Mounted the massive mt Persis.

[Bug]

Played hooky Tuesday and climbed Persis. Let me explain why you shouldn't do it the way I did it. First,drive down the road to the right so you loose some elevation. Go up to the end of the road in the valley to the south of Persis. Follow the old road up past the switchback and bushwhack up through the small cedars and devils club. As it thins out, find the alder and rotten logs. Continue through these until you come to the vegetable handholds through the exposed section with rotten logs at the top. Finally go through the easy climbing through the trees on the rocky ridge crest to the headwall. Veer hard left and take a shower under the pissing wall. Ascend the wet mossy ledges through more cedars. Continue up on soft snow postholing intermittantly.

Descend just right of south ridge crest to snow covered benches. Posthole to talus and descend to head of main gulley. Exit left and rappell alders. Walk down creek bottom to level of old road and cut right through devils club. Return to car. 3 1/2 hrs. No witnesses. No GPS. Shoot me.

[leejams]

Did you not want to take the trail?

[Bug]

Did the trail a few weeks ago. I wanted to check out the rock in the south drainage. It actullay looks OK other than the approach. If anyone else goes up there, either use the trail or ascend the route I descended. Just go up the old road to the switch back and cut right over to the creek. Follow that up to the headwall and exit right up the slabby, brushy rock. Bushwhack a few yards up and you are out on the talus. The rest is straight forward. Unless all the snow melts and the brush under that is really bad.

[klenke]

Hey Bug, I went that way too in late summer a few years back. Best way to sum it up: Brutal, brutal, brutal! BW5 in a lot of spots. I was actually trying to traverse over to Mt. Index from that valley but bailed and went for Persis instead. On the way up from the overgrown spur road (at the large open [parking] area just before the washed out road) I climbed up the dryish watercourse (for you, this was probably not possible in early season) then took a dry junction rightward practically all the way up to the alpine upper basin. Very nice up there once I got there. Most of the bushwhacking was to be had on the descent--because I tried to bear directly for the car. I just couldn't get out of it, despite the fact that the forested slope was so near. It would have been much easier and quicker to take the trail back and then walk the couple miles of roads back to the car, but noooooo.

[thelawgoddess]

the trail up mount persis is probably one of my two favorite hikes in wa ... the other being the short "jaunt" up to lake constance.