Upon returning, I hit the trails and high traverse country of the Washington Cascades. First was a 4-day trip to Grassy and Gamma ridges over the July 4 weekend. Next was a fun overnighter to Rampart Ridge. Then a 4-day trip bagging six peaks along some of the Fortress high route. Then a 3-day trip to Mt Olympus and a 3-day trip to Clark Mt. Finally a 5-day trip along the Ptarmigan Traverse and the 9-day Glacier Peak circumnavigation.
What a year! The winter weather was unusually pleasant, with several great sunny days. The low snowfall gave us an extended summer season. Only one trip (Mt Olympus) had bad bugs. What a year!
Year of the Blueberry: Several trips had a bushes bursting with bountiful berries. And not just mountain huckleberries, but many varieties of the low blueberry bushes -- which are extremely tasty! The best area was Buck Creek Pass, closely followed by West Cady Ridge and the Boulder Pass area.
Most scenic day: Artist Point. Hey, you can drive here, but so what? The stunning views of Mt Shuksan and Mt Baker from one vantage is truly stupendous.
Best scrambling trip: In a four day period, John and I enjoyed tasting the sweet nectar of the following summits: Chiwawa, Fortress, Helmet Butte, Liberty Cap, Napeequa, and Cirque. We almost got up Cleator and Buck, but ran out of time. Unfortunately, that trip almost ended the season when I bashed my knee very hard in the brushy Napeequa Valley. In the end, the swelling kept me from walking for two weeks, but finally subsided enough to allow gentle walking. Within three months it was back to normal.
Best abandoned trail: Definitely the old Grassy Point trail. We finally lost it at the 3600' level. But what a find and what a trip. Other abandoned trails were Evergreen Mt, (possibly Round Mt), Chenius Falls, Milk Creek (several trips), Jumbo Mt miners trail, Commonwealth Basin, Gamma Ridge, Bootjack Ridge, Clark Mt sheepherder trail, Middle Ridge, CCT at Surprise Gap/Mt/Deception Lk, Manley Cabin trail towards Lewis Pk, Poet Ridge sheepherder trail, Kelley Creek, and Mt Pilchuck south route.
Best winter scramble: Round Mt. A great snowshoe route to the 8th most prominent peak in the state -- and only a 5000'er! Blazes indicate a trail used to go near the summit. A perfect day in beautiful snow. Runner up was a great trip up Palmer Mt.
Most challenging scramble: Napeequa Peak. John would not give up, and after four tries he found the secret passageway. I had given up hope, but gamely followed and enjoyed a well-won summit.
Worst trip: A winter scramble up Tirzah and Wallace in horrible conditions. Ice over duff made for slippery ground. Glopping wet globs of snow soaked us. The peak had no views. A totally lame trip. Runner-up goes to the sideways rain all the way up to 4000' on Mt Persis one yukky day.
Oldest trail: Near Rocamadour France I hiked way up the opposite ridge to stone wall lined paths.
Most fun gathering of famous people: The Pack and Paddle retirement potluck, where I met people like Roper, Pullen, Fry, Howbert, Zimmerman and Brisbane... and many more too numerous to mention.
| No. | Date | Hike | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 12/31 |  |
Anaconda Mt w/M(JT) on yukky day |
| 87 | 12/30 |  |
Granite Mt w/Boealps,DC, via Denny Cr trail -- fun route! Super windy. |
| 86 | 12/29 | |
Murphy Lakes w/KC. Fun lounge at lake for 2 hours |
| 85 | 12/23 |  ^ |
Green Mt w/M, good day |
| 84 | 12/15 | |
Humpback Mt w/KC, FB. no summit due to time constraint |
| 83 | 12/9 | ^ |
Philadelphia Mt w/M, perfect snow! |
| 82 | 12/2 | |
Little Phelps Mt w/B, arduous snow, didn't make it |
| 81 | 12/1 | ^ |
Mt McDonald w/M |
| 80 | 11/25 | |
Excelsior Peak w/JT, didn't make it -- daylight |
| 79 | 11/25 | ^ | Frog Mt w/JT |
| 78 | 11/18 | |
Mt Pilchuck, south route Maybe I found it? Saw blazes. |
| 77 | 11/17 | |
Milk Cr w/KS & co., abandoned route |
| 76 | 11/11 | |
Mt Dickermanw/JT, Quick morning jaunt on great day |
| 75 | 11/10 | |
Tigers 3,2,1 Before the P&P potluck |
| 74 | 11/4 | |
Kelley Cr, Captain Pt Found it! |
| 73 | 10/27 | |
Eagle Lake from 6514 on fisherman path |
| 72 | 10/15 | ^^^ |
Captain Pt, Scorpion, That'sit found abandoned trail to Scorpion |
| 71 | 10/14 | ^^ |
Crook, Sylvester w/JT,MC. slight snow cover made for unpleasant travel on talus. |
| 70 | 10/7 | ^ |
Mt Saul w/MC, no views in distance, but ground views great. Easy peak, airplane lake fantastic. |
| 69 | 10/1 | ^^ |
Icicle Ridge, Cape Horn, Grindstone larches and crimson berries |
| 68 | 9/29-30 | ^^^^^ |
Poet Ridge (Irving, 5937, Poe, Bryant, Longfellow w/M(NJ) good color |
| 67 | 9/22 | |
Chain Lakes (Artist Pt) w/k,FB. Superbe!! |
| 66 | 9/17 | |
Indian Creek, Kodak Pk too brushy |
| 65 | 9/16 | |
West Cady Ridge w/FB, miles of berries - wow! |
| 64 | 9/15 | ^ |
Lewis Peak w/M(DF), rarely climbed |
| 63 | 9/10 | ^ |
Cathedral/Deception/Surprise Pass loops, Sparkplug, Surprise Mt a long day of hiking |
| 62 | 9/1-9 | ^^^^^^^ |
Glacier Peak circumnavigation w/M (JT) spectacular scenery again! Indian Head, Fire, Kennedy, Portal, 6710, White Cinder Cone, Middle Ridge, Flower Dome, Helmet Butte, Buck attempt, Cleator, Mouse |
| 61 | 8/25-29 |  ^^^ |
Ptarmigan Traverse w/JH, AD, spectacular scenery!!! Magic, Old Guard, Spire |
| 60 | 8/18-20 | |
Clark Mt w/M (JT, JE), great trip with fun group |
| 59 | 8/11-13 | ^ |
Mt Olympus w/M, (LI), good weather, good route, terrible flies |
| 58 | 8/7 | |
Mt Forgotton w/RJ, his first scramble! |
| 57 | 8/5 | ^^ |
Bootjack/Highchair/Cradle L/French Cr w/JT, kept getting lost!" |
| 56 | 8/4 | |
Hidden Lakes Lookout w/M (GC), testing knee. |
| 55 | 7/21-24 | ^^^^^^ |
Trinity times two w/JT, Chiwawa, Fortress, Helmet Butte, Liberty Cap, Napeequa, Cirque!! |
| 54 | 7/14-15 | |
Rampart Ridge w/k, FB. Pam says "wow!" |
| 53 | 7/9 | ^^^^ |
Curry Gap/Dishpan Gap Bald Eagle, Long John, June, peak 6562 |
| 52 | 7/1-4 | ^ |
Grassy Pt/Gamma Pk w/DC, fabulous scenery, very scratched legs |
| 51 | 6/9 | |
Commonwealth Basin w/WTA crew, did CCT/PCT loop |
| 50 | 6/25 | ^ |
Cannon Mt w/BP, wet fresh snow was wet, dirty climb down |
| 49 | 6/18 | |
Dorothy/Snoqualmie Lakes kinda tired and out of fitness |
| 48 | 6/9 | |
Jumbo Mt w/M |
| 47 | 6/1 | ^ |
Mont St Michel to Pontorson the hard way! |
| 46 | 5/31 | |
Pointe du Hoc bike ride from Bayeux, cycling paradise |
| 45 | 5/30 | |
Arromanches and St Laurent bike ride from Bayeux to D-Day beaches |
| 44 | 5/28 | |
Bruges bike ride all over the place |
| 43 | 5/25 | |
Bastille/Notre Dame/Tuleries/Arc de Triomphe |
| 42 | 5/20 | |
Sisteron scramble to cliffs, watch climbing class |
| 41 | 5/17 | |
Cassis calanques rock climbers, sunbathers ;) class 2, sun, dip in Med. |
| 40 | 5/15 | |
Ridge behind La Malene scramble/bushwack, got pretty scratched |
| 39 | 5/15 | |
Gorges du Tarn canoe trip, a pretty fast one |
| 38 | 5/15 | |
Hills above La Malene to statue |
| 37 | 5/14 | |
Gorges du Tarn upstream from La Malene |
| 36 | 5/13 | |
Rocamadour across valley to big cross up high |
| 35 | 5/12 | |
Rocamadour up hill across valley, many stone fences! |
| 34 | 5/12 | |
Sarlat farmland walk, plus old castle |
| 33 | 5/11 | |
Dordogne River canoe trip |
| 32 | 5/8 | |
Loire valley Bike ride Usse to Langeais, Villandry |
| 31 | 4/29 | ^^^ |
Mt Catherine, Hyak Mt, Rockdale Ridge w/JT, fun day |
| 30 | 4/28 | |
Meadow Cr w/WTA, bit o' maintenance |
| 28 | 4/23 | |
Mt Erie Upper Wall w/KM, struggling up class 4! |
| 28 | 4/15 | ^ |
McCausland Peak w/FB, spectacular snow |
| 27 | 4/14 | |
Eagle Rock w/DF, avalanchy so no summit |
| 26 | 4/13 | |
Ingalls Creek w/AB, nice day |
| 25 | 4/8 | ^^ |
Union & Jove Pks w/M, great group |
| 24 | 4/4 | |
Old Milk Creek Great day on new abandoned route! |
| 23 | 4/1 | |
Surprise Creek w/M, lame group |
| 22 | 3/31 | ^ |
Peak 5357 (Red Mt area) w/M (EW) in the rain |
| 21 | 3/24 | |
Mt Higgins (lookout) w/M, good group |
| 20 | 3/17 | ^ |
Tirzah/Wallace Peaks w/Stefan, Pilar & co |
| 19 | 3/11 | |
Mallardy Ridge w/M, good group |
| 18 | 3/10 | ^ |
Humpback Mt w/JT, JA, DC |
| 17 | 3/4 | ^ |
Prairie Mt w/Boealps on an great day, fun route |
| 16 | 2/25 | ^ |
Palmer Mt w/BP,JT,DS on an awesome day, great route |
| 15 | 2/23 | |
Marble Pk w/M (AB), poor day but we got super close |
| 13,14 | 2/17,18 | ^ |
Cleveland Mt |
| 12 | 2/11 | |
Mt Defiance w/DC,FB on gorgeous day in sun |
| 11 | 2/10 | ^ |
Round Mt w/JT,DF,JA on spectacular day. used rope. |
| 10 | 2/4 | |
Bald Mt w/Boealps, didn't summit Bald |
| 9 | 1/28 | |
Evergreen Mt w/DC, lounge in lookout, decent day! |
| 8 | 1/26 | |
Stevens Pass w/k for snowplay |
| 7 | 1/22 | ^ |
Oyster Dome w/KM, nice sun |
| 6 | 1/21 | |
Mt Persis w/DC,JT,DF on yukky day |
| 5 | 1/20 | |
St Edwards w/G,Boealps to set compass course |
| 4 | 1/14 | |
Bandera Mt w/Boealps, snow not deep enough |
| 3 | 1/7 | |
Palmer Mt w/JT,DD... didn't summit, got off route |
| 2 | 1/6 | |
Mt Erie w/BP for some rock climbing |
| 1 | 1/1 | ^ |
Anderson Mt w/MSG |
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