Glacier Peak Hike

I got up early on Saturday morning and left around 4:30 to pick up Sabrina in Issaquah at 5.  Snacking on a light breakfast the Tacoma went up to Darrington and hit the loop to NF-49 and Sloan Cr.  The parking lot was nearly full, and we saw a couple just leaving who donated an extra camp fuel canister.  After making last minute pack adjustments and a quick bathroom break, we started the long valley pound to Mackinaw Shelter.  Lots of large old growth trees, alarmed squirrels, and cool forest air.  Crossing Red Creek was easy due to a good sized bridge and we filled up some water bottles.  The partly cloudy skies were layered with a low base that skimmed the ridge tops. When we arrived at the shelter, we took a break for all the switchbacks up to the PCT.  It was chilly there in the shade and we saw a group camping there with a smoldering fire.  Three or so other hikers zipped on past before we started up.   As we climbed, the cloudbase increased as well, and allowed some views of the lower glacier of Sloan.  The sun was out, but the air was cool, so the climb was fairly pleasant.  Perhaps the best feature of this particular hike was that there were NO bugs at all!

We stopped at a small stream crossing to refill some of our water bottles and munched on some snacks just before the intersection of the PCT.  As we finished up with our packs, a low flying F-18 cruised through the Sauk valley several hundred feet below us.  Good sound!  We got going again and intersected with the PCT which then took us to White Pass.  The colors of the brush were vibrant and diverse.  Several patches of berries, brush, and other plants were illuminated by the inconsistent sun exposure due to dramatic skies.  There was a single tent camped down on the southern plateau of White Pass, but we didn’t see anyone wandering around there.  We talked to a hiker at the pass and discussed conditions then continued along towards Foam Creek.  We were interrupted with delicious berries where we had to stop and snack for a few minutes and soak in more views. The traverse below White Mountain was pleasant, but the air started to get cooler along with little flecks of snow falling from low clouds above.  A large cloud of ravens circled ahead, and gave the indication that there was something dead over in that direction.  A deer appeared to have died and had been snacked on by many birds and scavengers.  Big bird party.  Later on, a friendly marmot came by to investigate us along the ridge just as the weather started to get a bit more aggressive.  We went over the shoulder of White Mountain on the Foam Creek side and started our switchbacks up to the little pass.  The Venturi  made the wind and snow bite hard, and conditions turned really bad very quickly.  Another hiking couple passed us who were in the process of hiking out of there, turned around due to the weather.  They were attempting to climb Glacier Peak as well, but didn’t have Monday off to complete their hike, so they were scrapping it entirely.  Plus, they apparently saw the nasty storm rolling in, and wanted to get out of it as soon as possible.

Both Sabrina and I had soaked gear and wet boots.  It was starting to get really chilly even with our layers on while hiking.  We decided to find the nearest “flat” spot and wait out the storm away from the wind.  By the time we got the tents up, the wind had picked up more and visibility reduced to about 10m.  Sabrina was unfortunately missing a few tent stakes, but was able to improvise using both our ice axes.  I stripped off my wet clothing, put on ALL my dry layers, and cocooned myself in my sleeping bag.  I draped my wet gear over my backpack in the front of the tent where it gradually froze solid.  I fired up the stove and cooked myself a nice bowl of soup and washed it down with extra hot coco.  Having warm fluids inside made for an almost immediate attitude adjustment.  It was about 4:30 when the worst of the weather hit, and it gradually tapered off until a little after 6ish as the sun was going down.  From the adjacent tent Sabrina informed me that “In 12 more hours, it’ll be 6am!” Neither of us wanted to move or go anywhere with wet and frozen gear, so the best option was simply to get a good amount of rest.

In my haste of setting up the tent, I had placed my sleeping quarters on a large rock or lump which made sleeping nearly impossible.  It was right in the absolute middle of the tent.  I spent the sleeping hours curling around from one side to the other with cramping legs or other limbs.  I got out around midnight to relieve myself, and discovered the full moon was out illuminating Glacier Peak and the surrounding areas.  It was the first time I had seen GP this trip, but the sub-freezing temperatures brought me back into my sleeping bag quickly instead of wandering around taking pictures.  I was able to shake off a few articles of frozen clothing and watched all the little ice crystals fall like moonlit glitter.  I hung them back up on my backpack to assist evaporation/sublimation.  My camelback hose had frozen, so I had to crack open my partially frozen water bottle to get some sips of water in my system before going to sleep again.

My alarm went off around 6am, and it was still dark outside.  Moisture from my breath had condensed and frozen on the inside of my tent, creating a fine layer of frost over every square inch of nylon, which would flake off from the slightest disturbance.  After tossing around for a bit, I realized my boots had frozen and were glazed over in a few spots.  I put on the rest of my layers that had partially dried out overnight, and put on the frozen boots, struggling with the frozen laces.  I tromped around with the camera and hiked up to the pass again to watch the sun rise over the ridgeline.  I warmed up quickly in the sun and felt better about the day, and ready to get going.  It would be a few hours before the sunlight would reach our camp due to the tall ridge behind, so our morning routine would have to be done in the cold morning shade.  Now that it was clear, one could see all the different areas of terrain, and could easily identify the White Chuck Cinder Cone to the west.

I boiled water for breakfast and since the little stove was warmed up and sputtering like a hyperactive tractor, I boiled water for Sabrina’s thermos as well.  The sound the stove made became my nickname for the trip.  Tractor.  Soon we had lightened our packs and left things in our tent to dry out while we were gone to summit Glacier Peak.  The trail was fairly easy to follow, even though there were several routes.  Our progress was a bit hindered due to the variety of thermoclines we hiked through, shedding layers etc.  The scenery was highly enjoyable, and having a light backpack made it even better.  Eventually we crossed the White Chuck Basin and ponds after making several stops and snack breaks.  We could hear lots of rock falls coming off the sharp ridges to the north that were baking in the sunlight.  We made our way up past the White Chuck Glacier, and up to the pass where we could see the Suiattle Glacier.  We took a brief break to figure out how we’d approach the summit of Glacier Peak.  We determined that we had to get closer because there didn’t appear to be much of a way up there without traversing glacial ice.

The ridge crest was wonderful high altitude terrain.  Only got broken up in a few areas that made things a bit more technical, but it wasn’t too bad.  The glacier to our east became increasingly intimidating with deep dark blue crevasses.  It was easy enough just to stay on the ridge crest away from any ice, and the hike was enjoyable, even though thermals were bubbling off the slopes making any novice paraglider pilot drool.  Eventually we got as high as we could on the southern shoulder of Disappointment Peak, where it became too steep, unstable, and dangerous.  The Glacier had a friendly gradient, and was covered with a soft crunchy layer of snow/ice.  Various rocks that had fallen from the slopes above had heated in the sunlight, melted the ice around them, and refrozen them in place.  They made great foot-holds and islands of stability.  We used our ice axes just in case we started to slip, but the gradient was pretty minimal.  There were a few crevasses we had to negotiate around and a few rock bridges we had to scamper across.  Crossing some of the areas we tried to do as quickly as possible due to rock fall danger.  Eventually we negotiated the glacier by rock-island-hopping across to the east shoulder of Disappointment Peak where it merged with the Cool Glacier.  From here we were met with 20’ columns of glazed over ice walls.  Deep crevasses, and otherwise impassible terrain without crampons and rope.  Sabrina and I both just had light boots and ice axes.  We perched up high on the rocks for a better view of the last hundred+ feet of the summit and tossed ideas around on how one “could” negotiate through all the crevasses.  We ate snacks and Sabrina shared some spare noodles with the hot water she hiked up.  The view was great, and the clear air was such where we could see light reflecting off the Puget Sound.  It was already late, and we weren’t going to risk killing ourselves to summit, so we turned around.  I was in a bit of a hurry to cross the glacier because I didn’t want the shadow to cover our paths, and refreeze the soft crunchy snow into rock hard slip-n-slide into a crevasse.

We made it back to the ridge fine, and slowly made our way back down.  The sun plummeted towards the horizon, painting the glaciers with deep pinks and interesting hues.  The sun had set just as we had passed the upper camp by the Suiattle/White Chuck glacier intersection.  We brought out headlamps to assist us in crossing the White Chuck Basin.  Cairns were difficult to come by, but we didn’t really need them all that much since it would be difficult to get lost.  Though by the time we approached the “pig snout” we had to turn off our headlamps in order to adjust our eyes to starlight and see the terrain a bit better.  The lunar eclipse peeked over the ridge briefly and gave us quite the blood-red display.  We stopped by one of the snow field drainages to refill all our water bottles before stumbling into camp.  I was under the impression that I had kept myself well hydrated, but I increasingly felt more and more thirsty. I finished off the rest of my soup mix, doubling the amount of water.  Then washed it down with another 2:1 ratio of hot-chocolate and finished off my water bottle.  Falling asleep was a bit easer that night due to the level of physical exhaustion.   I pulled my camel-back hose through the tent zipper and would sip at it like a hamster each time I rolled over in my sleep.  Speaking of rodents, a small mouse would wake me up by crawling under the nylon of my tent.  It started bothering me to the point where I had almost captured the vermin when it took shelter inside my backpack.  I thought briefly to pull it into my tent to finish it off, but then realized that might pose more problems than it would be worth in the middle of the frozen night.

6am came quickly, and I fired up the stove to heat up the last bits of breakfast I had, and topped it off with two more cups of watered down coco.  I boiled more water for Sabrina, and shortly we were all packed up and ready to go.  The sun was low and rising, providing us with amazing views along our traverse.  We took our time, took breaks, and pictures, but we covered a lot of ground.  Probably due to light packs and downhill terrain.  When we made White Pass, the wind was incredibly strong.  We encountered a hiking party that was traveling along the PCT, and we split off going down to the Sauk river.  Before making our descent into the tall trees, we stopped for a sunny break to scarf down most the remainder of our food supplies, as to not tempt ourselves with expensive greasy hamburgers when we reached civilization.  I finished off my water too, but figured I’d refill at the Sauk River, which we did a while later.  From then on, it was just a simple easy valley pound that extended on for a long time.  Eventually we reached the parking lot, and noticed that they had taken the trail register for the winter.  I think we might have been the last entry for the year!  We took off boots, and piled into the Tacoma and blasted down the bumpy pot-hole infested road with effortless transportation.  We decided to complete the loop highway to the south and exit through Granite Falls.  Along the Sloan Creek section though, a road grader was widening the road, so I got to drive across a soft crunchy bit of churned road debris.  Interesting ride.  Eventually made it back into civilization.  Phone exploded with texts, emails, voicemails, etc.  Took the newly configured 405 route back to Issaquah to drop Sabrina off, and made my way home, overly excited to see Catherine and share the adventure.  Plus, eating an entire pizza made for good post-hike recovery.