Point 7248', Pasayten Wilderness

After doing Bear Skull Mountain last Memorial Day, doing another peak off of the Devils Dome Loop this year seemed like a reasonable idea, especially with the excellent forecast. Sir Hikes A Lot joined for what was mostly a great day (one navigation issue noted below). Point 7248' (South Jackita) is an easily-attainable ridge bump above the Jackita Ridge trail with excellent views to the central Pasayten, and large swaths of North Cascades National Park.

• There is a difficult-to-pass blowdown almost immediately after crossing Canyon Creek (see below). ~15 more blowdowns up the trail to McMillan Park; the stream at 4700' is raging hard in the melt, but passable. 
• Solid snow started at ~4800' with 2-3' in McMillan Park and above. South-facing slopes already melting bare. Snow of 24"+ depth was good for walking, anything shallower was melted through to the ground. Carried snowshoes, axe, spikes. Used poles. 
• I marked a waypoint on my phone (Topo Maps) on the way up when we hit solid snow and left the trail. On the way down we missed it and then instead of backtracking, looked at maps and noted that we were essentially on the trail. Problem is the trail is an entire ridge off on every map I've now looked at. We were pretty sure we knew where we were and it felt wrong, so we schwacked to where we thought the trail should be and that's where it was, way off from where USGS, FS and other maps show it. Sigh...Only bonus was we skipped the difficult ford.

May be difficult with overnight packs, runs steeply down into the creek

The ford at 4700', knee-deep and running fast with melt

Following fresh bear tracks through McMillan Park

McMillan Park with 7111, 7248 (S. Jackita) and Jackita

Crossing the Nickol Creek headwaters

Heading up the ridge north of Devils Park, with 7248'

Cady Pass trail switchbacking up, with Mount Ballard 

Looking south from the summit of 7248'

West to north, from the summit of 7248'

Devils Dome and Bear Skull Mountain

Davis, Despair and Hagan (?)

Falls draining into Devils Creek headwaters

Osceola, Caru, Lago and Ptarmigan

Prophet to Redoubt, Mox and Spickard of the Chilliwack group

Sir Hikes A Lot descending, w/Crater and Jack

Unimpressed, after our unintended off-trail adventure