[TR] Mesahchie Tour - JGAP LLC 05/21/2022

[JasonG]

Trip: Mesahchie Tour - JGAP LLC

Trip Date: 05/21/2022

Trip Report:

 

One of the things I enjoy most about rambling around in the hills is figuring out the "best" way or time of year to do trips.  This often takes repeated visits to a route or area, in several seasons, and maybe over as long as 10 years or more.  Of course "best" is entirely subjective, but it typically means (for me) when/how the outing the the most "fun" (or, TBH, easiest).  I'm not getting any younger, so I need to use all the tricks I can.  It also helps to bring strong, competent, younger partners along.   @geosean ably fit that role on the Mesahchie Tour yesterday and helped it all click.  In the case of this tour, it took three times and ignoring some of the advice you'll find online or in a guidebook. 

But despite my stubborness, we were rewarded with fun turns, spectacular views, and solitude.  We also had the full mix of weather, from spring to winter and back again in the span of a few hours.  And the full mix of snow conditions as well, including some of the stickiest snow either of us has had the "pleasure" of skiing. But we had a great time overall, with minimal shenanigans.  But just remember, "best" is in the eye of the beholder.  You might hate the way we went so I'll let you figure it out for yourself.  That is the part of the allure of the North Cascades, no matter the weather or season.

Oh, and if you were the one who stole the catalytic converter from my '91 Civic while it was parked for a few hours at the Easy Pass TH (in broad daylight!), I hope you really needed that hit of meth.  Sheesh.

NF of Graybeard:

Golden Horn and Hardy:

Hardy:

NF of Arches:

The one and only @geosean

Look at that, a nice path through the cornice!  How civilized:

My favorite view of the trip, NF of Goode:

Glamour shotz by JGAP:

North side of Ragged Ridge:

Probably the best turns of the day, fast and smooth and in the sun:

NF of Katsuk:

NF of Mesahchie:

Then we had some winter:

Minimal shenanigans getting over Granite creek on a nice jam:

Look at that footwork!:

Gear Notes:
leave the snowshoes at home!

Approach Notes:
Follow Volken or your own nose. There are options

[olyclimber]

Nice Jason. I’m so sorry about the tweaker.

beautiful day out 

[geosean]

It was great getting out with you Jason. Thanks for all the awesome pics of me. Here are some cell phone snapshots of you.

[cfire]

Nice photos and nice trip. I can imagine the drive home with open exhaust was just what one wants after a long tour.

[Bronco]

On 5/22/2022 at 6:15 PM, JasonG said:

Oh, and if you were the one who stole the catalytic converter from my '91 Civic while it was parked for a few hours at the Easy Pass TH (in broad daylight!), I hope you really needed that hit of meth.  Sheesh.

Dang, kind of a long drive to get the cat off a car.  Anyone else get hit by the thieves?

[JasonG]

1 hour ago, Bronco said:

Anyone else get hit by the thieves?

Two other cars, neither hit, but both arrived some time after we had left.  No strange vehicles or people when we were there.

[Bronco]

Bastards.  You're an awful long way from cell coverage up there.

 

[Trent]

Time for the Skag bros to get the baseball bats and stake out the trailhead!

[LeighAnn]

Gorgeous photos! Bummer about your catalytic converter. Must have been a loud, long drive home! 

Out of curiosity, what was your biggest deviation from the Volken route? I was up there the day before you, I believe, and ended up turning around shortly after gaining the ridge due to weather and vis (it was hot, no wind, and low clouds that made our party nervous about traversing on a steep slope). It was our first time up there so we didn’t have firsthand knowledge about what we were about to tackle. 

Looking forward to getting back there! Looks beautiful!