LA Wilder Hikes - Mt. Daniel July 31 - Aug 2, 2007
Dave and I decided to climb Mt. Daniel on our first backpacking trip of the year. We started at the Cathedral Pass trail head above the Salmon-la-sac campground up the Cle Elum Valley. This trail starts out in the woods which was great because it gave us lots of shade. We stopped at Squaw Lake for lunch. It was surprisingly mosquito free but, may flies were everywhere. I didn't see a single fish in this lake though. It was a little disappointing as I did bring my fly fishing gear. We continued on, passing a number of small ponds before we reached the pass. Then we dropped down along the Deep Lake trail and took the cutoff to Peggy's Pond. Peggy's pond also appeared fish less and there were way too many mosquitos. So, we took off and headed up to the basin of Mt. Daniel where we made camp next to a glacial creek. We were a little disappointed to find that there were just as many mosquitos at the desolate basin as there were down at Peggy's pond. We had hoped to climb out of the mosquitos. Alas, we endured, eating teriyaki chicken, tofu, green peppers and green onions over rice for dinner and then into the tent to escape the bloodsuckers.
In the morning we packed up a lunch and brought our books and headed up to Mt. Daniel. Our plan was to spend all day up there away from the bloodsuckers and come down for dinner. We approached the mountain from the right (east) side climbing rock slabs and then up a treacherously steep, loosely packed scree slope where it was one step forward and two feet slipping backward until you could gain enough purchase to push forward again. Whenever we could we would head for patches of heather or large rocks where we could find enough solid ground to move forward. Once we finally got to the ridge on the right (east) side of the mountain we were able to walk along the ridge a little ways and then onto a snow covered ledge. There we stopped for a snack and discussed our options. We decided the snow was soft enough to climb so we headed straight up a glacier to some rock patches and worked our way up to the ridge on the left (southwest) ridge of the summit. Then it was just a scramble over rock to get to the top. Wow, the view at the top was spectacular! We could see Mt. Adams to the south, Mt. Rainier to the west, Mt. Stuart, Granite Mountain and Glacier Peak to the east, Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan to the North. We could also see Tuck and Robin lakes, another fabulous hike. One of the best views I've ever had. Below us on the other side of the ridge were Venus and Spade lakes. Two beautiful lakes that we plan to go to on another hike.
We hung out near the top where someone had built a little seating area, had lunch and read our books until we decided it was time to head back. We decide we would make a loop of the trip and traverse across a glacier to the other (south) side of the ridge where we could see a trail (the tourist route to climb the summit). Along this ridge, we could see Circle lake on the other side from where we were camped. Another gorgeous lake! When we got back to the tent the wind had picked up and the mosquitos were absent. THANK GOD! We also found we had a few neighbors, two hikers had made camp on the other side of the creek from us. We also had a marmot in our campsite, quietly nibbling on grass. He wasn't too worried about us and stayed in our campsite for at least an hour. We had ramen with teriyaki chicken, green onions and tofu for dinner.
The morning brought the mosquitos back in nightmarish numbers. Dave says, "OK, this is as bad as Fern Lake!" Needless to say, it didn't take us long to get packed up and we headed home. The marmot and what appeared to be a youngster, hung out on rocks close by, watching us while we packed up.
The hike out was easy enough but we were both glad to get back to the truck. We both got a little too much sun the day before and were covered with unavoidable bites. Our bodies ached and our feet were beat but, that's pretty much normal for us. The scramble up to the summit of Mt. Daniel was well worth it.
Dave hikes along the wooded portion of the Cathedral Pass trail.
Squaw Lake
Lots of frogs in creeks along this trail.
Spinola Meadows above Squaw Lake.
One of my favorite peaks, Cathedral Rock.
An unnamed pond before the pass.
A view of Mt. Daniel, on the right, from Cathedral Pass.
Another variety of penstemon.
Peggy's Pond
A view of Mt. Daniel and the basin below it from Peggy's Pond. Mt. Daniel is on the left.
White Marsh Marigold's in the field at Peggy's Pond.
The trail that leads to the basin above Peggy's Pond where we camped.
Lush ferns along the glacial creek near our campsite.
Dave sits on a boulder to rest next to an obstinate tree in the desolate glacial scarred landscape.
Toppled Cairn
Dave and Lilly-Anne at our campsite.
Mt. Daniel Sunset
Our scramble route through the scree on the right (north) side.
A view of Mt. Daniel from the right (north) ridge. I've marked our route as well.
A view of Venus and Spade lakes on the southwest side of Mt. Daniel from the southwest ridge. You can see Mt. Rainier in the background.
Dave summitting Mt. Daniel.
Dave and Lilly-Anne on the Summit.
A view of Cathedral rock from the right (north) ridge. Peggy's Pond is below and Mt. Stuart in the background.
A view of Mt. Rainier from the summit.
A view of the mountain range above Necklace Valley from the summit.
A view of Mt. Baker and Glacier Peak from the summit.
A view of Granite Mountain and the Tuck and Robin Lakes from the summit.
A view of the Stuart range from the summit. Down below is our campsite.
A view of Circle Lake from the south ridge.
A view of the route we took to traverse the glacier over to the south ridge. Part of the tourist route to summit Mt. Daniel.
