[Dayhike Mike]

Wow...two incredible days. A lot of mileage, a lot of scenery, and a heck of good time. There's nothing like top notch weather that makes you forget it's October. Saturday was sunny and clear, mid-70s to low-80s. Sunday was nice during the morning, and thankfully a little cloudy during the long tromp out. My dad and I, Tom and RialtoSol started hiking Saturday morning around 7:35am. Gained the 1000' to Lake Lillian, and another 800' rambling in meadows to the top of Rampart Ridge before dropping down to enjoy a rare solace in Rampart Lakes. Headed across the bench to the north, getting good views of Rachel Lake before heading into the richly colored meadows just before Lila Lake. Dodged left, keeping high and passed by three tarns before swinging right and beginning our ascent up to the top of a 6000' prominence. Beautiful views of the whole region and got our first views of Chikamin Peak and the Four Brothers. Dropped to the north and kept high, traversing in a natural bench to the north. Park Lakes and the surrounding meadows looked gorgeous...a rich patchwork of yellows and reds and oranges, with splashes of greenery to balance it out. Eventually met up with the PCT and got up to a nice vantage point where we could relish the views of Spectacle and Glacier Lakes far below. Traversed through granite and dropped into the Glacier Lake basin. Had a good view of two mountain goats high above on the slopes of the Four Brothers. Arrived at the pristine shores of Glacier Lake about 3pm and admired the massive cliffs around the northwest end of the lake. Without too much coaxing, we decided to take a much needed break to eat a few snacks and cool off in its icy waters before venturing into the Stone Kingdom. An hour later, we were packed up and ready to go. Thankfully, much of our route was now in shade and so we made the ascent to Chikamin in good time. Enjoyed the views of numerous picturesque tarns, the imposing peaks of Lemah Mountain, Chikamin looming on our left, and the technicolor purple, red, and green rocks. We finally arrived at Chikamin Lake, nestled between Chikamin Peak and the spire of Lemah One. I fed the heather while the others picked our campsite and set up tents. Dinner was a luxurious mix of Lasagne, Polynesian Chicken with Rice, trout, Cup o' Noodles, and Seafood Chowder, chased by milk and cocoa. After dinner we laid on the heather, watching the stars and pointing out constellations and the errant satellite passing overhead. A nice, light 60-65 degree breeze kept it comfortable, even at 9pm. Crawled into bed and slept like a log. In the morning woke up feeling refreshed. RialtoSol had been up for a few hours and had scrambled pretty much every mountain in the vicinity of camp, Tom had a good time lounging at the lake, and my dad had the good sense to let me sleep for an extra 15 minutes instead of hauling my butt out of bed at 6:45am. Breakfast was also a feast...my dad and I enjoyed a bowl of Froot Loops followed by half of a Scrambled Eggs and Ham freeze dried. Tom and RialtoSol went for the more restrained diet of coffee and bagels. Packed up and were on our way at 8:55am. Scrambled to the bench on the north side of Chikamin Peak. Had great views of the route home past Huckleberry, Thompson, Alaska and Kendall Mountains, and enjoyed seeing the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River valley carpeted with a layer of fog. Tom went all the way to the north end and got some nice pictures down toward Iceberg, while my dad checked out routes off the northwest end and RialtoSol and I started checking out the route around the prominence of Chikamin Peak. Worked our way around a ledge, dropping only slightly and then scrambling up at the end to gain the south ridge. We dropped our packs and enjoyed the sunlight and views of the Four Brothers while we waited for Tom and my dad. Soon, we were all scrambling the final 400-500' to the top of the peak. Nothing too technical and only one section of mild exposure and suddenly we were surrounded by 360 degree views. Chikamin Lake was far below and craggy Lemah Mountain was almost more impressive standing guard over it. After a good break on top, we scrambled back down, picked up our packs and started heading SE down the ridgeline. We descended to the saddle between Chikamin Peak and the Four Brothers, and at the southern end, began to drop to the south, keeping high and just under the cliffs of the Four Brothers. Steep grassy and heather-covered slopes, with a couple precarious cliffy sections took us lower and lower to the left. After 45 minutes or so we finally reached a more gentle slope and a talus-filled creekbed that took us quickly down to meet up with the PCT at 1:30pm. From here, Tom and RialtoSol took off ahead, heading out on the PCT with plans of dropping down and visiting Joe Lake. My dad and I took a more leisurely pace. I'm not in the best shape and I was beginning to feel the effects of the strenuous trip...I'd hurt my right knee somewhere along the way and just needed to take my time and limp out at my own pace. We caught up to Tom and RialtoSol at beatiful Joe Lake, or rather, we passed their packs. They quickly caught back up with us on the switchbacks up Alaska Mountain. The uphill unleashed a torrent of pain and profanity and RialtoSol was quick to offer an Ace bandage, and Tom loaned me his trusty trekking poles for the remainder of the trip. Several hours later, we rose up to cross the Kendall Katwalk and into the sunlight of the western slopes. The view was stunning...absolutely beautiful. The whole of the I-90 corridor was shrouded in a low layer of clouds, the sunlight was streaming in, fringing the needles of the trees in a light glow and lighting up the hillside in a bouquet of fall colors. Continued our descent. The sun dipped to touch the horizon at 6:30pm, but still offered us plenty of light for another 45 minutes or so. We dropped off-trail and arrived at our second truck at 7:45pm. Tired, but satisfied, we headed off to quickly gather the first truck before racing down to Arby's for roast beef sandwiches, mozzerella sticks, jalapeno poppers, and tall frosty shakes.

[Backpacker Joe]

Well, ya gotta love it. You guys R NUTZ! Ask me next time will ya. TB

[jenjen]

DHM, calling yourself out of shape is so selling yourself short. Weight aside, the stuff you do in a day dwarfs what most people do in a week. Great TR. Hope the knee is better.

[Dayhike Mike]

[Odonata]

That is a great trip report! Thank you. You guys covered some ground. The Rampart lk to Glacier Lk route is a real hoot and is to be recomended. ~Dave

[Tom]

What's really odd about the route to Alta Pass is there is a path all the way from the lower of the 3 tarns below Alta Mtn to the bump leading down to Alta Pass. It's not your usual off trail boot path either. It had FS like switchbacks and the talus traverses had been cleared. I was sure this must have been an abandoned FS trail until we got to the other side where it quickly disappeared.

[Backpacker Joe]

Lewis and Clarke,,,, uh I mean Tom and Mike........... TB

[Tom]

A few pictures from the trip...

Looking down on Alta Pass

Goats above from descent to Glacier Lake

Chikamin Peak from Chikamin Lake

Chikamin Lake from ascent to Chikamin Peak

Chikamin Pots from ascent to Chikamin Peak

Iceberg and Avalanche Lakefrom NW Chikamin

Closeup of Iceberg Lake from NW Chikamin

Lemah to Daniel from Chikamin Peak

Boot Lake from Chikamin Peak

Dayhike Mike, Rialtosol, and John atop Chikamin Peak

Descending from Chikamin Peak To Four Brothers

Mt Rainier and fog shrouded I-90 corridor from PCT

[Dante]

Great TR! I've wanted to do that since the first time I climbed Alta from Ramparts. I've done most of it--just not all of it at once. Thanks!

[Galadriel]

I really enjoyed your TR and pictures. I was up on Alta Saturday morning too, that country is so beautiful this time of year. Due to my early AM start I had total solitude at Rachel Lake and the peak. Wish I could have gone the whole route you guys did...

[Tom]

Were you one of the 3 people in the party who parked at Rocky Run a little after 7 AM?

[Dayhike Mike]

Did you have a dog with you? We did pass one person with a dog on the way out.

[Backpacker Joe]

Good shots as usual TD. You guys are scurvy dogs for sure! TB

[Reuben]

so cool! thanks

[Galadriel]

Nope, no dog, hiked solo, wasn't with the 7 AM group. Wish I had met up with you, tho.