2013-5-5 Rattlesnake Ledge with Candy and the boys

Candy and the boys joined me yesterday for a hike. I had high hopes of visiting the Snoqualmie Tunnel, as it usually opens shortly after May 1st each year, but apparently it will be at least another week or two. Julian and Jaxon were excited that they could see Little Si from I-90 so that's where we started, but after 8 am on the hottest Sunday of the year I should have known the parking lot as well as the road would be out of room. With the day getting away from us I decided it would be worth braving the crowds on the way up Rattlesnake Ledge.



The trail was predictably packed, and at the top you could hardly see rock through all of the people gathered on the ledge. We found a good spot on the edge and after a snack I took the boys, one at a time, into the big crack for some exploring. Both did better than I expected with the climbing.



Julian said he was interested in checking out the cave so I grabbed my headlamp and he dove right in the tiny entrance at the bottom of the big crack. We did some exploring and found several passages I had not seen before. I even got him to crawl out through a tiny hole leading to the surface and surprise his mom! On the way out we stopped so the boys could cool off in Rattlesnake Lake.

Mount Ellinor 2013-5-4

View 2013-5-4 Mount Ellinor in a larger map

As of Saturday, Mount Ellinor was in ideal condition for a safe snowy ascent with plenty of glissading on the way down. The road was snow free to the lower trailhead. Snow started about a mile up on the North side of the ridge that the trail follows (about 3400ft).

The huge glissade chute in the gully below the summit saddle was an exciting site as I left the tree line. Ascending that gully was probably the crux of the climb. Near the top the slope extended well past 45 degrees and large moats were forming against the rock on both sides. Luckily the snow pack was well consolidated, otherwise there would be substantial avalanche danger along this route.

 

When I exited the gully i turned to see what the pair in front of me was looking at, it was a large mountain goat lounging in the sun on a ledge in front of Tahoma. In the other direction the summit was visible,a few people nearing the top and a few coming down. There were two short hills from there to the summit, both complete with deep glissade chutes. By 10 am the snow was starting to soften in the sun. I watched a few folks glissade past, a long line of slush following them like a lahar.

The view from the top was spectacular. the heart of the Olympics are still covered in snow. Mount Washington's summit block and a few southern rock's on Ellinor had melted out. To the left of Mount Washington, Mount Baker was poking over the East shoulder of what i believe to be Mount Jupiter. There were far to many distant peaks in view to count, I couldn't even decide if Mount Olympus was one of them. Auto and I sat on the rocks and soaked up the sun at the summit for at least an hour. Occasionally cool winds from the North crested the ridge right into our faces, making me forget momentarily about the 80 degree temperatures below.

I had high hopes of continuing on to Mount Rose and Copper, but the ridge that separated us looked a bit more treacherous than the map contours suggest. I considered losing some extra elevation to the south to traverse below the treeline and the steeper terrain, but gave up after post-holing into at least a dozen fallen tree voids before even beginning the traverse. We stopped at a ledge just below the main gully for lunch and solar bowls where Automahn made friends with more people with food (big surprise). The three big volcanoes had begun to emerge from the haze that covered everything to the South and West, and while surveying the landscape I noticed Seattle in the distance.



I could feel the growing heat as we neared the parking area, which had accumulated another 10 cars or so. I think we were lucky to have missed the enormous crowds that I have read about. On the way home I made a quick stop in Shelton for a skydive at Kapowsin Air Sports, which more than made up for missing my 2nd and 3rd planned summits for the day.

~7 miles round trip

~3300' gain

Navaho Peak and Freedom Peak 4-27-2013

View Navaho Peak and Freedom Peak 4-27-2013 in a larger map

Automahn and I arrived at the Trailhead at 6:45am as a pair of turkey hunters were gearing up for the day. We shared our plans in the interest of safety and went our separate ways. The gate at Stafford Creek was closed with a sign that read "Road closed until further notice", but the chain securing it seemed to be missing a lock. 

We headed up Trail 1359 under patchy skies and within a mile I could feel the occasional blast of warm wind at what seemed to be far too early in the morning. The forecast predicted a 30% chance of rain in Cle Elum (the lowest percentage I could find in the Cascades West of Wenatchee) but I began to expect a warm sunny day as the sun peeked over into the valley. Snow patches appeared on the trail within 2 miles of the Trailhead. 

I shed a layer before leaving the trail just north of a substantial creek to begin ascending toward Freedom Peak, but replaced it about  one hundred feet below the summit when the forecasted 30+ mph winds showed up. The Enchantments were in clear view as were most the Cascades East of the Pass, despite the ominous storm front that seemed to be developing on the Western horizon. On the snow-free, rocky summit I quickly performed my usual ritual of pictures and scattering ashes then dropped back down to a cozy little crack I had passed on the way up to have a snack out of the crazy wind.

As I shouldered my pack snow began to join the wind, which continued to pick up speed. I eyeballed Navaho on the way down to the saddle, and briefly considered heading back early. By the time I had reached the saddle, the wind speed seemed to have doubled and snow turned to hail. The weather was getting pretty brutal, but I wasn't concerned about navigation and we had come so far to turn back about a mile and 1200' shy of the goal. As my thought's turned to Automahn, I noticed that his tail was still wagging, and that was all the motivation I needed to continue.