Raven Ridge and Hoodoo Peak 8.29.08-8.30.08 - 8/30/2008
Trip: Raven Ridge and Hoodoo Peak 8.29.08-8.30.08 -
Date: 8/30/2008
Trip Report:Last Friday, I took my friend Melanie on her first scramble outing—an ascent of Hoodoo Peak and Raven Ridge, located outside of Twisp, WA.
Me and Melanie at the trailhead.
We did the 5 mile approach on Friday night, reaching an old cabin in a forest clearing at about 9 pm (7200 feet). We were happy to find the cabin so that it could give us shelter from the forecasted rain. However, with perfectly clear weather, we opted to sleep under the stars that night.
Cabin site.
The next morning, we got up early and headed for Raven Ridge, which is reached by continuing up the trail to Libby Lake for ˝ mile, and then scrambling up a rocky gully at the southeast end of the lake to gain the ridge near its center. You can also ascend the gully further to the west, and then scramble the entire ˝ mile of ridge to get to the east summit. Our gully may have therefore cut off some time on the ascent. We reached the top of the east peak, Corax Peak, 8572 feet, at 9 am.
Scrambling up the gully on Raven Ridge.
Scrambling on Raven Ridge.
Summit of Raven Ridge east peak, Corax, looking to Hoodoo Peak and Libby Lake.
On the way back down the ridge, we decided to check out the western peak of Raven Ridge, known as Libby Peak. It is only 80 feet or so lower than the east peak, and gave us more opportunities for some enjoyable boulder hopping. We also got a good look at Hoodoo peak from this summit.
Summit of Raven Ridge west, Libby Peak.
We then traversed back to our gully in the center of the ridge and hopped/slid down scree back to the lake. We backtracked down to the cabin, and from there we followed a trail left/west towards Hoodoo Peak. The trail soon fades out, but the peak quickly becomes visible through the trees, so we picked our way through meadows to get to the base of the scramble. Hoodoo Peak requires more boulder hopping and class 2 scrambling to get to the saddle on the Hoodoo Peak ridge, and continuing right up the boulder field to the summit.
Scrambling Hoodoo Peak.
Raven Ridge from summit of Hoodoo Peak.
Melanie.
The ascent of Hoodoo took about 1 ˝ hours from the cabin, putting us in good shape to get out early, as we had a long drive back to Bellingham that night. We were back to the cabin by 4 pm, and to the car by 6.
Grouse on trail.
We both really enjoyed this trip, with its pleasant eastern WA scenery and fun scrambling on the peaks. We also got a nice wilderness experience out of it because we didn’t see a single other person on the whole trip!
Gear Notes:Backpacking boots for ankle support on loose rocks, brought tent but didn't use it, didn't bring helmets but they would have been nice!
