gardner mtn in nov.

[kullaberg]

Hi,

New here at CC. Here's a quick report from a couple of weeks back:

Early november full moon brought record low temperatures to the east side. Little snow and building motivation for a backcountry trip gave birth to the '24 hr Gardner Mountain Excursion'.

The three of us arrived at the trailhead as planned shortly before 9 pm, with temps in the single digit and an oh so bright and magic moon illluminating our frosty breath. The hike up Wolf Creek was erie, quiet and very cold. First brewstop 2 hrs in found us sitting in down parkas and half bags while the xgk broke the silence. A short nap and back on the trail. At 3 am we took another pitstop about 8 miles in. Dawn saw us just shy of Gardner Meadows with only 3-4 inches of fresh on the ground. The veil of darkness slowly lifted as we regrouped at 5500', melting water for the summit push and leaving our few bivvy items behind. The pleasant grade of deep and long Wolf Creek was exchanged for the steep climb up to the cirques at 7500' below the key gully leading to the summit plateau. Some classic root pulling, not too much, and plenty of scree was negotiated as the early morning sun warmed our backs to the point of sweating! Now out of the Wolf Creek drainage temps were actually reasonable.

Approaching cirrus to the SE marked a change in the weather. The gully turned out to be snowfilled with death crust on sugar and was relatively strenous for the upper 3-400' before the terrain abruptly eased back after the final cornice. Here on the open upper slopes the sudden winds were quickly drying our sweat and a planned midmorning snackstop was cut painfully short. Summit celebrations weren't taking long either as most of the major peaks to the south now were shrouded in clouds and long tails of spindrift flew off nearby North Gardner.

The long walk out was of course tiring and anticlimactic as is always the case in the world of mountaineering. We arrived back at the truck a few minutes before the 24 hr mark with 25 miles and 6500' feet of gain behind us, and at least your author was considerably pooped. The short commute home on the deer infested Methow Valley roads, with the driver barely awake, turned out to be the most hazardous aspect of this otherwise splendid adventure.

 

jan.

[ncascademtns]

Good Job.

Did Gardner and North Gardner on a 3 day trip back in 1996. The weather in August was more enjoyable. For you, it would be a shame to go all the way in and not do North Gardner.

Anyways, good job and welcome to CC.com

[catbirdseat]

Thanks for the trip report. They are scarce this time of year.

[Uncle_Tricky]

Nice TR--the cold keeps you moving this time of year!