[TR] Mt. Pugh - Mtn Loop Hwy - 7/5/2008 w/ Pics

[Bishopp66]

Trip: Mt. Pugh - Mtn Loop Hwy -

 

Date: 7/5/2008

 

Trip Report:

I got a call from Joel to see if I wanted to climb Mt Pugh on Saturday... hell yea I want to climb something.

 

We hit the trailhead at about 9am on Saturday. We wasted a little time by going past the FS road we needed to turn on, but figured out our error pretty quickly and were back on track.

 

The trail from the start is pretty steep, even though it is riddled with switchbacks. With over a mile of gain in 5.5 miles, you can see why. We cranked along until we hit the lake, which was our first rest stop. At this point I must say Joel was kicking my ass up the hill. He's quite a bit faster than me, but I was trying hard to keep up. After food and water we were on out way again. More switchbacks and steepness. We broke out of the forest and (after a quick snack and water)had to go through some loose rock and snow to gain the trail up to Stujack Pass... and more switchbacks.

 

 

 

Once we were at Stujack pass, we had another short break and fueled up. From there, the trail was covered in pretty steep snow. We passed a couple who turned around about here due to not having stiff enough boots to handle it. The snow was solid and we kicked steps which was fine although a little slick from time to time. It wasn't hard climbing, but the exposure was a bit scary... don't slip and fall here. An arrest would be doubtful and it's a long way down. After a couple hundred yards or so, we were back on rock, only to hit 2 more very short sections of snow the rest of the climb. From here, the scramble was pretty straight forward with just a couple exposed sections. The weather took a turn for the worse above Stujack pass, windy, cloudy and light rain a few times, with some nice wind mixed in there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the summit, it was actually wind free and nice, although sprinkling a bit. We signed the register, took a few pics and had a snack before heading back down. The scramble back down was pretty uneventful save for us getting off the trail a couple times and dealing with the steep snow just above Stujack pass.

 

 

Once past there, it was smooth sailing. It started to rain 2 minutes after arriving at the car. Nice timing.

 

4 hours up, 3 hours down, 11 miles RT, Elevation Gain 5300'

 

Gear Notes:

Ice Axe, rain gear, water

 

Approach Notes:

Once you are on the dirt portion of the Mnt Loop Hwy (heading east from Granite Falls), if you hit pavement and see road 23 you went too far.

 

Pack enough water for the whole trip, there is no good water along the way.

Edited July 11, 2008 by Bishopp66

[Bill_Simpkins]

That is a real nice hike. The wind damage to the forest is amazing (just before hitting the lake).

[wolffie]

Save it for a clear day. And the approach is so short, you can stay at the summit for sunset and have a short hike out in the dark. Trail in fine shape, minor early-stage slumping. No ice axe needed now, but snow can linger late on this. No windfall. Some people got up in 3 hrs.

 

long-tailed weasel in the talus field. We saw a wounded skunk, too.

 

"Sit."

"Stay."

"Smile."

One out of three ain't so bad I guess.

 

 

It doesn't look like we're in Wales anymore...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2008 by wolffie