[whitebark]

I had long admired a large cliff located at 2800' above Quartz Creek near the south ridge of Rooster Mountain, and on a recent fine November day I decided to visit it. After parking at the Snoqualmie Lake trailhead, I hiked to the Quartz Creek road/trail and followed it a half mile up to where it passes by a clearing in the forest created for a mine remediation project. This clearing is at the base of Rooster's south ridge. Here I left the trail and headed up the ridge which provided relatively easy going in open second growth forest. Most blowdowns could be skirted, but one area of bad blowdown at about 2100' forced me to make a short diversion to the east of the ridge. Above the blowdown, the ridge flattened out and I rested at a sunny viewpoint atop a minor ledge. Above the flat, the ridge became increasingly steep and I eventually encountered a cliff at 2600', which I dodged by going right and scrambling up a steep slope to the east of the cliff. The steep but short scramble section was nothing difficult or dangerous, and soon the ridge eased off a bit, though for the first time brush become a minor problem. At 2900' I encountered an old road bed and followed it to the west. At this point I realized the time was getting late and Rooster Ledge was nowhere in sight. So I abandoned the search for the cliff and instead walked the road all the way to where it joins the Rooster Mountain road at a switchback. Though long abandoned, the road had only minor brush and blowdown and I could make good time on it. The Rooster road was in good shape with logs cut, although the awful drainage ditches were still there and annoying as ever. The worst of these are on the second and third switchbacks as you ascend. Using the Rooster road and Quartz Creek road, I headed back to the trailhead.

route to Rooster Ledge

Two days later, I returned to the area to find the Rooster Ledge, after studying aerial photos to make sure I knew exactly where the ledge was. I hiked the same route as before until I reached 2800' then traversed west. I passed the top of a minor cliff then headed through a forested area. Rooster Ledge was soon found, and it provided a sunny perch with a grand view toward the Middle Fork valley and Preacher Mountain beyond. Behind the ledge was a forested flat that could make a nice camp spot if you could find water. Instead of climbing to the road and returning the way I used last time, I went back down the ridge to get to the Quartz Creek trail. A fun day all in all in the Mid Fork, where interesting new adventures always await for the adventurous spirit.

view from Rooster Ledge

[fourteen410]

Good stuff Always appreciate your TRs.

[mosey]

Up every valley and ridge there's adventure! Good read.

[puzzlr]

Great idea to go up the ridge! I've had my eye on this too but assumed I'd get to it from the road you returned on during the first attempt. Nice to know the forest isn't too brushy to go straight up. This photo from the SE ridge of Quartz shows that ledge really well

Rooster from Quartz

[whitebark]

Great pic! The best viewpoint on the cliff is the high point on the right side.

[nordique]

So, some one-pitch climbing routes that could be top roped from the top. Will have to research Quartz Creek! Thanks for the report!

[Bluebird]

right up my alley, thanks for sharing!