[iron]

what do you do when your summer’s 3 week trip is cancelled? plan another of course. it helps when the weather cooperates though... after solid days of prepping food, making caches, and stashing stuff throughout the cascades, hotpantz and i were ready to head off.

startin' off

day 1 – pyramid lake TH to colonial glacier & lake we reached the pyramid lake TH around 10:30a and were soon on our way. another group of 4, from portland, was heading off to attempt snowfield peak. we chatted and departed and would reconnect a time or two along the way. this is our second time on the trail, the first being in february of 2010 during a winter attempt of snowfield. that time, the trail was frozen solid, creeks too. this time, it was soft and lush and resembled a typical north cascades forest scene.

pyramid lake creek

reflective green coat

bright among dark

inviting pool

we took our first deserved break at pyramid lake. i’m not sure why people bash this lake; i really like it and it’s situated in a deep pocket amongst cliffs. if this was our final destination, we’d have been taking running jumps from 20ft up into the cold, mountain waters.

marsh forming in pyramid lake

feeling skunky

contemplating a jump

lots of balancing opportunities

welcome

we easily located the climber’s path to the right of the lake. it’s hard to say whether it’s better with snow and ice or not, but with the weight of our packs and the climbing gear and 9 days of food they carried, we definitely felt it’s difficulty. soon enough, views of the raging waterfalls of colonial creek captured our hearts. the power of water is perhaps my most beloved part of the mountains.

heading up the ridge

colonial

monster waterfall of colonial creek

start of colonial creek

enjoying views

little snow in the colonial creek valley remains

just above the waterline

progress was slow, but still forward. we came to our stopping point of 2010 where we bailed because of the traverse beneath a cornice with winter powder below; not sure what i was thinking while planning that trip. this day, however, proved quite easy on the traverse. continuous solid snow easily brought us into the colonial glacier basin. we saw a good deal of ice worms even on the traverse, which is not a glacier. we would see them in many places along the trip in non-glaciated terrain.

the traverse to colonial creek basin

no sweat

immediately, we spied an obvious campsite on a spur of dry sand – about the only snowfree spot within view. we’d later realize this spur of sand actually was sand on ice. pretty cool. drinking water about 25ft away. this was the first trip for a pre-wedding gift – the black diamond mega light tent. because it’s not a freestanding shelter, and the sand was light and loose, i was quite worried about any kind of wind. fortunately, with enough rocks and a picket as a deadman, we got things to be stable enough. and, the wind cooperated this night.

colonial and neve

starting lord of the rings - fellowship of the ring

our water source

ice island

goodnight sun

and moon

because we anticipated 22 days of continuous hiking (weather permitting), we took it easy this first night. temps dropped quickly as the sun was obscured by the likes of pyramid, pinnacle, and paul bunyan’s stump.

camp

day 2 – colonial glacier to N isolation peak ridge tarn 6640+ the morning dawned clear. we were already in our routine, despite this being only overnight trip 2 for 2011. by routine, of course, i mean sleeping in until the sun forces you out of the tent. with no wind, we felt confident leaving the tent. off we headed for pyramid peak, packs now only carrying clothes and food. snow was great and the steel crampons really enjoyed the walk. we traversed N beneath paul bunyan’s stump and pinnacle peak, reaching the pinnacle/pyramid saddle. it was difficult to say, at first, if we were near a huge cornice. fortunately, there was none. a few minutes later we topped out. strangely, no register here, but oh well. the views in all directions were supreme, especially for being a peak that can be viewed from a state highway. snowfield and the neve glacier looked incredibly stunning.

colonial glacier "lake" and outlet

stay there little tent

heading up to pyramid

steepening

not much open yet

pinnacle and pyramid

lots of snow to play in

all smiles

snowfield looking far away

but now it looks close

atop pyramid

what, no register?

beckey talks of a class 3 route up the NE face of pyramid. we certainly didn’t see it. so, we went to the base of its south ridge instead. probably class 3, but man, that rock was loose. we danced around for 10 mins, kicking down crap left and right. not fun. deciding there were bigger better things beyond, we passed on pyramid and headed back down to camp where we packed up.

coming down from a weak pinnacle attempt

by this time, the portland group finally made it up to near our camp. we chatted and it sounds like 1 of the 4 had a rough time with some of the approach and was staying at camp. they took off ahead, but veering towards the saddle S of paul bunyan’s stump. times like this, you start questioning yourself and triple check the map to make sure you’re going the right way. we were, and they soon realized it after we had led the way to the neve saddle.

streaks

jack 'n tent

a little ice with your sand?

heading up to saddle

bigtime snow!

colonial and neve both looked ripe to climb, but we were already somewhat behind schedule, so we pushed on to snowfield. that neve glacier is amazing. snowfield’s summit looks like just a blip on top of acres of snow. a long walk on perfect snow with tiny crevasses allowed us to go quickly.

gaping

portland group

coming down from saddle

long and elegant

feeling small

a look back at the saddle

nearing snowfield

crevasse

soon we were at the saddle and dropped packs. i brought our rope and some gear and we took one of the party members who wanted to summit, but couldn’t unless she was with someone. we walked up steep snow for a bit, though the dry ridge with a bootpath would have been way easier. i initially headed up too far right before seeing the notch to drop down to. easy enough. through the notch, the down the backside, walk around some snow, and a really easy scramble to the summit.

looking beyond to our next goal

isolation peak

at the summit

dropping in from notch to snowfield's final scramble

the notch from summit side

the notch from the approach side

great views of what lay ahead. isolation looked isolated indeed. we decided to rappel down the scramble portion back to the notch. the 70m rope fell short of the full distance, but it dropped us off at an easy exit point. we said farewell to our new portland friend grabbed packs, and dropped in S of the snowfield saddle.

ridge leading to isolation

my beta said to make a descending traverse to pick up the S ridge of snowfield around EL7700’. we had dropped to low, so decided to go back up after it was clear we were on the sharp cleft W of the ridge. once on the ridge, it didn’t look good. lots of exposure and still heavy packs. my gut starting murmuring something and eventually we listened to it.

ridge the beta said to take

looking down said ridge

backbone ridge

icecap peaks through isolation

and more

isolation through the devils

great relief

we backtracked to the large snow basin S of the horseman, which looks like quite a climb from the S. the snow proved highly boot glissadable, even with the heavy packs. i liked . we wrapped around some exposed rocks, topped off on water, and traversed around EL6800’. with some steep spots, travel was slow, though on skis or a board, this would be easier as would many places on this traverse. soon enough, we reached the S ridge of snowfield around EL6600’ and walked down a gentle slope to a great ridge tarn and campsite (not established). the views and feeling here were truly alpine. i loved every second we were there. the roar of mcallister creek and the views of the N faces of the icecap peaks were breathtaking.

spying the tarn

now down low with easy access to isolation's N ridge

checkin' the map

the devils and still frozen tarns

traversing to isolation's N ridge

now on the ridge, looking back at the beta route

we set up camp again on dry ground and settled in for a quick dip in the tarn. not too many tarns with views like this.

ah, so many choices

let's go here please!

small trees, big peaks

who's got shorts?

then, as we waited for dinner to rehydrate, we watched a colorful sunset unfurl before us. night air was still and clear. it was perfect.

fading light 1

fading light 2

baker looking good

climb me!

such a nice spot

reflecting on nature

hooray!

shiny new tent

ready?

so small

can't wait!

waiting for dinner to cook

golden light

bye bye sun

vertical beam

now an explosion

hazy hues

alpenglow

wow

more wow

and more

beaming

too

many

sunset

pics

warm + food

pano near camp

cascade river road peaks

day 3 - N isolation peak ridge tarn 6640+ to pt 6885 saddle camp the morning offered welcoming skies. heck, i could see the olympics, or so i thought. i also, however, saw a thin marine layer forming near baker. i surmised this would simply add ambiance to an already spectacular scene. i was wrong.

good morning tarn

morning!

an okay setting to wake to

hmm, what's that

it's over there too

from camp, we worked our way S easily down snowy slopes. lots of cornice debris here and still some looming cornices overhead. lots of rock debris above and E of isolation lake. we opted to cross the outlet side to avoid potential rockfall. if you’re a lakebagger, put this destination in your to-do list.

isolation lookin' mighty fine

just follow the low snow

heading down

E side deproach options from snowfield

cornice chunk

route becomes clear

isolation tarn

big snow balls

not as appealing as the tarn the night before

lakebagger's dream

hmm

rounding the lake

dive in and see what's under the snow!

little bridge

tree mushrooms

we opted to do a running belay up the slopes to isolation’s E ridge using 4 pickets. again, good snow conditions, so it was more a formality and extra safety precaution given the runout and and weight of the packs.

heading up isolation's ramp and looking down to tarn and back towards snowfield group

protecting a marginal runout

traversing up to isolation's shoulder

good spot to fill up

melting out

almost to ridge

closer

happy to be up this part

ice fall!

we crested the ridge around EL6400’, dropped packs, and walked up the CL2+ ridge to the summit. tremendous vantage point and bivy and tent potential on the summit, though no water of course (snow nearby). from the top, we saw our near future --- clouds. looks like the marine layer decided to be more than just that.

a bench off isolation

spying the route

mcallister drainage

unhappy clouds, but man, what a sight

fun scrambling

lake 5136

alpiney

bird or rock, you decide

topped out on isolation

now, just have to get to that nice ridge below

more map work

mcallister tarn (anyone want to visit this with me?)

some high flying yoga

one cl3 step heading down

back to the packs

big terrain

awesome drainage

i loved this bench

saddle 1 (S of lake 5136) and saddle 2 (N of the coccyx)

we thought we spied a good route to get to the ridge S of us. after grabbing our packs, ascending a bit to EL6500’, and crossing some chasms, we found ourselves on a steep downward traverse. i’m normally comfortable on stuff like this, but not this time. it was legit with a long and unhappy runout. each step counted and i made sure of it. in hindsight, we should have belayed this in some form, but we didn’t have our harnesses on and there wasn’t a happy spot to put them on after we were in the thick of it. eventually, we trended W to try and grab some semblance of a ridge. we could have continued down more via snow, but i was done with it by that point. through some thick trees and then to a slab. crap. time to rappel, albeit 30ft or so. after lowering packs and collecting ourselves, we proceeded down the ridge above the headwaters of newhalem creek, a creek of which we’d later get a great helping.

so close, but so far

come here ridge

steeper than it looks

alright, time to rap

better views of the mcallister drainage

steep snow deproach to ridge

the ridge here was odd, almost like a creek could flow on it. runnels everywhere. and, a huge pile of recent bear scat.

yikes!

ahh, easier walkin'

5136

phew

man, was i beat. the mental strain of the last part sapped my energy. ready to camp was i. but, after a few bags of skittles, some starburst, and trail mix, my energy soon returned. hotpantz was as strong as ever (i believe she’s surpassed me now with her increased biking frequency combined with my decrease since losing my job a year ago). rather than camping on this very snow ridge, despite it being only EL5200’, we opted to press onto the newhalem peak saddle. kick steps heading up were easy and it was nice to have a 2nd wind. we decided we’d see what was in the basin on the other side, and if that didn’t work, head up to the next saddle.

take the thread of snow up the gully to the next saddle

backbone ridge from N

the S side of the newhalem peak saddle was chock full of trees. odd given the steep slope and the nearby avy paths. i suspect this slope has released in the past as all the trees appeared uniform in size and couldn’t be more than 50-100 years old. we were glad they were there as it was another surprisingly steep descent. there was no water nearby upon the descent, but upon ascent of the next gully, which looked mighty intimidating from afar and close, there lay a beautiful waterfall on the right margin that transitioned perfectly into a stream for a quick refill.

entering cold and strong basin opposite stout lake

again, my beta was off. i understood it to go up the N rib heading out of the gully (just E of our route). looked like 5th class terrain to me. maybe not. who knows? regardless, the snow-filled gully was the easy and obvious choice. what it would be without snow is another question, but i suspect snow hangs out in this very cold, dark, and impressive cirque for quite some time. it was about 1800ft of kicksteps and running belay when we topped out at the 6640+ saddle. i really enjoyed that climb, despite a few drops of rain. near the top, stay climber’s left to avoid unnecessary steepness.

follow the thin line of snow

up the gully to our final camp

we still had 30 minutes of daylight at this point and found, again, great dry camping. we’d need it as you’ll see in a bit. by this point, clouds were surrounding us. hopefully they’d break.

our view for most of the next 3+ days

still hope, but not much

day 4 – yay, camping! socked in by clouds in the morning, we decided to make a call to hollywood to see about the weather forecast. i figured we’d have cell reception here as the line of sight to newhalem seemed about right. sure enough. unfortunately, this being tuesday, hollywood said all the models indicated friday would be the first break in the weather. alright, we’ll sit tight. we have weather days built in. this day wasn’t actually that bad. clouds and sun mixed together to create a greenhouse effect within the tent. we romped around the nearby ridge, trying to summit pt 6885 in crocs without touching snow. one snow-filled gully prevented that. back to the tent we go. we probably should have pushed onto backbone ridge, but were reluctant to give up such a nice camp in the event of a whiteout or heavy rain before we could find something else. we made good progress on the lord of the rings book, which we started at the colonial glacier camp. only 500pgs long, we’d finish it by the end of day 6.

looking out the next day

ooh, look at the top of the tent

only on page 76 at this point (would finish the 500+ pg book soon enough)

good spot to collect water

that shouldn't be on the inside

reflections of the clown tent

sucker hole

awesome drainage off the devils

day 5 – more camping it was kind of the same as the day before, but with more rain, less warmth, more wind, and less enjoyment. the ridge we were on likely amplified the moisture received, but it’s tough to say what was happening across the valley. every now and again, we’d venture out at a break in the weather to get more snow, stretch the legs, and the like. we also found abundant sleep.

many waterfalls

and more

and one more (not much to photograph)

our would-be route ahead and around to backbone ridge

oh, what happened to the sun?

looking down the gully we came up to get to the final saddle/camp

day 6 – even worse the night was cold and windy and wet. the new tent, which had yet to be seam sealed before leaving for the trip, was starting to shows signs of that fact. we chatted with hollywood again and it looked like the weather forecast had deteriorated some more. now, sunday was the weather window. well, we had food ‘til then, but man, could we sit idly for 5+ days? or, would the weather forecast for the next week bring more moisture? it appeared it did and our trip was soon in jeopardy.

it's working!

rain jacket = good foot bivy

we needed an exit route. unfortunately, our 7.5minute TOPO! map only went so far to the W, ending at the EL3600’ contour W of stout lake, but our 100ft contour interval map (national geographic waterproof one of the north cascades) showed a trail and campground up newhalem creek. retracing our tracks would have been sketchy in bad weather, especially some of the gullies and slopes we would need to descend. recalling a conversation with bigsteve just before the trip, he mentioned he’d be up to stout lake. we asked hollywood to contact him, dayhike mike, tom, and BPJ --- people that know about lakes. the beta we got from that group is to follow the stout lake outlet. we chatted with the marblemount ranger station and he talked of a route traversing at EL5200’ from stout lake to the W facing slopes N of two creeks. both pieces of beta talked of steep forests, but doable. that was encouraging as it more or less meant there’s some way out without getting cliffed, though of course, the steepest contours were just off our maps. regardless, it was time to get out of here. our sleeping bags were starting to take in moisture and without a chance to dry them out, it could prove dangerous, especially as nighttime temps were in the low 30s and we occasionally received sleet, hail, and slush. day 7 – camp to newhalem woke up at 5:00a to pretty nice conditions (i.e. not rain). oddly, with our 90% chance of rain at 8:00a, we didn’t get a drop ‘til we reached the cars. we hurriedly packed and were moving quickly. we knew the ridge to pt 6885 had some gaps from recon on our first day at camp, so, we tried traversing underneath it. the lichen was slick, i mean slick. it was essentially ice-like after 4 days of soaking. combined with some thick trees, getting to just under pt 6885 took nearly an hour despite being only 200ft gain and about 1/3 of a mile from camp. arriving on the W ridge of the summit, we were relieved to see that we had avoided the steepest contours near the summit. they would have required a rappel which might have proved difficult or impossible to protect adequately. we could mostly keep to the ridge, though there were still some huge huge cornices lingering. the gap between the snow and the trees was about body-width. some spots invoked interesting reverse liebacks and mantles that resembled more a spider than a human. better that than tempting walking the cornices. walking S of the ridgeline was full of thick, wet trees that would have shredded clothes. not worth it if we needed an emergency camp this evening and would have been soaked from that and the ominous weather forecasted.

peering down into stout lake area

looking back at the ridge towards pt 6885

once we got to EL6300’, we could see we had the route to stout lake in the bank. at EL6000’, we dropped in. snow and trees capped the rib and took us right to the gap between the two lakes. what an interesting view while heading down. never before have i seen a lake that looked vertical, but because of our aspect and the steepness of newhalem peak beyond, it sure looked it. because of the forecast and steepness of the route, my camera sat idly in my bag. quite the lake though.

stout lake and basin

we refilled water at the outlet and followed the slopes down. it was okay at first, and then consistently steep. we had crampons on for the steep stuff, even though the forest floor was as soft as any i’ve felt. they were almost necessary for this as it was the steepest forest i’ve been in.

stout lake area

as we descended, we came to a few tributary creeks that connect to the outlet of stout lake. we pushed right, not wanting to get sucked into the slopes of the outlet. at this point, i thought of my many adventures on terrain like this before. what to watch out for; what to think of; what to expect ahead. i almost didn’t even need a map, which was good since we didn’t have one that covered the spots we needed.

cramponing and picking my way up and out of the creek

steep creek crossing

around EL3800’, i pushed us rightward, sensing steep stuff ahead. after a slick log crossing on one of the creeks, and a little more steep, we were in easy terrain. off came the crampons and out came the camera.

finally, in the forest and not so steep

very green

one goes up, one lies on hillside

arced

we mistakenly thought we were further N than we were. after traversing N for awhile, we descended to newhalem creek. no trail. no camp. we checked the elevation of the river and found we were ~200ft low, at river level, to find the campsite. we traversed back up the slopes, trying to avoid devils club as best possible. at times, it’s just not possible.

oh, this looks fun

sometimes, you just gotta do it

eventually, we had an “oh crap” moment. as in bear crap. the animal tracks and path we’d picked up were indeed that of bears. evidence: 4 piles of fresh scat, arranged in a square pattern. i start thinking: mom and 3 cubs. eek. we followed the animal tracks for another 30 mins. “oh crap” again. 4 more piles. also fresh, as in steaming. man, travel on this path was nice, but it could prove bad. we decided to head down to see if we’d cross the trail en route to the creek. nope. but, it was nice to sit and enjoy the splendor of the water and warmth.

2nd time to cross these four

newhalem creek

sun shining?!?

crossing patterns

ripples

a little of everything

great color

head dunking

we found it odd that this search to find the trail was the hardest part of the trip so far. back up we went. more club. more alder. more brush. then --- trail! well, road/trail. despite being grossly overgrown, travel was way way easier.

i love bushwacking

where'd she go?

ah ha

the 3.4 miles on the NG map felt long, way longer than 3.4 miles should. fortunately, with all the overgrowth came salmonberry, which offered a nice relief of freshness. near the start of the trail, the tread is quite nice and the forest enjoyable, but for the most part, it’s a neglected road walk. we exited at a stream gauging station which had a nice log bridge to its structure (closed to the nonauthorized). i put on crocs; hotpantz had been wearing hers for awhile to alleviate hip pain caused by road walks. we freshened up in the creek, ate some food, and were ready to roll.

muscles!

coming down from big devil

not many bridges like this (great camp spot!)

chaos

creek ford

yay crocs

salmonberry stands

and suddenly good tread?

slick crossing

at gauging station

down the gravelly lane we went; not sure how many miles it was – maybe 3. we passed the north cascades visitor’s center. some out-of-state cars passed us, but none liked the hitchhiker’s thumb of some hikers. out to highway 20, hotpantz sat with some of the gear and i walked up the road to the newhalem general store and public restrooms. no one was biting on the hitchhike for some 20-30 minutes. eventually, a college student from spokane was kind enough to give me a ride. a few miles later and at the car, it was time for thanks and a departure.

lonely road walk out

and so it ended. we stopped at good food in marblemount for a double whammy and some shakes. then drove up to the eldorado TH to get my car and head home. rain splattered the windshield, helping to validate our decision to hightail it out of there, albeit somewhat disappointed in not being able to complete the prenupt tour. a quick check of the weather forecast upon arriving back in balmy seattle told us: leave WA! so we repacked and headed for ID, plans unknown. TR pending... special thanks to the following: hollywood - phone contact person, weather updater, and mentor DHM, BPJ, bigsteve - last minute beta on stout lake quark, belowfellow, rainie too! - bear canisters (don't worry, they're sitting somewhere in the cascades right now, unused) slide alder slayer - tyvek (worked great as a ground cloth for the new tent t mary - the dehydrator which saved my butt in getting everything ready in time, especially jerky and many others...

[cascadetraverser]

Great trip and way to pull out when need be. Definately some challenging weather this July. Sounds like a cool trip you had planned. 22 days: on to the Ptarmigan and then the Glacier peak wilderness????

[Randy]

great tr, mike! very cool that you guys get to do trips like this together.

[iron]

@CT: plan was: isolation traverse to inspiration to ptarmigan to buckindy with a bike ride back. @randy: yes, i'm a lucky guy. i just checked --- isolation was my 200th 400P peak. not too bad for ~3 years worth.

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Nice report, too bad about the weather towards the end, but that's the N Cascades for you. I just returned from a small foray into the area myself, details to come.

[GaliWalker]

Man you guys aren't human! Great for us mere mortals, to get to travel into such spectacular terrain. What's great about your trips (as well as Matt's) is taking the time to share other, subtler parts of nature, such as the mossy trees and cleansing cascades. Elevates the quality of the report tremendously.

[Backpacker Joe]

What are you talking about Gali. You're looking at Superman and Wonderwoman! Coming to a theater near you. First off I'm humbled by your thanks. Thank you for some wonderful reading. Secondly, krazie klimbers and their wonderful adventures. Really great work you two. Mike, was my beta correct about that gauging station up at the end of that road on Newhalem creek? How would it be getting into Stout lake that way? Anything left of a/the trail at all? Topo shows a logging road coming within a half mile of Stout lakes outlet. Thanks and again, great work. Tom

[raising3hikers]

You guys got a whole lot done in just a few days of actual hiking! Too bad about the weather but you had a few good days with some great pics. Your pic of the McAllister ice fall has me wanting to get a much closer look at it. Hopefully, you two will be able to do some more of those sections of your planned route if not the whole thing in the future. Thanks for the TR

[Hutch]

Love that bird pic. Great report.

[Roald]

Love the plan, and how you adjusted. Thanks for sharing, and congrats on such an adventure - even if it wasn't exactly the one you planned.

[iron]

[BirdDog]

you folks covered some ground! nice TR with great pics.

[Guiran]

Nice work! Better luck with the weather in ID.

[Rainie Too!]

Making memories! You will have to share years to come!

[Arete]

Simply awesome! What pictures, terrain and a true sense of adventure. You guys are an inspiration!