KaskadskyjKozak

we searched and searched for a register to no avail....

Very cool! I've been to Trapper's Peak (and Triumph) but not Thornton. Looks like a good one to tag on a revisit to the area!

I'm sure the talus is less tedious with snow - maybe early July? Also, I have been having problems with foot pain and experimenting with approach shoes on routes. They have their advantages but on this climb the descent on talus was a bit less secure with the thinner soles. If you only did one peak of the two, I'd recommend Devore. Glad you liked the TR!

Trip: Tupshin and Devore - SE Routes Trip Date: 09/01/2018 Trip Report: This year I decided to celebrate an extended Labor Day weekend near Stehekin. For a bonus, the recent rains had cleared out the smoke we've been engulfed in and the forecast showed no rain. On Saturday we rode a very crowded Lady Express from Field Points Landing to Stehekin. We then caught a late (30 min) but almost empty Red Bus to Harlequin Bridge and hiked up the Stehekin River Trail and Devore Creek Trail to Bird Creek Camp. From here we turned uphill and schwacked our way to flat terrain around 5400' and camped. Time to camp was just under 7 hours. Sunday we arose pre-dawn (which is late and luxurious these days) and hiked straight uphill over towards Tupshin. At about 7000' we attained the ridge leading to the basin below Tupshin's SE face. We crossed the talus fields and ascended to about 7600' and the base of the route. There was no snow whatsoever on our approach which made for a lot of tedious travel, but fuck, it is September! We scrambled the first bit of the SE face and tied in just below the minor block that marks P1. I opted to lead the exposed class 3 around the 5.2 block and flipped my rope over the top of the block before proceeding to a 4th class quasi-chimney. P2 was mostly scrambling. P3 and P4 were more interesting, each with a nice (but short) low-fifth section (5.4-ish). At the top of the fourth pitch, we untied and scrambled to the summit. Although there is a ton of loose rock, the ascent seemed mostly safe and secure. The descent - not so much. We ended up rappelling five times, including the section at the bottom that we had scrambled. It was a constant fight not to knock rocks down and move carefully to stay out of each other's fall line. Once off the route, we made our way back to camp. There whisky awaited me, and I drifted off to sleep happy to finish this one off safely. On Monday we ascended to the 5800' basin below Devore and hiked up the steep gully leading to a basin. From here we ascended the steepening basin to rock bands that we scrambled to the edge of the lakes at 7000'. We ascended some horrible shitty choss to the shoulder of the ridge (7500'). then ran the ridge to a large gendarme. To compensate for the choss-slog we were treated for some of the most spectacular views I've seen: Our route descriptions said "do NOT go around the S side" (of the gendarme). We ended up wasting 2 hours trying to get around the N. The snow patch here was too melted back and icy (rotten ice). Eventually we gave up and I checked out the S side. It went! From there it was a quick shit-slog through choss up and right about 300' to a notch in the ridge, a short ridge traverse to a 4th class step and finally a scramble finish to the summit. We did 2 rappels down (both short) and retraced our steps to camp. Everyone was tired and wanted to head out the next day so we set our alarms to allow for plenty of time to get to the bus in time. Tuesday was an easy hike back to Harlequin where we all rinsed off in the river and relaxed waiting for the bus. We got some goodies at the bakery and a beer on the boat. By that morning the smoke was back in force so we were not too sad to save Flora for another trip. Gear Notes: 60m rope, small alpine rack, helmet Approach Notes: Open forest with some schwacking

Awesome link-up!

Goode is real enough. So:

they got rid of the bad apples. somehow I'm still here

wow. just wow

Yes indeed. this one made me feel old. Carryovers are starting to hurt.

Rad, we did indeed stop at the N Fork camp on the 20th. I think it was around 1 pm or so. We dropped down, hung a bag with our last day's food, and headed out in about 15 min. you are spot on about the timing and this is why I have been thwarted. I always tried for the 3rd weekend of July and often there are thunderstorms forecast about that time to add to the scheduling shenanigans. It is a committing route and I would hate to be exposed on that ridge through a storm

There were 4 of us, and a party of two ahead. Once on the Buttress us 4 operated as two parties since one guy had to be out in 3 days.

Trip: Goode - NE Buttress Trip Date: 07/22/2018 Trip Report: I've had this route on the calendar every July since 2012 and every year something has thwarted me (partners dropping, rain or thunderstorms in the forecast, etc). Last year was the only year I actually had boots on the trail and we ended up with a late start and making a route-finding mistake after crossing the N Fork of Bridge Creek that cost us the climb. This year the stars finally fucking all aligned and it was glorious! The view of the final approach after crossing the knee-deep N Fork of Bridge Creek. Follow talus between the lower slide alder up to the waterfall on the left, climb slabs to its right, then ascend talus through "magic tunnels" and onto open terrain. We bivied at 5600', just below the glacier. Last year we neglected to check out these slabs next to the left-most waterfall until it was too late. This year we went right to them. The slabs are exposed and a bit butt-puckering with full packs, but not enough to motivate us to get out a rope or give us pause about this endeavor. Opportunities like this (4 days of clear weather, motivated partners, time off work) are not so easy to come by in mid-to-late July, and I am not getting any younger. Ascending the Goode Glacier in the morning. It was broken up and we had to navigate crevasses and seracs. Nothing too serious. We all wore approach shoes, which worked well enough with crampons (I had my Grivel G1's that I got via a gift certificate from cc.com a few years ago, purchased at Jim Nelson's store). From TRs we knew that the higher up you gain the buttress, the less pitches of loose shittiness you must climb. Lower down you might get up to three pitches and up high as few as one. We opted to try for a snow bridge up high and found this one at about 6800'. It involved one face in move with a low step to block of ice. It might not go now, but there appeared to be a few other place to gain the rock below this that might last longer. We did one pitch of low-mid-fifth class rock then simulclimbed until about 8000'. I think we had a total of 3 simul-leads, with transitions only due to rope drag. I did not place much pro on these. When the buttress steepened we pitched 4 or so pitches and got to the bivy alcove at 8600'. From there 3 pitches to the ridge crest. It was lat-ish (6:30 pm) and 4 people were ahead of us and going for the summit. Figuring they would all bivy on the limited space there and seeing a nice snow patch at 8900' right next to a small bivy site we stopped, made dinner, drank water, drank whisky, and enjoyed a spectacular sunset: In the morning we waited for one of the parties to rappel. We saw them around 6 am. They said the other party was still hanging out so we headed up. After two pitches we were on the summit. We stayed on the summit for well over an hour, savoring the views. Having had been on the S side two years ago to climb Storm King, I knew we had a long day ahead. We started down. Truth be told the SW couloir and the trail down to the Park Creek trail was unsavory, and we got several blisters in our approach shoes. There is a nice spot to camp at about 7200'. Having been here before, we headed for it and looked for a stream out of the snow pack. We took a long break here to get water and savor views one last time. The views of Sinister and Dome, the rest of the Ptarmigan Traverse and Buckner are spectacular. From here it took us 3 hours to get to the "nice" trail. The length of the day and this trip with full packs was starting to take its toll. A few hours on the 4 miles to the base of this trail, then a connector (2.5 miles?) to the PCT, and about 3 more to the N Fork Camp where we had stashed food and a fuel cannister. We arrived at camp at 9:40 pm. I have never enjoyed a Mountain House more. Sadly, I had no whisky left. In the morning of the fourth day, we hiked out the last 10 miles, where beer awaited in the truck. Gear Notes: Ice axe, crampons, appoach shoes, helmet, small alpine rack with several double slings Approach Notes: Long, brutal

Exactly. Simply walking through the park with a heavy pack is not a crime or violation of anything. If you are actually camping and have no permit, different story.

if they were more friendly "hi, what did you climb? how was it?", etc... " followed by "did you overnight? do you have a permit". A small simple change is all it would take...

Legally do we need to even stop and talk to a ranger? does anyone know? What information do they have a right to demand, if I am just hiking a trail? I get it - if I am camping somewhere, they can ask for a permit. But if I am just walking... no matter how heavy my pack. ...