[ozzy]

Well it was about time to get back in the alpine, I'd been sick the previous week so the withdrawals were starting to set in proper! I was definitely chomping at the bit but the scorching weekend forecast had me a bit hesitant. So anyhow Hans and myself made the rendezvous and made our way out towards darrington. Most of the route is cross country so we weren't too keen on an early start. We drove the squire creek road until a rock blocked passage. At 7am we were moving. After about a mile on the old road we turned uphill(east), the travel from here is all off trail. Supposedly there is a cairn that marks the turn off but we saw nothing. The first 200ft of gain is a bit bushy but manageable. It was already hot/muggy out and I was drenched in sweat immediately lol, it was shaping up to be a sloggy day. The forest opens up the higher you get and we were able to find the old miner's trail here and there, it was hard to stay on it at times. There is some flagging too but it's kinda sporadic as well. Around 3000' we crossed a minor gully and started trending more SSE. At 3300' we entered another gully that was nice and open, climbing up the gully 300ft or so we exited climber's right. It was pretty schwacky getting in and out of this gully. Once back into more open forest we gained another 600ft where we popped out of the trees just below a cliffband that's part of Jumbo's N ridge.(circa 4300') Finally we had some sweeet views and could see most of our route ahead! Whitehorse along with the squire creek wall stood out most. The view ahead to Jumbo let us know that there would be no snow, it was looking pretty dry up there and starting to warm up too. At this point we hadn't been in direct sunlight all day which helped a little. It was about time for a break so we stopped here. I think it took us about 3.5hrs to get here, Twas' a humid slog!

The second gully

Whitehorse across the way

The route ahead, Jumbo proper is the upper left peak

Hans emerging from the forest

Whitehorse with 3 fingers and the squire creek wall

View of Jumbo from the break spot

After the much needed break we stayed just under the cliffs for half of the way to Jumbo proper. There's another gully that presents itself at 4600', this is the one that others have used to gain access to the basin underneath said peak. For us there was too much water in the gully so we bypassed it climber's left in another gully. This gully was nice, class 3-4, but above it we had to traverse 100yds or so across some steep slabs interspersed with run off from above. We had to gingerly pick our way through here avoiding the slick parts that were covered in moss and water.(class 3) That was probably the crux for us along with the hot temps. After that is was a walk up the rest of the way to the summit block. The views getting better by the step of course. The summit is rather precipitous and has a little spice thrown in there too! We arrived around 1pm making it 6hrs from the car, stoked to be on top like usual! The register is still there and is quite old. Saw another Dallas Kloke sign in too! We chilled out up top for awhile until the heat was unbearable, then we seeked shelter just below on the north side in a shady patch. It was a little easier here to enjoy the whiskey and soak in the scenery!!

Looking back north to Hans

The gully bypass

Atop the gully bypass

The crappy slabs that we had to weave through, beware the wet spots

Above all the sketchy stuff, easier travel from here

The summit gets closer

Last bit to the ridge

At last buddy

Reg

Looking back towards the car down there

Towards GP

The north peak of Jumbo

Nice views for our summit stay and most importantly it was shaded!

I think it was around 230pm when we started our journey back to the car, I wasn't looking forward to it seeing as we would be in direct sunlight for a better part of it lol. Temps were probably right around 90f up there! The whole way down went pretty smooth until I bonked out about 1500ft above the road. I drank some electrolyte mix but I seemed to just sweat it out immediately, I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my life lol. I was thoroughly drenched through and through. Finally the car was reached around 730pm. My stomach was a bit unsettled and I threw up all the liquids within. I was feeling so crappy that Hans had to drive home. That being said we were both still stoked having another great day in the hills! Gotta love the Mtn loop...rain, shine, or sweltering heat! Well I gotta say that I knew it was a pretty serious day as I only got halfway through the whiskey lol! Thanks goes out to Susan Shih, we followed her track off of peakbagger! There was quite a bit of route finding even with a track, so it definitely helped.(mainly in the woods) What a day to endure another slog, thanks Hans for ticking another one off the list too! Cheers to all!! 8.5 miles, 4800ft gain, 13hrs

Down the hill

Hot views

Yea budd

Let's get the hell outta here

Last look back... cheers Jumbo!

[Mike Collins]

[Bramble_Scramble]

Awesome report! I've been curious about this one for a long time. Not sure if you've come across this but apparently there was a temporary lookout on the North summit. http://www.willhiteweb.com/washington_fire_lookouts/jumbo_mountain/summit_083.htm

[raising3hikers]

Good to see a TR for this one. Every year, it's on my early season list but somehow don't go get it. Nice to see the pics for it in summer, thanks!

[Gimpilator]

That's a rare one. Always looking at this peak and wondering about it. Very very cool.