Indian Heaven (Lemei Rock) 29-Sept-2010
Posted: September 29th, 2010, 7:24 pm
I had another chance to visit Indian Heaven and decided to hike from the Placid Lake TH to Lemei Rock and back. Last week it was mixed sun and clouds – today was crisp, sunny, and cloud free. I took the 29 trail past Placid Lake,
to the PCT, then south on it to the 33 trail past Clear Lake.
I got my first look at Lemei Rock from Clear Lake. At Cultus Lake, I took the 34 trail E toward the Rock.
I followed the directions in SummitPost and ascended via the NW Ridge. There was a pretty evident use trail from the 34 trail all the way to the summit ridge. I then traversed the ridge from the N to the S (higher) summit. Unlike what was described in the Post, I only found 2 or 3 3rd class moves along the ridge. These moves were at a keyhole with a view of the use trail on the E side of the Rock.
From the S summit, there were great views of Rainier, with the summit ridge in the foreground,
Adams, with the N summit of Lemei on the left,
Hood,
and St. Helens.
I descended via the chute on the E side – which is described as 3rd class but is mostly just loose dirt and rocks. Looking down, it didn’t look too inviting.
Once down, I could see the keyhole (gold arrow) and the chute (white arrow) - the S summit is on the far left. The chute is messy but not technical. The NW ridge wasn’t technical either and was a whole lot less messy & frustrating than the chute.
On the way back, I swung by Cultus Lake,
caught one of the meadows in full Fall colors,
and found this little (1/2” long) toad hopping across the trail. At first, I couldn’t understand how a small clump of dirt could hop.
Indian Heaven is definitely a special place on a clear, sunny Fall day. The bugs are dead and there were even some huckleberries left too.
to the PCT, then south on it to the 33 trail past Clear Lake.
I got my first look at Lemei Rock from Clear Lake. At Cultus Lake, I took the 34 trail E toward the Rock.
I followed the directions in SummitPost and ascended via the NW Ridge. There was a pretty evident use trail from the 34 trail all the way to the summit ridge. I then traversed the ridge from the N to the S (higher) summit. Unlike what was described in the Post, I only found 2 or 3 3rd class moves along the ridge. These moves were at a keyhole with a view of the use trail on the E side of the Rock.
From the S summit, there were great views of Rainier, with the summit ridge in the foreground,
Adams, with the N summit of Lemei on the left,
Hood,
and St. Helens.
I descended via the chute on the E side – which is described as 3rd class but is mostly just loose dirt and rocks. Looking down, it didn’t look too inviting.
Once down, I could see the keyhole (gold arrow) and the chute (white arrow) - the S summit is on the far left. The chute is messy but not technical. The NW ridge wasn’t technical either and was a whole lot less messy & frustrating than the chute.
On the way back, I swung by Cultus Lake,
caught one of the meadows in full Fall colors,
and found this little (1/2” long) toad hopping across the trail. At first, I couldn’t understand how a small clump of dirt could hop.
Indian Heaven is definitely a special place on a clear, sunny Fall day. The bugs are dead and there were even some huckleberries left too.