Rock Mountain via Rock Lake — Friday, May. 29, 2009

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East

May 29, 2009: Rock Mountain A gorgeous day, a beautiful ridge and crystal clear conditions - the perfect send-off for my final hike in Washington. A week from now, I'd have relocated to Pittsburgh, the Cascades out of reach for the foreseeable future. I left from the Hwy 2 trailhead at 10:30am. It was already a scorcher of a day and sweat was soon streaming from every pore as I toiled up the gazillion switchbacks. Even the perfuse flower-show failed to lighten my footsteps; I was able to muster up the strength to take only a few snaps here and there. At 4,750ft I finally hit the first snow patches and a cool breeze wafted over me. Another 100ft of gain and I left the main trail to head up along the south ridge. The ridge was quite narrow and rocky with its left edge periodically bare of snow. I stuck to the ridge and rose higher and higher. Arrowhead Mountain, bulking huge across the valley, soon began to loose some of its might, as I was eventually higher than it. The going was through sparse forest and even that began to disappear. The views were quite stupendous by now. I had last visited Rock Mountain 6 years ago and hadn't seen much due to cloudy conditions. Now, I got the full treatment: the Chiwaukums, Jim Hill Mountain, Mount Stuart were just some of the luminaries in a sea of peaks - serious mountain overload! Around 5,800ft I finally attained the gorgeous, snowy basin below the twin summits of Rock Mountain. Huge cornices clung precariously to the ridge connecting the south and north summits. I could also see debris from where a few cornices had collapsed. I reevaluated my original plans and decided to forgo the summit for more time just wandering around the basin. I eventually ended up about 50ft short of the south summit where I called it a day. The way down was quick, and just like that it was over. Additional photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani/sets/72157618992604904 Cumulative stats: - Distance: ~10mi - Elevation gain: 3,900ft - Hiking time: 6hrs Conditions: - Only a single blowdown - Snow was soft, but consolidated - Trail in nice shape