2020 Trip Reports

This was a single day push of Seven Fingered Jack with my friend, Claire. We started at the trailhead around 7:15AM. The first 3.5 miles are very flat and enjoyable as signs of fall were peaking around us. We reached the turnoff point towards Leroy Creek basin which is where the trail became very steep.

The basin came into view a mile and a half later and we finally saw golden larches up close. They were glowing in the sunlight and surrounded by red foliage and adorable ptarmigans. We continued upward and put our helmets on when we reached the talus fields. The route can be tricky so it's essential to have route finding skills and assess the terrain as the rocks are loose.

We mainly stayed on class 2 and class 3 rock and reached the summit around noon. There was no wind at the summit so we stayed awhile and enjoyed the incredible views. The North face of Maude was dusted with snow and looked stunning with it's hanging glaciers. We also saw Dakobed, Kulshan, Eldorado, Bonanza, Stuart, Daniel and Tahoma in the distance.

We went down the same way we came up and were back at the trailhead by 5PM. This trip was a success and very lovely overall. I really loved seeing the golden larches and alpine views in the fall season.

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Ptarmigan and summit photos by @clairestcaptures

This was my very first solo backpacking trip. Goat Rocks had been in my mind for over two years after seeing it on a Youtuber's Pacific Crest Trail vlog series. I fell in love with the ridge line that connected to Old Snowy Mountain and made it a goal to see that ridge in person. I started at the trailhead around 4PM and travelled 5 miles before reaching camp. I was in a cozy spot with views of Old Snowy in the distance. I woke up early the next day and left camp around 7AM. The landscape was stunning as I saw Mt. Adams in the distance. I traversed the ridge line North bound and reached a nice view point of Old Snowy and Mt. Rainier. I then traversed back the ridge line and climbed Old Snowy. The views continued to be stunning as I saw Ives Peak and Gilbert Peak to the South. I scrambled below the peak to see the unique volcanic arch before heading back down to my campsite around 1PM. I packed camp and headed back to my car. This was an incredible experience and I can't wait to see more of this place.

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This was a 2 day, one night scramble of Mt. Daniel with the Mountaineers. We left the Cathedral Rock trailhead around 8:30AM on Friday morning. There was a slight haze in the air due to wildfires but we could still see the silhouette of peaks around us. The parking was already filled with cars which we anticipated thanks to Labor Day but we all managed to find parking.

The hike up to Peggy's Pond was straightforward. The grade of the trail was mellow and the path was clear. The group moved at a fairly leisurely pace as we enjoyed a stop at Squaw Lake and foraged for some blueberries. We didn't pass too many folks on the trail and we arrived at our campsite before noon. There are plenty of campsites around Peggy's Pond and we were able to find a campsite very quickly.

We decided to push to the summit after setting up camp. We left camp around 1PM and headed upward. The trail starts to get a little less obvious so it's essential to have route finding skills. We reached the ridge of Daniel by 2PM where had a nice clear view of Mt. Daniel's East summit.

There was exposure hiking up the ridge and we decided to use a snowfield to bypass some sketchy rocks to reach the saddle by the East summit. This snow trail is well travelled and is way more manageable-looking up close. We all had microspikes and an ice axe as we navigated the snow. At the top of the saddle, we finally got a glimpse of the true summit of Daniel.

Getting to the true summit was no simple task. We had to cross a steep slope with loose rocks. There was a very faint foot path but the exposure was a little spooky. We went directly to the Middle summit where we got to see the Lynch Glacier and Pea Soup Lake. We then traversed to the true summit which was close by. This summit had a very nice scramble with epic views of rocky spires and other surrounding peaks.

We came back down to Peggy's Pond and enjoyed a relaxing evening under the stars. We left the following morning and got back to our cars before noon. This trip was a success and a lot of fun! I definitely want to come back and ski Mt. Daniel in the winter/spring season.

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Day 1 - 8/8/2020

We were a two person team doing a three day, two night summit attempt of Dakobed (a.k.a. Glacier Peak). We started from the North Fork Sauk River Trailhead at 8:45AM. The first five to six miles were fairly mellow so we didn't stop until we reached the Mackinaw Shelter camp. This was a nice place to do a quick stop as the next couple of miles were filled with steep switchbacks and constant elevation gain. We reached White Pass around 1:40PM which was about 10 miles from our starting point. The clouds rolled in with a heavy mist as we ate lunch which added a sense of mystery to our adventure.

We continued on through the fog and passed through rolling hills filled with blooming wild flowers. Even the gloom couldn't hide the beauty of this place. The temperatures were cool but the humidity was high so we were sweating throughout our journey. There were plenty of cute marmots dancing around us when we reached the saddle to get into the White Chuck glacier basin. This is where we started witnessing more persistent snow fields. The snow was soft so we didn't need to put on our crampons to continue.

The White Chuck glacier basin had intermittent clouds so we didn't get to see Dakobed or the surrounding features very clearly. It appeared that Glacier Gap base camp was socked in with white out conditions so we opted to camp a mile away. We camped right by a boulder to protect ourselves from the wind and had plenty of water sources around us. It was a gorgeous, barren landscape with a lovely view of the White Chuck Glacier and we had the whole area to ourselves.

Day 2 - 8/9/2020

The alarm went off at 3:15AM. The wind had subsided but we couldn't see 15 feet in front of us thanks to low-hanging clouds. We persisted through the ominous fog and left camp by 4:25AM. Conditions improved dramatically above 7,000 feet and we finally saw Dakobed for the first time. We caught the sunrise as we passed Glacier Gap base camp right before 6AM. It was incredible to see all the alpine glow hitting the mountains and glaciers around us.

We walked on the lateral moraine ridge until it got too steep for us to continue forward. We roped up at the Suiattle glacier which was fairly mellow in terms of steepness. There was loose rock fall from Disappointment Peak which made the traverse to Cool glacier a little spicy. We witnessed one rock the size of a motorcycle fly by silently about 200 feet in front of us. Did I mention this glacier was mellow? I might need to rethink my idea of what mellow is.

From the Suiattle glacier we traversed to the Cool glacier. A slight bergschrund was forming between the two glaciers which made the snow bridge a little spicy looking. Luckily the snow was stable and the boot path was easy to follow. We continued on the Cool glacier roped up until we reached the lateral moraine ridge that led to the summit. We unroped at the ridge line but kept our crampons on and ice axes out. It was a straight-forward way to the summit with some slight steepness of chossy rock and snow. We reached the summit by 9:15AM where we were greeted with clear views, breezy winds, and an epic feeling of success as the only all-female rope team at the summit that day.

The wind was fairly strong at the summit so we didn't stay for too long. We went down the same way we came up and had lunch at the Glacier Gap base camp around noon. We then got back to our campsite and packed up our belongings to move to our second camp at White Pass. The views around us were clear and we got to see all the glacier lakes and peaks we had missed the previous day. Hiking back to White Pass was straightforward and we enjoyed the sun, wildflowers and little marmots playing in the fields past the White Chuck glacier basin. We reached White Pass by 4:45PM and enjoyed a relaxing evening with a nice clear view of Sloan Peak. This campground had a good water source and a toilet which was an added bonus. The only downside was the persistent mosquitos that lingered at all hours of the day. I was happy to have my bug net on me.

Day 3 - 8/10/2020

We woke up the next morning at 6AM and left camp by 7:30AM. The final trek to the car was 10 miles from White Pass and we had the luxury of hiking mostly in the shade. We took only one quick break by the Mackinaw Shelter camp and arrived at the car by 11AM. I really enjoyed doing this trip as it was the most remote climb I had ever done. The views were spectacular and the fields of wildflowers were absolutely stunning to walk through. I was lucky to have such an awesome climbing partner to do this trip with and excellent weather to enjoy Dakobed at her full splendor.

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Strava Recording

We were a three person team doing a three day, two night alpine scramble up Mt. Stuart and Ingalls South Peak. We started at the Esmerelda trailhead on Friday afternoon. We hiked up 2,100 feet towards Long Pass until we reached the saddle where we saw an incredible first view of Mt. Stuart. From this viewpoint we observed the route we were planning to climb: The Cascadian Couloir. We then dropped 1,400 feet to our campsite near Ingalls Creek and the base of Mt. Stuart.

We woke up at 4:15AM the next morning. It was still dark as we ate our breakfast and did our final preparations before leaving camp at 5:20AM. The beginning of the trail involved walking though tall grasses and vegetation. There was some slight bushwhacking but we were able to stay on trail with no issues. Then the steepness increased as we entered the boulder field. Going up to the couloir reminded me of going up Aasgard Pass, but much longer. The rocks were fairly stable but there was plenty of choss to deal with. We felt super confident in our route-finding skills and stayed mostly on solid class 3 trail.

At around 8,600 feet, we experienced a steep snow field. It was short but the snow quality was not great. We used crampons and ice axes to carefully navigate the steep snow. This felt like the sketchiest part of the route for me as the snow had horrible texture and the drop area was a little scary. Past the snow was more class 3 scrambling and our first glimpse of the true summit. We had to do more traversing with some class 4 movements to reach the summit. The class 4 moves we did experience were fairly low risk and could be bypassed through some down-climbing. We summited around 11:30AM and enjoyed incredible views and lunch. The North Cascades were in full display and we got a unique perspective of the Enchantments to the Northeast.

We left the summit after an hour and proceeded down a trail that was different from the one we took in the morning. This trail appears on Gaia a little more skier's left of the main route and felt way more stable. I highly recommend this route, even if it does put you more East of the main trail.

We arrived at camp right around 5:30PM and prepped some dinner. We then packed up camp and headed Northwest towards our second camp at Headlight Basin. This was a long trek and we ended up hiking until midnight. This move positioned us to be closer to our second objective of Ingalls South Peak.

Our alarms went off around 8AM the next morning and we took it easy as we prepared for our next objective. A family of goats passed through our campsite right before we headed out which was a cool sight to see. We left camp by 9:45AM and did a fun route up to the summit of Ingalls South Peak. This wasn't the traditional way to the summit but it allowed us to skip some snowfields and climb up some interesting class 4 gullies and slab features. We also saw so much serpentine rock around us which was incredible.

The summit was all ours by the time we reached it at noon. We had clear views of Mt. Stuart, the Cascades and Ingall's South Ridge route. We spent an hour at the summit eating our lunch and basking in the sun. We then headed down the more traditional route which involved going to the backside of the saddle towards Ingalls North Peak and carefully navigating some small snowfields in the couloir between the North and South peaks of Ingalls. These snowfields had good snow but we had to watch out for deep moats.

We did a pit stop at Ingalls Lake before going back to camp and packing up. The lake was lovely and had magnificent views of Ingalls and Stuart. We left camp by 4PM and were back at the car by 6:30PM. Overall this trip was a phenomenal experience in navigating incredible terrain and scrambling amazing features. I definitely plan on revisiting this area and climbing Ingalls South Ridge route, the West Ridge of Stuart, and Sherpa Peak. I'm so happy I got to do this trip with a rad group of ladies!

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Strava Recording

We were a two-person team doing a car-to-car summit attempt of Sahale Mountain via the Quién Sabe glacier route. We started at 5:30AM and went up the trail towards Boston Basin. The stream crossings were passable and the trail was fairly easy to follow. We reached Boston Basin in two hours and hiked towards the Quién Sabe glacier. We roped up when we reached the snow and headed towards the left side of the glacier.

Quién Sabe is in very good condition with minimal crevasses. The snow started getting steeper as we got closer to the Sahale Col. There was one portion that was super steep where we decided to use our snow pickets to set up anchors and do a running belay. I think this section is doable to climb without anchors, but it was a great environment to practice that skill and we were slightly concerned about a small crevasse a couple hundred feet below us.

We got up to the ridge line and took off our crampons. We scrambled up some solid rock and reached the final snow portion where we had a clear view of the summit block. Be careful of the large snow cornices when approaching the summit. The summit block was pretty short but exposed so we used some small cams to protect ourselves. We enjoyed the views at the summit and quickly set up our rappel as there was a larger team behind us. Having a 60m rope was enough for us to reach the bottom.

We descended down the Sahale Glacier towards Sahale Arm. This glacier is dormant so we decided to not rope up for this section. Past the glacier we saw beautiful alpine meadows filled with wildflowers and playful marmots. The trail down Sahale Arm was well-maintained and super easy to follow. The final switchbacks to the parking lot were a major slog but better than the trail we took to get up to Boston Basin.

Climbing Sahale was such an incredible experience. It has some of the best views of the North Cascades and offers a little bit of everything when it comes to mountaineering. I would definitely consider doing this climb again and I am so excited to return to Boston Basin in the near future to tag other peaks like Mt. Forbidden and Sharkfin tower!

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Strava Recording

A few friends and I did Black Peak over two days and it was lovely! We left the Rainy Pass trailhead around 1PM and went up the Maple Pass loop towards Heather Pass. The Maple Pass Loop trail was in good condition with no snow. Crossing over to Heather Pass was where we started to see snow on the trail. We descended down to Lewis Lake and followed the obvious trail around. This is where we started to experience serious snowfields which were pretty stable for the most part. We then hiked up another 1000 feet to get to Wing Lake where we established our camp for the night. We were able to get to Wing Lake from the trailhead in three hours with some minor breaks in between. Wing Lake was still partially frozen and covered with snow but we were able to use it as a water source with no issues. There were also some good dry patches near Wing Lake to set up your tent. My only complaint were the nasty mosquitos that never took a break.

We woke up the next morning around 5AM and started our ascent up Black Peak at 6AM. The first portion of our ascent involved going up a steep snowfield. I had lightweight crampons which I really enjoyed using but you can get away with micro-spikes if you prefer. Right before reaching the saddle, there was a super steep portion of snow. I highly recommend an ice axe for this portion as the exposure is no joke and it will definitely make your life easier getting to the top of the saddle. Beyond the saddle, the rock was solid with some minor snow patches we were able to avoid. Most of the climbing is class 3 with the exception of the exposed class 4 moves to reach the summit. We had perfect weather at the summit and enjoyed the views. Overall it took us ~2.5 hours to reach the summit from our campsite.

We got back down safely and proceeded to clean up our camp and head back to our cars. The trip was successful and we had no issues. I highly recommend having an ice axe, crampons or micro-spikes, and a helmet if you consider doing this climb. Also consider your comfort with high exposure because Black Peak has a lot of it!

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We were a party of three that left the trailhead around 10:30AM. The approach was shorter than SEWS but required ascending a somewhat sketchy gully. A family of goats decided to follow us up to the base of the Beckey Route which was a little annoying. They didn't touch our stuff which was nice but they did kick some rocks which wasn't pleasant for the group behind us.

I led the first pitch at around 1:15PM. The rock was solid and there were always trees available for setting up anchors. My friends led the second and third pitches. The second pitch was a chimney that looks challenging at first but is super fun to do. The third pitch is mostly slab and requires some route-finding. Refer to the topos in the Washington Pass SuperTopo guidebook if you have it. They are super helpful. I led the final pitch with the friction slab problem which was super cool!

This is definitely a classic climb and an awesome route. We got lucky again with clear weather and epic views. We rappelled with ease and chose to descend the gully via a small patch of snow. We had our crampons and ice axes out for this portion as the snow was pretty steep but it helped us avoid some wet rock on the descent.

We left the trailhead at about 9:30AM. There was still a lot of intermittent snow on the main trail to the climber's trail. The trail itself is nice and mellow with a couple of trees to hop over. The climber's trail is really well marked with wooden markers with carabiner iconography.

Getting to the base of the South Arête route of South Early Winters Spire required some snow travel. We didn't need to use crampons or an ice axe. There was minor post-holing but keep an eye out for moats and thin areas.

The climb itself was fairly chill. My climbing partner did the first pitch while I combined the second and third pitches in one go. We were able to use trees as anchors and reach the summit in good time. Make sure you read beta prior to climbing this route as it can be a 'choose your own adventure' climb and there is serious exposure to consider.

Beware of goats before you start your climb. A family of goats hung out near our stuff. Nothing got touched as we hung everything in a tree but they are definitely not afraid of humans.

We left the trailhead around 8AM. The approach was a little sketchy as the rock on the approach trail was loose but it was fairly straightforward. We reached the first pitch at 8:20AM and I proceeded to lead it by 8:30AM. It was breezy and cool and we remained in the shade until past noon. The route itself was very well bolted and the rock was solid. We got lucky with the weather and had incredible views of Mazama, Washington Pass, and the North Cascades. We finished all 11 pitches by 3:45PM. I left my car at the top so we didn't have to do 11 rappels which was an amazing call. I highly recommend this multi-pitch sport climb!