[contour5]

Ridge Tarn between the 2 Summit Chief Lakes

Walked out to Summit Chief Lakes with the usual excess of unrealistic plans and goals. Thought I might tag the crest tarn that feeds into North Summit Chief Lake, and then continue on to Dutch Miller Gap on a high traverse. Ended up just lazing around on the ridge between the lakes, taking pictures, as usual. It was a great trip anyway, and I hope to get back out there sometime to complete the traverse. It's a spectacular, wild country out there, with almost infinite possibilities for wandering. There were lots of hikers and equestrians on the trail out to the much maligned Pete Lake. An old cowboy who rode by mentioned that I'd have lots of company at the lake, but by the time I got there, everybody had left. I had the whole place to myself, except for a very noisy crow (really?!) that spent most of the night diving into the water in front of my camp. Never actually saw the bird, but it made an incredible racket out there for hours. I didn't know that crows fished!

Well, for Pete's sake! It's Pete Lake!

I took the Waptus Pass trail and went left to Escondido Lake. Had a bit of trouble getting up to the PCT (took a couple of attempts) but finally ended up on the bare burned ridge a quarter or half mile south of the trail where it rounds the corner between the Escondido Tarns and Vista Lakes. Made it to Upper Vista in time to get set up and have dinner before the rain hit.

Lower Vista Lake

Vista Camp

Crooked Tarn at Vista Camp

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The rain started gently, and then increased in intensity until around midnight, when it really cut loose and just pounded down. Ferocious gusts of wind had me gripping my tent poles most of the night. In the morning it was still raining, but the sun finally popped out and the sky cleared. The temperature increased by around 40 degrees in about 25 minutes. By some miracle; it was summer again!

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Grinding Out A New Lake

Overcoat and Pass Area filled with mysterious troll caves

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Had a fantastic, easy stroll out to Summit Chief Lake. The trip actually healed my most recent back injury! (It took me 2 days to get out of the parking lot- couldn't hardly stand up straight after the drive over- I also broke/bruised a couple ribs about 2 weeks ago when I fell while working on a roof). It really felt good to be back out on the trail.

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I dropped down to the little tarn on the enormous bench above the first lake. Had a nice lunch and then splayed out on the pink slabs that slope down to the tarn.

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What a beautiful place!

Summit Chief Lake and the Pink Tarn

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The named lake is set in a fairly steep-sided basin but the terrain above is a wonderland- a delightful mix of rock, heather and grass with easy ramps and ledges leading in all directions. I briefly considered dropping down to the outlet, but it looks like there are few opportunities for camping down there, other than perhaps a very rough cowboy spot or 2 on the outlet ramparts. I was in search of a perfect slab...

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Camped at the amazing U-shaped tarn on the ridge between the 2 lakes. Wow! It's almost sadistically beautiful there- I could hardly bear the thought of ever leaving...

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I was standing on a steep, smooth rock above my camp, taking pictures when I heard the jets. The sound is unmistakable... The first plane came screaming in over the shoulder of Summit Chief and did a barrel roll as it passed directly overhead. I was pushing the button as fast as I could, but the shutter delay on my cheap drugstore camera caused me to miss the first few shots. Words cannot fully describe the experience. The upside down fighter jet completely filled my field of vision as it passed overhead- that's how close it was! The sound wave nearly blasted me off of the rock! Then I was screaming and laughing and snapping pictures like mad as the plane roared off toward DMG. I spun around to shoot the second plane, but missed it too- they're just too fast to capture directly overhead.

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Missile Strike On Ellensburg?

The ridge between the 2 lakes is packed with tarns. Many of the small ones were dry, but several of the larger ones still held water. I walked out to where the ridge drops steeply to the outlet of the second lake, still considering an extended loop through DMG. Somehow the ridge held me captive... I could see that the route up to the crest tarn was well beyond my comfort zone... and I just lazied out. Next time perhaps. I spotted a dozen tarns on the bumps next to the meadows below the outlet of the second lake...

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I had a hard time leaving this place. Finally wandered back to Vista and spent another night there. It was warm and sunny and the water was as smooth as glass. I shot the spooky burned trees and woke to watch the sunrise light up the crest...

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Zombula!

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I walked out on the PCT. As soon as I stepped on the trail, I began running into thru-hikers. Literally- I almost ran right into Shake as I stepped out onto the trail- the first person I spoke to in 5 days.

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This is a fantastic area, well worth visiting. If you go, take real maps. This tiny area is on the corners of GT maps, requiring 4 maps- Snoqualmie, Stevens, Kachess and Skykomish. With USGS you only need Big Snow and Daniel. The more detailed USGS maps might have saved me from thrashing myself getting out of Escondido Lake...

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Happy Trails!

[mbravenboer]

Great photos! Just wandering around does result in great reports!

[Kenji]

Great pics! I remember some views from my PCT trip years ago, it must be time to re-visit. I've been interested in a solo tent having doors on both sides, which model is yours? It reads "Six Moon Designs"...

[contour5]

The tent is an SMD- Six Moon Designs Skyscape Trekker. It's last year's model, and only has a door on one side. I shot the pictures right through the mesh panel... The new model has 2 doors- I probably should have waited, but I got a slight discount and was really wanting a lighter tent. I got the silnylon version- 24 oz. They also make it in cuben- 17 oz. (not including poles and stakes) I really like the tent, but it's a bit delicate. The poles punched holes right through the floor in that last windstorm. It will be a relatively easy repair job... I wish they had reinforced the pole bases a little better and it would be nice if the "bathtub floor" were a couple inches higher...but I only got a few drops of water inside in heavy wind and rain. Overall, I really like the tent. Pretty good deal for just over $200. I bought it right off the shelf at Pro Mountain Sports in Seattle. The new double door design will allow use of the vestibule space on the passenger side, and also allow you to open or close the rain fly without getting out of the tent...big improvement.

[Matt]

Nice views of the tarns. I like the pink rocks. Didn't notice those before.

[Backpacker Joe]

Awesome trip and pics Contour. Last time I was at Pete I couldnt seem to find the trail up to Escondido. Any tips on that? Love that area.

[neek]

[Jim Dockery]

Very nice!

[Tomlike]

looks like a great way to spend a few days up there! I was around Tank Lakes on Sept 26 and saw a couple jets fly up the Middle Fork valley, couldn't get my camera on them in time. The first one was flying so low that we were looking down on it, it was only a few hundred feet above the trees, quite a sight!

[DIYSteve]

Excellent pics, C5 Great place to explore, no need for summit tagging objectives in that place. Was this a solo trip?

[contour5]

[DIYSteve]

[ONELUV1]

Great pics c5 I was up there at the beginning of the month to do summit chief, but my partner had a nasty sider bite on his right pointer finger and wasn't able to scramble. We didnt get to climb SC, but did spend a cple nights up there exploring along the ridge and down to SC lake. The swimming was superb in the 80 degree days. "zombula" really made an impression on me too.

[joker]

Thanks for sharing - looks like a stellar trip. I've spent a moderate amount of time in areas around there but never quite exactly there. Looks like a worthy destination for some rambling and hanging.

[Joey]

I would not be surprised to see one of those pics show up on the next calendar.