Mount Saint Helens - May 2021

 Carly Kovacik and myself made an attempt on Mount Saint Helens on May 24th. Unfortunately the weather window for the summit was closed. We received an unfortunate one-two punch of bad weather, getting drenched by light to moderate rain while ascending the lower slopes, and then being pummeled by 20-40 mph winds and snow/sleet near 7000 feet. Our clothing was soaked as we worked our way up above the freezing level, including gloves, which led to hands turning into blocks of ice as we encountered strengthening winds blowing across the upper slopes. Adding insult to injury, my crampons kept coming off, which seemed like a bad omen as we reached steep snow near the summit. The mountain gods were conspiring against us during this climb, which we recognized 500 to 1000 feet below the rim of the volcano. We turned around to climb again another day. May weather can sometimes be fickle in the Cascades...maybe we will try snow covered Saint Helens during the off season of winter 2022. 

I took one picture during this miserable hike of Chocolate Falls while descending back to the trailhead, and I also grabbed a screen capture of our gps route. Carly donated some of her GoPro video as well...I particularly like the glissade.

Google map location is here.

Long Canyon to Deer Creek Pass

 I hiked Long Canyon for the second time in two years. The route was as scenic as ever, with mountain spires towering over both sides of a U-shaped valley located above treeline. However, one major difference from two years ago was a stark lack of snowpack. I eventually encountered a solid snowfield at the pass, but the ground was mainly dry in the valley below. This speaks to the emerging drought and water crisis that California will be facing during the coming summer and fall. Otherwise, I lost the trail due to snow during the last half mile to the pass. I bushwhacked straight up a rotten slope of loose rock and dirt, and then traversed a long snowfield that led to my destination, Deer Creek Pass. On the way back down, I followed day-old footsteps that helped me regain the true route down the pass. I had fun plunging down snow slopes for half an hour. I then exited the snow and took the familiar trail back to my truck. This was approximately a ten mile hike, starting at an elevation of 3800 feet and ending at around 7500 feet.

Google map location is here.

Yearly Salmon Mountain Hike

A day off on May 1st gave me an opportunity to hike Salmon Mountain, a peak I've come to enjoy hiking during early spring when the snow pack is deep in the upper elevations of the Klamath Mountains. As is typical of early May, I had to park about a half mile from the Salmon Mountain trailhead due to very deep snow covering the road I was driving on. I made my way through dense forest, after passing the trailhead, and grazed upon a landscape modified by wildfire (or a prescribed burn) occurring during the past year. The last half mile to the summit was a fun slog up steep snow covered slopes. Dense clouds broke as I reached the top and I was given peaks at the surrounding mountains in between cloud breaks. The descent back to my truck was non-eventful, with the exception of a brief slide down a snow slope. Once again, another great inaugural mountain climb on Salmon Mountain.

Google map location is here.

The Best of California

Today was one of those days when California lived up to its hype. The sky was virtually cloudless, late March temperatures were in the 60s, and the wind was calm. Zahaira Velez and myself took advantage of the pristine conditions and hiked 500 feet up to "Strawberry Rock" located near Trinidad, CA. We soaked in the rays and views on top of the rock, and then drove to Trinidad for pizza. After food we relaxed on the beach for 30 minutes and watched the sun go down across the ocean horizon. Zahaira got a great time lapse of that action which I posted below.

Google map location is here.

Winter 2021 in California

 

Aerial San Francisco

 

Granite Peak Half Hike

Zahaira Velez and myself ascended 4000 feet up Granite Peak in the Trinity Alps, stopping around 500 feet short of the summit due to an ache in Zahaira's hip, which was fine with me, I've summited twice already. It was a perfect day on the mountain despite the lack of a summit...the sun was bright, temperatures were warm, and a half foot of snow covered the upper slopes. I enjoyed breaking trail above treeline. The views of Shasta and Lassen were great. All in all a top 10 November hike.

Google map location is here.

Middle Peak - Trinity Alps

I hiked Middle Peak (8,095 feet) on November 11th, a mountain that was immediately adjacent to Granite Peak, which I hiked just a few days before. The trailhead for Middle Peak starts at a gratuitous 4,500 feet, and I made easy work of switchbacks the led to Stoney Ridge. Heading left at Stoney Ridge leads to Red Mountain, while a rightward turn leads to Middle Peak. I took the right turn, and encountered easy class 3 slab scrambling. After the scrambling, I made one last upward push and gained the summit. The views were fantastic. Mount Shasta dominated the northern horizon, Granite Peak was to my immediate south, Lassen Volcano loomed east, and the heart of the Trinity Alps was located to my west. After enjoying the view, I quickly descended back to my truck. I completed this hike in around 5 hours; 11 miles round trip and 3,500 vertical feet up.

Google map location is here.