Chewuch River Trail, Cathedral Pass Loop & Tungsten — Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2004

CATHEDRAL BASIN LOOP 1–5 October 2004 WOLFRAMITE MOUNTAIN (8137 feet) & APEX MOUNTAIN (8297 feet) & CATHEDRAL PEAK (8601 feet) & AMPHITHEATER MOUNTAIN (8358 feet) & REMMEL MOUNTAIN (8685 feet) After thoroughly enjoying last year’s “Larch Trip 2003” as a tagalong, I was more than happy to plan and coordinate the 2004 installment. I mapped out a five-day trip beginning at the end of the Chewack River Road, going up the Chewack River and Tungsten Creek to Cathedral Pass, then looping back through Cathedral Basin, over to Four Point Lake, along Coleman Ridge, and down Fire Creek. This route would provide golden larches and golden opportunities for climbing the two giants of the eastern Pasayten—Cathedral Peak and Remmel Mountain—as well as for tucking in several secondary peaks. Ten other people eagerly signed on for the full loop trip: Ace, Janet, John H, John M, Julie, Kevin, Mike C, Randy, Steve, and Suzanne. Given such a large group of people and what I humbly considered to be a great route, it was inevitable that some sort of logistical bomb would go off. Sure enough…two days before departure, I was alerted (thanks Kathleen) to the fact that the Forest Service was planning to temporarily close the Chewack River Road, starting the next day! This required changing our jumpoff trailhead to Forest Road 300, which subtracted 6 miles and added 1300 feet of hiking to the round trip. That part was reasonable enough, but I dreaded the extra hour or more of driving time (each way) that it added to an already-long drive. However, nobody else in our group was discouraged by the logistical changes, and their collective enthusiasm and flexibility carried through the entire trip—guaranteeing a successful outing no matter what happened. Day 1 — The weather was absolutely “bluebird” when the eleven of us met in Winthrop on Friday morning. We caravanned up and over Freezeout Ridge to the Cathedral Driveway Trailhead at 5600 feet (2.0 hours from Winthrop). The afternoon was spent hiking down this trail and then hiking up the Chewack River Trail and Tungsten Creek Trail to a small campsite in the forest at 5900 feet (4.6 hours from TH). The various trail segments were in very good condition except for scattered mudholes that had been created by previous horse traffic. On this day, however, we saw only two other hikers and zero horses along the way, undoubtedly due in no small part to the Chewack River Road closure. Day 2 — Starting out in frosty conditions, we proceeded up the Tungsten Creek Trail to the Boundary Trail. The abandoned Tungsten Mine, which is located at the trail junction, provided an interesting diversion for us. We poked around the remnants of old boilers and concentrators and narrow-gauge tracks as the sun turned the morning air pleasantly warm. A bit farther west on the Boundary Trail, we all dropped packs and strolled up to the gentle summit of Wolframite Mountain. It was not obvious where the true high point is, but we eventually came to a verdict, built a cairn, and left a small register. After returning to our packs, we hiked along the trail to larch-studded Apex Pass. John M, Mike, Steve, Julie, Randy, and I took a sidetrip up Apex Mountain before continuing onward to 7600-foot Cathedral Pass. The views throughout this area are dominated by Cathedral Peak’s sharply triangular outline and vertical south face, which is composed of jointed, white granite. From the pass, I slogged up sandy slopes and eventually reconnected with Kevin, Steve, Mike, Suzanne, John H, Ace, and John M for a climb of Cathedral Peak. Our ad hoc octet donned harnesses and ascended solid, coarsely crystalline granite blocks and slabs to a large slot just below the west ridge crest. At that point, the route ahead was unclear, so we spent some time trying to tease out a reasonable scramble. Mike made a tricky move onto a ledge system that led easily to the crest, while Kevin pieced together some exposed bouldering moves farther to the left. The rest of us followed Kevin’s lead, which turned out to be very fun Class 3. Presently, we all gathered at the infamous “step-across” ledge, where the same large slot separated us from the nearby summit. I roped up and gingerly stepped onto a big chockstone that was wedged into the slot, then mantled onto a bulge. It is a fairly easy move, really, but has dramatic exposure! I belayed the others across one by one, and soon we were perched on the airy summit. Fay Pullen’s register listed at least a dozen parties since her ascent earlier this summer, and many parties had climbed Class 5 routes on the south face. Despite its long approach, Cathedral Peak is a magnet for both scramblers and technical climbers. The setting sun put a gorgeous amber glow over Cathedral Basin below us, but it also shortened our summit stay to 15 minutes. To reverse the step-across move, John H, John M, Kevin, and Ace jumped the gap unroped—getting quite a rush in the process—whereas the rest of us jumped on belay. Some scrambling and plunge-stepping quickly got us down to 7400-foot Upper Cathedral Lake, where the others had established a nice campsite (10.1 hours from Camp I). After dinner, I passed around a dessert to commemorate Laura’s birthday; this would have been her sixth consecutive backcountry birthday trip with me, and I felt her presence as the twelfth member of our group. Day 3 — The night had remained clear as usual, but it was oddly mild due to some favorable microclimatic conditions. After breakfast, we moseyed down the trail a short distance to a junction with the Lower Cathedral Lake spur trail. Randy continued on, while the rest of us dropped packs for a hike down to the lake. It is possible that Randy smelled a wild goose in the cookpot; our sidetrip contingent of ten experienced mountaineers spent a half-hour comically wandering around forests and meadows in search of the darn lake! We saved some face by eventually stumbling onto it, despite our pathetic navigational efforts. While warming up on a sunny bench overlooking the lake, Steve studied his map and noticed that a nearby bump had the curious name of “Rambo.” He managed to persuade Mike to go search for it with him, but the rest of us had no interest in such cartographic folly. Our peloton returned to the main trail and continued southward through the beautiful rolling parkland of Cathedral Basin. By the time we reached the unmarked side-trail up Amphitheater Mountain, Randy was standing on the summit. Most of our group made the 1300-foot ascent to join him on top, and two other hikers (both from Seattle) wandered up as well. I left a small register, then we all reconvened back at the junction for lunch. Afterwards, Steve went off to tag an unnamed ridge while the peloton wandered down to Remmel Lake. This dark-blue gem sits in the middle of a grassy depression that looks like a manicured park and is perhaps the most “user-friendly” alpine lake I’ve ever visited. Randy and I took a quick dip in the cold water, and we all lounged in the afternoon sun for an hour. Unfortunately, the serenity of this location was sucking our motivation to push on! Reluctantly, we re-shouldered packs and hiked down Remmel Creek on a trail that has been badly churned by horse hooves. At 6100 feet, our group split again; John H, Julie, and Suzanne continued down the trail and then back up Four Point Creek to reach Four Point Lake, while the rest of us opted for Fay Pullen’s cross-country shortcut that goes over the 7400-foot saddle above Four Point Lake. This shortcut played out nicely and got us to a comfy lakeside campsite (9.0 hours from Camp II) about 45 minutes ahead of the trail trio. That night, Mike and John M gathered wood for a traditional campfire—a rare treat for all of us. Day 4 — We ate breakfast while admiring the morning alpenglow on Remmel Mountain reflected off the glassy lake. Our itinerary called for a short hike down to the abandoned Coleman Ridge Trail, which is marked by a cairn at its junction with the Four Point Creek Trail, and then a sidetrip up Remmel Mountain. This former lookout site is reached by a wonderful old trail that switchbacks up a huge talus slope on the mountain’s southeast slope. Upon arriving at the summit, there is no doubt as to why it was used for a lookout: the views extend from Glacier Peak to Mt. Baker, and all the major peaks of the Pasayten crest are clearly visible along the western skyline. Mike Torok’s register here is filled with adulations about this marvelous vantage point. This was the topographic and emotional climax of our five days, and I was delighted that all eleven of us could spend more than an hour here. Anyone who knows me knows that I regard summit time as holy time. Back on the Coleman Ridge Trail, we wandered over saddles and through sparse forests that included a mixture of evergreen trees, golden larch trees, and fire-blackened trees. The trail is sketchy in many places but not too difficult to follow, thanks to numerous marker ducks. Mike and Steve tagged the high point of Coleman Ridge before we all descended to the southern saddle, which features an ominous stand of charred trunks rising from scorched ground. Soon after turning eastward on the Fire Creek Trail, though, we entered green forest with lush meadows. Stefan Feller recently reported that this trail segment between Coleman Ridge and the Chewack River is the nicest trail he’s ever encountered, and now I understand why: it shows absolutely no evidence of horse traffic and looks as though a trail crew intentionally covered it with sand and then pine needles. I would highly recommend Fire Creek rather than Four Point Creek as a route to Remmel Mountain. Ironically, the Forest Service has officially closed this trail because they deem it unfit for travel. By 6:00pm, we had all crossed the Chewack River on some convenient logs and strode into a huge, grassy campsite alongside the main trail (9.5 hours from Camp III). There was a fire ring and generous supply of split wood at hand, so the skilled woodsmen among us had no trouble starting another dinnertime campfire. We stayed up late, reliving the many highlights of our nearly completed trip. Day 5 — I awoke at 6:15am to an odd popping sound and looked out the tent door to see Mike and John M tending a crackling campfire. Like moths, we all migrated over to enjoy its warmth on this frosty morning. At 7:30, several of donned packs and hit the trail; everyone else followed shortly behind. The 1300-foot hike back up the Cathedral Driveway Trail provided a welcome warm-up before reaching the trailhead. We left the trailhead in a caravan, spotting a moose along the way, but we eventually peeled off in different directions. Those of us who drove home via Stevens Pass (59er milkshake time = 3:30pm) encountered rain on the west side. Did we luck out with weather during our five days in the mountains? Let me put it this way: At the beginning of our trip, I jokingly offered a monetary reward to the first person who saw a cloud; by the end, there had been no legitimate claims! Stats for full trail loop (car to car): 43.3 miles, 7800 feet gained. Stats for trail loop with shortcut (car to car): 39.6 miles, 7500 feet gained. Stats for trail loop with shortcut & five summits (car to car): 49.6 miles, 14,100 feet gained.