CascadeAdventures.info

Del Campo Peak

Getting started with this climb was really weird. At first, I thought I would do an overnight but it turned out that I had so many things to do so I made it a day hike at the last minute. Even on the day of the hike, I didn’t get up until 7:00 or so and didn’t start the hike until 9:30am, which felt so late. However, I ended up being the first person on the peak! More on that later. This was the first time that I had driven up this part of the mountain loop highway. I was eager to see “Big Four Mountain” which I had only recently heard about. As I approached Big Four Campground I started looking through the trees trying to get a glimpse. Then I saw it: a monstrous and terrifying north face with hanging glaciers and snowfields feeding the numerous falls cascading off of it. What a giant peak! I can see why that peak has the reputation it does.

The beginning of Del Campo Peak and other Monte Cristo Peaks involves a hike down a level road to various trailheads. Many people like to bike this. But for this trip, a bike wasn’t necessary because the hike in is only 1.5 miles. When I arrived there were some others getting their bikes ready. I was able to head out first and I moved quickly. Within 15 minutes, the cyclists passed me, but in 5 minutes, I was at the trailhead! Easy hike. The trail up to Gothic Basin starts out nice and mellow but becomes, surprise surprised, very steep with lots of switchbacks within a mile. I continued to move fast and passed two parties. Soon after, I arrived at the first open space high up at a set of falls. There’s a whole lot of falls on this hike! I suspected I was pretty close to the basin but checking my altimeter brought me back to reality. Ug, another 1500 feet to go. I didn’t keep up with the number of creeks and falls that I passed but it was a lot. There’s one set of falls pretty close to the trail called “The Shower of Mighty Kong” or something like that. I took a break here to put on sunscreen. It’s also nice to stand close to the falls and let the cool mist massage your tired and hot body.

More falls, more falls until I finally arrived at a steep snow slope that apparently led to the base of the basin. Sure enough, I was at the snow-filled basin and there was a small lake below me. But, I didn’t recognize any of the features. Nothing from what I recalled from the pictures and nothing on the map. A little more study of the map revealed that the trail had deposited me well to the south of the lake and peaks. So, I headed north. Soon enough, Del Campo started to make an appearance. However, within a few minutes, I realized this was Gothic Peak since a much bigger peak was coming into view on the right. Then I saw the lake: Foggy Lake, or, as Beckey’s book calls it, Crater Lake. Hmmm…what to do first. I started to head over to Gothic but then decided to head for Del Campo since it was the major peak and probably had better views. Also, I wasn’t sure how tired I’d be on the way down too. There was still lots of snow up here. The topology really undulates up here…hills and little frozen pools everywhere. There was too much snow though, really, to appreciate what it probably is like in late fall.

I crossed near the lake and started heading up heather slopes mixed with snow. I’d been hearing voices in front of me and finally spotted an army of hikers heading up Del Campo. Must be Mountaineers. Studying their tracks revealed the pack mentality: all using ice axes and holding them in their left hand, now the right hand. I decided to get some food and let them get a little further in front of me. I started back up maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I ascended the standard route, following the boot path in the sloppy snow. Within minutes, I was in sight of the Mountaineers again. They took a break at the base of the snow where a 3rd class gully leads northward and up to a notch. They were indeed a Mountaineers party and were nice enough to let me head out first. I resolved to climb quickly and not knock any rocks down on them. At the notch, there’s a small trail that heads up another 50 feet. At this point, though I didn’t feel it, I knocked a small rock down! Arr! It missed them easily but smacked other small rocks and sent 3 or 4 down. Man, I felt bad and careless. My quick apology was accepted and I resolved to stay off the trail and on the very solid rock on the lefthand side, which was pushing 4th class with some fun exposure. Soon enough, I was on top. It was 1:10pm, 3 hours and 40 minutes after setting out.

Looking to the west revealed nothing but fog! I guess this is why they call it “Foggy Pass” (the pass between Gothic and Del Campo). There were zero views west but plenty of excellent views to the west. The tops of Glacier, Pugh, and Sloan were capped with clouds. I still haven’t gotten a good look at Sloan. Keyes (which they pronounced “Kies” rhyming with “Fries”?? Is that right??), Columbia, and Monte Cristo were easily visible. I was also able to pick out Mount Forgotten to the north. The top was a little noisy with all of us up here but I couldn’t complain. After about 50 minutes on top, I bade the Mountaineers farewell and headed down. I thought they would start down about 10 minutes after me but after getting down the gully and boot glissading nearly all the way to the lake, I looked back and saw that they were still on top! I continued down and took a slightly different route back over the knoll that blocks the lake from the valley. The sun was quite intense as I hiked and I went to get my hat out of my pack and I realized I left it on top! Arr! I am so forgetful sometimes. Ah well, it was a rather heavy hat and I didn’t feel like waiting on the off chance that one of the Mountaineers would have picked it up. So, I put on my bandana and headed down. The steep trail forced me to move quickly. I took an Aleve to keep my knees happy and marched on. No time for breaks! I was back at the car at 4:45. The drive out was pleasant enough as I got more views of Big Four Mountain.

One annoying feature of the drive back was a goofy camper that kept everyone (at least 10 cars) at about 40 mph. Did the driver realize he was breaking the goofy Washington Five Car Stack law? I guess not. We passed a cop on the side of the road. He just sat there…hey go study the books, Officer Doughnut!