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jsb
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Joined: 05 May 2023
Posts: 22 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
jsb
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PostTue May 30, 2023 3:20 pm 
Had a heck of a time picking a long loop hike for Memorial Day. I was really unsure of how much snow was still up high, and on unfamiliar routes, unsure of how that snow would affect the hike. I ended up landing on the following route: Snoqualmie PCT trailhead to PCT Northbound to Commonwealth Basin trail to Old Cascade Crest trail to Middle Fork trail to Rock Creek trail to Snow Lake trail to Snoqualmie PCT trailhead. If there is already a name for this loop, let me know. My version is a mouthful.
Hit the trail around 6:45am on Monday morning from an empty PCT parking lot. The PCT switchbacks up to the Commonwealth Basin trail were remarkably snow free.
Once I dropped into the Commonwealth Creek basin, I was on snow pretty much the whole time. There was an easy log bridge crossing early on.
I had to rely quite a bit on GPS during this stretch as there weren't many existing boot (or snowshoe) tracks. The ridge climb up to Red Pass was again snow free for a half mile. Great views of Rainier and Guye Peak once I got up out of the fog layer. I made it to Red Pass (5,369') at 9:00am. This was the crux decision point. I was either going to continue on my loop or just scramble up Red Mountain and head back the way I came. I was pretty intimidated looking down the gully and across the rock field at this south terminus of the Old Cascade Crest trail. The trail was completely snow covered but my destination was clear - the start of a ridge line running down to the northeast, west of Goat Creek
I collapsed my hiking poles all the way, flipped myself around, and started downclimbing the chute until I got low enough to face forward, kick steps, and traverse over to the aforementioned ridge. Once on the ridge, I had a great time "foot skiing" on the ultra-soft snow rather than trying to follow the trail via GPS. Great views of Mount Thompson to the east.
I "foot skied" down to about 4,400', at which point I was forced to stay on the trail, using GPS, to get down the ridge. I can't recall exactly when the snow cover dried up on the Old Cascade Crest trail, but below about 4000', I was able to kind of trail run a bunch of the decent while enjoying the sound of Goat Creek to my right.
I made it to the Burntboot Creek log crossing on the Middle Fork trail right around 11:00am (4hrs 15min in). Had a nice lunch on a log on the south side of the creek before filling up my water bottle and heading west over to the Rock Creek trail.
The climb up Rock Creek trail to the northeast corner of Snow Lake was very nice. Saw some old logging evidence down in the trees and got great views of Rock Creek Falls and the Middle Fork valley once I was out of the trees.
I used GPS to try and hit all the switchbacks on the final quarter mile push up to the lake. If I were to do this hike again, I'd just pick a spot to hit on the ridge and hike direct up the snow. I made it to Snow Lake right around 2:00pm and was able to follow a recent boot path down to the lake. The icy blue color of the lake's meltwater along with the snow-covered surrounding peaks were gorgeous.
For a Memorial Day hike, I was blown away that I didn't cross paths with another human until I crossed over the snow bridge at the southeast corner of the lake. That kind of solitude doesn't come cheap on clear, sunny, holiday weekend in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. I climbed up and out of the Snow Lake cirque, had another good snack break, before hustling down the trail and out the road to Alpental back to my car. I clocked out right around 4:00pm, for a solid 9 hrs 15mins of hiking. Looking forward to making this a yearly early-season loop. GPX: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/b786887c3364113d1422ea2b2b837ad1

lopper, SpookyKite89, ejain, Gil, fallguy, solohiker, ALW Hiker, puzzlr, Slim, JimK, zimmertr, mosey, jstern, Now I Fly, John Mac, Pef, LukeHelgeson, fourteen410, flatsqwerl, rubywrangler, fjoro, Bramble_Scramble, Fedor, yukon222, reststep, contour5  KascadeFlat  Tom
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mosey
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Joined: 18 Dec 2018
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mosey
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PostWed May 31, 2023 9:45 am 
Nice effort! This is one of my favorite long day loops, but usually in late season (red pass chute has a nasty runout).

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KascadeFlat
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Joined: 06 Jul 2020
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Location: Eating peanut M&Ms under my blue tarp
KascadeFlat
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PostWed May 31, 2023 10:18 am 
Great loop! I love seeing TRs linking up familiar trails.

For a good time call: 1-800-SLD-ALDR.
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puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks



Joined: 13 Feb 2007
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Location: Stuck in the middle
puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
PostWed May 31, 2023 12:39 pm 
Nice work getting this done so early in the season. For myself I call this the Red Pass - Rock Creek loop, but that's simply a descriptive label. How about Red Rock Loop? Did you see any evidence of recent clearing on the old Cascade Crest trail down to Burntboot Creek? In years past there was a person that worked on it periodically. Can you (or anyone) decipher the first line on this sign? I think the second line is "BEYOND THIS POINT".
jsb wrote:
[Edit] changed "CCC" to "Cascade Crest" trail. It too easy to type in CCC (Civilian Conservation Core) trail which is nowhere near this one.

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zimmertr
TJ Zimmerman



Joined: 24 Jun 2018
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zimmertr
TJ Zimmerman
PostWed May 31, 2023 1:11 pm 
Looks like it says "TRAIL ABANDONED" to me. But the "R" in "TRAIL" does look a bit like a "D".

Flickr | Strava

jsb, catsp
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jsb
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Joined: 05 May 2023
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Location: Seattle, WA, USA
jsb
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PostWed May 31, 2023 3:45 pm 
Quote:
Nice work getting this done so early in the season.
Thanks! Was really doubtful it would go this early in the season - that Red Pass gully was sketchy at best.
Quote:
Red Rock Loop?
Red Rock Loop it is!
Quote:
Did you see any evidence of recent clearing on the old CCC trail down to Burntboot Creek?
Nope - in fact that trail got more and more overgrown as I approached Burntboot - I got lost a couple times down at the creek. There were, however, some nice steps cut into blowdowns higher up the trail, but those appeared to be quite old.
Quote:
Can you (or anyone) decipher the first line on this sign?
I think zimmertr's guess, TRAIL ABANDONED, makes the most sense. Both https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report-2020-08-02-6939183704 and https://www.hesperosflown.com/commonwealth-basin-red-pass-lundin-peak seem to agree.

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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostWed May 31, 2023 4:38 pm 
Great trip. Thanks for posting.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln

jsb
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mosey
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mosey
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PostWed May 31, 2023 9:14 pm 
puzzlr wrote:
Did you see any evidence of recent clearing on the old CCC trail down to Burntboot Creek? In years past there was a person that worked on it periodically.
This is thirdhand information but I believe that person has retired or isn't able to do so anymore.

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solohiker
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solohiker
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PostThu Jun 01, 2023 12:14 pm 
jsb wrote:
If there is already a name for this loop, let me know. My version is a mouthful.
I call that the Red Pass-Snow Lake loop because it's the practical way to do a loop that includes both SL and RP. One could (and someone probably has) bypass the drop down to middle fork from RP by traversing the Lundin Snoqualmie ridge and veggie belaying down to the Avalanche Peak foot path, but the CCC trail, while long is more practical. I like that loop a lot although I've only done it twice. It was first recommended to me by Bill Longwell over 20 years ago. I would not even consider doing it this early in the season. When there's still solid snow cover on the north side of Red Pass an inevitable slip and slide all the way to the bottom of that long steep section would totally keep me away.

I have never been lost, but I'll admit to being confused for several weeks. - Daniel Boone
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lopper
off-route



Joined: 22 Jan 2002
Posts: 845 | TRs | Pics
lopper
off-route
PostSun Jul 30, 2023 7:53 am 
Earlier pic of sign. 10+ years ago.

Brucester, jsb, mosey
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