Ptarmigan Traverse (S. Exit Options)

[Blacklab]

I hear Downey Creek and the Suiattle river road are closed.  We were considering attempting the traverse in late June.  

With the current snowpack, would an exit East over Dome to Kaiwah pass then down past Bannock to the East be doable?  I hear you guys are near 150% snow right now.  Wondering where we will be with Avy conditions below 9000ft in 3 weeks.

I am imagining this would take 7 days in total, 2 days once past dome.

I am on the east coast, for reference.

Thanks,
Justin

[Bronco]

Hi Justin - looking at a map, don't see an exit point to the east of Bannock Mountain.  Could you post a map of your proposed route?

[JasonG]

I am pretty sure people are defying the closure to exit normally.  Mainly it is the USFS covering their ass because of the burn.  You can drive very close to Downey Creek.  The exit past Ross and Totem Passes to the Suiattle will be a lot longer, but at least it will be hard. 

I think the bigger issue will be getting a week of good weather in June.

[JasonG]

Ah, i guess you are talking exiting to Agnes Creek and Stehekin.  That would be a pretty interesting way to exit if you didn't mind the shuttle shenanigans.

[Blacklab]

All,

Good points.  Thank you.  That was my suspicion about the normal exit and weather.  

In terms of extension, I've always been interested in heading S from gunsight along the ridge staying to the west of Bannock then picking up the trail at canyon lake.  In the scenario that exiting out suiattle was impractical, I was thinking briefly about Holden village near stehekin.  Would like to do this stretch in August first.  Guessing skis would be a more practical option on the normal traverse this June.  

Thanks! 

[Bronco]

Blacklab, I respectfully suggest getting some solid experience navigating off trail below the treeline in the North Cascades before attempting something this ambitious.  A few summers ago, our county's HRT and MRA teams spent the better part of a week looking for a pair of hikers who hiked up Downy/Bachelor Creek (on trail) and attempted to descend Sulfur Creek (no trail).  The hikers made approximately 1/2 mile per day after leaving Cub Lake and one of them needed a helo evac by the time he was located.  It's really easy to underestimate how much the dense vegetation and getting cliffed out can slow travel.  Another mistake the lost hikers made is a lot of trails around here that show up on a map have been abandoned long ago and may have disappeared completely. I'm not sure if that's the case back East as well but we need to research for trip reports or some way of verifying if a trail is even there to have an accurate time estimate.  Sorry for the rant, I've become a worry wart old guy I guess.

[Blacklab]

On 5/31/2022 at 3:40 PM, Bronco said:

Blacklab, I respectfully suggest getting some solid experience navigating off trail below the treeline in the North Cascades before attempting something this ambitious.  A few summers ago, our county's HRT and MRA teams spent the better part of a week looking for a pair of hikers who hiked up Downy/Bachelor Creek (on trail) and attempted to descend Sulfur Creek (no trail).  The hikers made approximately 1/2 mile per day after leaving Cub Lake and one of them needed a helo evac by the time he was located.  It's really easy to underestimate how much the dense vegetation and getting cliffed out can slow travel.  Another mistake the lost hikers made is a lot of trails around here that show up on a map have been abandoned long ago and may have disappeared completely. I'm not sure if that's the case back East as well but we need to research for trip reports or some way of verifying if a trail is even there to have an accurate time estimate.  Sorry for the rant, I've become a worry wart old guy I guess.

Been there done that in 2016.  3 days to exit 4.5 miles out middle and s cascade valleys.  If no one can tell me the downed trees in Downey are not creating an extensive mess...I am probably out for this season, given the limited time window.

 

[JasonG]

https://trailcatjim.com/ptarmigan-traverse-dome-peak-2021/

All things considered, not too bad in there last year.

[Bronco]

2 hours ago, Blacklab said:

Been there done that in 2016.  3 days to exit 4.5 miles out middle and s cascade valleys.  If no one can tell me the downed trees in Downey are not creating an extensive mess...I am probably out for this season, given the limited time window.

 

Ok, sounds like you know what you're getting into.  Enjoy!

[dleonar2]

@Blacklab, did you do the route? How did you end up exiting?