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Tynan
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Tynan
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PostThu Jul 02, 2020 1:41 pm 
I was thinking of doing a loop in the William O. Douglass this weekend, starting at Thunder Creek, crossing to Dog Creek, and then doing the Mount Aix/Nelson Ridgeline from the south: https://caltopo.com/m/CBJ1 However, the only beta I've found online seems to indicate that some of these trails are fairly non-existent. I'm OK with a little adventure, but my wife's nursing a tweaked knee and isn't keen on any off-trail work. Does anyone have first hand experience in that area? It sound like most people just go up to Mount Aix and back down...

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geyer
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PostThu Jul 02, 2020 1:58 pm 
I had planned to do something like that a few years ago. I was going to call it the "Full Nelson" And if I had to bail somwhere, I was going to call it the "Half Nelson" biggrin.gif But sorry I don't have any usable beta, other than that the ridges seem totally doable if you convince your wife to go off-trail with you.

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BigBrunyon
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PostThu Jul 02, 2020 2:08 pm 
TynanRammGranberg wrote:
off-trail work.
Good verb choice here. I always refer to it as work too.

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SwitchbackFisher
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PostThu Jul 02, 2020 3:40 pm 
I haven't been to the East end of that loop but I've heard it's overgrown but passable. The rest is pretty easy to follow I've covered most of it at some point. I don't know how long your going to be out but I'd recommend dropping into Bauer lake for a night. There are 3 ways in the easiest is to gain the ridge just before Richmond mine pond and follow it past the 3 tarns into Bauer lake.

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RichP
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PostThu Jul 02, 2020 4:52 pm 
I did about half of that loop in 2018 from Mt Aix out to Nelson Butte. I tried to find the trail that drops down to Dog Ck from the saddle between Nelson and West Nelson and it was mostly gone with 1000's of logs to climb over. Down at Dog Ck I crossed the trail without even realizing it and bushwhacked back up and luckily found a clear section. From there to the junction of 982 was decent. 982 is a nice approach to Aix. A possibly easier route down from the saddle between Nelson and West Nelson is suggested by hikerbiker here which may add some distance but would likely be quicker: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8027688

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Tynan
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PostThu Jul 02, 2020 6:13 pm 
Thanks for the info, everyone. Sounds like the Dog Creek area is where things get jumbled. @SwitchbackFisher, is Bauer Lake the one just south-southeast of Mount Baldy? We've got 4 days/3 nights to work with.

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hikerbiker
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PostFri Jul 03, 2020 6:35 am 
I have done a few multi-day loops and traverses in the area and all have involved sections of off trail travel to complete. Rich P is right- the trail down from the W Nelson- Nelson saddle is gone completely since the fire and I would not go that way. We went east from the saddle and over the top of Nelson Butte proper then down the SE ridge to Buck Lake. X/C all the way and quite scenic but definitely no trail and not fun with a bum knee. Bauer Lake is just SE of Baldy Mt and IMO the three tarns have better camping as long as not dried up- they would be great now as there is still a good snowpack up high this year. I still have not completed a high traverse just below or on the crest of Nelson Ridge from the three tarns area to the south to intersect the Trail near the 5.8 mile point marked on your map. There is no trail but I talked with someone once who says it goes. This would avoid having to drop all the way down to Rattlesnake Creek past the Richmond Mine and Lake. On a side note Pk 7041 Hindoo on your map is actually Dog Mt. and I could show you an old FS map attesting to that fact.

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Tynan
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PostFri Jul 03, 2020 4:26 pm 
I really appreciate that extra info. I think for this trip we're gonna see if we can do a loop from Slate Pass in the Pasayten. If it's still too snowy up there, we're just going to do a valley walk up Robinson Creek in the same vicinity.

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Tynan
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PostThu Jul 16, 2020 3:28 pm 
Ended up doing a really pleasant loop from Slate Pass, out Buckskin Ridge and back via the Middle Fork Pasayten, w/ side trip to Ferguson Lake and Wildcat Mountain. Perfectly timed with the snow and wildflowers (and bugs not too bad yet). Tomorrow I'm gonna poke around the "Billodou" on my own, trying that ridge from Mount Baldy/NE Nelson Ridge down to the 5.8 mile point on my map and then up to Nelson Ridge proper and Mount Aix. Thanks again.

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hikerbiker
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PostSun Jul 19, 2020 4:18 am 
TynanRammGranberg wrote:
Tomorrow I'm gonna poke around the "Billodou" on my own, trying that ridge from Mount Baldy/NE Nelson Ridge down to the 5.8 mile point on my map and then up to Nelson Ridge proper and Mount Aix. Thanks again.
Did you do that high route from Baldy to Aix along the ridge? Curious how it went.

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Tynan
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PostSun Jul 19, 2020 2:08 pm 
The route is divine! There is some light Class 2/3 scrambling on the ridge from Mount Baldy to the NE peak of Nelson Ridge (and the west ridge of Mount Aix), but otherwise it's just a very pleasant ridgewalk. I descended from the NE peak of Nelson Ridge to a tarn in a shallow basin to the SW, then side-hilled over to meet up with the intermittent upper stretches of the Nelson Ridge trail. This cut off the jumbled logpile of the lower Nelson Ridge Trail (along the North Fork of Rattlesnake Creek). The only logs I had to step over were on the lower sections of the Richmond Mine Trail. Alpine flowers and mountain goats were plentiful. The only downer was that I'd stashed a bike at the Mount Aix trailhead, but almost immediately got a flat tire (and did not have a bike pump with me). This added about 5 miles of road walking at the end of the day. Here's the full route: https://caltopo.com/m/DN1T/DU1BBKCS51RRTH7P Photos here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iegtyo3du8kraqs/AAB2sJpaOQvUrZDDhG8N795Ya?dl=0

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hikerbiker
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PostMon Jul 20, 2020 7:09 am 
TynanRammGranberg wrote:
The route is divine! There is some light Class 2/3 scrambling on the ridge from Mount Baldy to the NE peak of Nelson Ridge (and the west ridge of Mount Aix), but otherwise it's just a very pleasant ridgewalk. I descended from the NE peak of Nelson Ridge to a tarn in a shallow basin to the SW, then side-hilled over to meet up with the intermittent upper stretches of the Nelson Ridge trail. This cut off the jumbled logpile of the lower Nelson Ridge Trail (along the North Fork of Rattlesnake Creek). The only logs I had to step over were on the lower sections of the Richmond Mine Trail. Alpine flowers and mountain goats were plentiful. The only downer was that I'd stashed a bike at the Mount Aix trailhead, but almost immediately got a flat tire (and did not have a bike pump with me). This added about 5 miles of road walking at the end of the day. Here's the full route: https://caltopo.com/m/DN1T/DU1BBKCS51RRTH7P Photos here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iegtyo3du8kraqs/AAB2sJpaOQvUrZDDhG8N795Ya?dl=0
Outstanding! Thank you for the route details. Have been wondering about that tarn SW of NE Nelson Ridge peak - there is quite a bit of water that comes out of that little basin but I suspect it dries up too late in the season. Any possible camp sites at the outlet? Don't think I'm up for doing this as a day trip anymore ( my 30 mile and 9000' vert days are over:) Looks like your timing was perfect for flowers and some remaining snow for water.

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Tynan
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PostMon Jul 20, 2020 10:36 am 
It was a long day, for sure. I ran out of water on top of Dog Mountain and did not have anything with which to melt snow, so I was happy to see a spring running further up along the Aix trail than I was expecting. I think you could probably squeeze in a bivy or narrow tent somewhere around that tarn, particularly a little later in the season. Things are pretty soggy everywhere where there isn't heather right now, though. I also had something happen that I'd never witnessed before. While traversing scree on a moderate slope below the remains of a large snow drift (on my way to the South Pk of Nelson Ridge), my leg suddenly sank calf-deep and the hillside seemed to liquefy around me. A slurry started gushing out of the bottom of the snow drift. Apparently there was quite a backlog of meltwater beneath the drift, water which was slowly trickling through the scree until my tread dislodged a lodestone. I fell on my butt, but was able to roll out of it without too much trouble. Luckily it was not a terribly steep slope. This video shows the dregs of the miniature outburst flood: https://www.dropbox.com/s/phlo05tlize6f4w/2020-07-17%2017.01.53.mov?dl=0

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