White Chuck Mountain — Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2016

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

This is quite the hike! What a payoff for such an easy trail. It's a nice jaunt through higher altitude forest thanks to the high elevation trailhead. We have been coming up this mountain for a long time, so I was glad to finally hike this trail that I've eyed forever. The trail was lined with blueberries and the occasional huckleberry, and some of the blueberry leaves are starting to turn red, signaling the start of fall color. The trail follows a somewhat narrow ridgeline for about a mile before emerging into a meadow beneath the peak. Do note, the peak you approach from the west side is actually the false summit. When you hit the meadow at the base, keep following the trail and it swings you around to the south side, where you will encounter another meadow/talus, and you will be able to see the second higher, and true summit. Follow the rough trail through the talus to the gully between the two peaks. If you look upward, you will see a sort of channel in the gully, that's where you're headed. The talus has a very rough boot path that switchbacks up, make sure you have good footing because it's very "slick" when it's dry and there is dust. Eventually you'll get pretty high up in the gully, and a series of ledges begins to your right, and that's where the climb begins. We didn't go past here because we don't have any class 3 scrambling experience. From my understanding, there are down sloping ledges with some exposure and a downstep needed in the notch just before the summit. However, from where the ledges begin, it's not too far to the summit, so if you have the skills, you're almost there! We do intend to come back after doing a few training peaks first. Or if anyone is reading this and has the experience needed to summit, but would like company, let us know! We would love to join an experienced group, shoot me an email at brie.calvo@gmail.com. We have actually hiked the approach trail numerous times and know the area pretty well. Definitely a nice reward for an easy approach and quick climb. Can't wait to get up there someday. Attaching a few of my favorite photos from the hike.