[awilsondc]

You know that saying, be careful what you wish for because you just might get it? I was searching for a multi day trip with a lot of scrambling. I love class 3 and wanted a lot of it. When I found Ragged Ridge it seemed like a perfect fit since its pretty much all scrambling. It turned out to be exactly that, perhaps more than I bargained for, which made for a trip of heaven and hell. The scenery, the ambiance, the weather, one of the best camp sites I’ve ever had. I was in heaven. But it came with a price. All that steep side hill (23 hours of it all together) gave me some uncomfortable blisters and I was only able to summit 1 of the 4 peaks I was going for. The trip started out unlike most of my journeys into the mountains, by sleeping in! I’m usually a morning hiker but a 4 ½ hour drive to the trailhead and a 5 hour hike to base camp gave me some leisure time so I took it. I left my house by 8 am and half an hour later remembered that I didn’t pack my headlamp. You know those gear shots where all the gear for a trip is laid out before it’s packed? It’s supposed to be a great way to make sure you have everything you need for a trip so I decided to do it for this trip. Only time I can remember that I forgot something vital to a trip. Go figure. There was enough time to stop by an REI on my way north to pick one up. Another stop in Marblemount for my permit and off to the trailhead. By 2 pm I was hiking!

easy pass

Trail to Easy Pass

Looking down easy pass at Golden Horn and Hardy

Fisher Peak and basin from Easy Pass

Fisher Creek Basin

Logan from Easy Pass

Logan and Mesahchie from the traverse

section of traverse

waterfall along the traverse

almost to camp!

I short distance into the trail I ran across Fletcher who I recognized from NWHikers so I introduced myself and said hi. He was on his way down from Kitling if you haven’t seen his TR already. The easy pass trail is nice and steady and went quickly. Upon reaching the pass I was astounded with the views! One of the best view points for a pass that I have ever seen. The skeeters were out in force so I deet’ed up and headed cross country on the traverse to the basin beneath Mesahchie which would be base camp for the next couple days. The traverse was tedious. It has its moments where it is pretty casual, and then some rocky ribs to navigate around. Going was slow and I noticed the ball under my big toe on my downhill foot, and the outside ankle bone on my uphill foot start to develop some hot spots from all the side hill. This would be a problem the rest of the trip. After about 4 hours 45 minutes from the trailhead I reached camp! Marvelous, stunning views across Fischer Creek Valley of Arches, Arriva, and Graybeard. I watched a beautiful light show as the sun set across the peaks and went to bed a little after 9. View larger size in new window ^Photosphere from camp.

Graybeard, Arches, and Arriva

Graybeard

Arches and Arriva

Dinner

evening light

last light

you can see where each peak blocks the alpenglow

fading light

dusk 1

dusk 2

dusk

dusk

dusk

camp

In the morning I woke up around 4:30. It was so comfortable in my sleeping bag I didn’t want to move. So I didn’t. I got up for real at 6 but was immediately kicking myself for the late start. Most parties report a 12-14 hour day for what I was attempting which was Kimtah and Cosho. After breakfast I left camp around 7. After reaching the saddle with point 7430 I started the traverse across towards Kimtah. The route is pretty much constant side hill class 3 scrambling and route finding. There are endless ribs and gullies to cross and the going is slow. I left my sunglasses on a ledge while taking off my pack and forgot them so I was bummed about that. I stayed around the 7400 contour until the grotesque gendarmes were in view. The crux is a large rib to the right of a wide gulley, which appears just right of the D in RAGGED on the topo map below the Kimtah – Katsuk saddle. First I tried descending to the two ledges many use but I had trouble finding it. I probably didn’t descend enough but it just didn’t look good. Discouraged, I climbed back up to see if I could find the high route. I climbed up to just above the 7600 mark where I found a crossing over the rib and into the gulley. I descended into the gully and picked up the red ledge which crosses the base of the fingers of a couple of the grotesque gendarmes and on from there. The ledge was a relief to have a consistent path to follow for a while. After crossing an overhanging cliffy cave area and across a couple more ribs and gullies I saw a patch of snow. There had been no water to this point so I was excited to refill my water. It was hot and exposed in the sun so I was grateful to find water. I filled up in a slow trickle of runoff water from one of the snow chunks which took forever to fill. The gulley the snow was in looked good so I took it and it lead all the way to the summit of Kimtah Peak! 6 hours from camp.

morning light hits Arches and Arriva

morning light pano

early morning sunlight

Logan

Eldorado and Klawatti

section of the traverse with Goode, Storm King, and Logan

traversing

scrambling

selfie with Goode and Logan

flowers

flowers 3

flowers 2

Kimtah Peak and Grotesque Gendarmes

Kimtah and Grotesque Gendarmes 2

Gendarmes 1

Gendarmes 2

Logan and Kimtah

View larger size in new window ^Photosphere from half way across the traverse to Kimtah. The views were spectacular! Believe it or not, but this was my first summit in North Cascades National Park. I really need to get up here more often, but the 4 ½ hour drive for me can be a bit much for a day trip. I signed the register (3rd party up this year) and ate some lunch while taking in the views. Due to my slow pace from my blisters I decided I did not have enough daylight for Cosho, the penalty for the late start. After a 30 minute summit stay I headed back.

Kimtah summit panorama

View larger size in new window ^Kimtah summit photosphere.

Kimtah summit shot

Red Mountain ridge

pickets

Golden Horn, Tower, and Hardy

Mesahchie and Katsuk 1

Mesahchie and Katsuk 1

Katsuk

gully

almost back to the saddle

almost back to camp (above the right snow patch, too small to see)

The way back was a challenge both mentally and physically. Now that the traverse was going the opposite direction, by feet got a bit of a break. That is, until the same thing started but on the other sides of the feet. Worst time I’ve had with blisters in years I tell ya! The other frustrating thing was it was impossible to follow the route I used on the way over. Since I was unable to retrace my steps there was a constant feeling of uncertainty for the next few hours. Am I on the right track? Too high? Too low? I eventually had to “forget” my route in and just route find my way back which worked out fine. By the time I got back to camp my feet were just killing me and I was exhausted. 12 hours round trip from camp.

sunrise

best tent shot I've ever had

sunrise above easy pass

morning colors

illuminated clouds

Sunset was awesome but not as good as the first night, but sunrise the next morning was better! Awesome colors flooded my tent and the horizon above Easy Pass. Once again I relished in that cozy in my sleeping bag feeling until getting up around 6. It was so hard to move. Sore legs and blistered feet were a bit uncooperative at first but felt better after moving around a bit. I packed up and headed up for Katsuk and Mesahchie. It was pretty rough given my condition. I made it to about 8000 feet before I decided I had had enough. Even though the peaks were just right… there… I didn’t have it in me. I was feeling too ragged and still had a long trek out. This effort cost me 3 hours before I could get back to camp and get my stuff packed. My wife always jokes with me that the hikes I like to do are “torture hikes”. The trip back to the car certainly fits the bill. Oh, it hurts when you step? Great, let’s do that 1-2 times per second for the next 6 hours! The hike back was horrible but once I reached Easy Pass trail I found I could extend my stride without feeling any worse so I made quick time down to the car by 4pm, a 10 hour day.

Goode

waterfall on traverse back

THERE IT IS!!! THE TRAIL!!!!

Hikers on Easy Pass trail

Hardy on the way out

All in all it was a phenomenal trip! I’m bummed I didn’t get Katsuk and Mesahchie and I’d consider going back, but I won’t be doing the traverse over to camp again that’s for sure.

[cartman]

Great effort, and your pics are really good, especially those of upper Fisher Creek environs. I always wear two pairs of socks to prevent blisters. This allows the socks to rub against each other rather than skin rubbing against sock. Dramatically reduces friction against the skin, and I rarely have any trouble.

[Jackal]

Great report and pictures! That was a pretty sweet view out your tent. Too bad about your feet.

[Gimpilator]

[Distel32]

[RichP]

Great story. You'll be back armed with more knowledge next time

[awilsondc]

Thanks all!

[Brushbuffalo]

Beautiful pictures in an exquisite area amidst several giant peaks. Well done, especially solo and with painful feet.

[awilsondc]

[Fletcher]

Nice to meet you out there! Did you happen to see any bivy sites up high near Kimtah? Water sources?

[awilsondc]