seaportguy

A couple of years ago three of us went into Muncaster Basin and worked north hoping to exit out along Delebarre/Taylor, Martins and Skyline. Delebarre looked too sketchy for us and so we camped a couple of days high on the west shoulder of June 10 Peak and then tried to work around to the north along the west slopes of the peaks between June 10 and Chimney Peak to the headwaters of Pyriets Creek. That was a big mistake. I think the way into the Pyrites drainage is to go over a high pass just north of June 10 and then work a long east facing sidehill toward Chimney. Instead we went around the west side and found ourselves in a real tough trek. Very thick, lots of gullies and cliffs, we found ourselves climbing up 800 feet and stopped, then down 600 feet and criossing sketchy gullies then up then down. Took us at the end nearly five hours to go a quarter mile. It seemed there wasn't a way way up high and we were thinking if we dropped too low we'd drop into the Godkin drainage, so we fought the sidehills all day. Many places you couldn't see three feet, and steep too. Finally at dusk got out of this brash and camped on a lovely small basin just south of Chimney Peak overlookign Godkin and the east fact of Delebarre. It looked like you could drop easily down into Godkin from here. The next day we hiked over a small pass above the basin and worked down Pyrites to the Quinault, though that trek was an adventure too. I am wondering if the statement "Somewhere along that ridge we came to our senses" refers to the same delightful terrain we experienced so directly two years ago. I'm really inetrested to knowq what the correct route really is between Pyrites Creek drainage and the Ruslter drainage and Muncaster area.... Seaportguy

To try to answer your question, this fall we went out toward mt Christie and made that saddle there which is in your picture. You are looking east toward Muncaster Basin and ridge area, with June 10 peak to the left and around to the right Muncaster Mountain. Those rocky peaks straight ahead are not names, I think, just gnarly knobs. We crossed the col and then traversed around the northeast slope (?) dropping a bit and working over maybe 300 yards, then working up in easy gullies. We came to a snow filled lake and then another one, up pretty high, and from there is is a steep but easy climb up a snowfield to the summit of the east peak of Christie (which I think is about 50 feet shorter than the main peak). My partner Jeff tried from that lake to work up some gullies toward the main peak of Christie coming from the east side but was truned back by steep cliffs. I am guessing you camped west of that ridge. The view from the summit of east Christie was stupendous, just amazing. You could see Muncaster, June 10, Chimney, you could see across to the Olsen range and that ridge, you could see all the way over to Mt Stone and the Brothers I think. Jeff and I could see the entire trip we took the year before in Muncaster Basin as well. From a distance the country looks a lot less rugged than it is....

Ben I climbed to Flapjack Lakes a long time ago, all in the forest, a long steep switchback sidehill facing south, I don't think you'd have any avalanche danger but ask the ranger down there.

Trip: Muncaster Basin August 2006 - Fire Creek - Pyrites Creek Date: 1/1/2008 Trip Report: August 5: Our original plan was to go into Muncaster, traverse by Mt. Taylor and come out Skyline to North Fork Quinault so we left a car on the North Fork and started out on Enchanted Valley Trail. Left car about eleven. Hiked in about three miles, crossed river at the big bridge, and at Fire Creek left the trail and started uphill. Worked uphill in rough brash for several hours and made camp on a sort of level bench. Jeff and Neil wandered off for water. August 6 we kept working up in thick brush, hard going, steeper and steeper, coming out on a steep ridge that was sketchy and steep. Took hours to work up and up and over a knob, very sharp, to an upper basin where we found a great tarn and high campsite overlooking Fire Creek and Quinault Valley below. August 7: Rose early and worked around to the west below peaks toward headwaters of Fire Creek, had to drop into a steep gulley and then climb out a steeper slope over a canyon and ice. Worked up along this slope to a pass just north of Muncaster Mountain, and from this pass looked into Muncaster Basin. All snow and rock and below lovely basins. Worked down the snow and took water from a stream and then worked across the basin on gametrails and worked our way up onto a high bench just below the ride overlooking the Enchanted Valley Trail. At this point we were probably a half mile as a crow flies from the camp the night before but with mountains in between. Camped here up high overlooking Mt. Taylor and the basins and the Skyline Ridge Trail, Olynmpus far off to the west, with clouds coming in and a bright red sunset. August 8: This morning we had rain by nine am and it grew dark and gray. Bears all over the place. Packed up and worked along rough country toward June 10 peak and the Godkin-Rustler Pass below Mt. Taylor. The route across Taylor looked hard and rough and we started having doubts. The weather deteriorated and we foudn ourselves trapped in high rock and cliffs and we had to backtrack and drop lower to find a way forward. Raining hard by now and we made camp. Jeff and Neil explored ahead and I guarded the camp from bears. That night it rained all night. August 9th: Worked our way in better weather down a gulley and then back up into the basins along the ridge and worked all day toward June 10 peak. Came to a lovely basin just south of the peak and climbed up one side to come out at a high high tarn amidst rocks and lovely grasses where we made camp at 5200 feet overlooking basins, Mt. Taylor, Mt. Christie, but clouds coming in and by nightfall it rained again. Jeff and Neil climbed June 10 that evening. August 10: This day we explored all through the area and tried to pick our wat around to the headwaters of Pyrites Creek. We knew we could not make the Taylor crossing and have time to get back out via Skyline and so we tried to find a route through steep slopes and rocky gullies to the headwaters of Pyrites by Chimney Peak. Looked pretty damn bad. August 11: This day we were hiking about eight hours and we travelled as the crow flies less than two miles, the first mile an easy stroll down into the basins and some lakes, and the Godkin Rustler pass, and we could see Godkin below us 2000 feet, but then we had to work along the steep sidehills, almost vertical, thick with brush and trees, and gullies and cliffs, and we took five hours to go a quarter mile and a couple of times thought we'd not make it and might have to backtrack. We'd fight through brush, blind and bloody, and come out at a cliff, have to backtrack and drop 300 or 500 or 800 feet and then cross a sketchy gully and climb the other side and be blocked again. If we went too high we'd be on ice and exposed, and if too low we were afraid we'd be trapped in cliffs, and so we went and we went and finally Neil got out ahead and found a route and we came to a lovely small basin behind the pass to Pyrites, overlooking Godkin and the Elqha Valley, Mt Taylor to the west, just lovely, and we camped here. I think we made a big mistake, we should have climbed oevr the high pass just north of June 10 and then worked along the long east-facing sidehill overlooking Pyrites and the valley - instead we tried the west side and nearly failed. August 11: This day packed up, crossed over a small pass to the meadows above OPyrites, and worked around north and east as far as we could in open country until we came to cliffs and a stream valley and then we dropped through thicker and thicker brish to trees and then fought through trees. Crossed a steep, 200 foot gulley and came up on the other side and then got a little sideways and wandered too close to Pyrites and were caught again in gullies and climb-outs. A nightmare. Then when we got clear opf that we were lower, almost at the trail, we could hearv the creek and the river, and we fell into a huge blowdown area, huge trees lying across each other every whichway, and it took two hours to get by these, but then at dusk we made the river asnd a campsite at Pyrites Creek. I had eben here ten years earlier and then there were benches for two hundred yards forther east before the river and these were all washed away, it is amazing how dynamic these areas are and how much they change year to year. We camped here back ona trail for the first time in a week. August 12: this day we walked out 10 miles on the Enchanted Valley trail, effortless wandering and strolling on trails, it felt like we were on highways and roads after the days in the brush bushwhacking, and the trip out was fast and easy. Got to the car, picked up the other car, and on the way home stopped at KFC in Aberdeen for a big greasy feed....to see pictures see http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=photopost help! how do I add pictures to this???

Yeah three of us did the trip in August 2006, went in Enchanted Valley Trail then bushwacked up ridge just north of Fire Creek, took two days came out on high basin over spiny ridge, camped there. Next day worked around south around a shoulder crossed Fire Creek gulley and went up to a pass overlookign Muncaster area, dropped down into Basin and spent four days in that country exploring. Fantastic place. On the way out woprked around below June 10 Mountain and got stuck in difficult sidehills and gullies for a day before finding a way over to Pyrites. Then a long hard slog downhill and sidehill back to Enchanted Valley trail at Pyrites Creek. Great trip.

Three of us just completed a traverse from Fire Creek through Muncaster Basin area and came out down Pyrites Creek watershed. Anyone done this trip and if so is there a clear route? The traverse from June 10 peak to the saddle above Pyrites watershed was not clear at all. Took us 5 hours to go a quarter mile. When we went up Fire Creek the end of the ridge was sketchy and exposed - is there a traverse toward the creek down lower?