Trip Report
I hadn't been out for a few weeks and wanted to see the scenic Sawtooths while there was still snow from a incredibly snowy year (yes, snow despite it being mid-July). So I convinced Zach and Todd to come along. I hadn't hiked with Todd in like 5 years, so it was good to reunite with someone I had climbed numerous peaks with (Borah, Castle, Thompson peaks, and numerous others).
We chose Observation Peak to hike up and we chose to come in from Grandjean instead of the normal route from Stanley Lake. We got off to a somewhat late start. However, it was a beautiful day and not a hint of a thunderstorm or even a black cloud. Todd brought a couple of his dogs I hadn't met before, so we set off as a group of 5.
We headed up the Trail Creek drainage from the Grandjean trailhead. It was a pleasant hike, with lush vegetation, flowers, and a creek. The trail was a pain though, as it spent a lot of time switchbacking up what seemed to be level ground. Maybe the trail makers wanted to ensure the angle of the trail never got above 2%?!
Things went well for about 2.5 miles until the first creek crossing. Here things got interesting, as the creek was raging and we had to cross on rickety logs. Todd daringly sped over just using the top log. I wobbled a lot and did the same slowly. Zach chose to butt straddle it. Todd's Rottweiler was a bit scared, but we got her across with some teamwork.
Creek crossings would be the theme of the day, as creek crossing #2 took us 10 minutes to solve. Todd and Zach gave up and took their boots off. I went downstream and found a log to cross. In all, I believe there were 4 major crossings, getting easier each time.
We finally reached the fork in the trail we were looking for. The right fork went to the Trail Creek Lakes. The left fork headed to the saddle where the trail up to Observation Peak headed off. We headed left. Within a mile or so, we reached snow. We also reached a heavily burned area from the Trailhead fire of 2006 that John Platt and I saw while attempting to climb Mount Regan. We followed the snow to the saddle and were thrilled it was solid and easy to walk on.
At the saddle, we followed what remains of the trail up Observation Peak in an area that was impacted by the fire. We could usually pick up the tread, but it disappeared at times. Once we got to around 8400 feet, it really didn't matter, as the trail was buried under snow. We stayed on snow for the most part the rest of the way to the summit. We kicked steps up one steep section (I made really big steps for Todd, who was in shoes), but everything else was not too steep. The amount and extent of the snow was surprising, but helped make for a easy travel.
Soon we stood on the summit with incredible views of the Sawtooths. Mount Regan and Baron Peak were close and very impressive. Tohobit Peak and Warbonnet were nothing short of amazing. In the distance, the Rakers ruled supreme as usual. Views to the north and west revealed less rocky peaks, but were scenic none-the-less.
The summit log was filled with interesting reading. Evidently a group of former alcoholics had visited the weekend before, each listing their "sober since" date. I hope I didn't offend with my "sober since yesterday" entry. With a late night already looming, we didn't hang out too long. We made much better time on the way down and even got in a glissade of a fairly steep snow slope for about 200 feet. I cautiously led, but as soon as they realized the fat guy made it safe, Todd and Zach screamed down the slope!
The hike out was tiring, as it turned out to be a 13.5 mile hike with 4000 feet of gain. Then when we reached the trailhead, I noticed the front tire was flat. So we had another half hour of work changing it out. Fun times!
|
|
