Old Guys Skunked in the Dark Divide

[K.Wagner]

I had this last Friday off, and I suggested to Don, that we go after 2 peaks in the Dark Divide. Peaks 5021 & Peak 5580. Now, if those don't just immediately light up in your mental map data base, think “15 miles NE of Mt St Helens”. Here's a map:

Some may be familiar with Badger Peak........ This ridge is about 5 miles east.

Here is a real map link: Real Map Link

There are 2 ways to get up on this ridge. From the east, it is a brutal 2,780 ft climb up the #283 Rough Trail. And, you can't drive to the TH, because of last year's flood damage. From the west, it is a rough drive up the 2810 Rd, then a 1,000 ft climb. So, it's a no-brainer …... except that the 2810 Rd is blocked by a washout at 2,400 ft, 8 1/4 miles from the trail head. So my compromise was to short-cut the trail, and go up one of the ridges, straight up to the summit of 5021.

After Don reviewed my suggested route, and with his bike success earlier on the 99 Rd, he wrote back: “Would mtn bikes help?”.

We drove up to the major washout, which stops everyone, except for hikers, horses & dirt bikes:

parked, and started riding. The first few miles are pretty gentle, and we made good progress.

Then the road makes a left turn, starts to gain some real elevation, and we started pushing. The trade off was that the higher we got, the better the views got. After we had climbed about 600 ft, the road leveled off some, and we were able to ride most of the time again.

Badger Peak on the left

Peak 5022, that I had climbed a couple of weeks ago

It was along in here that I'm getting pretty hot. Don (as usual) is several feet ahead, and I am in the shade of a few trees. I hear this growing roaring sound. My first thought is: “ROCKSLIDE! Where is it & which way do I run!” And it is getting louder & louder. Then I recall a similar sound a few years back in the north Cascades, up by Lake Wenatchee, and my mind goes: “Fighter jockey playing Top Gun!” Don is yelling at me, but I can't understand anything he is saying, and I can't see anything but the trees. Then the afterburners kick in, the sound level is enough to shake your gut, then it's gone over the ridge. 10 seconds, tops. Don explains that the plane was about 1,000 feet below the ridge crests, about even with us. Here are 2 picture simulations, since I didn't actually ever see it:

Looking down Yellow Jacket Creek

Looking up Yellow Jacket Creek, Badger Peak beyond

We got to the ridges that I was hoping to climb, Don explored a bit, and decided that there were just plain too many windfalls. So we continued up another couple of miles to the trail head, doing a lot of pushing because the leg muscles that hadn't been on a bike in over 10 years were fading fast (Somehow in mind, my previous experience of Mtn Bike racing for 3 years was supposed to carry over......). So, by the time we got to the trail head, we had climbed 1,850 feet in about 8 1/4 miles & I was done.

This was the view of Hat Rock, just to the south of us. The #1 Boundary Trail traverses through here.

A leisurely lunch, with only a few flies to swat, then we had all that down hill to have fun with. Then Don got a flat on the front tire. No patch kit, and the pump he brought didn't fit the valve stem. More walking!

A parting view of Peak 5021, with Don not looking very happy.....

This was not a wilderness experience, and we both felt bad about the way the day went. Was it wasted...... no-way! I can't think of a much prettier place to get skunked!

So...... I have decided that these 2 summits are off the table until either: 1) FR2810 gets repaired, & I can drive most of the way to the trail head. OR 2) I get 2 wheels with a motor in between them.

[Don Nelsen]

Hey Kelly,

Thanks for the TR!

I can now report that I have a new "thornproof" tube for the bike, a new patch kit and the proper air pump in my pack! That done, I'll probably never need it.

Here are a few pics I took yesterday during our adventure:

Badger Peak:


One of the several slides along the road:


Here's the view of the ridge just south of Langille Peak that looked so enticing:


And, wow, what is this spire thing!! Must be 300' or more. I am definitely going to have to check that out.


I'm going back tomorrow to see if I can get to Snagtooth Mt., Hat Rock, and P 5021 from the south. Wish me luck!

-dn

[K.Wagner]

Don,

I have looked at both of our pictures of that spire. I suspect, that as we surmised there, that it is infact a dike. It has to be close to the cross-hairs on this map. Langille Map.

The new trail route leaves the ridge line and drops down the east slope. The old trail is pretty obvious as it splits from the new trail.

[Webfoot]

That spire looks like something out of a story book. I wonder if anyone has climbed it?

Could you provide coordinates for the washout on 2810? I like to mark those on my map.

[Don Nelsen]

That spire looks like something out of a story book. I wonder if anyone has climbed it?

Could you provide coordinates for the washout on 2810? I like to mark those on my map.

There is a washout at 46.331 x -121.8529 that can be navigated with a little clearance and 4wd. The next one, 6/10 mile farther south was the stopper for us: 46.3231 x -121.84985.

dn

[K.Wagner]

Webfoot (& Don, of course),

I just found this picture I took a couple of years ago, from the other side of the ridge, on the new trail section, so this is from the NE. Compare the profile of the skyline of the outcrop to the right in Don's picture. Then look at the outline to the left of the sharp pinnacle in this picture.

This thing is huge!

Knowing where this picture was taken, it places this spire farther south than I thought, at the saddle. The lighting is bad on the satellite images I have access to, so I can't pick it out there.

This is all on the Langille Ridge.

The access road, FR2809 is currently block by a nasty slide a few feet from the FR28 jct. Take a mountain bike & save yourself a lot of boring walking.

Webfoot, are you a technical climber?

[Webfoot]

Thanks for the coordinates.

Webfoot, are you a technical climber?

Just a "wannabe" really. My bad back limits how long I can be on my feet so I rarely get outside (partners don't seem to like to leave the crag after only an hour or two of climbing, for some reason...) but I climb on plastic now and again for recreation and fitness.

[cfm]

Hey I was just up there, and I did what Don was considering. Went to Snagtooth via the south. There is also a rockslide on the approach road. I biked up 3 mile to the TH( not difficult), and climbed up to Snagtooth. The north facing slopes still had some snow on them, traction devices were helpful. There are no views from the true summit, but 300 ft west is a nice little bald spot with timbers. Could this have been an old LO site?

I also dragged some old signs out of the shrubs that indicate this was part of the old French Creek Trail.

[K.Wagner]

cfm, it's good to hear from you!

That is really a great picture. For those not all that familiar with the Dark Divide, the foreground peak is Hat Rock, the pointy thing to the right is Sunrise Peak, the broad one to the left is McCoy Peak, the snowy one in the distance is Mt Rainier.

I could not find any references to a lookout on top of Snagtooth, but those timbers had to have been hauled up there for a reason. But, on the other hand, where is the trail up the ridge? I didn't see any signs of old trail grade anywhere.

And that sign ...... where up there did you find that? French Creek is the next drainage to the east, about 2 miles! I can't see anyway that the Snagtooth Trail could have ever been part of the French Creek Trail. Could it have just been giving a distance to the French Creek Trail junction? And it is interesting, the French Creek Trail is now #5C.

[cfm]

Hey Kelly,

That sign was in the bushes at the top of the bald spot with the timbers. There was another sign, more decayed that said Snagtooth. You'll see them and I expect you'll also find more interesting artifacts. Looking forward to the report!