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<h1>Glacier Peak 2003</h1>
<h3>Or, more correctly, "Our Camping Trip in the Woods"</h3>
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As the second week in July began, I had already climbed
<a href="../elbert2003/index.html">Mt Elbert</a> and my wife Dawn and
I had already made a day-hike to Camp Muir on Mt Rainier and had
climbed <a href="../sthelens2003/index.html">Mt St Helens</a> and
<a href="../adams2003/index.html">Mt Adams</a> with groups of friends.
We had already accomplished many of our goals for the climbing season.
But it was early in a beautiful summer and we were restless and
looking for trouble. Our friend Don Summers, who has been an
instigator for many of our mountaineering adventures, was feeling the
same way. We needed a new goal that was bold but attainable. After
considerable thought, we settled on the idea of climbing Glacier Peak.
</p>
<p>
Where, you might ask? Where indeed. Glacier Peak is rarely depicted
in guide books and is almost invisible from Western Washington.
Nonetheless, at 10,541 ft (3213 m) high, Glacier Peak is a large
Cascade volcano, only slightly shorter than its Cascade neighbor to
the north, the more prominent and popular Mt Baker (10,778 ft or 3285 m).
And Glacier Peak is close to civilization. It lies a short distance
north of Seattle, just east of the town of Darrington.
</p>
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<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
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<td><img src="images/dscf0001rq.jpg"></td>
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<td>Our mystery mountain?</td>
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</table>
</p>
<p>
The primary reason that Glacier Peak is so inconspicuous is its
remoteness. There are no roads that pass close to the mountain and
approaches to the climbing routes are in the neighborhood of 10 miles
(16 km) long. Since Glacier Peak is, well, glaciated, this usually
means having to carry a large load of heavy gear over that distance
before the climb even begins. At the very least, this adds time to
any attempt to climb the mountain, pushing the typical trip to 3 days
rather than the 2 common for other Cascade climbs. This further
diminishes Glacier Peak's popularity since climbing it usually
requires a rarer 3-day weekend. (I read a report of someone doing the
entire climb in a day, including driving to and from Seattle. But
that person must have been insane and insanely fit.)
</p>
<p>
Our plan was to spend Friday, July 11 through Sunday, July 13 on the
mountain. We were going to follow the standard Sitkum Glacier route
with the White Chuck Trail approach. This meant reaching Boulder
Basin on Friday, summiting on Saturday, and hiking out on Sunday. Our
initial group consisted of Dawn, Don, me, and our friend Pat Leach,
who is another incorrigible instigator and skilled mountaineer. Dawn
and I were supposed to spend Thursday night in Seattle at Don's and we
were going to leave for the mountain early Friday morning.
</p>
<p>
Unfortunately, Dawn and I became ensnarled in horrible traffic between
Portland and Seattle and didn't reach Don's until close to midnight.
Then Pat had to back out of the trip due to a family emergency. We
ended up leaving Seattle later than planned and all three of us were
tired before setting foot on the trail.
</p>
<p>
It was sunny and hot during our approach, which was long but not as
long as it was supposed to be. We labored under our heavy packs on
the steep terrain and only made the base of the climbers' trail to
Boulder Basin by nightfall. This was in spite of several detours in
the trail that seemed to reduce the distance, mercifully aiding our
cause.
</p>
<p>
The White Chuck Trail meanders along a very long ridge bordering the
White Chuck River. Kennedy Hot Springs (really tepid springs) lies at
a fork in the trail. The fork that leads toward Boulder Basin leaves
the river at the springs and passes up over a second ridge, meeting
the Pacific Crest Trail. The unmarked trailhead for the climbers'
trail to Boulder Basin is a short distance north along the Pacific
Crest Trail, just before a stream crossing. The most prominent marker
for this spot is a latrine marker. The climbers' trail itself is
concealed in the trees to the east of the Pacific Crest Trail and it
took us quite a bit of scouting to find it.
</p>
<p>
The area at the base of the climbers' trail turned out to be a very
pleasant camping spot. It is just off of the Pacific Crest Trail
right next to a nice stream. The area is wooded, fairly level and
contains a latrine. There weren't even very many insects, which was a
pleasant surprise. We arrived just before dark, quickly scouted the
location of the trailhead of the climbers' trail, set up camp, and
settled in for the night. Our revised plan was to use our established
camp site as our base camp and make our summit attempt from there the
next day.
</p>
<p>
Exhaustion led to another late start on Saturday. At that point, we
had all but given up on summiting. But we decided to at least take a
look at the glacier. I was hoping that we would make better progress
than expected and change our minds once we reached the glacier.
</p>
<p>
The climbers' trail to Boulder Basin was surprizingly steep, almost
like a wooded headwall. (The stronger will undoubtedly scoff at my
whining.) We took a quick breather when we reached Boulder Basin and
then headed up a trail that I authoritatively declared to be our
route. It turned out to be the trail to the Scimitar Glacier. But
somehow, we deviated from even that trail and ended up encountering an
uncomfortably exposed dead-end. (Note to self: Always, always, always
check the guide book when uncertain at an unmarked fork in the
trail!!!)
</p>
<p>
Fortunately for me, Dawn and Don took my misdirection with remarkably
generous humor and understanding. We safely retreated to Boulder
Basin for lunch and some discussion with other climbers. There, we
learned the error of my ways and had the true path revealed. There
are two trails to the Sitkum Glacier. Both run along the right side
of Boulder Basin as you look uphill. By the time we finished our
lunch, it was quite late and we returned to our camp site to
contemplate a future, more successful expedition.
</p>
<p>
We spent another very pleasant night in camp. The weather changed
overnight and a cool, gentle rain greeted us for our hike out on
Sunday morning. With slight irony, all of us felt well-rested and
energetic on Sunday. Our pleasant nights in the woods had restored
our strength and the hike out felt much easier than the grueling hike
in. Despite our missteps and failure to summit, we felt happy and
greatly enjoyed our time together in the woods.
</p>
<p>
Glacier Peak has retained its aura of mystery for us. Despite
spending 3 days near or actually on the mountain, we never saw the
peak. We had brief glimpses of the mountain from the road but never
from the trail. According to rumor, the peak is much more prominent
when viewed from the east. Maybe someday we'll send a scouting party
that direction to check it out. <i>(Update: Don has since made Glacier
Peak sightings from many vantages. But, so far, his claims are
unsubstantiated by photographs or other members of the party.)</i>
</p>
<p>
We are tenatively planning another attempt to climb Glacier Peak in
2004. Our primary challenges were fatigue, the weight of our packs,
and route-finding. We plan to address these issues, possibly adding a
4th day to our trip to mitigate the long, heavy carries. One piece of
information that should help is that the Sitkum Glacier is reportedly
very stable and has almost no crevasses. It is necesary to bring
proper equipment for any mountaineering expedition. But, after
careful contemplation of our equipment list, we should be able to
lighten the load by reducing the amount of equipment we carry.
</p>
<hr>
<h3>Day 1 -- Hiking In</h3>
<hr>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0004q.jpg"></td>
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<td>Greek god or average climber? -- Pose-down in the woods (That's me.)
</td>
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<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0006rq.jpg"></td>
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<td>A couple of miles in but it's only just beginning -- Dawn
and Don boycott the pose-down
</td>
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</table>
</p>
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<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0007rq.jpg"></td>
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<td>The bridge to Kennedy Hot Springs</td>
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</table>
</p>
<hr>
<h3>Day 2 -- Boulder Basin</h3>
<hr>
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<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
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<td><img src="images/dscf0008q.jpg"></td>
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<td>A view from the "climbers' trail" to Boulder Basin</td>
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</table>
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<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
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<td><img src="images/dscf0009rq.jpg"></td>
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<td>The trail levels out (!) near Boulder Basin</td>
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</table>
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<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
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<td><img src="images/dscf0012rq.jpg"></td>
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<td>Sun breaking out over waterfalls in Boulder Basin</td>
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</table>
</p>
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<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0015q.jpg"></td>
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<td>The nearby peaks</td>
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</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0016rq.jpg"></td>
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<tr align=center>
<td>Mt Baker in the distance</td>
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</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0018q.jpg"></td>
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<td>The nearby peaks in full sunlight</td>
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</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0019rq.jpg"></td>
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<tr align=center>
<td>Returning to Boulder Basin after a wrong turn</td>
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</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0020q.jpg"></td>
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<tr align=center>
<td>The camp sites at Boulder Basin</td>
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</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0021rq.jpg"></td>
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<td>Avalanche gullies across the valley</td>
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</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0022rq.jpg"></td>
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<tr align=center>
<td>Can you see the car? It's there somewhere.</td>
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</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0024q.jpg"></td>
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<tr align=center>
<td>More of the trail to the Scimitar Glacier</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0025rq.jpg"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=center>
<td>The Cliffs of Insanity</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0026rq.jpg"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=center>
<td>One of several streams with a large waterfall</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0027q.jpg"></td>
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<td>The correct route leading to the Sitkum Glacier</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0028q.jpg"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=center>
<td>Distant snow outshines another nice series of waterfalls</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<hr>
<h3>Day 3 -- Hiking Out</h3>
<hr>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0029rq.jpg"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=center>
<td>Contemplating the stream after 6 miles or so</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0030rq.jpg"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=center>
<td>Did I mention that we had already covered about 6 miles?</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0031rq.jpg"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=center>
<td>Don is mesmerized by the stream and a breakfast cookie.</td>
</tr>
</table>
</p>
<p>
<table align=center cellpadding=2 border=2>
<tr align=center>
<td><img src="images/dscf0032rq.jpg"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=center>
<td>But he's still feeling his oats!</td>
</tr>
</table>
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