Spider Meadow and Phelps Basin, Upper Lyman Lake, Cloudy Pass to Holden, Suiattle Pass, Buck Creek Pass, Spider Gap - Buck Creek Pass Loop & Spider Gap — Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009

Central Cascades > Stevens Pass - East

Phelps Pass - Cloudy Pass - Suiattle Pass - Buck Creek Pass - Trinity Loop 3 days, bivvies high on Cloudy Pk and below Pass No Pass WARNING: HORSE HAZARD on PCT #789 N. of Middle ridge, below treeline. There is a hoof-sized hole 3' deep, on a slope, this one spot only, no warning. I suppose horses look out for such things, but this looks like a real leg-breaker to me. There were some other cavities around roots; I think subsurface water may have undermined the soil. I put a tall thin stick in it with a flag and ask other passersby to mark it more obviously or stick a log in it. HUNTING SEASON: High Hunt is Sept. 15-25 2009. http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/seasons.htm After what happened last year, I got a day-glo hunter-orange pile cap and some other red/orange clothing. A hunter I met remarked that he appreciated it. I recommend this; it's not just safety but a courtesy to hunters and it reminds you to think about hunting season (bear season starts Aug 1, I think). I also like to flag the dog with fluorescent survey tape, cut into festive ribbons. My dogs look like foxes in deep sedge. Be aware that hunters are setting up camps a couple days before High Buck season opens. I spoke several; they really seemed to have an intimate knowledge of the area. PCT SUIATTLE RIVER CROSSING: Spoke two PCT parties who crossed Suiattle River. No bridge, log crossing. No info on how it would be at high water. Said trail was OK north of Red Pass, some blowdown. WATER: The land looks very dry but water was not an issue, streams flowing everywhere. I treated no water and I'll post a followup if I get sick. I try to get snowmelt as high as possible. NO FIRES AT UPPER LYMAN LAKES: There's a routered sign on the bridge at Lyman Lake, and I wonder how anybody can get as far as Upper Lyman Lake without learning that fires at 6000' are destructive, but a large party of greenhorns was gathering what little wood was there, including a big log, for a toy fire that I could see far into the night from Cloudy Peak. I wonder how many years their fire pit will be there? Please don't do this. A fire is the biggest impact you can make/leave, and once you make a fire, it's like being indoors. Yeah, it's a cool place, but don't expect the snout of a glacier to be warm. If you must make a fire, you can burn it to ash and destroy most traces. End of rant. Sorry. TRAIL CONDITIONS: Ripe blueberries are an obstacle to progress. MEMO: I asked a horseman; he said it's best to move to the downslope side when you meet horses on a slope, just talk to them so they know you're there. My dog doesn't bark but I'd be concerned about spooking a horse on a slope. NOTE: This route does NOT go over Pass No Pass. TRINITY MINE: I think "Discovering Washington's Historic Mines", Vol. 2, Northwest Underground Explorations, covers Trinity and the Miner's ridge area; I'm still trying to get that book. You'll find them interesting. --------------------------- DAY 1 Sat 9/12 4:15 LV Seattle 7:30 hiking up Phelps Ck Rd, was offered a ride immediately (thanks Dilleys). Ice axe unnecessary on what's left of Spider Glacier. Soft snow, warm sunny day. 4-star campsite at snout of Spider Glacier overlooking Phelps Basin. 3:30 LV Phelps Pass Carried water from Lyman Lake to Cloudy Pass, but plenty good water flowing from meadows on S side of Cloudy Pk. Bivvied high on SW rib of Cloudy, 1-person sand patch, no tent sites above pass. 5-star campsite at Cloudy Pass. Magnificent view from here; if you go to Cloudy Pass, make time to gently stroll high onto Cloudy Pk. Day 2 Sun 9/13 Ascended Cloudy Pk. Follow ridge as high as possible, then onto ledges on Rt (E). Some Class 3 scrambling; final summit block is Class 3-4, not corgi-friendly, Gwynnie's pride was hurt. 11:00 LV Cloudy bivouac. 12:40 LV Suiattle Pass. 2:15 LV Miners' Ck. HORSES, watch for hoof hole below treeline! 4:00 Middle Ridge. My old map shows Middle Ridge Tr going WNW down the ridge, and it looked like a trail went higher as well. 5:55 Buck Creek Pass. Spoke hunters who said Massie Lk High Route has serious avalanche debris, big logpiles, near its SE end. Massive avalanches went all the way to the valley bottom and piles massive logs on Buck Creek Trail. You'll be impressed by the avalanches and the trail crews. Bivvied in basin below Pass No Pass near several couple hunter parties setting-up for High Hunt, which opened Tuesday 9/15/09, after I'd be gone. Glad I'd bought the flashy day-glo hat. Water and snow still in the basin. Day 3 Mon. 9/14 Stars went out one by one. Awoke in fog. 10:15 Started SW scramble route on Fortress in whiteout, hesitant and slow. In the fog, I chose the worst possible way. Upper part would be much more pleasant in early season with more snow; it's rocky, loose, chossy in places. No place for a dog but there were no other climbers present. Rockfall is a real issue. We got 100' above the overcast, joy. Everything to the west a sea of clouds. Magnificent summit view. 1:50 Fortress summit. 2:20 Left summit. 4:50 Pass No Pass sheep trails up Helmet Butte, fine bivvy site below pass, don't mess it up. 5:35 LV Pas No Pass basin 6:00 on Buck Ck Trail Massive avalanche logpiles opposite Mt. Berge, impassable but for the trail crews. 9:45 Trinity Just before Trinity, in a 5' wide 5" deep stream, two bull trout were hanging in the current. I could've caught them bare-handed, but they'd come a long way. Car keys were just where I'd left them, in the ignition of my unlocked car. Just walking the dog.