Help! Stuart/Dragontail Permit Questions...

[motomagik]

My climbing partner and I were hoping to do Dragontail and Stuart in one weekend sometime this season. The permit thing is way confusing, what's the beta? Is it too late? It looks like you don't need a permit to go in at Stuart Lake but you do need one for Colchuck? Any ideas?

[Gary_Yngve]

What routes on Dtail and Stuey? If you're trying to link the two via the ridges and are bivying up there, you do not need a permit.

Stuart Lake requires a permit. The advance permits were done around Feb/Mar. If you opt for a walk-in permit, you need to be at the ranger station at like 7:45 AM (yes, that ruins your alpine start).

 

 

 

[motomagik]

We were thinking of Backbone/Fin Direct on Dtail and the usual North ridge on Stuart. No permit needed? Really? We were planning on bivying at Colchuck lake...

[DirtyHarry]

If you bivied up near the north basin of Stuart you're out of the permit zone and wouldn't need a permit.

[Gary_Yngve]

You'll need a permit for the Colchuck Lake too.

 

If you're doing both NR Stuart and Backbone Dtail in a day each, just car-to-car them both -- it's just a few extra miles of flats. That way you don't need to carry overnight gear, and you don't have to lug the big cam for Dtail up Stuart as well.

[motomagik]

Hmm, thanks for the info. Maybe going car-to-car is the way to go if it doesn't add on all that much hiking...

[Bug]

Fri night, drive to th, hike to just beyond the Stuart lk trail junction (2.5). There is a flat area up stream and over by the creek. Early Sat, get up to Colchuck sans bivy gear adn do the route and return to stash. Stash big cam or take it up the trail another mile to where the switch backs start. You can go up Mnt crk or up past Stu lk. Most prefer the Mnt crk rt. But if you have not been up there before and are getting a dark start, you could have trail finding difficulties. The trail to Stu lk is clear and the way beyond stays in the bottom on the edge of the swamp. You can get well beyond the lake in pitch dark sat night. Go up to the ridge between Stu lk and Mnt crk where it meets Mnt Stu and drop 400 ft to the base of the NR direct. Or if you are doing the classic route, you are in position.

Edited April 3, 2007 by Bug

[motomagik]

That's some awesome beta! Thanks!

[eldiente]

That is some awfully good beta.. Sounds like someone has done this link-up before.

[AJScott]

tons of link up stuff to do in the stuie range...I dont think I could ever run out of stuff to do up there. Dont listen to gary...why you wouldnt want to sleep in the high alpine and do the colchuck lake approach twice boggles my mind! In the summer you hardly have to carry anything to sleep outside anyways...

 

dirtyleaf and I did this linkup over labor day weekend last year. We didnt have a plan for what we were going to climb but knew we had three days in the alpine...could have got it done in two days no prob. started late saturday and cruised backbone...spent the night on dtails summit(great bivy site!) then goofed around next morning climbing all of the dtail spires along the summit ridge over to pandoras box. then dropped down over to colchuck-argonaut col and were guna climb argonaut. decided to do the n.ridge instead and dropped down over to stuart and climbed the lower half sleeping at the mid point on the ridge. One of the best weekends ive ever had in the mountains! enjoy!

 

also...if you go late enough you can avoid carrying ice axe's and crampons as well...

[Bug]

Fri night, drive to th, hike to just beyond the Stuart lk trail junction (2.5). STAY ON THE STU LK TRAIL SIDE There is a flat area up stream and over by the creek. Early Sat, get up to Colchuck sans bivy gear adn do the route and return to stash. Stash big cam or take it up the trail another mile to where the switch backs start THIS IS WHERE YOU CUT UP MNT CRK. You can go up Mnt crk or up past Stu lk. Most prefer the Mnt crk rt. But if you have not been up there before and are getting a dark start, you could have trail finding difficulties. The trail to Stu lk is clear and the way beyond stays in the bottom on the edge of the swamp BUT BEYOND THE LAKE THERE IS ONLY A VERY FAINT TRAIL. IT IS WORTH IT TO GO AT LEAST A LITTLE WAYS TO HIDE. You can get well beyond the lake in pitch dark sat night. Go up to the ridge between Stu lk and Mnt crk where it meets Mnt Stu and drop 400 ft to the base of the NR direct. Or if you are doing the classic route, you are in position.

[motomagik]

Thanks everyone for the great info, AJ it's great to hear from someone who's done the linkup pretty easily... the main question is though, do you need an overnight permit to bivy there and is it too late to get one?

[AJScott]

nope, no permits for camping up high. The only place you will get hassled is along the enchantments trail...anywhere up high and you will be good to go.

[Rad]

Best to call the Leavenworth ranger station and ask about permits even if you think you don't need them. It would be a bummer to get a fat ticket on your car at the trailhead when you could have easily gotten a permit.

[Gary_Yngve]

You can park your car at the TH for multiple days and all you need is a forest pass. If a ranger encounters you back there camping or with overnight gear, you might be in some trouble.

 

If you're camping up high like AJ suggests, I think that's a great way to go -- that's what I originally referred to with linking via ridges. If I were thinking of camping near the Stuart/Colchuck trail junction (you could get busted there), I'd just go back to the car (2.5 miles of flats x2 is nothing).

[motomagik]

Excellent, thanks so much guys. Sounds going light and bivying up high will be the way to go, which is what we planned... so sweet, thanks!

[chucK]

You do need a permit to bivy at Colchuck Lake (or Stuart Lake). I've never had a problem getting a day-of permit for Colchuck Lake. The Enchantments region permits are the hard ones to get. However, the logistics of combining those two long climbs in two days and being at the ranger station during working hours to get your permit could be pretty daunting.

 

You can try to get one by mail beforehand. Probably not too late for Colchuck Lake. Just give them a call at the ranger station. You might get lucky and the person answering the phone could be helpful and knowledgable.

 

Not sure how you're working Colchuck Lake into this in two days though.

[Kat_Roslyn]

 

Just make sure your sleeping pad is inside your pack and take a couple extra day passes with you, and don't fill em out completly. Sleep somewhere where they obviously won't see you, like where AJScott said. I've only encountered 1 ranger before, nice kid, said we were hiking up towards Ingalls Creek.