[TR] Hibox - SE Ridge 9/15/2013

[dugdaled]

Trip: Hibox - SE Ridge

 

Date: 9/15/2013

 

Trip Report:

A group of alpine scramblers, led by Craig and Andy, had a fabulous day doing the SE ridge route of Hibox. The approach was by the Rachel Lake Trail, but we cut off into the forest about a half mile up the trail at the 3000 foot level. From there, the brush was light to moderate as we ascended the hill side. We did manage to anger many yellow jackets and had some stings from tripping over 2 different nests. Continuing up, we reached a large talus field at about 4000 feet, and ascended that to its head. From there we traversed to the head of the drainage described in Beckey’s version of the route. Careful routefinding led us to the saddle between Hibox and “Lobox” at about 5250. From there, a trail led first up to a plateau, and then to the ridge of the actual peak. Steep trail and some scrambling led to the standard trail on the South route. More scrambling (class 3 or short class 4) led to a nice summit area. We had great views of the Alpine Lakes region and a good time was had by all! The trail down became faint around 3800-4000 feet, and we were briefly “cliffed out” before traversing west to get around that obstacle. Light bushwhacking led us to the valley floor where we tripped over yet another yellow jacket nest before finding the trail. The rest of the way out was uneventful, and we made it back just before the rain started.