[TR] Hidden Lake Peak - 2/2/2013

[tvashtarkatena]

Trip: Hidden Lake Peak -

 

Date: 2/2/2013

 

Trip Report:

 

 

The actual summit of Hidden Lake Peak, from the East.

 

Josh and I broke trail up to HLP over Feb's first long weekend. Slogging commenced as the trees thinned towards the upper basin, but it was only deep for about 1000'.

 

Panorama of the Triad

 

Skiing was amazing. We both agreed it was one of our best days out ever. Shirtless temps, zero wind, at least for a day, before a full blown rime storm/white out took it all away.

 

Chippendale Basin (E of the true summit of Hidden Lake Peak)

 

Approach Notes:

We drove to the Sibley Ck turnoff in an Outback - deep ruts. Lower clearance vehicles were parking at the plowed road end (Monogram Lake TH)

Edited February 14, 2013 by tvashtarkatena

[ivan]

josh taking the chippendale thang far too seriously i see - christ, was all that ghey-sex ya'll had 2gether how you managed to throw yer hammie out?

[tvashtarkatena]

We both skiied shirtless, but the younger bloke won the beauty run off.

 

No, my hamstring was a souvenir of a brief, not-so-scenic flight the following day.

 

Edited February 14, 2013 by tvashtarkatena

[Tyson.g]

So freaking jealous, I've always had my brown eyes on Josh.

 

[tvashtarkatena]

Drink it in. This TR may not last...

 

We had a full day of nasty white out the following day. After an aborted attempt to go skiing (my fault), we detrashed and cleaned the shit out of that lookout and its surroundings - the place looked better than Josh's metro-spotless condo when we left.

 

Note to folks using the Lookout: Don't attempt to dump the wood burning stove ash when its blowing 30 mph outside. Just store it in the bucket inside the lookout until the wind dies. It took us over an hour to shovel off the melt water snow area after a member of another party did exactly that, creating a St. Helens-like ash plume of fail.

 

For those wishing to gift the lookout with supplies - white gas, propane, and butane canisters are on the registry. For white gas, which is for emergencies only BTW, there is a half gallon can in the attic where you can deposit your offering to the dead dinosaur gods. I'm going to haul the vestigial remainder of my white gas up next trip, as well as a spare propane (green canister) stove burner for visitor use.

 

Finally, I find its way easier to just blue bag it than hump your coffee bullied ass down to the toi toi, which is a ways down the slope and not all that convenient in stormy conditions.

 

 

Edited February 14, 2013 by tvashtarkatena

[John_Scurlock]

It seems likely that these are your tracks, from Steph A's photographs found at these links --

 

Steph's page from that flight

 

and

 

Ski tracks at HLLO

 

these shots taken late in the day shortly before return to Concrete.

[tvashtarkatena]

Ha! Josh has been talking about getting a drone to take aerial vids. Who needs that when we've got the Skurlock/Abegg Skycam?

 

Thanks for the avian POV stoke, you two. Pure fun.

 

Great series on the lookouts, too.

[John_Scurlock]

That LO series was sort of an accident -- when we were at Robinson, just decided on a whim to go over to Goat... and then realized if we went to Mebee, HLLO, and Lookout Mt, we'd have visited seven LOs in one trip.

 

and in the LO vein, we are trying to stimulate an effort to save the Mebee Pass LO... many obstacles but I've started a conversation with folks at the Okanogan/Wenatchee NF.. there's lots of interest from LO aficionados... it's the last of its type and a true gem. The short term goal is a new roof and a proper door. I'm guardedly optimistic about it. Pics taken in 2008 show it to be pretty solid, despite its appearance from the air. The plywood you see in those pics is definitely not "historical" but that is what saved it, when it was put up in 2002 in a bit of a pirate operation. If something actually gets going I'll post up about it in here somewhere, since we will be dependent on volunteer efforts, donations, and micro grants, likely. My guess is we will need less than 2500 for materials and helicopter sling load from the East Creek trailhead, should this all come to pass.

[tvashtarkatena]

Well, here's a volunteer right here for you. I can pretty much build or repair anything a lookout would need, as long a tile floors aren't in the plans. Owning a previously neglected century old house will do that to you, whether you like it or not. I can probably recruit at least one fellow lookout junky as well.

 

[John_Scurlock]

sent you a pm