that was overall a really nice day. Determined to eventually get to Snowgrass in winter, yesterday we did it again. This time we did actually get to the slopes of Snowgrass, but we returned at ~6200ft. The slopes were very icy, and my dog couldn't go further. Arguably, I was running out of time anyway, but I might still have been able to make it to the 7400ft saddle perhaps. In any case, the views from this point were fantastic, and it was a fun experience. If I continue to do this 2 more years, I might make it to the destination wink.gif. If your plan is not to climb Snowgrass, I would probably stick to my route from last year. The slopes of Big Chiwaukum are pretty easy to climb without too much exposure and result in great views. Snowgrass is more miles, trickier to ascent to 7000ft, and the views are comparable. Some details on the conditions: The Whitepine road until the church camp is driveable, but icy in some places. Not sure how a 2WD without traction tires would do. The parking place is an ice sheet, so be careful there ... From the parking area to the summer trailhead, the road is entirely covered in snow. The trail from trailhead is initially mostly bare, with some icy spots. It gradually becomes more of a mixture of ice and snow, where you probably really need traction. From roughly 3100ft the forest opens up, and suddenly there is a lot more snow. I was surprised that I had to put on my snowshoes at this elevation. From 3100ft until the switchbacks on Wildhorse, snow coverage is pretty good. The switchbacks and the initial traverse have some large areas without snow. From 5000ft the snow coverage is 100%. Some of the creek crossings are tricky with big piles of snow on the edges, but they were all doable. We used some snow bridges that looked tricky but were too convenient to skip. I was originally planning to climb up to Snowgrass from the Lake Grace creek, but that turned out to be pretty dense forest, so I kept going and went up in a more open area (roughly were the summer trail to Lake Grace is). We traversed at about 5900ft under the west ridge from Snowgrass towards what I thought was a pleasant slope towards the 7400ft, but my dog already starting having trouble with icy slopes on the traverse. The remainder of the climb had a small section that was even steeper, so I decided turn around here. I tried to take a break, but there was an incredibly strong and cold wind coming over the pass. I was barely able to take a few photos before my hands froze, and then we fled down from the mountain. Given that we had some time left, we wandered around a bit in the area below Lake Grace, which was quite pretty. I briefly checked if I felt like climbing up to the lake, but it looked too exhausting wink.gif. I'm not a skier, so I can't really judge it, but I thought that the slopes if Big Chiwaukum were pretty rocky, so it's probably not worth the trouble for skiers. With the photos you can judge it yourself. There were a few animal tracks on the trail, but no human tracks at all. Statistics: - 21 miles - 4800ft gain - 5:45am - 6:45pm More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bravenboer/sets/72157648559358383/
Impression of snow coverage at 3200ft
Impression of snow coverage at 3200ft
Some spotty snow coverage on the most sun-exposed slopes a bit below 5000ft
Some spotty snow coverage on the most sun-exposed slopes a bit below 5000ft
Nice views of snow blowing over the Chiwaukum mountains
Nice views of snow blowing over the Chiwaukum mountains
Left to right: Arrowhead (the one without snow), Rock Mountain, Mount Howard (the pointy one in the middle), and Mount Mastiff
Left to right: Arrowhead (the one without snow), Rock Mountain, Mount Howard (the pointy one in the middle), and Mount Mastiff
Impression of good snow coverage from 5000ft
Impression of good snow coverage from 5000ft
Big Chiwaukum
Big Chiwaukum
Panorama of Bulls Tooth and Jim Hill
Panorama of Bulls Tooth and Jim Hill
Panorama of Mt. Daniel, Frosty and Bulls Tooth
Panorama of Mt. Daniel, Frosty and Bulls Tooth
View on Snowgrass - We'll traverse right under the west ridge
View on Snowgrass - We'll traverse right under the west ridge
First views of Mt. Daniel over the Frosty Pass
First views of Mt. Daniel over the Frosty Pass
Ascending Snowgrass
Ascending Snowgrass
Traversing Snowgrass at ~5900ft
Traversing Snowgrass at ~5900ft
View of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Daniel
View of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Daniel
Liesl - There was a very strong wind here, as evidenced by her ear
Liesl - There was a very strong wind here, as evidenced by her ear
Panorama of Mt Rainier, Mt Daniel and Hinman, with Frosty Mtn in the foreground on the right
Panorama of Mt Rainier, Mt Daniel and Hinman, with Frosty Mtn in the foreground on the right
Looking back at Jim Hill and Arrowhead
Looking back at Jim Hill and Arrowhead
View of the Frosty Pass with Frosty Mtn to the right
View of the Frosty Pass with Frosty Mtn to the right
Ice slopes with a little bit of wind-transported snow
Ice slopes with a little bit of wind-transported snow
Glacier Peak
Glacier Peak
Big chunks of snow that came down from the steep west ridge of Snowgrass
Big chunks of snow that came down from the steep west ridge of Snowgrass
Frosty Mountain (Pt 6489)
Frosty Mountain (Pt 6489)
Bulls Tooth
Bulls Tooth
West ridge of Snowgrass
West ridge of Snowgrass
View of the Lake Grace ridge from ~5600ft
View of the Lake Grace ridge from ~5600ft
The only bushes to survive avalanches, along one of the smaller creeks from Lake Grace area
The only bushes to survive avalanches, along one of the smaller creeks from Lake Grace area
One of the creeks from the Lake Grace area at the relatively flat area of ~5600ft
One of the creeks from the Lake Grace area at the relatively flat area of ~5600ft
One of the creeks from Lake Grace area at the relatively flat ~5600ft
One of the creeks from Lake Grace area at the relatively flat ~5600ft
Creek from the Lake Grace area and Snowgrass
Creek from the Lake Grace area and Snowgrass
Snowgrass
Snowgrass
Snowgrass
Snowgrass
GPS track of Wildhorse Creek towards Snowgrass, return at ~6200ft
GPS track of Wildhorse Creek towards Snowgrass, return at ~6200ft

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wildernessed
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PostTue Feb 17, 2015 7:22 pm 
up.gif Nice pics !

Living in the Anthropocene
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Distel32
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PostTue Feb 17, 2015 8:38 pm 
up.gif

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HitTheTrail
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PostTue Feb 17, 2015 9:21 pm 
It seems like some of my best trips are ones where I bailed before the destination. I did that on Snowgrass myself a couple of years ago. Great trip though. Nice photos. up.gif up.gif Amazing lack of snow for this time of year. Should be an early melt out next summer. I love that area. I have spent most of my time between Chatter Creek/Frosty Pass/Chain Doelle lakes but have a trip planed from the Wildhorse side to Grace Lakes with a side trip to Dead Horse Pass. Probably this summer. It is so close to where I live and such a neat area. And usually very few people there. What more can you ask!

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Get Out and Go
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PostThu Feb 19, 2015 1:02 pm 
Wow, great venture for a dayhike in winter. up.gif I like the sweeping basins on the western flanks of Big Chiwaukum.

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
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mbravenboer
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PostSat Feb 21, 2015 1:35 pm 
Thanks smile.gif. I've been quite lucky with the weather and my trips this year, yeah. I'm trying to improve my photography skills the last year, but it's hard without hauling a big camera with you. I used to always carry only a compact camera in the pocket of my pants, but that's quite limiting. On my last trip I finally took a bigger camera and with me, and it's paying off smile.gif. Once I learn to use the bigger one well, hopefully it will be even better.

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Magellan
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PostSat Feb 21, 2015 10:00 pm 
Covering a lot of ground there. Nice effort! up.gif

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