7-05-02
A friend of a friend had a sister
visiting from Ireland who loves to hike. She wanted to get to a summit with
great mountain views. With so much snow still in the North Cascades, I chose
Rock Mountain, just east of Stevens Pass. I turned out to be a great choice.
I picked up Patricia in Everett at 7:10 on Friday morning and we headed east.
By 9:00 we were on the trail. There was another couple who arrived right
after us but we never saw them again. The trailhead is at about 2600'. This
trail gains 4200' with a mind numbing number of switchbacks. Most are very
short. Because of the switchbacks the trail is not very steep. That is good
for the ascent and even better for the descent. There is no jarring of your
knees. The lower sections are awash in color. I saw 2 Tiger Lilies, several
thick patches of Scarlet Gilia, orange and red Paintbrush, and dozens more
I could not identify. Higher up were Lupine, Penstemon, Phlox, Cinquefoil,
Stonecrop, and more. The day was mostly sunny with a few high clouds which
moderated the temperature.
The trail is is great shape. There is one small down tree to step over and two more to duck under. None of them will slow you down. At about 5000' the trail leaves the southern face and begins to traverse northward beneath a ridge. That was the end of the days switchbacks. At 5200' we reached the first snow patches At 5400' the snow is continuous. The summer trail continues to traverse about 100' below the ridge top. We followed it a short ways on very steep snow. The snow level was down to 6000' over night and the snow was a little hard still. We were not the first up this year as faint footprints were visible in the snow. When I saw a good spot to ascend we headed straight up the slope to the ridge top. In the trees the snow was very hard and an ice axe was helpful. Once on the ridge top the going was much easier. Views to the south and west were already very good from here. Patricia had hiked on snow in Europe but not recently. She seemed to enjoy the snow travel. The ridge top is wide and gently graded. It ends abruptly at a wide moderately steep snow field. This section was groomed better than any ski area I have seen. A few trees dot the slope but mostly it is wide open. The top of this slope is near where the summer trail forks. Right to Rock Lake and left to the summit. At the top is an island of rock and heather surrounded by snow. We stopped here to have some food and water. From this elevation Mt Stuart and Mt Daniel are visible to the south.
After our break it was time to finish the last 650' to the summit. You need to attain the ridge to the left. It is very heavily corniced along most of it's length. There is a high point at the far left end of the ridge and that is the point to aim for. The summer trail switchbacks up a steep heather slope to the ridge top. We kicked steps up as far as possible and then moved onto the heather. The morning sun had softened up the snow to the point that it was easy to kick steps. Once on the heather we followed as much of the trail as possible. In some places it was necessary to go straight up or get back on thin snow. We were able to safely reach the ridge top without getting too near the cornices. The first thing we did was head left a short way to the top of the high point to soak up some spectacular views. The trail along the backside of the ridge is nearly snow free to the summit of Rock Mountain. We dropped down to the junction with the Snowy Creek trail and then headed up the last section to the summit. The flowers along the ridge top were terrific. Some of the trees still were plastered with a little of the previous nights snow fall. We reached the summit at 12:45. Only at the very summit does the spectacular view of Glacier Peak jump out at you. From the summit we saw 4 out of 5 volcanos. Adams, Rainier, Glacier, and Baker were all clearly visible. Sloan Peak and the Monte Cristo group were to the north and Stuart, Daniel, and Hinman to the south. From 6852', with no taller peaks nearby, the views are tremendous. With so much snow still on the surrounding peaks the contrast makes this time of year much better than late summer. The sun was out and the breeze was light so we spent 1 1/4 hours on the summit.
The trip down was both much faster and much easier. Just down the ridge from the summit we spotted a marmot. He took off but soon after we saw two more only about 15 feet away. They were basking in the sun and didn't seem to be bothered by us. They were agreeable enough to pose for several pictures. From the ridge top we scrambled down the heather to the snow and the real fun began. From there to the lunch spot was one glissade. From the lunch spot down the slope to the lower ridge was another. It wasn't fast but it was lots of fun. At the end of that glissade we met the first people since the parking lot. We continued down the ridge and then dropped back down to the trail. Shortly we were off of the snow for good. At that point we passed the second and last group of the day. As we descended it became much warmer. We dropped from winter back into summer again. Patricia wanted a snowy summit with great views and we certainly accomplished that. The conditions were as close to ideal as I could have wished for. All totaled we hiked 11 miles with 4200' of gain. For you Europeans, that was 17.6 kilometers and about 1300 meters.
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The trail is is great shape. There is one small down tree to step over and two more to duck under. None of them will slow you down. At about 5000' the trail leaves the southern face and begins to traverse northward beneath a ridge. That was the end of the days switchbacks. At 5200' we reached the first snow patches At 5400' the snow is continuous. The summer trail continues to traverse about 100' below the ridge top. We followed it a short ways on very steep snow. The snow level was down to 6000' over night and the snow was a little hard still. We were not the first up this year as faint footprints were visible in the snow. When I saw a good spot to ascend we headed straight up the slope to the ridge top. In the trees the snow was very hard and an ice axe was helpful. Once on the ridge top the going was much easier. Views to the south and west were already very good from here. Patricia had hiked on snow in Europe but not recently. She seemed to enjoy the snow travel. The ridge top is wide and gently graded. It ends abruptly at a wide moderately steep snow field. This section was groomed better than any ski area I have seen. A few trees dot the slope but mostly it is wide open. The top of this slope is near where the summer trail forks. Right to Rock Lake and left to the summit. At the top is an island of rock and heather surrounded by snow. We stopped here to have some food and water. From this elevation Mt Stuart and Mt Daniel are visible to the south.
After our break it was time to finish the last 650' to the summit. You need to attain the ridge to the left. It is very heavily corniced along most of it's length. There is a high point at the far left end of the ridge and that is the point to aim for. The summer trail switchbacks up a steep heather slope to the ridge top. We kicked steps up as far as possible and then moved onto the heather. The morning sun had softened up the snow to the point that it was easy to kick steps. Once on the heather we followed as much of the trail as possible. In some places it was necessary to go straight up or get back on thin snow. We were able to safely reach the ridge top without getting too near the cornices. The first thing we did was head left a short way to the top of the high point to soak up some spectacular views. The trail along the backside of the ridge is nearly snow free to the summit of Rock Mountain. We dropped down to the junction with the Snowy Creek trail and then headed up the last section to the summit. The flowers along the ridge top were terrific. Some of the trees still were plastered with a little of the previous nights snow fall. We reached the summit at 12:45. Only at the very summit does the spectacular view of Glacier Peak jump out at you. From the summit we saw 4 out of 5 volcanos. Adams, Rainier, Glacier, and Baker were all clearly visible. Sloan Peak and the Monte Cristo group were to the north and Stuart, Daniel, and Hinman to the south. From 6852', with no taller peaks nearby, the views are tremendous. With so much snow still on the surrounding peaks the contrast makes this time of year much better than late summer. The sun was out and the breeze was light so we spent 1 1/4 hours on the summit.
The trip down was both much faster and much easier. Just down the ridge from the summit we spotted a marmot. He took off but soon after we saw two more only about 15 feet away. They were basking in the sun and didn't seem to be bothered by us. They were agreeable enough to pose for several pictures. From the ridge top we scrambled down the heather to the snow and the real fun began. From there to the lunch spot was one glissade. From the lunch spot down the slope to the lower ridge was another. It wasn't fast but it was lots of fun. At the end of that glissade we met the first people since the parking lot. We continued down the ridge and then dropped back down to the trail. Shortly we were off of the snow for good. At that point we passed the second and last group of the day. As we descended it became much warmer. We dropped from winter back into summer again. Patricia wanted a snowy summit with great views and we certainly accomplished that. The conditions were as close to ideal as I could have wished for. All totaled we hiked 11 miles with 4200' of gain. For you Europeans, that was 17.6 kilometers and about 1300 meters.
The Trailhead |
Peaks Across Valley |
Patricia |
Trail, What Trail? |
Patricia On Snow |
Patricia On Slope |
Lunch Break |
Lunch View |
Photo Page 2
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