Intro: This is a tough trip report to write, not due to the length but my inability to sufficiently capture just how great of a trip it was. This was indeed a trip of a lifetime. I almost feel like I can say I could happily retire from climbing now! As we thought, the trip included exciting climbing, great unknowns, exhausting hiking, spectacular scenery, and welcomed comraderie. We each also experienced our own stresses at different times. For these times we were thankful for the comraderie. Like the Ptarmigan Traverse last year, we planned the individual camps and stuck to them, for the most part, with satisfying consistency. Of course, this traverse was much more serious than the Ptarmigan.
Almost immediately after the Ptarmigan Traverse, Michael and I proposed the idea of traversing the Pickets. A few months before the trip, we finalized the plan: We would hike from Hannegan Pass to Whatcom Pass, over Whatcom Peak to Mount Challenger, descend into the remote Luna Cirque and climb Mount Fury’s north buttress. From there, we would descend the south side of Fury to the Picket Pass/Mustard Lake area and ascend the north buttress of Mount Terror. From there, we’d descend the standard route and hike out Terror Creek to Goodell Creek, possibly climbing The Chopping Block on the way out. This plan was set until the last week when we decided for a hike in from Big Beaver Pass. One compelling reason for this change was that our car shuttle would suddenly be much simpler. We’d also be gaining a nominally shorter hike with less elevation gain. Our price was adding extra bushwhacking, up to Wiley Ridge, to the trip. The car shuttle argument won out. Also, during the last week, we added a third member, Aidan Haley, who was a most welcome third member of our party. On a trip such as this, a third person really made the party complete, certainly he didn’t make it a crowd!
Day 1: The hike to Beaver Pass
The standard route to Beaver Pass is of course from Big Beaver trail. One can hike to that trailhead which is over 7 miles from Ross Lake. Or one can pay $25 to have a water taxi ferry them and their gear the seven miles in about 15-20 minutes to the Big Beaver trailhead. It was no contest, we’d take the water taxi. After parking Michael’s car at the tiny Goodell Creek parking, we left my car at the commodious Ross Lake parking lot, readied our packs, double checked everything, then made the approximate mile hike down to the lake. From there I used the Ross Lake Resort phone to call the water taxi. I had to try no less than twenty times until I got the busy line to ring. We lolligagged around the dock for a several minutes before the water taxi showed up. We threw our gear on and handed the boatman $25 and were on our way.
The taxi quickly dumped us on the remote shore and sped off. “Savor it, boys. There’s no turning back now…well, except for hiking back 7 miles, but forget that!” It was 11:20 AM and now fourteen miles of forest and 2000 feet of elevation gain (mostly at the end) lay between us and our camp. We should be able to make it by nightfall easy, we thought. Thankfully, the trail is excellent the entire way. We only got confused once when we took the trail into the horsecamp. I guess we should have noticed the horseshoe on the trail marker.
The path was wide and gentle and we made good progress. For the most part, our packs were no bigger than they were for the Ptarmigan Traverse, maybe even smaller. We were going very light. Our only shelter was a Black Diamond Betamid, which would be pretty crowded if all three of had to fit in. Our forecast, however, looked perfect. Apparently, the day before had been quite wet. There were still some lingering wet clouds to prove it. But thankfully, the trail and foliage was dry. Little did we know that two parties ahead of us had absobed much water earlier in the day. The sun, I suppose and hope, evaporated the rest. Good thing the only remaining reservation was 11AM. What serendipity – good fortune that followed us for the entire trip.
The trail was delightful and at the same time claustrophobic. We only rarely got glimpses up valleys and only at the end of the day, as we were ascending the switchbacks to the pass, did we see sparse views of Luna Peak and the Northern Pickets. At least that was something. The hike went quickly for me; I broke the monotony with a little entertainment from my mp3 player. I felt pretty good though when we arrived at the turnoff for Luna Camp though – the ten mile point. Progress was coming along quite reasonably and we would easily make Big Beaver Pass well before the sun went down. The break at Luna Camp was most welcomed. Aidan’s boots were already giving him trouble (a common malady that he’s used to dealing with). A couple of small blisters were forming. By the end of the trip, he would have many. How many was it? At least ten, I think.
After enticing views of the Northern Pickets along the switchbacks, we pulled into camp. We passed a duo at the glorified lean-to that is Big Beaver shelter who were set on climbing Challenger on our same scedule. Next to our camp was a party of five that was planning another ambitious trip: a climb of Challenger as well, then moving across the valley to climb Luna and Fury and then out through Access Creek. The camp was still a little damp and dimly lit – the late afternoon sun could barely penetrate the boughs of the massive evergreens. After a satisfying meal, a quick cleanup, and some conversation with our neighbors, we were ready for a good night sleep. I opted to sleep out under the stars, or rather the pine boughs, while Aidan and Michael slept in the Betamid.
On to day 2.
