No trip report Tim dragged me around the mountains this week for a 4 night extravaganza.

Starting on 9/17. Trail up to Myrtle was nice. Routefinding up to big snow lake and Snowflake Lake wasn't bad. However, carin's were very sparse. camped at Snowflake, lots of of fish in big snow lake.

Day 2 started with a steep ascent of Big Snow Mountain following talus and creek beds. Pretty strenuous, but not too bad. At this point Carin's are more of something to stumble upon then to follow. grabbed the summit, which was about the smokiest elevation around, and headed down to Gold Lake and the 4 or 5 tarns above it, this took much longer than anticipated. Plenty of fish here as well.
After a quick dip we head north to wrap around Wild Goat Peak to Chetwood Lake on some seldom walked talus. Very wild drainage area, and very intense. We loop around the Southside of Chetwood with headlamps on steep talus and make camp near its east shore.

Day 3 is, surprise, more talus! much more traveled, though, which was nice. Routefinding becomes easier, but the terrain remains absolutely wild. we stop at iron cap lake for some water and to soak up its mesmerizing silty blue beauty. From here we head to the Tank Lakes where we saw multiple parties camping. some of the first people we've seen in 3 days. after some water we drop down fast into the end of the Necklace Valley and then up the last steep push to the La Bohn Lakes where we make canp. We decide Mount Hinman is a bit much for our tired toes, so we leave it for another trip. Saw some weird string of lights in the sky that I'll have to look up later. Hanging a food bag here is pretty laughable so an actual bear bag is recommended.

Day 4 starts with us finalizing our decision to bail on Hinman and we walk steep talus to Williams Lake. Some awesome mining history just above that we spent an hour or so checking out.
From Williams we have an actual trail so we turn the speed up and make it to the end of the forest service road that heads up the middlefork and camp at a major hub on the river.

Day 5 is just a wet road hike. the rain started around 5am and didn't let up until around noon so we walked out with soggy feet.

Over all a killer trip. No trip report Tim gives it a 9/10 for difficulty in our current shape. I'd have to agree.

Got up to the summit of Big Snow Mountain with SoaringEagle on a moody weather day. Fall is definitely here. This is one tough mountain to climb, from the horrendous road to Dingford Creek TH, the 7 mile rocky road bike ride, and then the unrelenting tough "trail" and terrain. In addition we had drizzle for the first 2-3 hours which made the rocks and vegetation wet and it had frozen overnight the last 200 vertical feet, which meant contending with ice covered boulders to reach the summit. That was a little terrifying. 

Left North Bend at 5:30am and arrived at Dingford Creek TH around 7am. Almost 1 hour driving on the final 6 mile stretch from Garfield Ledges TH to Dingford Creek TH. Horrendously slow, especially with a bike rack. Already 3 cars at TH when we got there. Toilet was open, clean, and had a bit of TP. 

We rode class 1 electric mountain bikes to get up the 7 miles of closed road and this is the way to go. I'm not a regular biker. If I had to do this in a non-electric bike, I would have been gassed before the hike even started. Even with electric bikes, it took an hour to ride. The road is decent condition in places but very rocky in others, so nice to have a full suspension bike. The start of the hiking trail is not easy to see when riding, so need to pay attention. We stashed the bikes and geared up in gore tex head to toe as it had rained overnight and we expected vegetation overgrowth to be wet. We were correct! 

We started hiking around 8:30am and it's steep right out of the gate. The trail follows an old overgrown road for a while but quickly deteriorates. It's the kind of trail that comes and goes almost all the way to the top other than boulder fields, but you'll lose it very frequently. SoaringEagle had been there in August so he had good knowledge to head off most of the mistakes that I would have made. The trail is steep, muddy, bouldery, and overgrown. Sure enough we got very wet. My boots wet through, which has never happened to me in 3 years of having them. The goal is to head out past the last lake then turn up the boulder field. There's one tricky spot above the lake where it requires climbing up a few rock slabs at almost exactly 4800' elevation. There's a cairn and we scratched an arrow in the moss, but it is not obvious from below. A lot of the terrain after this is boulder fields and massive rock slabs. There's a few lingering snow patches up high but all are avoidable. It's imperative to have a GPX file to find the right approach to the backside of Big Snow summit. It often was not obvious to me. About 200 vertical feet below the summit, the boulders started to get ice covered here and there. At this point we had to start really being careful on each move, each step. It wasn't every boulder but it also wasn't always visually obvious. As we got within 100' of the summit there were even more slick boulders. We carefully picked our way up to the summit via grass and dirt areas, occasionally having to trust some icy rock. We made it. It was cold and a bit windy. I swapped out my soaking wet cold socks for dry ones, but my feet didn't get warm again until we were quite a bit lower on the way down. it took almost as much time to descend back to the bikes as it did going up. This is not a trail where you can speed down. We donned gore tex again for the vegetated sections down by the lakes, but they had thankfully dried up mostly. Mostly cloudy and cold day, but the sky cleared occasionally and the sun was out intermittently. 

Total Stats: 23.7 miles, 5,841' gain, 10:30 total time, 1:40 stopped time

Estimated Road Bike Stats: 7.2 miles, 1,800' gain, 1:00 up, 0:45 down 

Estimated Hike Stats: 4.6 miles, 4,000' gain, 4:00 up, 3:45 down

Gear: Waterproof everything, TX4 mid gore-tex hiking boots with extra socks, waterproof gloves were important to keep hands warm and dry from all the veggie and rock grabbing and for riding bikes

Water sources: Lots of them up until the boulder field above the last lake

GPX: https://www.peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=2662978

Took a swing at Big Snow Mountain. The gravel road out to the TH is pretty rough, we managed 5-8mph max in a mid sized SUV with a bike hitch (limiting clearance for the larger potholes and the one or two dips). We had to move a large tree that had fallen across the road about 2M short of the parking lot - thankfully it had cracked so we only had to shift a section about the width of the road.

The bike section to the start of the hiking trail (not really well marked, bring a GPX for the bike section) had better road quality than the main road and took about 75min. It's never really steep but with a 20lb backpack, I found myself in 1st gear a couple of times. There are some pretty rough sections dominated by bigger rocks so I was glad I hadn't opted for a gravel bike. Being on a full suspension MTB with wide tires also made the downhill downright enjoyable ;-)

The trail starts out pretty easy and well-established on an old logging road. Pretty soon it starts getting tighter and steeper through the forest, then there is the first boulder field to cross. We were in light fog with even a drizzle thrown in so the boulders, esp. the mossy ones, required a lot of care to navigate safely. There are cairns but as ever, they're not super-easy to follow on the way up. Because all vegatation was dripping wet, as soon as we exited that first boulder field, our pants became rapidly soaked. Even one or two tight passages between soaked bushes was enough - and then it's pointless to put on rain gear. Be smarter and do it before the first car wash section ;-) The trail is on and off pretty hard to follow so GPX on phone/watch became essential. There are some rock slabs to clear that took some scouting left and right before we found a crack that was doable in the wet. Traversing the boulder field along the left side of the first lake was again an exercise in caution but fun. After the second lake, it's into the large boulder fields that eventually lead to the pass. It's largely pick-your-own adventure. Nothing is too loose and sometimes it was possible to use the edge of the field to find a clearer path. There is no snow left in this section that might make early season travel here much easier. We were still in the fog/clouds at this point (contrary to the NWS forecast that had the sun peaking through at noon) and starting to run a touch late. We reached the saddle and turned climber's left along the slabs in this section. Visibility was maybe 50ft at that point. Having started too high, we had to drop down across the wet and pretty slippery off-camber slabs. We decided to do a check-in for time, re-assess the chances for views from the top (nil at this point) and risk (my partner's shoes were soaked and didn't have anything like the required traction on wet rock). We decided to call it quits, had lunch and started on the way down around 2pm, probably about 1h from the summit. Downhill travel wasn't much faster at all - the speed limit was still set by safely rock-hopping mossy boulders. I wore my full rain gear on the way down. We were back at the bikes shortly after 5pm and back at the car 45min later.

Zero people, a handful of frogs, mosquitos galore a minute after stopping (but not noticeable while walking), a few pika screams.

Never used my pole(s) other than for whacking water off trees, no need for microspikes to the point of our turnaround. Wish I'd brought my full-zip rain pants for protection with ventilation on the way up. Shoes nearly soaked through.

BigSnow via Chetwoot lake

Uhg where to start. I guess the right thing to say is that from Chetwoot lake it is entirely Backcountry. You need to be able to navigate on your own, understand terrain and be very comfortable spending all day on loose boulders with a large pack. I carry a hefty first aid kit and materials for a splint but if something were to happen on these boulders I would be in trouble. I say this because I read the comments on the last post...

The day before I started my trip at the West fork Foss to traverse Camp Robber Peak to Tourmaline. I almost bailed on this idea for Big Snow bcs the idea of more boulders and mosquitos didn't sound fun. In reality I did not expect the volume of boulders I walked through, it was slow and paired with the mosquitos 24/7 it was not much fun. However with that said Gold lake and the NE side of Big Snow were amazing .

Started at a camp near the

Started at a camp near the upper Chetwoot lake. Stashed extra gear at Chetwoot but kept my sleeping bag just incase I didn't make it. I was very skeptical I would make it there and back.

No GPS data but referenced the post before mine by fadenz (great report/trip by the way!). The gps coordinates for the gully into the Gold Lake basin saved me heap's of time-thank you!

1) Around Chetwoot: 

I went south shore. I would have like to do the north shore since I was coming from camp robber peak and tourmaline the day before but I go tired and made an early camp instead. 

Anyways. For the south shore staying as low as possible on the boulders is SO much more pleasant. 

When I went to wild goat years back I traversed high and it was awful, this time by staying low I found it pleasant. Stay low until you hit the cliff and then go straight up to the cliff bypass here; 47.55458, -121.31067 on fairly stable mossy rocks. Exit the cliff by pass here; 47.55453, -121.31103 and head down and over the washout like rubble.

When crossing this mainly heather slope (some Boulder's of course) make sure not to go too low. The easiest terrain is often mid slope. There is a nice  snow creek to fill up in water, there are a few small tarns on the way to Gold but nothing great. After that start going up to the Chetwoot lake saddle on a mainly heather strip bellow boulders but above dense trees.

2)Chetwoot saddle to Gold Lake top out.

This large halfpipe of boulders was the slowest section and I can't believe I did it twice🤢. It is straight forward but slow. Down, around the corner, and back up again. On my way down the first slope I criss crossed a lot because skiers right is less steep. On the way back I just stayed to the right, it was more steep and direct but not sure if it was faster. Fadenz notes the turning point here 47.55846, -121.33215  . I suggest aiming for a gap in the trees slightly above to save a little bit of elevation. After the corner I would cross Wild Goats large western boulder field sooner than later while it is still mainly flat. You do not go all the way up to the col of this boulder field. Boulder's are more pleasant on climbers right, there are even Cairns! I left the Boulder's here;  47.55615, -121.33772 and then traversed upward on pretty heather and trees to the next boulder field before the top out. Cross the second boulder field about mid way in height (once again there are cairns) and head to the Gold lake top out (***  47.55836, -121.34561*** ) above a neat "S" shaped lake. There is another very cute lake behind the s shaped lake, bet it would be nice camping. 

3) Gold lake.

Navigating to the Gold lake drainage was annoying for me. Thankfully I had the way points for the beginning and end of the gully, "top out" but I wasn't sure how to finish getting down to the base.  I got lucky and found a pretty good way down. See photo although resolution is bad. I would alter the waypoints from fadenz a bit and say this is the end of the original gully,  47.55831, -121.34681. Then you go left and traverse towards this point in a boulder field,  47.55831, -121.34681. Then descend through an opening and some trees to this point in which I refer to as "bingo",  47.55683, -121.34671. Remember bingo on the way back, I was able to spot it even from the top of big white, so I knew where to aim my return trip.

 At the bottom boulder field I am not sure what the typical thing to do is. For me I went across the boulders towards here, 47.55546, -121.3476. Then around to the west side of this forest ridge feature. One side is mainly boulders but the west side is simple shrubbery. It eventually cliffs out on its west side so you need to follow it until it's end until you can find a way down and off of it closer to the lake. After that you can cross a small B.field and try to walk more close to the lake until you get to the main Gold lake drainage 47.55063, -121.34851. There are some good logs to cross. 

4) Big Snow.

Big snow, specially from Gold Lake has been on my radar ever since seeing "Climber Kyle's" post about an Iron Cap loop. I saw a photo of the granite slabs amidst aqua blue tarns and was very fascinated. Thus the reason I made this trip. I wanted to play on those slabs! Anyways, I didn't have a GPS but I mapped where I believe that tarn with the slabs was and aimed as best I could to it. I didn't have much time so I went pretty direct up the west drainage.

Route: After the Gold lake drainage there is this random trail. It doesn't last long but it will take you close to this muddy yellowish lake here  47.54821, -121.34853. From here I went straight up heather towards the top of a gully here 47.54618, -121.35021 (travelled on a slope climbers left of it). Then upwards to a multicolored tarn  47.54474, -121.35241 and up it's right hand drainage and along some gentle slopes to the slabby tarn 47.54193, -121.35778. You will want to enter the slabby tarn from its left (east). Lots of water obviously. The slabby tarn was as beautiful as expected and the slabs were more of a highway than expected as well. I traveled slightly right (west) and around to the top of the tarn then travelled at a diagonal until I hit the main route and up the ridge. There was another slabby highway and then an easy ridge. I went up an easy gully just west of the north ridge to the top. Just a little under 2hrs up and just a little over an hour down, definitely easiest and most fun part of the trip.

Then I returned back to Chetwoot... Took less time and got back to mosquito filled Chetwoot around 8pm. Wasn't able to enjoy much as the mosquitos were savage and I didn't have a proper tent, just a sad mosquito net and my hiking poles. Dew came in and soaked through my sleeping bag so that my fleece was wet underneath. The night before my sleeping bag was wet as well because I fell into little heart lake when traveling to Camp robber peak. So my rest time on this trip was close to zero.

Since I travelled along camp robber to tourmaline and then big snow the trip took 3 days. 2 full days and one half day walking back from Chetwoot. Doing it in two days is possible but would not be fun. I wish I did not do the other peaks and spent more time at Gold Lake. It and it's surroundings are paradise! Oh and I chose this direction because of Gold Lake, and easier drive and I hadn't done Camp Robber Peak. 

• Big Snow to Chetwoot is definitely 'wilderness' no-trail backcountry
• Chetwoot onwards is more 'established' backcountry routes
• Middle portion follows Foss/Necklace Alpine Lakes High route (ALHR)
  • This part is fairly popular so won't cover too much here
• This is a backpacking high route, with some scrambles
  • Rather then a true "crest" mountaineering HR

• Big Snow Mountain / Gold Lake is a beautiful area,
  • You definitely feel 'out there'
  •  In character with the place, will just list critical waypoints
• Tried Chetwoot south shore option to avoid the infamous bushwhack
• Route 100% snow free, except Hinman Glacier ( what's left of it )
• Summited Iron Cap ( standard route )
• Summited eastern peak of Mt Hinman ( see bottom for discussion of which might be the "true" summit )
• Blueberries in full force, typically 4300-5000', but is transitioning 
• Body scratch total for trip: 62
• Great wx first day, then was inside the smoke filled ping-pong ball
• Only met/passed a dozen folks the whole trip, but all super cool, including:
  
  • Catherine, heading out to climb Overcoat ( looked amazing from Big Snow )
  • Carly, shared a blood red sunset & stories at La Bohn
  • M & S, high on Mt. Hinman, doing an amazing bike/hike/climb adventure through the region

• Started/Ended at Dingford TH ( middle fork )
• Garfield potholes have been filled
• Dingford road is legendary in it's roughness, 
  • Not sure why it gets so little love given the popularity of the middle fork
• 4WD may not be needed, but wouldn't do without high clearance
• TH toilet clean, and stocked
• Spruce mine was active based on cars/noise ( old link below )
• Used bike as far base of Hardscrabble TH:
  • Road with full pack was ~95% bike-able uphill, 98% downhill
  • Surface varies from smooth to bouldery
  • Was quite tiring on my old non-suspension bike, but still was worth it

Hardscrabble TH to Upper Hardscrabble:

• TH not marked, but obvious up short rutted slope
• Trail to lower Hardscrabble pretty good shape, little overgrown in places
  • Bit scrappy at 4000' near the 'bivy' rock
  • Big Snow's massive East prominence looms ominously above
• Lower to upper Hardscrabble goes climbers left of nice falls
  • Look for ribbon after couple big boulders
  • Didn't see obvious camps, but know people do camp there

Upper Hardscrabble to Big Snow Mountain:

• Trail starts out easy/obvious, but then unsure what to recommend
  • Went climbers rightward, but ended in a hellish bushwhack 
  • Including a 12' slide on ball bearing pine needles :)
  • Suspect climbers left may be better, but don't know for sure
  • Try to find the most 'open' path, aiming for ~47.53492, -121.34390 @4948
• Big Snow Gap Gully
  • Once you get to the talus, the rest is easy boulder hopping
  • Gully Snow free
  • Exiting the gully is a wow moment, with great views of Gold basin, and back across the valley
• Big Snow Summit
  • Follow the famous slabs upward towards summit
  • Tarn at 5850' is currently dry
  • Path to summit is straightforward, but quite long
  • Amazing views all around, especially across to Overcoat/Chimney/Lemah/Chiefs
  • Saw campers down at Big Snow Lake ( Myrtle lake approach )
  • Thanks to whoever built the fun quartz summit cairn :)

• Some folks take the 'western' drainage which would be a more direct to camp
• But since my pack was near the gap, I took the 'eastern' drainage
• Note, if you drop directly, you will get cliffed out
  • Instead from the gap start towards the two ~5500' tarns, looking for cairns
  • Then follow cairns down a gully to lower shelf
• From there pleasant rambling to lake
• Was getting twilight, saw blueberry scat, and black bear paw prints
  • Don't normally take bear spray in ALW, but glad I did for this trip
• 1x site SE lake, then a up/down route around lake to get to...
• Several great sites on the peninsula/bay

• Several options, none easy
• Most folks acquire the NW ridge Wild Goat somewhere around 5300-5500'
• I probed a couple early gullies, but didn't commit as couldn't see the way ahead
• Instead chose a cairned gully further north:
  • Starting ~47.55717,-121.34657
  • Topping out at ~47.55836,-121.34561 @5240 ( cairn )
• From here some folks drop down quickly, but weary of more bushwhacking...
• Did a little up, then sidling descent towards main Wild Goat talus ~47.55684,-121.34256
• From there dropped heather slopes, then talus, to turn the corner ~47.55846,-121.33215
• Ascend, tending climbers right, some cairns, some faint boot paths, some talus, some bushwhacking
• Eventually arrive at small tarn ( more bear prints ), and the col above Chetwoot
• Next the expected "crux" of the day, which way around Chetwoot?
  • Most reports describe a hellish bushwhack following NW shore
  • Certainly could feel the pull, as offers fastest bird-fly way round
• But chose to try the South shore, which worked well, except for final talus
  • From col, sidling descent to above the SW bay ~47.55443,-121.32225
  • Ascend easy slope just enough to clear the chossy gully  
  • Traverse really enjoyable heather benches with great views, then easy talus
  • To avoid the last cliff, you will have to ascend 100-200'
  • Then descend, aiming for NW corner of lake
  • The talus in this section is steep/loose enough to be slow going
  • In the end, not sure which way is 'best', but without more knowledge would probably go the same way next time as prefer talus over bushwhacking

Chetwoot to Iron Cap Lake ( Camp II ):

• Joined the Foss/Necklace ALHR
  • Wow, civilization, complete with humanoids and regular cairns!
• Considered doing iron cap via W ridge...
  • But was a long route with full pack, and timing didn't work
• Trail to Iron Cap Lake is pretty, and fairly straightforward, albeit you will still lose the trail briefly in places
• Really neat views turning the corner at ~47.56092,-121.29518
• Warm night at Iron Cap Lake due to smoke,
  • Hard to sleep with the Eurovision Pika/Marmot contest reverbing off the cirque
  • Real 'alpine' feel
  • 1-3x sloping sites

Iron Cap Summit:

• Forgot to research this, but apparently guessed right on NE ridge route:
• At flat area on main trail ~47.55799,-121.28288
• Look up, and follow climbers rightward talus finger, with cairn at apex
• Follow scrub/bolder cairn trail until break out of bush
• Aim for summit following easy heather/talus
• Great views of Overcoat/Chimney, worthy side trip, easy class 2 if on-route
• When descending stay above line of trees that mark the eastern cliffs

• Continue the meandering Foss/Necklace ALHR trail to Tank Lake slabs
  • Was last at Tank lakes several decades ago and is still super pretty
  • Smaller tarns dry, so even nicer a month or so a go
• Trail drops fast down towards the Necklace Valley
• Nearing the bottom decided to traverse talus towards La Bohn
  • But suspect it wasn't worth the trouble vs. just going down to meadows and back up
• Ascent to La Bohn Lakes: 
  • Gully route half melted.  Spoke with Carly who said it wasn't fun
  • Anyway the water fall route has always appealed to me, so went that way
  • Steep and clambery, but felt safe, with periodic views of falls
  • Topping out is abrupt and delightful, right at the bench tarns
• Whole area from here to chain lakes is stunning

• Had a long way to go, so just planned to go up "just a little" to get a view, but you know how that goes...
• Route up to 7200' was snow free, straightforward and quite enjoyable, although it is a long way
• The first obstacle is a short ice/snow patch, sure easy when soft, but at the time was icy, so...
  • Tried first to skirt on rock above ice, but...
  • Was that horrible teetering unconsolidated glacier talus
  • Took the ice/snow on return, no worries with softening ice
• Traverse/ascend to reaching the N ridge corner at the edge of the main upper glacier
  • Sad to see how much glacial retreat there's been
  • Lots of cute LBBs ( little brown birds ) feasting on ice bugs
• I did carry some ancient instep spikes with me, but the ice was  still morning-hard 
  
  • So didn't fancy the direct ascent up the "bulge", with a long run-out on gritty ice
  • Instead traversed low angle ice to the rock rib on the far "eastern" peak
  • Followed easy rock up to ridge prominence at the eastern end, with views down towards Daniel
• There seems to be a lot of confusion over where the "true" summit is, see discussion at end
• Without better gear, or waiting for softer ice, the risk/reward of getting to the middle summit wasn't worth it for me on this day
  • Probably could have followed the rock moat, but concerned it was that crappy rock as earlier
• So playing it safe, called it good, and enjoyed the amazing near views ( far views shrouded by smoke )
• Then started the almost 6000' 17mi descent to car...

• Descent to Chain Lakes is quick and easy
  • Chain Lakes stunning, worthy of spending time
  • Some waterfalls still running, but would amazing a month or so ago
  • Cool mining cabin ruins and "display" at S end
• Then, you guessed it, yet more talus...
• At the constriction I think was on auto-pilot and messed up...
• Followed cairns down a gully that dumped me out at the top of the talus field
  • From there it was slow going through talus
  • Many cairns placed all over the place, suspect many were old mining folk ones
  • Instead watch the GPS, and look for what looks like the 'new' trail
  • At the bottom joined what appears to be said trail at...
  • The mine tailings with rusty rails, visible from the lake
• Followed scrappy boot paths around Williams lake
  
  • Lake is pretty, and reeded, quite different from the alpine ones
• Crossed outlet, then descended to Dutch Miller Gap junction
• From there smooth sailing to horse camp, then Dingford TH
• Nice river slab/slides at 47.54511,-121.27567, and 47.51590,-121.33426
• Was getting near dusk, so felt a bit like a cat toy for cougars
• A few short rises along the way getting between you and French fries