Three Fingers — Friday, Sep. 10, 1999

North Cascades > Mountain Loop Highway

Most excellent weather for a great hike. We chose to take it easy, savouring two full nights at Goat flats. Camped at the Flats Friday, summited Saturday and camped again at the Flats, exited Sunday. Besides, the trail is long enough as it is - why spend all your time hiking' Lotta bugs at the Flats. What the hell do they eat way up thar (~4800 feet) to be thriving in such numbers' To my surprise, there were a lot o' hikers Saturday. But hey, the weather was perfect, and out of the 2 or 3 million people in the Greater Seattle area, one cannot complain. I'm sure those blood sucking, flying varmits were chanting, ""the more the merrier!"" The hike to Tin Can Gap was moderate, but beware of loosing the trail just over the ridge when leaving the Flats. Look RIGHT! Some hikers took the ""scenic route"" up the ridge, and back down again. After the Gap, steep snow poses a challenge on several areas of the trail. We opted to ""hug the ridge"" where a moat formed between the melting snow and the rock. A couple of 10 to 15 foot climbs in the moat were inevitable - easier going up than coming down. But, 'tis better to fall in the moat and break a bone or two than to slide off the steep snow field. You may as well roll the dice in that case, and loose the ice-axe quickly if you don't put it to immediate use when you first start sliding! Huge snow field just before the summit. Quick scramble up rocks, then the famous ladders. I had to tug on the anchors and ties in order to convince myself it was safe to climb on them. They were in great condition. ON TOP O' THE WORLD! WOO HOO! Well, ~6854 feet to be more precise. The panoramic view was astonishing. Cascade mountains to the north, south and east. The Olympics guarding the west. Rainier and Baker were striking! Visability had to have been in excess of 150 miles. Very rewarding hike! The hike back provided many photo ops. Oh, forgot my camera. Saw some folk braving the snow w/o axes and minimal footware - must be pretty good, or just plain wreckless dumb-@$$#$! The sunset view from the Flats appeared like a pastel painting. Deep purples, blues and pinks set the stage for a serene night. The crescent moon sunk past the Olypmics and complimented the deep blue sky. The flickering city lights of in the valley below were cool. To the south east, from the flats, we could see a little source of light, probably from a lantern, on the south peak. We hurled several envious insults to the lucky &@$$*!%#$ who were obviously spending the night in the lookout and admiring the same sunset from the best perch in the area. Recommend ice-axe. Crampons can give a false sense of security in soft snow. Definitely worth doing again.