Old Snowy, Goat Rocks Wilderness
7/27/09
When at the summit of Crystal Mountain on a clear day there are a few peaks that dominate the southern skyline. The Goat rocks is one of those places that many have seen but few are aware of as its overshadowed by its better known companions Mt Adams and Mt Saint Helens. With huge alpine slopes, rock faces and north facing Glaciers it is a truly unique gem of the Southern Cascade landscape.
This was another one of those peaks I had been studying for years looking at possible approaches on topo’s and wild descents on photos. With the heat rising in the city I knew I had to get away and decided this would be a perfect opportunity to check the area out. Alex (ruski) was more then willing to come along knowing all to well the potential that the area had and the possibility of skiing a 2000 foot fall line with few areas to rival. Normally with a round trip mileage of almost 20 miles it would be a overnighter but this wasn’t the case as Alex had stuff to do on Tuesday so we decided a early arrival would be more then suitable. We arrived to the North Fork of the Tieton at around 3 a.m. and were greeted by someone warning us of mosquito’s infestation as we packed our bags. After a few minutes of discussion and the realization that we didn’t have any repellent the answer to are dilemma was quite obvious. We would hike in immediately under the stars until we reached the remnant Glacier then we would nap in the alpine.
We hit the trail under the meager light of our headlamps as the darkness slowly dwindled away leaving us fearfull of the heat which was soon to arrive. We kept a consistent pace hiking mile after mile on the consistent traverse until arriving at McCall basin. The basin was alive with wildflowers and the early morning light on the high ridges as we dropped are packs for a much needed break but within a few second we were approached by limitless swarms of mosquito’s happy to take advantage of our tired state. Not more then a minute later we were moving towards the Glacier irritated and tired as we kept putting one foot in front of the other. Soon the lush green landscape gave way to steep slopes covered in streams, rocks, waterfalls and remnant glacier. We debated possible camping spots until arriving at the top of a massive water fall with the remnant glacier within throwing distance, this would be more then sufficient with limitless fresh water and a cool breeze that would keep us cool under the early morning sun. As soon as we started sleeping the mosquito’s arrived to disturb us from our slumber as I chose to put on my coat and minimize exposed flesh. while I was sleeping Alex hiked up another thousand vertical feet leaving the mosquito’s with only one option to feast upon. Maybe it was the fact that I have been attacked by alot of mosquito’s lately or that I was physically and mentally exhausted but I slept for hours until the sun became unbearable. I woke up to find that Alex was no where to be seen and that it was still early in the afternoon so I decided I would run into him either along the way or on the summit of Old snowy.
I started hiking up the scree covered ridges that separated the snowpack in my running shoes until the dirt gave way to snowfields. I quickly transitioned to snowboard boots and Crampons (not needed but I carried them in so I might as well use them) and hiked directly up the semi steep slopes until arriving at a rocky ridge at the base of Old Snowy’s NE face. From here on it was a easy scramble up around 30 feet of loose rock until arriving at the highpoint which was covered in flat rocks. It was the perfect place to set down my gear and rest while waiting for Alex’s arrival as I was mesmerized with the up close views of Mt Rainier and Adams and panoramic views of Goat rocks wilderness. I decided I would take a nap on the summit with the hopes that Alex would wake me up when he arrived but I woke up a few hours later once again alone with the sun heading towards the western Horizon.
I knew I had a long descent ahead of me and little time but I pondered the status of Alex hoping he was waiting for me lower down the mountain as I strapped in my board for a 1500 vert line. As I started snowboarding I was surprised to find that the snow was Icy and not the slush I had expected as I made a few turns until arriving to a carry over. 1’500 feet and 4 carry overs later I was at the base of the snowpack and happy to find ski tracks from earlier in the day. I knew it was Alex’s as I hadn’t seen another soul all day so I followed his tracks down to the dusty trail. The sun was setting fast so I started picking up my pace on the 7 miles of flat terrain back to the trailhead. I would jog until my knees couldn’t take it anymore then hike for a few minutes then presume my jogging until meeting up with Alex about a mile from the trailhead. He had left hours earlier thinking I had changed my mind about climbing the peak and after a few hours of resting at his car became concerned and started hiking back on the trail. We exchanged stories about our day as we hiked the final mile with my summit and his near summit within a hour of each others.
Sorry no pics my camera battery was dead.