[Dustin Trails]

This trip started off in the same way every trip starts with Fletcher. I suggest having a chill day on Mount Cruiser and he responds with a slew of ideas that hit Top 200 peaks while walking past one thousand other peaks I haven't done. I basically always give in, because honestly his trip ideas never really disappoint. This one was a bit tough for me to wrap my head around though. We would do Mount Berge and then book it over to North Star, back through Spider Gap and down to the trailhead for a two-day, 50+ mile trip. After some contemplation, I said "sure". It's not yet apparent who will plan my annual Top 200 thrashing once Fletcher finishes the list. Fletcher, Jake and I met at the Sultan P&R at 3:30am and were on our way. That's a pretty gross meet time, but some things will never change. If it wasn't for writing the occasional trip report and needing to recall the details, I would probably black all the discomforts of climbing from my memory. But, overall this was a great trip and I'm happy to relive it a little. We hit the Buck Creek Pass trail at about 6:15 and made a nice effort to Buck Creek Pass. The trailside huckleberries were abundant so we ate some on the fly. At the pass we took the trail towards High Pass, arriving at the base of Mount Cleator before noon. Jake and I made our way up Cleator while Fletcher waited for us, having already done Cleator on a previous trip (where they also did Berge before Eric Gilbertson measured the east peak as being higher, thus continuing to frustrate the already tiny crowd of people working the Top 200 and simultaneously bringing a huge smile to my face).

View West from Cleator

Looking towards Glacier Peak

After picking Fletcher up we headed towards Mount Berge. What a great peak to need to do again, the east summit has a fun little scramble and it's position above the Buck Creek valley is spectacular.

Headed to Berge, proud of my 14lb overnight pack

Summit of Berge looking down the ramp we scrambled

At this point Jake and I were considering how close we were to Buck Mountain, which neither of us had done, and how far we were from North Star (part of our original and somewhat contrived T200 trip). We caught Fletcher at the right moment and he agreed to not do North Star and repeat Buck with us instead. So we made quick work of some scree skiing and headed down to make camp in the saddle between Berge and Buck.

Some really nice bivy options

After setting up our bivies we all set off for a late afternoon ascent of Buck. We basically brought no beta and it had been many years since Fletcher was there. Continually recognizing incorrect peaks as being the highest and fully falling victim to optical illusions, we took the most ridiculous and indirect route to the summit.

I think you can see our thought process here

Fletcher and Jake on the final traverse

West Peak Buck Mountain with Glacier in the distance

On the way down, we all were pretty stunned by the beauty of Helmet Butte in the evening sun. So much so that I plan to return for a trip over Massie, Fortress and Helmet Butte.

Helmet Butte during descent of Buck

Descending to camp from Buck

Upon return to camp we made ourselves some dinner and enjoyed a nearby waterfall. This was one of the nicer bivies in recent memory. At one point in the night I woke up and saw some flashes in the sky. I'm never really sure what is happening up there or did I really even see anything? Some things can't be known, but it would sure be nice if I had woken up with my glasses already on.

Waterfall to Buck Creek

Near camp

On day two I woke up early and headed for Napeequa Peak. The trip was already feeling long after day one (22mi, 8400' gain) so Fletcher and Jake opted not to repeat Napeequa. I left camp over an hour before them so I could tag Napeequa and then meet them at High Pass while they enjoyed a more leisurely morning. As a note, the northeast ridge of Napeequa has some exposure and probably stays class 3+ if you really pick your way around. I chose to go direct at low 5th class to save time route finding.

Shortly after departing camp

Napeequa at sunrise

Fletcher and Jake near High Pass, Clark and Luahna in the background

From High Pass we went directly over Rally Cap where I ate way too many gummy candies a decision that would shape the remainder of my day. Still riding this sugar high we descended from Rally Cap and made our way to Flower Dome, where temps were starting to get hot and the horse flies were out and about.

Topping out on Rally Cap

Near Buck Creek Pass

Final steps on Flower Dome and cool avy paths on Helmet Butte

Looking all the way down the Buck Mountain Arm

Most likely having a conversation of moderate to low importance

With a belly full of sugar and back on the main trail, we stopped at the creek just below Buck Creek Pass for another fill up. This one was running pretty well and seemed like a good place to continue my experiment to find out if you can get giardia in the Cascades. Overall day two was a bit more casual with about 21mi, 3600' gained. This wasn't quite the thrashing I originally signed up for, but a great trip with good company. These guys really slog it out with the best of them. 2 days 43 miles 12000' gain

[Fletcher]

Fun times for my final cleanup of the High Pass area. Returning to the basin between Berge and Buck was a real treat, I never thought I would go back there.

[awilsondc]

Great trip you guys! That area is so cool, I'm looking forward to when I can get back out there again.

[Midnight Slogger]

Always delighted to see the limited edition DustinTrails reports. Love the intrigue about Helmet Butte--looking forward to the TR!

[Dustin Trails]