JasonG Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 (edited) Trip: The Gardners - Standards Date: 6/26/2011 Trip Report: In an effort to get my feet in fighting shape, I joined the running dog in his quest to scale a certain list of high peaks in WA. After a leisurely stop at the Mazama store to hang out with friends and be tempted by the easy comforts of the lowlands (AAC Rockrest sure sounded cool), we hit the trail about 1430. Worried that the slog was going to take us way into the evening, cutting down on valuable beer, whiskey, and fire consumption- the dog set his usual blistering pace. We arrived around 1800 to find Gardner meadows melted out with plenty of firewood already cut to length (thanks hunters!). Eating, drinking and lounging by the fire commenced. A fine chap by the name of Julian (solo) joined us for after dinner refreshments and a plan was hatched to leave early the next morning for the North and Main Gardner peaks. Turns out, Julian knows some of the same folks we do and was a great addition to our peak bagging Delta Force. To make a long story shorter, we had a grand time the next day(~11 hrs, camp to summit to summit to camp to car- with some nice breaks and lots of photos). Great scenery, zero crowds, fun scrambling, and perfect conditions made this trip much better than anticipated. Sure, we never needed a rope, but it was a lot more engaging than you might expect. Give peak bagging a try sometime, you just might like it! Upper Wolf Creek: Julian headed towards North Gardner North Gardner Family of Mountain Goats breaking trail- Seriously we used their tracks and followed them almost to the summit of Main Gardner The Dog and Julian near the summit of North Gardner with the next objective behind them Sea of peaks to the south Fun scrambling en route to Gardner The dog on East Gardner. Julian and I stayed on the main summit and worked on our tans Main Garnder marker North Gardner from the main summit East to the Methow Ah, a break before the slog out. Gear Notes: Axe, Crampons, Helmet, Beer, Whiskey, flip flops Approach Notes: Wolf Creek Edited July 1, 2011 by JasonG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainsloth Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 sweet looking trip! Its true, a good scramble up a beautiful peak can be just as rewarding as sending your project or a 15 pitch rock route. Nice work and nice photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonG Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 I should add that you need to be careful of a log right at head level at ~mile 9.5. A skier impaled his forehead on it, and nearly gouged out his eye. We came on the scene on the way out and it was a little shocking. Watch out! We tried to make it less sharp, but there is still some damage that could be done to an unsuspecting party enjoying the scenery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sepultura Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Nicely put Jason, looks like a great trip! What do you and the Running Dog got planned next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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