I find backpacking in June to be very rewarding and pleasant. It is true that you often find yourself camping on snow. Often, it is not possible to follow trails. Creek crossings may be difficult. But, by June, the snow is packed and pleasant to travel across. Water is readily available. Unlike later in the year, it is rarely hot and you avoid crowds and biting insects. That said, it is hard to exagerate the importance of good routefinding skills and the ability to self-arrest using an ice axe.
On June 12, 2002, I drove to Clear Lake on US12 and North Fork of the Tieton River Road (FR1207) to the road end at Scatter Creek (3300'). I saw two elk near Clear Lake. I counted 33 downed logs across trail 1118 Tieton Pass (4800'). Almost all were easy step-overs. The trail was mostly dry and in good condition otherwise. At about 3600', I saw a couple of Fairyslipper Orchids (Calypso Bulbosa). Mindful of their fragility, I left them undisturbed. The creek crossing at 3900' would have been straightforward to wade. Crossing using the 2nd, 3rd and 4th upstream logs was a little less so, but reasonable.
The trail was snow covered above 4700', about 1/2 mile before Tieton Pass. Before reaching continuous snow, I saw some fairly fresh uptrail boot tracks. Before long they were joined by fresher downtrail tracks. Somehow I passed the maker without noticing him (gender inferred from boot size that was similar to my own). By Tieton Pass, the snow was untrammeled and remained so (expect for a few goat and elk tracks) throughout the balance of my trip.
Trail 1118 to Tieton Pass is marked with old but serviceable blazes. The Pacific Crest Trail 2000 south from Tieton Pass to Elk Pass is unblazed and I soon lost it. This was the first time since I've had my watch altimeter that I used it extensively for route finding. About 0.7 miles south of Tieton Pass, the trail crosses back to the east side of the crest at Lutz Lake (5100'). I was only fifty feet too high when I reached the lake. Without the altimeter, I would likely have been off by more than one hundred feet.
I camped at 6300' about 0.5 mile east of Elk Pass. Expecting to camp on snow, I was surprised and pleased to find a snow free tent site. I had a fine view of Old Snowy Mtn. (7930', above). I hung my food from a nearby tree. Indeed, mine was the highest site in the area with a suitable tree. Water was not readily available, but I expected to find snow melt the next morning and so I did. 2002.06.13 6:30 PM
A couple of goats grazed on the ridge below my camp. 2002.06.12 7:30 PM
Looking northwest from my tent, I could see Mt. Rainier (14410'). Centered in this view is the Nisqually Glacier that descends unbroken from the summit ice cap to about 5000'. Gibraltar Rock (12660') is the highest large rock cliff right of the Nisqually Glacier. 2002.06.13 8 AM
Gilbert Peak (8184', left) is the highest in Goat Rocks Wilderness. At the center is Goat Citadel (8000') and to its right are the horns, the highest being Big Horn (7850').
The Crest Trail was mostly snow free from Elk Pass to the snowfields above the Packwood Glacier northwest of Old Snowy Mtn. It can be seen in the right foreground and crossing the west slope of pt. 7210 from the left. The two small snowfields visible here and one beyond (not visible) were significant obstacles to travel on the trail. I would not have crossed them without an ice axe. Old Snowy Mtn. is in the distance. My ascent route was along the trail that follows the obvious ridge directly to the summit. Much of the trail was snow free. This and the previous image were from pt. 6960+', 0.25 mile southeast of Elk Pass. 2002.06.12 8 PM
Averaged over 1 hour, my peak ascent (descent) rates were 870 ft/hr (-1270 ft/hr) at 11:15 AM on 6/13 (8 AM on 6/14). These data were logged by an altimeter watch.
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Date created: 2002.06.25
Last modified: 2002.06.26
Copyright © 2002, Walter A. Siegmund
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