Adams - north side hike 10/12-14/2018
Posted: November 4th, 2018, 10:16 pm
Three weeks ago I had time for a 2-night backpack, and decided to see snow-covered Mt Adams at its best. Everything worked out great, even though nights were colder than I anticipated from the forecast. Snowline was at about 8000', and down to 6500-7000' on glaciers - just an inch or two of new snow, but it made the mountain look fresh and wintry.
I set up camp at Killen Lake late Friday night. Temps went down to mid-20's or so - my water froze in the tent, and tent got all covered with sparkling frost on the inside (this was quite nice with a flashlight!). I got just a bit cold, shared warm clothes with my dog Ferney and he was a happy camper (got to appreciate his enthusiasm going with me on the hikes - he used to be afraid of wilderness but now he really enjoys it). I slept late as it got warm in the morning, and then we headed to High Camp and continued on rough climbers' trail to Glacier Lake at 7500'.
Killen Lake's shore was covered in frost in the morning
Cascades on Killen Creek, just below the PCT
St. Helens from High Camp. High plateau was popular with backpackers this weekend
While I was at High Camp, Adams started to catch clouds, and I thought I won't see the mountain much longer
Going on snowfields to Glacier Lake. Easy terrain, much better than seems from the pictures. Snowfields were barely covered with fresh powder, so it wasn't icy. Interestingly, this was the only place I felt almost hot on this hike - with sun reflecting off snow
It was my first time at the lake. The pool is tad silty for drinking, and its shores were covered in slick mud - my boots became 3 pounds heavier. But the setting is spectacular, and I was glad it still held a lot of water so late in the season, with decreased runoff from melting glacier
The edge of Glacier
Okay, let's walk past that rock band, onto the next ice field
Rainier and Goat Rocks with Glacier Lake
What I didn't realize about the small rocky "moraine", it was not separating two glaciers - those rocks were sitting on the glacier, covering a small crevasse
Up on the bulk of Adams Glacier, now it was nothing between me and the foot of the mountain. This ice field is immense! What also surprised me, it was flat as a table (gently sloping at 10-15 degrees), no melt cups, no crevasses. Wish I had more time to hike around, really nice place
Went to about 7800' to see above the moraines
Looks like another melt pool on far side of the glacier, near the rocks? Only noticed it on photos at home - another thing to check out on a future hike
Cascading ice + summit (no zoom - maybe just a bit)
When I went down past the lake, a group of climbers were setting their tents for the preparation of North Face climb. It would be cool to read how it went, looks like epic climb by any measure.
Back at High Camp
On the second night, I decided to move my tent under the trees, to reduce heat loss. The night started quiet - but then powerful gusts came after 11pm (I was on a small ridge by the lake) and by 1am constant wind was battering my tent. I was thinking about the climbers, how did they do in their camp far above the timberline? At around 2am I finally decided to relocate my tent back down in the gully, and got some sleep. It was a bit warmer than previous night, and night sky was amazing.
Sunday morning I woke late again, to another gorgeous day on the mountain. This time I decided to stay local and explore Killen Creek Meadows, before heading back.
Iced Killen Creek
Next lake downhill is probably the largest in the group of 3 right after snowmelt, but now it was almost dry.
Lower lake was quite pleasant. Saw a large coyote not far from here, he ran away before I pulled out camera
This long/narrow meadow was perfectly aligned to have a view of both Adams and Rainier.
I could tell there was a lot of huckleberry brush, and some fall foliage was still around. Note to self: have to go back in September
Another small cascade just below Killen Lake. I didn't want to go back to PCT, so located long-abandoned trail for my return
Stopped at Takhlakh Lake for the sunset on the drive home
I set up camp at Killen Lake late Friday night. Temps went down to mid-20's or so - my water froze in the tent, and tent got all covered with sparkling frost on the inside (this was quite nice with a flashlight!). I got just a bit cold, shared warm clothes with my dog Ferney and he was a happy camper (got to appreciate his enthusiasm going with me on the hikes - he used to be afraid of wilderness but now he really enjoys it). I slept late as it got warm in the morning, and then we headed to High Camp and continued on rough climbers' trail to Glacier Lake at 7500'.
Killen Lake's shore was covered in frost in the morning
Cascades on Killen Creek, just below the PCT
St. Helens from High Camp. High plateau was popular with backpackers this weekend
While I was at High Camp, Adams started to catch clouds, and I thought I won't see the mountain much longer
Going on snowfields to Glacier Lake. Easy terrain, much better than seems from the pictures. Snowfields were barely covered with fresh powder, so it wasn't icy. Interestingly, this was the only place I felt almost hot on this hike - with sun reflecting off snow
It was my first time at the lake. The pool is tad silty for drinking, and its shores were covered in slick mud - my boots became 3 pounds heavier. But the setting is spectacular, and I was glad it still held a lot of water so late in the season, with decreased runoff from melting glacier
The edge of Glacier
Okay, let's walk past that rock band, onto the next ice field
Rainier and Goat Rocks with Glacier Lake
What I didn't realize about the small rocky "moraine", it was not separating two glaciers - those rocks were sitting on the glacier, covering a small crevasse
Up on the bulk of Adams Glacier, now it was nothing between me and the foot of the mountain. This ice field is immense! What also surprised me, it was flat as a table (gently sloping at 10-15 degrees), no melt cups, no crevasses. Wish I had more time to hike around, really nice place
Went to about 7800' to see above the moraines
Looks like another melt pool on far side of the glacier, near the rocks? Only noticed it on photos at home - another thing to check out on a future hike
Cascading ice + summit (no zoom - maybe just a bit)
When I went down past the lake, a group of climbers were setting their tents for the preparation of North Face climb. It would be cool to read how it went, looks like epic climb by any measure.
Back at High Camp
On the second night, I decided to move my tent under the trees, to reduce heat loss. The night started quiet - but then powerful gusts came after 11pm (I was on a small ridge by the lake) and by 1am constant wind was battering my tent. I was thinking about the climbers, how did they do in their camp far above the timberline? At around 2am I finally decided to relocate my tent back down in the gully, and got some sleep. It was a bit warmer than previous night, and night sky was amazing.
Sunday morning I woke late again, to another gorgeous day on the mountain. This time I decided to stay local and explore Killen Creek Meadows, before heading back.
Iced Killen Creek
Next lake downhill is probably the largest in the group of 3 right after snowmelt, but now it was almost dry.
Lower lake was quite pleasant. Saw a large coyote not far from here, he ran away before I pulled out camera
This long/narrow meadow was perfectly aligned to have a view of both Adams and Rainier.
I could tell there was a lot of huckleberry brush, and some fall foliage was still around. Note to self: have to go back in September
Another small cascade just below Killen Lake. I didn't want to go back to PCT, so located long-abandoned trail for my return
Stopped at Takhlakh Lake for the sunset on the drive home