jjl

As for camping "technically outside the park". We did this on Mt. Gladys in the south end of the park to avoid the restrictions at nearby Flapjack Lakes. The rangers were fine with it - not much they could say anyway. We had no crowds and excellent views. The poor sardines at Flapjack lakes had hordes of mosquitoes to deal with! Anyway, once you get over that ridge, you're outside the park & not "in" Royal Basin anymore.

Thanks for the info, very cool! Was the slope between the "6686 saddle" and Royal basin anything to worry about? I would almost wonder if there is some sort of boot-path there as the basin is so popular. I know I wouldn't have any issues with it, I'm just trying to have perspective of someone who isn't so experienced with a lot of scrambling (i.e. my girlfriend). As for actually reaching the summit of Fricaba, that's optional & I might just go up solo.

Fricaba, Fricaba, Fricaba... I know how to spell it.

Hi, I'm thinking about a trip to Royal Basin, then to Mt. Fricaba, heading over the ridge south of peak 6686. From the map, this looks pretty straightforward, I'm just wondering if anyone has been up there & what your thoughts are. My concern is that I'll be bringing my girlfriend, who is a little unsteady with steepness. She's done a few things & is a trooper generally, but I don't want this to be a stress-out trip. I'm just concerned there is some unmapped gnarly 10-ft pitch where she'd balk. I don't the distance & elevation gain would be problematic. My reason for picking this is we could camp maybe just below Fribaca, technically outside the park. I don't have a permit for Royal Basin, and don't have the time to pick one up anyway - this is a weekend trip. Anyway, there is very little info on the www about Fribcaba... -Jonathan jonathan@phlumf.com www.phlumf.com

I guess I can only attach one photo per post. Here is the second one. -Jonathan

I had a pretty good look at it from the north ridge on 8/21/04. A couple photos are attached. One is a crop of the whole thing (not the best quality, but I was taking a photo of something else), and the other is a closeup of one section (which I photographed only because it looked cool). It looked like there was a pretty deep crack at around 10,500-11,000, but I'm not sure, I kind of had my mind on other things. That crevasse is located above the "closeup" section that I photographed. -Jonathan

Well, the trip was excellent. Due to the weather forecast, we did it as a day-trip - 12hrs round trip. The summit got socked-in just a short while after we'd left, and it was lightly raining by the time we got back to the trailhead. Kali, I saw the white piece of wood you mentioned & went that way (at 9,200ft), though it was almost by accident. I was following a goat, trying to get a good photo, and that's where the goat went. I then noticed the wands, etc, and thanked the goat. We saw only one other group of 3 people on the route. Anyway, the full story & photos are on my site at: http://www.phlumf.com/other/photos/adams/adams.htm -Jonathan (aka jjl)

Thanks for the timely inputs... Sounds like more fun than I'd thought! Now I just have to decide which of my footwear to wear... Maybe my mostly-beatup older hiking boots... -Jonathan

Planning a climb of the north ridge of Mt. Adams this coming weekend... I hear it's not the most enjoyable later in the season - lots of volcanic scree & such. But we're going none-the-less for a variety of reasons. Just wondering if anyone had any opinions on the route, esp later in the season. -JJL

Hey, just thought I'd point out that I took that photo... there are more & some info about the Loowit trail & other places around St. Helens on my web site at: http://www.phlumf.com/other/photos/sthelens/sthelens.htm -Jonathan