TheBootfitter - Oct 28, 2008 1:14 am Date Climbed: Oct 25, 2008
Fun hike w/ great scramble!
We found the climbers' trail without issue, but soon lost it due to a mis-marked blaze. (We moved the blaze so that it was on the trail.) Our early wrong turn led us through some heavy bushwacking up a steep slope for awhile that brought us right up to some steep cliffs. We kept heading up and eventually found our way back to the trail. The scramble at the top was fun! (Although a thin sheet of ice covered most of the rock that was not facing the sun -- making it quite slick and very tricky.)
Route Climbed: SW Route Date Climbed: July 11th, 2007
Started late around 3:00, making sure I had my headlamp with me. Got to the summit in 2:30. Super hot day, when I got home upper 90's were reported, no wonder I was sweating so bad! Spectacular views of the cascade crest, a little hazy for the volcanoes or Olympic range though. 2:00 back to the car.
dyscti - Aug 6, 2006 3:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 29, 2006
Late Start
I started up the trailhead at about 1pm not sure if I'd make the summit and ready to continue to Alta if I couldn't find the boot path. Luckily I found it in some trees and decided to hustle to the top. I went up the wrong gully near the top but it only cost me about 20 minutes. Car to summit: 2:30. Summit to car: 1:45. Camped that night at Lake Kachess.
skagitteam - Mar 18, 2006 7:07 pm Date Climbed: Oct 10, 2005
SW
Beautiful climb. Catching the climber's trail on the way down was surprisingly tough, but because of the location of the Rachel Lake trail it is nearly impossible to go wrong (actually, the rocky bluffs make it possible, but unlikely).
Followed same route as previous poster. A few days after summiting the snow began to dump and has not stopped. Great views of Chikamin the Lemahs and Three Queens.
Route Climbed: SW route Date Climbed: June 26, 2004
Ignore the weather forecast! This one had a little of everything; river hiking, steep dirt, route finding, steep scree, loose choss, and a couple class 3 moves in the last 100'. Did I mention steep? Find the climbers path in the woods just past a major clearing about 2.5 miles in. Realize that up is up. I was slow, but the goal was never in doubt. There is one blank area after leaving the trees. At a big cairn a path goes left and a path goes right. Ignore both and go straight up. Pick up the path left of the last tree stand. The views were mostly great, with some clouds socking in the volcanoes. The register reveals about one party per week signing in. We were the first of four groups to summit today. No snow on route, and considerable melt off when compared to Trailcat's pictures of two weeks ago. I can recommend paying close attention on the way down. There are a few cliffs and bogus brush for those who wander. Wildlife included a yellow pine chipmunk, a garter snake, a rufus hummingbird, a ruffed grouse, and one big frog in the woods. The trail was harder than I expected. Excellent company in Quetzalcoatl and Big Al.
TheBootfitter - Oct 28, 2008 1:14 am Date Climbed: Oct 25, 2008
Fun hike w/ great scramble!We found the climbers' trail without issue, but soon lost it due to a mis-marked blaze. (We moved the blaze so that it was on the trail.) Our early wrong turn led us through some heavy bushwacking up a steep slope for awhile that brought us right up to some steep cliffs. We kept heading up and eventually found our way back to the trail. The scramble at the top was fun! (Although a thin sheet of ice covered most of the rock that was not facing the sun -- making it quite slick and very tricky.)
agreenstreet - Jul 12, 2007 3:06 am
Route Climbed: SW Route Date Climbed: July 11th, 2007Started late around 3:00, making sure I had my headlamp with me. Got to the summit in 2:30. Super hot day, when I got home upper 90's were reported, no wonder I was sweating so bad! Spectacular views of the cascade crest, a little hazy for the volcanoes or Olympic range though. 2:00 back to the car.
dyscti - Aug 6, 2006 3:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 29, 2006
Late StartI started up the trailhead at about 1pm not sure if I'd make the summit and ready to continue to Alta if I couldn't find the boot path. Luckily I found it in some trees and decided to hustle to the top. I went up the wrong gully near the top but it only cost me about 20 minutes. Car to summit: 2:30. Summit to car: 1:45. Camped that night at Lake Kachess.
skagitteam - Mar 18, 2006 7:07 pm Date Climbed: Oct 10, 2005
SWBeautiful climb. Catching the climber's trail on the way down was surprisingly tough, but because of the location of the Rachel Lake trail it is nearly impossible to go wrong (actually, the rocky bluffs make it possible, but unlikely).
rialtosol - Feb 27, 2006 3:27 am
Route Climbed: SWFollowed same route as previous poster. A few days after summiting the snow began to dump and has not stopped. Great views of Chikamin the Lemahs and Three Queens.
magellan - Sep 7, 2005 12:12 am
Route Climbed: SW route Date Climbed: June 26, 2004Ignore the weather forecast! This one had a little of everything; river hiking, steep dirt, route finding, steep scree, loose choss, and a couple class 3 moves in the last 100'. Did I mention steep? Find the climbers path in the woods just past a major clearing about 2.5 miles in. Realize that up is up. I was slow, but the goal was never in doubt. There is one blank area after leaving the trees. At a big cairn a path goes left and a path goes right. Ignore both and go straight up. Pick up the path left of the last tree stand. The views were mostly great, with some clouds socking in the volcanoes. The register reveals about one party per week signing in. We were the first of four groups to summit today. No snow on route, and considerable melt off when compared to Trailcat's pictures of two weeks ago. I can recommend paying close attention on the way down. There are a few cliffs and bogus brush for those who wander. Wildlife included a yellow pine chipmunk, a garter snake, a rufus hummingbird, a ruffed grouse, and one big frog in the woods. The trail was harder than I expected. Excellent company in Quetzalcoatl and Big Al.
R/T 8+ miles, 3750' gain, 3:00 up and 2:05 down