wolffie

Trip: Fortress Mt. - SW route Date: 9/14/2009 Trip Report: Up My Chiwawa, Sept. 2009 Yeah, it's kind of a weenie route for you people whose idea of a good time is dangling from overhanging water ice by your fingernails, but you go ahead and try this on 6-inch legs: Spider Gap: Cloudy Peak. Gwynnie wisely backed off of the final 20' summit chimney; I admired her judgement: On the road again: Fortress Mt.; Gwynnie claims the first ascent by a tricolored Pembroke Welsh corgi on an even-numbered September Monday without supplemental oxygen (do not try this at home, kids, dogs are stupid about rockfall): Find the corgi in this picture: And the final wonder of a wonderful adventure: my intrepid beast shies at the midnight crossing of a mere 5-inch-deep stream -- the reason? a sea monster lurks therein: You'd think a guy who likes to brag so much would get a more macho dog. But there is no more macho dog. Gear Notes: "Nature's Variety" freeze-dried raw meat dog food briquettes; expensive but lightweight. "Doggles" sunglasses, not really needed unless you're on snow for long periods at high elevations, but they're great photo props. "Pawz" booties; basically tough rubber balloons that fit over the paws like condoms; ultralight; just for emergency pad injuries. "Outward Hound" collapsible dog bowl. Quick-draw leash affixed to pack strap with rubber band so's you can put Fido on-leash before Mr. Ranger sees your beast off-leash. Yukon Jack.

Nuthin' fancy, I just want a light altimeter that works. Lightweight aluminum crampons; my boot size 10-10.5 North Seattle [myloginname]@uw.edu

Orange rock shoes, found on the info board at Vantage 4/6/09.

Save it for a clear day. And the approach is so short, you can stay at the summit for sunset and have a short hike out in the dark. Trail in fine shape, minor early-stage slumping. No ice axe needed now, but snow can linger late on this. No windfall. Some people got up in 3 hrs. long-tailed weasel in the talus field. We saw a wounded skunk, too. "Sit." "Stay." "Smile." One out of three ain't so bad I guess. It doesn't look like we're in Wales anymore...

We had a memorable trip there about 1985. We spent a day waiting out thick, ominous, foggy weather, our tarp pitched near that main landing gear strut. We'd been warned about a sow with 2 cubs at the base of the climb. Our reading material included Stephen King's "The Mist", a horror story wherein people are trapped inside a Safeway by a mysterious thick fog, and every time anyone ventures out into it, they meet a quick and grisly end at the hands of some monster, a manifestation of their nightmares. This amplified our nervousness as we heard a large creature cracking branches in the dark and mist around our camp. Periodic icefall calving off the left-hand pocket glacier made such horrendous noise in the dark and gloom that we were wondering..."is a quarter-mile far enough away from this thing?!?" At dawn, I got up to see Mama bear very close over here, and her 2 cubs very close over there, and I made the fastest fire of my life (old Indian trick involving white gas). So we gave the left-side glacier a very wide berth on our approach, practically running under the right side ice, and got on the ridge ASAP. As I was leading the 2nd or 3rd pitch, I heard my pal Carl shout wildly, and turned to watch half of the left (south) pocket glacier slide off its bed and liquefy as it poured over the edge of the shelf. It was like watching Niagara Falls, only louder. Seemed to last for minutes. Some time afterwards, this was repeated when the rest of the thing slid off. The icefall smothered our approach path. To this day, one of the most astonishing things I've ever seen. I wonder if that ice ever grew back, and did this periodically, or did we witness its last gasp? Unfortunately, I have no photos of that trip because my camera battery died. On the way through Bellingham, we stopped at a German deli. It featured two large blackboards covered with the vast sausage selection in crowded multicolored writing -- knockwurst, bratwurst, thiswurst, thatwurst, every kind of sausage you've ever heard of. Some guy comes in, spends several minutes studying this, and asks the proprietor, "Do you have anything vegetarian?" I swear. In a thick German accent, the proprietor replies, "Noh. Vee eat meat heyah. Vee ah human beinks."

Go to wta.com, there are many reports on the Napeequa Valley but I don't like their new website design, slow, harder to search. Hope they fix it. Search for "Napeequa" but do NOT limit the "...by region" field; leave it as "include all areas". If they fix it so you can search by author again, look for "Cascade Liberation Organization". I've done the Little Giant - Napeequa -- High Pass -- Buck Creek loop, and liked it so much that I repeated it this year but went up Louis Creek and did the Louis Creek -- Mt. Berge -- High Pass traverse ("Louis Creek High Route"??). Don't miss this. An ice axe is often necessary for High Pass, not always IMHO. You can do Buck, Berge, Cleator (a walkup), Napeequa, Fortress, Chiwawa. I think I failed on every on of these, all in one trip. You could combine that with Suiattle Pass -- Lyman Lakes -- Phelps Creek, or maybe the Massey(sp?) Lake High Route (unfamiliar to me) or traverse Fortress -- Chiwawa -- Red Mt. -- Phelps Creek. Check out Crowder & Tabor, Routes & Rocks. Here's how you go up Louis Creek, alder-free all the way (look for a track up above); the ice axe was really handy on this steep meadow, and it was dry: This is the pass ~6500(??) between Buck and Berge, all larches, would be lovely when yellow: These are from the col you go through on Berge's S. ridge: Looking east (Buck): Looking west (Cleator & Glacier Peak): I like loops, too. From North Fork Sauk, you can go White Pass -- Kodak Pk -- Dishpan Gap (bivvy on summit of Pt 6532' (I think that's right) on the Blue Lake High Route and return via Mt. Johnston and Pilot Ridge (make sure the N Fk Sauk is crossable when you start!). Search wta.org for "Blue Lake High" and you should find my posts. That 6532' peaklet has a great view and you can bivvy there on the Benchmark -- Dishpan Gap -- Bald Eagle Ridge -- Quartz Creek loop. Me and the dog have watched a full moon rise on that summit twice. You can do several loop combos from that N. Fk Skykomish trailhead. I invented a neat loop from the White Pine Creek trailhead (east of Stevens, detailed beta posted on wta.org under the same moniker): Park at White Pine Creek trailhead, then walk back down the road 0.9 mi and hike up a gated steep logging road to the end of the left fork. You have to bushwhack 1/4 - 1/2 mile straight up a ravine, but it isn't bad. Then you're on the Lake Ethel trail. Hike to the Chiwaukum Ck trail, thence to Ladies Pass (where I bivved, 14 hrs, 23 mi., 8000' total gain, no problem for the corgi). Spent a day playing around, Ladies Peak, Snowgrass, bivvied on W flank of Snowgrass up high. 3rd day was Frosty Pass, Doelle Lakes, Chain Lakes (Bull's Tooth area), then down to Icicle Creek and out via White Pine Creek Trail. You could shortcut from Frosty Pass down Wildhorse Creek, but you'd miss good stuff. There's at least one other old trail in there somewhere, too. Might be worth a 4 day trip, spend a day playing around Bull's Tooth. In early season, high water in Chiwuakum Creek or White Pine Ck could be a deal-breaker, no bridges. That's the trouble with loops -- past your point of no-return, you're committed to a unknown route forward. One reason these websites are so useful.

We went in there many years ago (early '80's?), climbed and scrambled the Blockhouse, did a loop up over Lost World Plateau and traversed some stuff on Temple Ridge, descended Naiad Creek(?) and out Snow Creek Trail. Nice little trip. The little plateau by the Hook Creek Group is interesting, a small flattish sloping fragment of an ancient glacial landscape that somehow escaped the valley glaciers. I don't understand the geology. I recall it being covered with primary weathering product, sharp crystals that haven't been water-tumbled, felt more like mine tailings than sand. You expect a knife-edge ridge, and find this little plateau instead. How does one approach Hook Creek nowadays? I think we just started at Bruce's Boulder. We used to just bivvy anywhere in Icicle Canyon before all these Private Property signs appeared ("This Land Is My Land. Not Your Land. Keep the Hell Out"). I don't like going back there 'cause it breaks my heart. I understand that there was a big fight about including Icicle in the Alpines Lakes Wilderness. That high country is especially good early Oct. when the larches are yellow. Used to be, the reservation system for Enchantments was lifted about Oct. 16, good time to go if lucky with weather.

Foss Lakes High Route (a.k.a. Alpine Lakes High Route). 9/13-15/08. Al claims the first ascent of Iron Cap Mtn. by a corgi without supplemental oxygen on a Sunday, and if he's not the first, he doesn't care, he's a DOG. He doesn't even know how to brag. Repeat trip; we were cheated by the weather last year. Park at Necklace Valley, hike road to W. Fork Foss R. This trip might be more pleasant and corgi-friendly when it's under snow, but the river crossing could be trouble in early season. You can do this in 2 days, but with good weather, it's nice to have time to loaf in the high country and the lovely Tank/Foehn Lakes area (worth returning to see on a non-hypothermic day). 1st bivvy on Iron Cap Mtn., 2nd bivvy near Tank Lake, then out Necklace Valley. Bugs vicious at Chetwoot L. & Iron Cap L. & Tank L. during the warm daytime this very heavy-snow year. No tent or DEET, a steady east nighttime wind kept us comfortable. From Chetwoot Lake, don't drop, climb east on coarse talus, then traverse below cliffs. One could camp on the first rib (flat, filterable stagnant pond). Terrain is rocky; unseasonal snow was welcome. Late season, you can filter water at Iron Cap Lake (bring a silt filter) and carry it up to a high bivvy on Iron Cap's N. ridge, where many ledges invite a careful low-impact good-weather bivvy. Several small snow remnants up there where it was bone-dry last year. Fine views of Chimney rock and Overcoat. Drop down to a noticeable knob on Iron Cap's NNE ridge, then traverse to Iron Cap Gap. This part was tricky last year in rain and nearly zero visibility; you'll want a 7.5' map in such conditions. Cairns. Note: the route as I've drawn it may be a bit too high. I'd planned to bivvy on Otter Point, actually higher than Iron Cap, but I'd broken my water bladder, so instead we got in touch with our Inner Vegetables in the hot late summer sun near Tank Lake. We deserved it, and *somebody's* gotta make up for all you people out there climbing real mountains. I forgot my MSR ultralight rubber ducky. Subalpine spiraea, Spiraea densiflora. You can sometimes get this charming plant at MSK Nursery in the Edmonds area (PNW natives their specialty). Sun & water; this is at Copper Lake outfall. "Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest", Arthur Kruckeberg. Next 3 photos: Moonrise over Bear's Breast Mtn. from Iron Cap. Al recognizes "Sit. Stay. Look Pretty." as a standard command. I've only mastered the "Sit" and "Stay" parts.

Thanks, this post helped me decide to use the much longer but more corgi-friendly Little Giant/Louis Creek approach instead on a 3-day loop trip 9/6-8/08. We weenied too; got up there and Buck Mtn. looked a lot bigger than it had in my imaginiation, and my partner has 6" legs. Little Giant Pass had the only berries I've seen this year. FYI there is reliable water high in the basin. The Louis Ck approach is almost 100% alder-free if you do it correctly: go about 5 min. past Louis Ck (buggy campsite nearby) to where the steep meadow touches the trail. Ice axe very handy, even when it was dry. Above, there is a track, might be hard to find. Animal tracks above. Much recent bear sign in the Louis Ck basin, tracks, scat, and a 1'-diameter larch that had been recently girdled completely by a bear. Glad I'd forgotten my food-hanging line. This basin looks like a lake that was completely filled by the pumice (anybody know the date for this eruption?). This place will be gorgeous in October. We did the cross-country high route to High Pass. Bivvy there. Navigation might be tricky in poor visibility. Would've been possible to cross High Pass without an ice axe but it was handy elsewhere. Out Buck Ck. Stunning views of Suiattle Vy & Glacier Pk. Just walkin' the dog.

Yup, that's Gwynnie. You can see her nephew Al at: http://wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2008-09-18.9401038953 Corgwyn cannot handle steep ice, 4th class. or coarse boulder fields -- there is this maneuver called the "corgi toss" -- but other than that, they can go anywhere, and as far, as I can. Gwynnie once went 23 mi. in 14 hrs. with 8000' gain, and half a mile of that was steep bushwhacking. The sunglasses are (what else?) "Doggles", just photo props, she usually rubs then off. If anybody knows of good dog sunglasses that actually work, please let me know.

I highly recommend the Olympic beaches, Shi-Shi, or Cape Alava-Sand Point. Kids (some in their 30's-40's) LOVE the beaches. Go to Shi-Shi in May, before the crowds, after the real cold (it can still be quite cool there). Just remember to keep them comfortable at that age, or it'll be a turnoff. We also did a really nice 3-day backpack out of the Johnston Visitors' Center at St. Helens, years ago, two families, our kids were older than yours are now. It's extremely tightly regulated, almost absurdly. I think we did this in September when the crowds were gone, worth skipping school for (bring 'em up right, teach 'em to play hooky, democracy thrives on rebellion). We saw NOBODY. There's a network of trails north of the mountain, we were camped out-of-sight of it actually. We did one day-hike on a trail that threads thru a cannon-hole, and at one point rounds a corner and POOF! you're looking straight into the crater. They won't forget that; I didn't. There were elk bugling, coyotes singing. We looped out past lots of destroyed logging equipment, where so many people died. This was 2004? 14-15 years after the eruption, and still the soil was extremely barren, it holds little water. Think dry! Think desert! I recall a LONG water run from camp. A truly unique place. Forget scrambling while they nap. You're a dad now. Focus on them. This will pass. All too soon. Let them scramble the peaks with you, just be prepared to carry them down. Get some of those plastic water bags from boxed wine or Starblechh's coffee; they weigh nothing but hold 1.5 gal for camp reservoirs, and you can hump water a moderate distance if you have to. Put 'em in a stuff sack, they are fragile.

Trip: Hinman - 1st ascent by a Welsh corgi without supplemental oxygen on a Monday. Date: 7/7/2008 Trip Report: This is a really nice, easy climb with the family, or just the family dog. Great place to introduce youngsters or newbies to to a real alpine view. Unless you get off-route in a whiteout, or the snow is hard, it's easy terrain. Do it in EARLY SEASON when there's lots of snow; later on, it's a rock pile, not corgi-friendly. Don't wander off unroped on the glaciers. We did this July 7 in a VERY heavy snow year. Took 3 days, snoozing the 2nd day away in a whiteout. You could do it in 2 days if you like death marches. Surprised to see NOBODY here on July 4 weekend; where the BLEEP are the kids these days? Home playing effing video games!? We're gonna need them next time They try to strip mine this place (not joking). Met a family up here long ago. On the knob bove La Bohn lakes, there is a tiny bare-rock area where a small party can bivvy with minimal impact if you don't move rocks around. Don't camp down in Necklace Valley unless you have good mosquito insurance. Ascend the obvious route up from La Bohn Lakes, then keep the ridge on your right, staying left of the crest. Stay on the snow unless you love rock-hopping on sharp rocks, hard on doggie's footpads. I tried this once in late season and it wasn't so great. Gear Notes: ice axe, conceivably crampons but not this time, extra dog treats, sipping whiskey and book for the white-out. Approach Notes: From the end of Necklace Valley, ascend snow to the notch (ice axe, likely the only time you'll need it). In late season (not advised), ascend left edge of talus (snow in photo), then follow track that almost follows the outfall (left edge of snow in photo). You can also approach from the Middle Fork Snoqualmie R. (Chain Lakes), probably longer but easier, avoiding the Necklace Valley headwall which is a bit steep, the hardest part of this climb. But Necklace Valley is a nice hike.

Odd. I do lots of solo trips, mostly 'cause all my old friends saw the writing on the wall and fled Seattle in the late '90's, plus few like to do things my way. I can't ever remember being bored on a solo trip. Au contraire, it seems more intense: no distractions, no compromises, nothing to pay attention to but my surroundings, I have to make all the decisions, can't lean on my partners' motivation and courage, no talking, so I see more wildlife (sometimes I talk a lot so I DON'T see certain wildlife). My friends sorta stood me up in Canyonlands once, and I was rewarded with 12 days solo, and I loved every minute of it, a marvelous trip! Nowadays, it's often different with one of my canine companions: solitude plus company. STRONG HINT: leave the ipod at home. How can one get to the mountains if you take the city with you? Why not take the cell phone, blackberry and filing cabinet, too? Betcha you missed the Townsend's solitaires singing, pity. Recorded music when you have a live concert all around you? Leave the machine at home and rely on your own resources; you'll find you can make better noise inside your own head. All this technology can be a crutch. Our minds did not evolve with automated entertainment. Once you learn to define it as mind pollution, you'll see how hard it is to keep away from it in this society. Try memorizing your own songs, or making them up, and learn the birds. Like in the old days. This info is useful. I'm having a hard time following some of it; maybe it'll be easier with a 7.5' map. Trying to decide if I want to bring some less-experienced folks in there. I'm going there one way or another; might go over Little Giant Pass, up the Napeequa and up Louis Creek, much longer but it's open. Note: you write "Heading South I work my way to the East ridge of Cleator". Do you mean Berge?

I'm sure I, and most of the dead, would be really pissed-off if anybody avoided a wonderful place out of misplaced "respect" for my dead carcass. I just stumbled upon a 2005 photo of the NE buttress and was astonished to see it so dry. In 1985 when we climbed it, both of the basins on either side of the buttress were filled with glacier ice. On the 3rd pitch, the left-hand pocket glacier slid off its bed right before our eyes, still probably the most astonishing thing I've ever seen.

One reason USFS isn't getting enough money for trails is because Amerikans are staying home playing video games and such crap instead. It's time to support a movement to repeal the Forest Pass system because it discourages newbies from hiking and using our public lands, and it is the newbies and their kids who are going to become the next generation of stewards. I suspect that this was part of the hidden agenda behind the "user fees" idea. Just the sort of thing Rove & Norquist would think of. Think of people toying with the idea of hiking for the first time: "...yeah, it would be nice to try taking the kids hiking, but don't you have to pay or get a pass or something? I don't know where to get one, such a hassle, why bother..." The Amerikan Right is very strategic in their actions. For example, "Tort Reform" is not just to cap high jury awards for the convenience of corporations so they can predict such damages and budget them as a business expense (they can figure how many workers and consumers they're going to kill or hurt); it also destroys the Trial Lawyers (one of the Democratic Party's highest contributors) who would no longer be able to take on tort cases, this defunds the Left, and destroys the judiciary (which they don't own yet) as a means of enforcing the law. It removes one of the last public defenses against corporate power. Similarly, adding barriers that discourage Americans from exploring public lands and discovering wilderness is a way of throttling environmentalism, in addition to stamping out the subversive communist notion that governement can be used to promote the general welfare, as suggested in that quaint, old-fashioned document, the Constitution.

MSR Sumner ice axe 80 cm lost in Enchantments somewhere between Asgaard Pass and one of the lower lakes to the north(?) of it. Oct. 1998? 99? It has some sentimental value, that's all. All metal, remnants of blue paint. wolffie@u.washington.edu When you take your pack off to stow your axe, don't take a picture instead...

Want to buy hiking poles, perferably with rubber tips, for a person who's about 5' tall and growing fast. wolffie@u.washington.edu

For Three Fingers access, remember the "Millenium Bug" and Y2KY Jelly, which allows 4 digits to fit where only 2 would fit before. Take your bulletproof vest, too, 'cause the gun nuts apparently think that that road is Vietnam.

Skiers: do this NOW. If you want snowmobiles banned from Yellowstone, send email to the following, deadline midnight May 29: <grte_winter_use_seis@nps.gov> Tell the Park Service pros that you support Alternative 1a, which reinstates the Clinton ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone. This is a really high-profile issue that has gotten a LOT of national press and it is well worth your time because the Republicrats are watching this closely. The snowmobile ban was one of the last things Clinton did, probably because he knew Frat Boy would repeal it and get dragged through the mud by the environmentalists. If that's you, start dragging. The policy wonks are watching, too, and the noise you make now will affect future decisions about jetskis and other baneful machines (a you read this, someone somewhere is inventing something even worse). For details, go to: www.nps.gov/yell/ and follow the "current issues" and "Winter Use" links. You can even send snail mail to: Winter Use Draft SEIS Comments Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks PO Box 352 Moose, WY 83012 Don't wait to clean up your weekend gear, do it NOW, or you'll never be able to complain about The Curse again and you'll have to wait 'til somebody invents a shoulder-fired sound-homing missile.

My daughter is 12.5 and I'd like to find some other climbers who have daughters-with-altitude, 'cause pretty soon, if she doesn't have some good friends along, climbing with Dad is gonna be like, I mean, so totally BORE-ing that, like, I'm gonna be like totally out of a climbing partner 'cause Dad is such a Prodigious Git. She has a lot of outdoor experience, mostly climbing the kinds of peaks that have trails to former fire lookouts. We haven't done any rock outside of a couple trips to Stone Gardens, but she liked that. Nordic skiing is a favorite, she is used to alpine starts, and thinks hiking out by headlamp and getting home at midnight is normal. Want to try some snowshoeing this winter. Face it: catching frogs and making mudpies at a lake can be more appealing than a summit, so we're up for that, too. Backpacking the Olympic beaches is possibly the best. Also open to trading/sharing childrens' climb & route info, if you're looking for or know of some choice secret places accessible to smaller critters. wolffie@u.washington.edutakawolffie@msn.com

I'm looking for other (ex)climbers who like to do fairly ambitious stuff with their kids. My daughter is 12 and sometimes has more fun with a playmate(s) along. We've been climbing easy peaks -- the kind that have trails to former fire lookouts -- since she was 4, she's used to alpine starts and hiking out by headlamp, got to 6700' on Daniel last June in a 14 mi. roundtrip day that included a bit of roped snow travel. Haven't done any rock outside of a couple trips to the gymn, but she seemed to like that. Mostly long alpine hikes and overnights. I THINK she likes summits, but face it, a lake with friends can be a bigger draw -- catching frogs and making mudpies are high on the list. She loves nordic skiing and gymnastics and seems comfortable with kids outside her age range. We love the Olympic beaches in the offseason and can even talk Mom into going there. When I cannot talk, coax, wheedle, cajole or bully the twerp into going with me, Plan B is usually a long solo to some weenie Mountie peak, and if I had a partner with a vehicle, I wouldn't have to stick the mom without a car for the weekend (my pals mostly fled Seattle when the rush hit 12 years ago). We're in north Seattle. Contact me at:wolffie@u.washington.eduJohn Wolff