"Clouds prevailed and views were obscured as we hiked the long ridge up to Devil's Dome. Though not currently raining, the rain-soaked foilage drenched us just as sure. What was to have been the high point of the trip, the summit of Devil's Dome, turned out to be a non-event as there was nothing to see." So read my trip report from last year on the Devil's Dome loop. That trip (see linked trip report) included blistering heat, thick wildfire-induced haze, a massive thunderstorm, and nearly two days of continuous rain. Aside from a few views from McMillan Park on the first day, and then down by the shores of Ross Lake on day 4, I really didn't have a chance to see or experience the best of this trail. So, picking my days carefully this rime, I set out to remedy that. This was my mulligan on this trail. This time, conditions were near perfect.
Day one was just as brutal as I remembered it. I was a little late getting going, and didn't actually get started hiking until 2pm! It was hot, but the temperature for the day had peaked, and I was going up in altitude quickly, so it really wasn't terribly uncomfortable. Still, with a full pack and a steep trail, I was happy to finally reach the long flat expanse of McMillan Park. There were tons of ripe huckleberries in McMillan Park, and actually all the was to Devil's Park. I was surprised I didn't see any bears.
Once through McMillan, I steeled myself for the final climb to Devil's Park, arriving there at about 6:30pm. It actually went surprisingly quickly; I thought maybe this trip wasn't as rough as I remembered it. I set up camp, pumped water, ate, and fell asleep.
Day two came, and I was ready to take on the day! The sun was shining, puffy clouds floated overhead, temperatures were ideal, and my legs weren't feeling too beat up from the climb up the day before. My target was the summit of Devil's Dome. Up Jackita Ridge I went!
The views all around were wonderful. There were some wildflowers, but well past the peak. I soaked in the views, loving every step up to arriving at the first big drop, down loose scree-filled slopes. The Green Trails maps marks this "difficult for stock." I mark it "difficult for people!" The first 0.1 of a mile is probably the worst...with my balance, I wouldn't want to go down it without poles (which, fortunately, I had with me). I took it one small step at a time, and after a while made it back to solid trail and pushed on.
Up, down, and around the gullies I went. Soon I found myself starting down the big drop toward Devil's Creek. This is where the thunderclouds rolled in last year, and it must have left me a little scarred. Everytime a big puffy cloud rolled through, I'd brace myself for rain, thinking, "oh, no, not again!"
It was on the climb out of the Devil's Creek drainage that the fatigue finally hit my legs. It wasn't too bad at first, but quickly progressed. I knew I'd have to tanker water up for my stay atop Devil's Dome, and since I didn't trust the "spring" near Devil's Pass (last year it was just damp ground, no way to pump water), I filled up at the campsite just above the small waterfall about 3/4 of the way up the climb out of the Devil's Creek Drainage. I grabbed a full four liters, enough to drink the rest of the day, rehydrate dinner that night, with reserves to drink the next morning. Lugging the extra 8lbs of water helped tire me out more.
I continued on, and was felling really pretty comfortably "done" by the time I arrived at Devil's Pass. There were already a few parties there, and I really didn't want to contemplate a 14 mile day the next day, so I summoned the reserves and pushed on. There are probably 4-5 campsites at regular intervals between Devil's Pass and Devil's Dome, and I figured I could stop at whichever one I felt like.
Well, onward. The trail, which prior to Devil's Pass is really quite unreasonable in terms of roughness and sustained steepness, becomes much more sensible after. I passed the first campsite I saw, and then the second. I spotted a bear down in the flats below where the trail takes a long climbing U, and so decided against camping at the site at the prow of that ridge. By this point, Devil's Dome was squarely ahead, and so (whether I admitted it to myself or not), with my stubbornness, there was no way to stop before getting there, no matter how tired I was feeling.
The views were astoundingly lovely and reinvigorating. To the left was Jack, Crater, and basically a summary of Day 2, with essentially everything from Devil's Park 'til now in view. To the right, views to a sea of mountains, the truly north North Cascades, most of the names of which I don't know. Ahead, Devil's Dome, and beyond it Baker, the Picketts, and more.
I finally arrived at the summit, and finding it empty, promptly staked out a spot and set up camp. The only thing I worried about was wind...every trip report for this place includes a story of camping amid raging wind, thunderstorms, and who knows what else. Still, the air felt pretty calm to me. I figured that if the wind kicked up, it would be closer to sunset, and if that happened, I could move down somewhere more sheltered.
What a place! The door of my tent opened to a view of Jack Mountain. Rugged mountains were in every direction The booming thunder of Jacks glacier's would occasionally punctuate the air. I ate, took a quick nap, and watched sun go down and the stars come out. Right at sunest, a ptarmagin hen and her three almost-grown chicks came bustling through my camp, clucking away like little mountain chickens. That night, a million stars dotted the sky. The Milky Way was clearly visible. I ended up staying up way, way, way past my bedtime, lost in the majesty of it all.
For being at just short of 7,000 feet, it stayed surprisingly warm that night. The mountains breathed a few times as the world cooled, but fortunately the great winds never came. I was awakened by the light of dawn. When you are camped on top of a mountain, you can't help but be awakened by dawn.
Soon, I was packed up and clipping down the mountain. The skies were clear, the air warm. I was still feeling the exertions of the day before, but this day was all downhill. As I dropped through 4,000', I realized that I hadn't been that low for two days, and would not be that high again the rest of the trip...strange thought. Down I went, through alpine meadows, subalpine forest, and montane forest. There's nothing like dropping 5,000' feet to really get a good tour of altitude-varying ecosystems!
I finally filled up my water about a mile past Dry Creek Pass, at the second and largest of the three stream crossing. I think it was here that my bundle of Green Trails maps escaped my pack...if you've seen them, let me know. Time and miles flew, and soon I left the Pasayten Wilderness behind for the civilized confines of the Ross Lake National Recreation Area. I waved my arms in triumph as I joined the East Bank trail.
The stretch of the East Bank Trail between Rainbow point is one of its best. The lake is in view much of the time, and sometimes you are walking on a narrow walkway, carved right into the stone, a dozen of so feet about the lake's surface. The lake was only maybe 1-2 feet below full pool, and looked lovely in the sun.
I arrived at Rainbow Point, my camp for the night, just after noon. The tent, and the hammock went up, and I spent the rest of the day lazing around, reading and drinking water (O, plentiful water).
The sun grew low and the entire lake glowed a bright pink. It was actually really quite warm on the shores of Ross Lake, and a little humid. It didn't cool off much that night, and I don't think I ever crawled inside my sleeping bag.
Day four was quick and painless. The long rest the previous afternoon restored me considerably, and there is very little (and very gentle) elevation gain to contend with, mostly in the form of about a 1,000' climb over Hidden Hand Pass.
For some reason, maybe to pass the time, I decided to count all the down trees I saw:
37 down trees between Canyon Creek and Devil's Park
26 down trees between Devil's Park and Devil's Dome
31 down trees between Devil's Dome and Rainbow Point
2 down trees between Rainbow Point and East Bank Trailhead
Most were simple step-overs, a number of hike-arounds, and maybe 2 were clamber-overs. It is also worth noting that the trail was quite brushy/overgrown in places. And, on the East Bank Trail, the log crossing May Creek has completely lost its handrail making the crossing more adrenaline-inducing than it needs to be.
I had hiked the trail between the East Bank trailhead and Canyon Creek last year, and found it to be icky. Down trees, sharp diversions around washouts, rocks, roots, and all with Highway 20 within sight and sound. So, this year, I said to heck with it, and walked the highway between the East Bank TH and Canyon Creek. It cuts out about a mile of distance, the going is far easier, and you really don't lose out much on the scenery.
Seeing the car was a welcome as ever, but even now, that wonderful night atop Devil's Dome lingers strong in my memory.
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