Monday, July 23, 2007

Mt Skihist Climb 9750ft

Has anyone else been here before?
Photos http://www.mountbakerclub.org/mtskihist

Bruce Fairley "A Guide To Climbing and Hiking In Southwestern British Columbia" claims the highest peak in the lower BC mainland to be Skihist (9750'). It is certainly the highest point of anything you could reasonably reach north of the border on a long weekend from Bellingham. www.bivouac.com lists Skihist as the 7th most significant peak in BC. This was enough reason for Bud Hardwick and I (Paul Cookson) to place it on our task list for the summer. We had very little information to go by since few people have ever climbed this peak and we were not certain the road would be driveable after the winter floods. Bud had located the start of the Eagle Ridge route last autumn, fully knowing that the road had a high chance of being closed too far away due to washouts.

Skihist is reached by driving through Hope, crossing the Fraser River bridge at Boston Bar and continuing north for at least an hour to the Kwoiek Creek forest service road heading west. The original route was much shorter, with a direct bushwhack line up to Antimony Lake from the mainline; but a bridge had already been removed, making it impossible to safely cross the creek. The creek was more like a river during this trip, flooding some of the trees along the banks. The raging torrent created such a roar that we drove right up to a young bear without being noticed for a few minutes. The alternate approach for us was making a turn at the 6.5 mile spur and following Eagle Ridge for about 9 miles or so to Antimony Lake. The mainline was passable with Bud's 4x4 truck, only by the help of a dozer that had recently been through to clear the large boulders covering the road every winter. We had stopped by the Hope visitor center where a very helpful young lady phoned the Merritt Forest Service office to confirm we could drive up this drainage. Having found the short spur road up to the Eagle Ridge route, we drove through alders overtaking the road and stopped about a half-mile up the road where a tree had fallen in the way. There was a pile of fresh bear dung and a swarm of nasty mosquitos and flies. So we quickly left the truck and walked about 5 minutes until we located some flagging around a small tree trunk. From there we immediately lost the old boot track and went almost straight up about 800 feet to the ridge line in the heat of the afternoon. Although we had left Bellingham around 7am, the slow road had kept us from departing the truck until 2pm. Once on the ridge, the gps said we only had 7 miles to Antimony Lake in a straight line. Unfortunately, there was very little sign of the abandoned trail and most of the route is now a cross-country ridge walk through waste high brush and severe blowdown from a forest fire. It is easy to stay on the route as long as you always head for the highest point on the ridge. Mosquitos took full advantage all the way to camp, never allowing for a peaceful sit down break. Even though we moved steadily through the brush, our gps was indicating that we were moving at a swift 1 mile per hour. It was not until around 7pm that we finally crossed a small stream to refill our bottles. From this point, around 6200', we began to make use of a few snow patches over the brush and quickly broke out of the trees to the alpine. Then we continued along a rolling ridge to about 7300' where we gave up for the day around 9pm.

Antimony Lake was only 2 miles away in a straight line, but required a winding up and down ridge route, a 1000' descent and a regain of a few hundred feet to the Lake. With a fresh light breeze (our bug repellent) at our high point camp on the ridge, we saw no reason to arrive at the lake in the dark with even more mosquitos waiting. Our view was from Mt Baker to the south, Garibaldi Park to the west and Skihist to the north. I could not think of a better place to wake up early in the morning. It looked like at least another party or two had done the same some time ago. We only had enough water to reach Antimony Lake, so we snacked on some cold food and retired for the night, Bud in his bivy and myself in a one person Eureka tent. Apparently, Bud did not receive very much sleep as the mosquitos were still attacking through the headnet over his bivy. I did not wake up for at least 6 hours in the tent.

We were out of the camp by 6am and did our route over to the lake where we arrived at 7:30am. The guidebook said we would have a trail by this point, but it did not exist. The first half of the high route from camp was straightforward-keep to the ridge and traverse high to avoid a steepening south-facing gully. Once we ran out of ridge, we worked down the steep fall line into boulders, thick trees and more brush. We found a convenient place to cross Antimony Creek and soon found a track on the other side which led to Antimony Lake. There was little sign of campsites here. Our plan was to cook the previous nights dinner and then do the same with this night's dinner after returning from the climb. So we had carried over the stove, fuel, pot and all of our food.
With renewed energy and full water bottles, we took our boots off and crossed the icy-cold outlet of the lake to follow the east shoreline across a 1/2-mile long boulder field. From the head of the lake, we were able to go steeply up a narrow rib on a goat trail to snow fields that continued most of the way to the most obvious 8200' col. We finally broke free of the mosquitos somewhere in this stretch. The snow walking was wonderful on the feet, and only a little uncomfortably steep during the final 200 feet.

Once we were at the col between Clampost and Antimony Mtn, we read our guidebook description that says the route followed the ridge all the way to Skihist. That way looked impossibly long and difficult for a one day return. It was supposed to be a class 3 scramble but looked more like class 5 in places. Before giving up, we located a narrow gully leading down to a high basin about 400 feet below us. From there it looked like we would just need to walk another mile and 2000' up on talus to the top. So we cached the 50' scramble rope and slowly worked our way down the gully, traversed over to the base of the summit scramble and made it up to the peak around 2pm. Surprisingly, the last 2000' were the easiest, as we made steady progress among the boulders and scree which were free of bugs and brush. We considered this approach to be more of a class 2 climb. The temperature was still t-shirt weather on the summit since there was little to no wind. We both felt the lower oxygen levels. There were two summit registers. The first was a film canister with one person who had been up in 2006, but the paper was soaked and too hard to read. The other register was a pvc pipe with threaded cap and only had one party signing in, Greg Jones and Don Funk in 2000. Those pages were wet two. So we dried out the film canister and added our victory page to it; then placed the film register inside the larger canister. As far as we could tell, we were the third party to summit this century. This was no surprise due to the remoteness and difficulty of accessing the peak itself. Views and the uniqueness of being on the highest point in southwestern BC made it worthwhile. We could clearly see into the icefields of Garibaldi Provincial Park and thousands of peaks and ridges far away.

Our only regret was that our turn around time only allowed us to remain on the summit for about a half hour. Camp was very far away. Our descent was made a little easier with the assistance of a snowfield off the south ridge. Although, it was dangerously steep, the snow had softened just enough to slide down by sitting in ready self arrest position. It took no time at all to bottom out before we had the painfully hot scramble back up the gully to the 8200' col. From there we had a beautiful glissade into the next basin and a quick drop down the rib into the boulder fields surrounding Antimony Lake. At the end of the glissade, Bud felt a scrape on his rear end and asked if his pants had torn. They had not only torn but also grew blood stains. There must have been a tiny sharp point of a rock tip sticking out of the snow where he slid down the snowfield. Although, Bud had some discomfort sitting down again, the wound was nothing serious. Back at the lake I found my fuel bottle floating along the shoreline next to my backpack that had been chewed on. There were teeth marks in the aluminum fuel bottle and the animal had devoured the salt on my backpack padding. We had seen goat hair and prints in the snow all over and knew who the culprit was. Our food bag was still hanging low between two tress, completely undisturbed. Although, the goat had chewed out my stove bag, the stove still worked and had just enough fuel left in it for a final meal. The rest of the fuel I assume soaked into the ground or drifted downstream after the goat was done with it.

After dinner, we started back toward camp around 7pm. The bushwhacking back down the valley was horrible after a long day on our feet. After at least an hour of pushing through tightly woven subalpine fir, we found an open gully that shot rightt up to the ridge again and worked our way back to camp. Each little uphill step was a mental and physical battle at this point and I dove into the sack within 5 minutes of arriving in camp. It was almost dark. All we had left was a very long ridge walk without a trail on Sunday morning.

Although not forecasted, we did get some light rain showers during the night but that all blew away in the morning. Our return to the truck took about 6 hours since much of the route required staying up high over 6000' for hours before the ridge would finally drop in elevation. Every time we thought the ridge was going down, it climbed back up a hundred feet or more. Mosquitos were relentless. My zip pants were trashed at this point. This was a trip for sacriifing gear, to say the least. Due to the endless stepping overlogs, my feet were smahed and blistered by the time we made it down too. Finally, just before 1pm, we made it to our sandles and air conditioning.

We decided to do a loop on the return drive by going north to the Lytton on-demand ferry. We encountered some obstacles along this unmaintained power line right-of-away road. In one place, there was barely enough room to squeeze between the boulders and the shoulder. There were also a couple of washed out culverts that required straddling some holes as we forded the creeks. Somehow the truck made it through all the obstacles and we were excited to eventually find ranch houses where the road improved. The Hope visitor center had called and verified the ferry schedule. When we arrived, we noticed the ferry was staying on the other side and some men were doing rescue drills on a speed boat. After an hour of watching they came over and said the usual employees are on strike since and that weekend service is suspended. But since they were doing some drills for temporary employees, we got a free ride across anyway and were finally on our way home. A night at the Stein River would have been nice but not with only energy bars for dinner.

In Hope, we made a stop at a Japanese restaurant for a dinner celebration and then arrived home around 9pm; another full day in the mountains. Neither one of us wish to repeat this journey and realize almost no one else will ever get to feel the misery and short-lived moments of euphoria on this adventure. However, we do feel a sense of accomplishment of having explored one of the rarely visited highest mountains, enduring a demanding approach, and realizing that we may be the last party up there for awhile due to the deteriorating condition of the road. For those who want to consider a slighly easier approach, it would be worth considering a raft or canoe across the final lake before the pulled bridge and find a way directly up to Antimony Lake.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Skagway, Northern Terminus of the Inside Passage

By strange coincidence the last ferry north that I boarded was the MV Columbia, the same ferry that I had begun my trip on nearly a month before. A recent shipboard fire, though minor, had necessitated a change in schedule and passengers and the ship was nearly empty for this last journey.

The shortest ferry sailing, I arrived still early in the day amidst the great throngs of tourists from the numerous cruise ships lining the harbor. Despite the crowds I managed to find pleasant lodging within walking distance of the ferry. Over the next few days I was continually surprised how efficiently this small Alaskan city was able to handle thousands of tourists arriving daily. In the evening and especially early morning the entire town was pleasantly quiet with only a slight flurry of cooks and transport people making preparations.

I was most fortunate to be included on a “tour” by a local operator named Dyea Dave. He had taken his name from a historical site near Skagway which was the launching point for the Chilkoot Trail. He was showing family members around and graciously included me. We had great fun and I learned a lot about the obvious as well as the more obscure history of Skagway. There was lots of hiking to do but again the exceptional snowpack controlled the access to the high country. I plan to return some day soon and explore the hiking and unique areas north to Whitehorse including the desert sand dunes.

Stein Valley, World Heritage Site

The Stein Valley west of Lytton B. C. is famous for its beautiful and easily viewed pictographs. A deep, narrow valley of swiftly flowing water, it is wondrous hiking especially on hot summer days.

Be aware that access has become more difficult. Jan, 2007 precipitation events washed out the west side road south to Boston Bar. It has been reported that the gravel road north to Lillooet was drivable. The schedule of the reaction ferry which connects the Fraser Canyon (Hwy 1) with the remote west side, has been affected by a labor problem. The hours as well as the days of operation have been dramatically reduced. At this time, the ferry is only running early morning and late afternoon with no services in the evening and none on Saturday or Sunday. Be sure to check the ferry status or your easy Friday access may require a difficult and long detour for a Sunday return.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Hiking for Conservation

Conservation Northwest is cosponsoring a series of hikes to make people more aware of critical habitat around the state of Washington. Selected trails are as local as Blanchard Mt & Hannegan Pass; as romantic sounding as Sleeping Beauty & Tiffany Mt; and as distant as Abercrombie & Wapaloosie Mts. Check out the full schedule for July and August at www.conservationnw.org. Remember, if you're thinking about going, why not contact other club members via the list serve and get a group of new and old friends to go with you.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Haines, Base Camp for Outdoor Adventure

For the first time I was able to sail on the new high speed ferry The MV Fairweather. What a difference! Though small by comparison, it had a feeling of modern luxury. Wood flooring, nice carpets, a large skylight and comfortable “club” style seating. It did however have very limited outside seating but on this drizzly grey morning it didn’t feel bad to stay inside. In a short time we passed up the narrow Lynn Canal with towering peaks paralleling our course. Passing famous rocks and reefs that had claimed ships, the clouds lifted as we approached Haines revealing it’s unique location on a thin isthmus between two great rivers. Hanging glaciers made a backdrop for the historic Fort Seward buildings and the relaxed “downtown” of modern Haines.

I had been given the name and phone number of a local person who was willing to rent me a 4-wheel drive, he kindly met me several miles out of town at the ferry landing. We drove south to his small but pleasant cabin resort at the end of the road south of town. When we got out, he left the engine running as he walked into the lodge. I called after him, “don’t you want me to sign some paperwork?” He replied, “no just don’t wreck it.” I then called, louder because he was all the way up to the lodge by this time, “how long can I keep the vehicle.” He called back, as he disappeared inside, “as long as you need it.” That was my friendly and laidback welcome to Haines, Alaska. I soon found that everyone I met was as nice, if not quite that casual.

I had several adventures in Haines, up to the Canadian Border, historic buildings, plentiful hiking, but my most dramatic was the flight across Glacier Bay. As always, being flexible helped and just when all my possibilities seemed exhausted, opportunity presented itself like an unexpected gift. Flying over the glaciers and snowfields we descended into the channels and bays. So many of the tidewater glaciers had become “grounded” during the 65 mile recession that had occurred in the last 200 years. Still, there were some fascinating calving going on. Floating high above, we actually enjoyed the perspective of huge and smaller tour ships plugging along and parking besides these wondrous formations. I was fortunate to have one of the more experienced pilots and he was happy to share special sidetrips and maneuvers to maximize our experience. Gliding down the Davis Glacier into Lynn Channel with seemingly only the whistling wind holding us up was amazing. We also were able to chat with a pilot trying to bring climbers off of Mt. Fairweather during a break in the storm. I was scheduled to go in with him on his last trip but the weather closed in again.

I enjoyed the small friendly population and outdoorsy feel of Haines despite or because of the fewer amenities. The brown bear (Grizzly) strolling the beach below camp wasn’t bad either.

Cascade Pass Update

One of the most spectacular viewpoints in the Northwest is accessible but with some additional obstacles. This ever popular drive and hike has once again been impacted by the very source of its beauty, the dramatic cascades. The road has been severely damaged by washouts in several places. Despite this, temporary foot bridges make crossings reasonable but the additional three miles of road walking and nearly 2000 ft of additional gain make this lovely moderate hike into something a bit more.

As of early July the upper 500 ft of the trail still has considerable snowpack and beyond the pass, the trail up Sahale Arm was nearly entirely snow covered. Despite this, climbers and experienced backcountry travelers will find the conditions up to and including Sahale Peak to be entertaining.

The good news for the rest of us, is that the NPS is committed to repairing and opening this trail by mid-August. If conditions cool down a bit, there may be some wildflowers still emerging from snowbanks.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Juneau, Capitol City & Much More

It was a long ferry ride from Sitka to Juneau. After the four hour wait on the tides we finally began cruising the narrows. No bears today. Clouds low, no views of mountain tops but I could make out the small settlement of Hoonah as we motored by. Towards evening we rounded the last point and cruised into the ferry dock. Miles from just about anything else, no shuttle, I finally found a taxi to the airport to pickup my rental car. It was after 11 PM but still enough light to walk around so I had to drive up to the Mendenhall Glacier. What a sight. Gleaming, huge, silent, it seemed to hover above a lake decorated with all shapes and sizes of ice bergs calved from its terminus. The air was damp and cool and filled with some exotic fragrance of an unknown spring flowering. A memorable evening.

The next day I headed into the downtown early before the tour ships disembarked. Wandering the nearly empty Saturday streets, a slight drizzle, I marveled at the smallness of this major Alaskan city. Passing the Governor’s Mansion, a lovely old home set among other lovely old homes in a residential area, I met a father and little girl also walking about. He stopped to chat for a moment and told me they had come to see the Governor’s trampoline. There it was in the modest backyard visible along the street. A bright blue trampoline. I think it must have really been for her two young children but in the little girl’s mind it was the Governor’s. I wondered how much different government might be if all Governor’s spent some time on their trampolines.

The State Museum, the waterfront Library, the steep mountainsides outlining the nearby margins of the city were some of my favorite highlights. I traveled a few miles south where the road ended in waterside trails. Douglas Island gave me an excuse to head up into the clouds. The rain ended but I couldn’t see much beyond the still snowy ski area. Traveling up the coast for 40 miles, let me sample some amazing trails. Saltwater to glacier, sometimes within only a couple of hours of easy walking.

I spent my last night at a motel, drying camping gear, eating real food, and getting ready for the next adventure. I felt as if I was only beginning to suspect the relative smallness of the human population in this vast and fascinating land.

Highway 2 Early Season Sampler

An unexpected five day trip along Hwy 2 provided plenty of early season outings. The goal was to avoid the incoming rain and still have good day hikes and mountain views while car camping. Here’s some of what we found:

The staff at the Skykomish USFS office were very helpful and accurate in their information; a good place to check local conditions.

The road along the North Fork of the Skykomish River (behind the town of Index) is closed indefinitely. (Access this area via Beckler River Road possibly by July.) The river has now adopted a sizeable section of road for its new channel. It looks much worse than when it first happened this past winter.

Sunrise and Scorpion Mt Trailhead (via Beckler River Rd) is open. Trail had only patches of ridge top snow and lots of flowers, lovely old growth forests. Stay on forest trail and avoid cornices if still present.

Iron Goat Trail, upper section with Wellington Townsite and All-Concrete-Snowshed open. West portal not accessible due to massive cave-in induced flooding of tunnel with damage to approach trail and ramp. Walked the surreal 3 miles to Windy Point, connecting with our earlier outing on the lower section. Many concrete and even timber remnants of snowsheds, saw a spotted owl on trail.

Lanham Lake (via Stevens Pass Nordic Center). Lots of flowers, especially trillium. Nearly snowfree.

Alpine Lookout, Nason Ridge (via Butcher Creek Trailhead, aka. Round Mt Trailhead). Hiked short off-trail section to wooded Round Mt summit. Then followed Nason Ridge Trail to the rebuilt and functional Alpine Lookout (locked up but the views are open).

Wedge Mt is the imposing, pyramidal, dominant summit visible from downtown Leavenworth. DO NOT USE the approach via 400 Rd! Road and trail no longer exist! Find the new trail direct to ridge (7305? just east of Mill Creek). Shockingly sudden, awesome view into heart of Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Hike up through dry forest and burn areas, then in a heartbeat, a world of towering black rock, dazzling glaciers, cascading waterfalls, and turquoise lakes. How did that parasailer ever get back there? Short off-trail hike and optional rock scramble to true summit. (Note: USGS maps mislabel Wedge at the false summit.)