Hasn't voted | Climbers with interest in Northwest history may want to take a side trip southerly from the Chikamin summit. At the saddle between Chikamin Peak and the Four Brothers, a large boulder is faintly inscribed with the words "R. Denny/L. Lindsley/USA/1899". The two persons named are Rolland Herschel Denny and Lawrence Denny Lindsley. Both were members of the Denny family who in 1899 were working on the Esther Mine, owned by David Denny, in 1899. The Esther Mine was (is) located in Ptarmigan Park, an alpine meadow at the head of Gold Creek, a short distance beneath where the PCT crosses Chikamin Peak today.
Lindsley, who would have been 21 years old in 1899, went on to be a successful wilderness and landscape photographer. His photographic negatives reside at the University of Washington Special Collections, where as of late 2005 they are being catalogued. Negative #3249, dated 1902, shows the summit cairn on Chikamin. The USGS rock, which is just as marionthegoat describes, is clearly visible. A similar sized rock can be seen with Lindsley's name inscribed on it. This photograph documents that Lindsley climbed Chikamin in 1902, and also that members of the USGS also climbed the mountain before him.
Persons reaching the summit of Chikamin are encouraged to look for both inscribed rocks, and to post on this page if they find anything. |
Alpine Lakes Wilderness > Chikamin Peak > Additions and Corrections
