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S. Pickets


AlpineK

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Some friends and I just got back from a week in the Southern Picket range. We had excellent weather and managed to get in 3 summits.

8/7 We left the car at about noon and hiked up into Terror Creek basin. The trail is in good shape and obvious. We camped just above timberline.

8/8 We traversed under the ridge line past 2 lakes and hiked up under Inspiration Peak to an excellent campsite. After setting up camp we all scrambled up West McMillan via the west ridge.

8/9 We divided into two groups. My friend R and I climbed the South Face of Inspiration Peak. The rock quality is great and the route is impressive. We hung out on the summit and met up with E,M, and P who climbed the West Ridge. We then proceded to rappel the West Ridge. We set new webbing and rappel rings down to the notch and used existing rap anchors below the notch. In a better snow year I think the gully would be an easy scramble, but right now it sucks.

8/10 We hung out till noon at our camp and then packed up and crossed the Barrier. I had heard that crossing the Barrier really sucked and sure enough it did. Steep heather and grass with cliffs below and no place to anchor. We got across, but I wouldn't recommend the crossing to anyone. We set up camp just above the Chopping Block at a saddle.

8/11 P took the day off and the rest of us hiked over to the Himmelhorn. There is still lots of snow in the gully leading up to the west face of the Himmelhorn (crampons recommended). We climbed the Wild Hair Crack in two rope teams. The rock and climbing are both great. We set up rap anchors down to the notch.

8/12 We packed up and hike out the lower Barrier. It took us about 6 hours from the Chopping Block down to the car. The trail is only marked in a few places and the slope from Terror Creek to a saddle on the Barrier is very steep with no real trail.

There's some great climbing in the Southern Pickets. I would like to go back for some of the north faces!

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We were just across the valley from you last weekend on Mt.Triumph and the bugs were fine up high, but down at Thornton Lakes biting flies were nasty. Congrats on your trip. The Southern Pickets look like a must, but getting to the north side of Terror, for instance, looks darn hard.

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Hiked up around Cascade Pass on Sunday. The flies below treeline were ridiculous. I think the worst I've ever experienced in the Cascades. As soon as you stopped, 50 flies would descend on you. I almost bailed a hundred yards from the parking lot. Even hiking at an almost running pace, they were constantly landing on you.

Above the trees, where there was a breeze, it was much better.

Is it like this everywhere in the cascades now? I'm afraid to do any overnight trips because of these flies....

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I was in Darrington Saturday, and again today. No flies either time. But Sunday, in the N. Cascades, the flies were out of control. So was that the day of the fly? How can it vary so much from one day to the next, with no apparent change in the weather?

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