Forum Index > Trip Reports > Stehekin Choss Fest ~~ July 5-10 2021
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freddyfredpants
saucy



Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 40 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
freddyfredpants
saucy
PostTue Jul 13, 2021 1:23 am 
Dave and I paid a visit to the Stehekin Triangle to bag some peaks last week. Just us, lots of photons, bugs, rocks, and good times. Day 1 - Lady Express to Stehekin, paddle to Weaver Point, hike to Fourth of July Basin Day 2 - Flora, Castle Rock, Puzzle, Enigma Day 3 - Enigma, Wy'East Day 4 - Devore, Wynorth Day 5 - White Goat, Tupshin, return to Devore Creek trail and Weaver Point Day 6 - Hike to Harlequin Bridge and some of the road, Lady Express back to cars and comfortable seats The trip was off to an inauspicious start paddling directly from Purple Point to Weaver Point. With giant packs in our laps it was difficult to row. Never having done this kind of paddling I couldn't get the hang of it. I was not so comfortable in this setting and could effectively only hang on to Dave's boat while he did the work. He graciously paddled us both across the lake without even teasing me once. We started from Weaver Point a little after 1 and it was hot. We stashed the boats and headed up Devore Creek. Our goal was to establish a base camp for a few nights though we weren't totally sure where would be a great spot. A little after 6 we settled on a marginally acceptable campsite just north of Devore Creek at 5500' and settled in.
We were on the go by 6 the next morning, returning to around 5300' on the trail where we found a great log to cross the creek. From there it was a leftward ascending traverse through a mix of light brush and open forest. The vegetation thinned and turned to talus around 6500'. We crossed over into the headwaters of Castle Creek and made our way up the west slopes of Flora until we reached the easy SW ridge and eventually the summit around 10. A little north of the summit register is a small tower that may or may not be higher. We certainly didn't relish the idea of Eric Gilbertson measuring it out with his sight level to be higher and necessitating a return trip so we took turns scrambling over to it just to be safe.
Practically a bridge
Practically a bridge
Dave with White Goat
Dave with White Goat
Westward views
Westward views
On the bonus summit of Flora. Wouldn't want to get Gilbertsoned out here.
On the bonus summit of Flora. Wouldn't want to get Gilbertsoned out here.
We took off for Castle Peak by returning down the SW ridge, then traversing east to walk north through the easy terrain on the east side of Flora to the Flora-Castle col. From there it was easy scrambling up the ridge to Castle Rock and lunch. Apparently I didn't take any photos on the ridge or summit.
Flora east side
Flora east side
Castle Rock south ridge
Castle Rock south ridge
We went back down the ridge and then dropped west into a larchy drainage and crossing Castle Creek at 6200'. The east slopes of Puzzle looked a little cliffy but we thought we saw a way through. We worked up steep turf and a short scramble move to the high eastern bench. Taking the path of least resistance we gained the northern end of the ridge and hit the high points on the way to Enigma.
Castle Rock and Flora from Puzzle
Castle Rock and Flora from Puzzle
We had seen a deep gully on Enigma's NE flank, and a deep cleft in the ridge connecting it with Puzzle so we weren't sure whether the ridge direct would work out. We decided to descend from the Enigma-Puzzle saddle and traverse to a heathery bench leading to the next large gully to the south. We weren't sure what the gully would hold for us but were pleased to find a series of ramps and ledges that allowed us to avoid too much steep dirt traversing. Enigma's NE ridge was difficult to read until we were up close. Lots of talus and a couple of loose gullies took us to the top by 7. After a nice sit we headed down the gully to the west, eventually picking up our uptrack in the talus and returning to camp a little after 9.
The heather bench
The heather bench
NE side of Enigma
NE side of Enigma
Dave with the gnarly cleft. Maybe it would have gone...
Dave with the gnarly cleft. Maybe it would have gone...
A sporty NE ridge direct line with lots of exposure. We took gullies to the left.
A sporty NE ridge direct line with lots of exposure. We took gullies to the left.
Cell service on the 4th summit of the day.
Cell service on the 4th summit of the day.
Always wear protection
Always wear protection
We had checked the weather on Day 2 and found there was a chance of rain/thunderstorm before 11am. This was a big change from the sunny/clear for days forecast we started with, so we thought there might be some atmospheric instability to deal with. We got going from camp around 630 under cloudy skies. After crossing the creek we found a much better campsite than the one we settled on. Sigh. From Tenmile Pass we traversed east to Riddle. The wind picked up and drops started to fall after 8, so we found a few large trees providing shelter from the worst of the rain. After a few hours the rain and drizzle let up, and the sun became visible through thick clouds and fog. Just after 11 we packed up and resumed our march to Riddle, so the forecast was right on the money. Blue skies were with us again soon
Black Tower and Wy'East
Black Tower and Wy'East
A nice break
A nice break
Even nicer. Note the choss.
Even nicer. Note the choss.
Steep east facing gully
Steep east facing gully
Dave gettin it
Dave gettin it
Looking north at all the peaks
Looking north at all the peaks
We wanted Wy'East and decided the easiest way over was to return on the trail nearly to camp, then head NW up the basin. It turned out we drifted too far west and often into marshy ground. It was mostly deep blueberry bushes and minor creek crossings until reaching a meadow around 6000'. From there we had a good view up another 1500' where it seemed we would need to start traversing in order to approach the summit from the west. On the upper mountain we reversed the route, but took a more direct route straight down the choss to the upper basin. After having seen the upper basin meadows up close we thought we could make a more efficient return to camp. The choss became meadow again around 7000' and we made a descending traverse towards camp avoiding brush and marsh. The forest travel was easy, and soon we were back at camp before 9.
Meadow time
Meadow time
Traverse time. See all that choss?
Traverse time. See all that choss?
Gully time
Gully time
Summit block
Summit block
Spicy corner on a downsloping ledge above a huge drop
Spicy corner on a downsloping ledge above a huge drop
A lot more of this
A lot more of this
On Day 4 we packed up camp and headed back down the trail. I thought that leaving the trail around 4700' and heading up the south side of West Fork Devore Creek in forest would avoid a lot of brush. I was wrong. It was good until 5200' or so, then it really started to suck. Slide alder, saplings, all the things, and all in view of what looked like a considerably more arid and open meadow on the north side of the creek. It was tough going for an hour or so. When it eased into easy meadow we took a break. Then it became awful again at a 200' headwall. The idea was to gain the standard route on Devore and stash our overnight gear around 7600', get Devore, figure out the route to Wynorth, then figure out the return to our stash. The route was fairly obvious though I did get suckered into a rightward ramp at some point and had to return. Along the way we looked for ways to access the Devore-Wynorth saddle, and what adventure choss on Wynorth might look appealing.
Wynorth
Wynorth
Bird Lakes, White Goat, and Tupshin from the gear stash. See all that choss?
Bird Lakes, White Goat, and Tupshin from the gear stash. See all that choss?
Devore crux step
Devore crux step
Devore summit step
Devore summit step
After lunch on top of Devore we did a couple of raps, then bombed down a gully not far from the summit. As we gained some perspective on the east side of Wynorth we decided to drop from the saddle and make our way to a steep treed slope. This sucked. Steep, loose, and wet. Dave's path and mine diverged slightly here, where he opted for a sketchy waterfall gully, while I went up more steep heather and traversed steep but soft exposed snow wide enough to give me the barfies in my free, ungloved hand which I was using as a second ice tool. Between seeing the terrain and making sense of the beta we had from Milda, it looked like we had been doing it the hard way. Nevertheless, as the larchy ledge she described came into view, it was obvious we'd have an easier exit. Crossing back on the right side of Devore below a buttress in another chossy sidehill also looked like it would work for us. By this point we were already higher on the mountain and in easier terrain, finally crossing over to the west side of the ridge and progressing south. There was easy scrambling and some route finding, and we reached the top about 330. Again finding cell service I checked weather and found a chance of thunderstorms for that afternoon, mostly before 4 pm. No problem, that's in less than 30 minutes. And then it occurred to me that the clouds had been building all afternoon since we left Devore. The one over Wynorth didn't look threatening, but it was getting darker and wasn't going away.
Wynorth from Devore
Wynorth from Devore
Happen to notice the chossy traverse theme of this TR?
Happen to notice the chossy traverse theme of this TR?
Upper Wynorth
Upper Wynorth
We left the summit and got to the top of the larchy ridge after a couple of delicate moves in a short wet gully. Soon after we were back on snow and made quick progress back to our traverse. A few minutes before reaching our gear we felt some rain drops. The rain had intensified by the time we were actually there. I threw the tent rain fly over me, and soon it began to hail and thunder. The hail came and went, and after the third round seemed like it was better to pack up and get going towards White Goat. Accessing the snow wasn't easy, but eventually we had easy travel down to flat snow in the basin above Bird Lakes. We weighed options and decided to camp near Bird Lakes. After setting up camp the drizzle dwindled and things began to slowly dry out. We were expecting sun the next day so figured we would have an easier time letting some things dry out while we were on White Goat.
Safety of snow from the top of larchy ridge
Safety of snow from the top of larchy ridge
Ok now it's getting dark
Ok now it's getting dark
Rain on choss. Sunny/clear they said...
Rain on choss. Sunny/clear they said...
In the morning we packed day packs for White Goat. Another choss traverse and gully grunt got us to the SE Buttress.
Better
Better
We returned to camp, packed, made our way to the head of Bird Creek just SE of White Goat, traversed under Tupshin's southern buttress, and made another gear stash on the ridge at 7100'. A long talus and boulder slog had us at the key ramp on Tupshin's SE face. We climbed a lot of loose stuff and pitched out a couple sections. There was much looseness and a lack of interest in photography. By 6 we were on top. This was Dave's 97th Bulger, and my 100th. We made 5 raps at established stations, appreciative of Ian Lauder leaving a lot of new slings just the previous week. It was getting late and we had to hustle to minimize the downhill bushwhacking in the dark. Yet another tedious chossy traverse back to our gear. We decided to go straight down the ridge to Bird Camp. Things went hot, sweaty, and buggy as these things do. A long section of steep grass kept us on our toes. In the dark at 4800' we found a mossy slabby section. I tried to move right but the cliffs got worse so I decided to rap off a tree. Going back to the slabby area to retrieve my hiking pole suggested I should have turned left. That's the problem with doing this stuff in the dark! While I was rapelling Dave helpfully pointed out, "Tupshin's not done with you!"
Devore and some small stream issuing from the lake
Devore and some small stream issuing from the lake
Snow still at the bottom of the ramp. We tried to stay left and use moats to get around the snow. It didn't work.
Snow still at the bottom of the ramp. We tried to stay left and use moats to get around the snow. It didn't work.
Castle Rock, Puzzle obscuring Flora, Enigma, and Riddle
Castle Rock, Puzzle obscuring Flora, Enigma, and Riddle
Once on the trail, we pushed on to Weaver Point for a very long day. I didn't want to do the boat thing again so we hiked up to Harlequin Bridge. Dave hiked up his pant leg and thumbed us a ride to the bakery. 6 days 10 peaks 61 miles 24,100 feet

Eric Gilbertson, achildinthesehills, raising3hikers, RichP, GaliWalker, rstoddard24
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Fletcher
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Fletcher
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PostTue Jul 13, 2021 6:54 am 
Dave is always willing to show a little leg to get what he wants. Congrats on 97 and 100!

belowfellow
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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostTue Jul 13, 2021 7:21 am 
Nice job on the tail end of your Bulger journey's fellas! It was fun looking through all your photos. I couldn't help but notice... not sure how to say this, but it seemed like there was a lot of... well, a lot of choss? Would you say that is accurate? lol.gif rotf.gif breakdance.gif Oh man, doesn't matter how much you've been through in those mountains, it's always fun to get annoyed by choss! smile.gif

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Alden Ryno
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Joined: 04 Jun 2019
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Location: Issaquah, WA
Alden Ryno
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PostTue Jul 13, 2021 7:23 am 
freddyfredpants wrote:
Always wear protection
Always wear protection
Sasquatch sighting. I'm surprised that the beard is willing to be contained. Huge kudos on 97 for Dave and you on finishing the Bulgers!! I saw that you updated PeakBagger while out on Flora and figured that you and Dave were out there to finish up, and then some. smile.gif

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BensonM
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BensonM
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PostTue Jul 13, 2021 5:27 pm 
Congratulations on finishing the Bulgers (and Dave's 97th). Great, chossy inspiration. Really impressive.

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rubywrangler
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rubywrangler
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PostTue Jul 13, 2021 9:44 pm 
I think you perfected the art of the beard portrait. Especially like how you can tell it's blowing in the breeze in this one
Congrats!

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Nancyann
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Nancyann
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PostTue Jul 13, 2021 10:57 pm 
At least one of those Dave photos should be a calendar contest winner. That beard! Congratulations on your 100th Bulger. up.gif

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Blowdown
Sawin' Logs ...



Joined: 24 Aug 2011
Posts: 375 | TRs | Pics
Location: On the Summit
Blowdown
Sawin' Logs ...
PostFri Jul 16, 2021 8:39 pm 
Spicy indeed! up.gif up.gif

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