Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

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Don Nelsen
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Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by Don Nelsen » October 7th, 2020, 6:29 pm

This was the second hike up Stagman ridge in two days. This time to find my errant GPS that fell out of my pocket on the 4th. I was off-trail on a ridge exploring Grassy Hill and despite a half hour of searching, was unable to find it, likely hidden among the bear grass. So, given the promise of great weather, I went back yesterday, Oct. 6th.

Before I headed up the trail one of a party of elk hunters came over and let me know that their mules had gotten loose and went up the trail. I found them 1.2 miles in and they were happily munching the grass and foliage and noted the location so I could let the hunters know when I returned.

Two mules, one horse:
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7/10 miles past the equine encounter, I went off-trail, back to Grassy Hill to search. Alas, an even more thorough search failed to uncover it. I have a spare, but it’s a shame to lose a perfectly good GPS. Not wanting to waste a great day in the woods, I continued on up the mountain to see what The Bumper and The Hump looked like.

Grassy Hill:
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Back on-trail, I reached the upper end of the Stagman Ridge Trail and followed the PCT for about a mile and a third, heading off-trail toward The Bumper.

After a bit of pushing through a few stands of young hemlocks the terrain opened up with delightful views of Adams.
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I scaled The Bumper and wandered around on top, noting that at least a couple of folks had camped there within the past few days. What a great camping spot! I followed their footprints and found an easier route down than the one I came up – Thanks, whoever you are!

Summit of The Bumper:
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Campsite:
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The views from there are spectacular, to say the least:
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The Bumper:
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My next goal was The Hump and I could easily see it, only a half mile off to the north. I explored some more, taking 35 minutes to get from The Bumper to The Hump. Along the way, I marveled at the glacially carved bedrock and a pristine little lake:
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The Hump:
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Summit of The Hump:
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The Hump was a bit more of a rock climb, 3rd or barely 4th class so easy enough. Back down, it was now 5 o-clock so I had only 1:35 left of daylight, so time to get a move on!

The route back was a little rocky, but still only took 22 minutes to reach the PCT.
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The Hump from the PCT: (Edit from 1/2 way back to the PCT.)
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Hmmm 5:22, 73 minutes of daylight, 6.2 miles to go. I hope my light works!

Sunset in 5 minutes, 3 miles to go:
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Total darkness on the trail, 1.4 miles to go.
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I got my light out and turned it on and it glowed so feebly that it barely made a difference. I had checked it out before leaving, just in case, and it worked fine. I shook the battery case, and voila! It worked!

Back to the TH at 7:40, I went over to the elk hunter’s camp and let them know where I saw their mules and horse. We chatted for a while, I gave them my map and circled the location of their wayward steeds and headed home. Another great day in the woods!

14.0 miles, 3,144 EG, Hike # 91

The map: Red: Stagman Ridge Trail,
Green: PCT,
Yellow: off-trail
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Last edited by Don Nelsen on October 13th, 2020, 3:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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Chip Down
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Re: Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by Chip Down » October 7th, 2020, 9:13 pm

I had to double check the date on your report...it really was yesterday!
Check out what it looked like on the NE side.

There's an irony in losing a GPS.
Last thing I lost on a mountain was my altimeter.

I hate it when my livestock gets away. :|
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MarkInTheDark
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Re: Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by MarkInTheDark » October 8th, 2020, 6:02 am

mules? You have all the fun mannnn! Great photos!

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drm
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Re: Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by drm » October 8th, 2020, 7:33 am

I've camped on The Bumper a number of times. It is a fantastic spot with lots of space. I prefer to get there from Horseshoe Meadow hen the little creek through it is running as the creek basically flows from directly uphill of the butte and there are some very nice rock gardens and flower beds along it when it is still running. It can be windy up there.

The Hump is kind of boring by comparison, but there was a big fat marmot hanging out up there last time I visited.

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by Don Nelsen » October 8th, 2020, 1:41 pm

Chip Down wrote:
October 7th, 2020, 9:13 pm
I had to double check the date on your report...it really was yesterday!
Check out what it looked like on the NE side.

There's an irony in losing a GPS.
Last thing I lost on a mountain was my altimeter.

I hate it when my livestock gets away. :|
Chip, thank for the comment: Were you on the east side of Adams on the 6th?
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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teachpdx
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Re: Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by teachpdx » October 8th, 2020, 3:36 pm

Getting up onto The Bumper is hopefully on my list this year, provided we get any more windows of decent weather before the heavy snows move in. Thanks for the FOMO motivation!

My hope is to do a couple nights at Island Lake (haven't been since before the 2015 burn), and try to make a loop up around there... hopefully the abandoned Lake Camp Trail is not super hard to follow. According to ElementalFX's post from a few years back, it looks appealing to attempt... viewtopic.php?t=26046
instagram: @remyodyssey

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by Don Nelsen » October 8th, 2020, 4:41 pm

drm wrote:
October 8th, 2020, 7:33 am
I've camped on The Bumper a number of times. It is a fantastic spot with lots of space. I prefer to get there from Horseshoe Meadow hen the little creek through it is running as the creek basically flows from directly uphill of the butte and there are some very nice rock gardens and flower beds along it when it is still running. It can be windy up there.

The Hump is kind of boring by comparison, but there was a big fat marmot hanging out up there last time I visited.
Hi Dean,

Thanks for the comment and info. When I go back I'll try your route. The creek running through Horseshoe Meadow was damp but no standing or flowing water. I wandered through the meadow on my first trip on the 4th. There was evidence that it was a foot or more high only a few days prior though.

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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drm
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Re: Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by drm » October 8th, 2020, 7:10 pm

That fork of Cascade Creek varies a lot. One warm day and it can have water in it again. Going up, you take the left fork in the upper meadow area. Nice waterfall there too when running. I usually go up that way and then return by just dropping down to the PCT from the north side.

And I just noticed on your map skipping the Stagman Ridge Trail dogleg down to the ravine. Worth a look next time, especially on the return.

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by Don Nelsen » October 8th, 2020, 7:38 pm

drm wrote:
October 8th, 2020, 7:10 pm
That fork of Cascade Creek varies a lot. One warm day and it can have water in it again. Going up, you take the left fork in the upper meadow area. Nice waterfall there too when running. I usually go up that way and then return by just dropping down to the PCT from the north side.

And I just noticed on your map skipping the Stagman Ridge Trail dogleg down to the ravine. Worth a look next time, especially on the return.
The route I took skipping that dogleg is fun but there are seven or eight minor hills on the route so I'm not sure if it's less total elevation saved over the trail. As far as bushwhacks go, it's not too bad though - lots of open terrain. I took notes on the EG on each hill but haven't compiled the info as yet. I'll post again when I have something.

Thanks for the additional route info up Horseshoe Meadow.
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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Re: Mt. Adams, Stagman Ridge Oct. 6th, 2020

Post by Webfoot » October 9th, 2020, 5:29 pm

Don Nelsen wrote:
October 7th, 2020, 6:29 pm
I got my light out and turned it on and it glowed so feebly that it barely made a difference. I had checked it out before leaving, just in case, and it worked fine. I shook the battery case, and voila! It worked!
What kind of light do you use?

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