Shoe Lake, Snowgrass - Cispus Basin - Nannie Ridge Loop — Tuesday, Jul. 3, 2001

South Cascades > Goat Rocks

Goat Rocks Crest, White Pass to Walupt Lake Trip report 6/30-7/4 Recommend gaitors, stiff boots, and ice axe. Snow melting at several inches a day with this weather, so patches should be clear in a week or two. Snowfields will take awhile to melt yet. White Pass to Shoe Lake 6/30 Clear from White Pass to Ginnette Lake. Ginnette Lake & higher quite a few snow patches. N of Hogback mountain to saddle above Shoe Lake, snowfields. Around Shoe Lake quite a few snow patches. Shoe Lake to Hidden Spring is clear. Hidden Spring to below Elk Pass 7/1 Clear between Hidden Spring and Tieton Pass. Some minor blowdown between Tieton Pass and McCall Basin trail. A few snow patches between McCall Basin trail and treeline-- above treeline to flats below Elk Pass, snowfields cover trail on steep N and NW slopes, and most other parts of the trail at higher elevations. Many a campsite open & dry on flats below Elk Pass though. Goat Rocks Crest 7/2 Snowfields cover trail between 6150' to N side peak N of Elk pass. Elk Pass to N of Old Snowy, mostly clear of snow except one small, steep, hard plug of snow in trail-- would be treacherous without an ice axe. This section has a LOT of fallen rock and scree on the trail-- the area seems to have felt the Nisqually earthquake--but foot travel is not a problem... I'd think horses would have a difficult time until cleared though. With regard to horses, we noticed a few deep holes (about 5"" dia, several feet deep) in the trail just N of Old Snowy. Mostly snowfields around Old Snowy to Snowgrass flat-- prodigious cairns help greatly with routefinding S of Old Snowy. Snowgrass Flat to Sheep Lake, Nannie Ridge 7/3 Crest trail above Snowgrass about 50% in snow but melting fast. Some snow patches and blowdowns between Snowgrass flat and Cispus Basin. Noticed quite a few morning glory butterflies in the Cispus. From about 1/2 trail mile below Cispus Pass to Klickitat Basin - Nannie Creek saddle the trail is covered in snowfields. From the saddle to Sheep Lake, some snow patches cover the trail...same with the trail from Sheep lake to Corral Lake. Some notes on this section: -I slipped about 15 feet on one steep, hard snowbank plugging the trail over a creek, went into the rocks & hurt my foot-- simultaneously my brother broke through the snowbridge over the creek...no harm done but we left a gaping hole and clawmarks in this section of snow. -Lilies are thick on this section of trail and ready to bust out in bloom anytime. -Someone left a bag of garbage at the first camp at Corral Lake if anyone's interested in a cleanup. -Mosquitos are coming on strong at Sheep Lake and Corral Lake--all along Nannie ridge for that matter. -The Greentrails map #355 updated in 1998 is inaccurate along this section of trail and along Nannie Ridge-- do not trust it for navigation. The trail location is wrong between Klickitat Basin and Sheep Lake, showing an ascent that doesn't exist and a saddle crossing at the east low point where it should be at the west low point between Klickitat R and Nannie Cr. Maybe someone fudged the trail line without visiting the location. The vegetation overlay is also wrong along this section of trail and all along Nannie Ridge-- showing rock where it's plainly tall, mature forest. Sheep Lake to Walupt Lake 7/4 Some snow patches on trail along Nannie Ridge. Nannie ridge to Walupt Lake is clear though. Pretty section, mostly in trees. Admiral butterflies out in numbers.