The Mt. Adams "Round the Mountain," loop is one Ben and I often talked about, but with a five-hour-each-way drive, it usually got bumped down the option list. This most likely is the last PNW volcano circumnavigation that I plan on doing (
Glacier Peak,
Mt. Rainier,
Mt. St. Helens,
Mt. Hood).
Reviewing forecasts for this past Friday-Saturday looked ideal as smoke and/or onshore flow was going to keep the Cascades largely socked in. We got lucky with great weather, crowds concentrated on the climbing route and PCT sections only, and wonderful scenery. We stuck to the normal loop with one exception: taking a cross country route on the north side of the mountain, opting to stay high under the Lava and Lyman glaciers instead of dropping low into the forest. It was mostly solid and all non-technical. Thanks for another great trip, Ben!
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| AG Aiken Lava Bed |
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| Bird Creek Meadows area with Gentians |
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| Entering Hellroaring Meadow |
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| Hellroaring Meadow |
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| Ben in Hellroaring Meadow |
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| Marshy with many glacial streams on the north side of Hellroaring Meadow; Ben's photo |
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| Klickitat Glacier and The Castle |
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| The impressive Big Muddy Creek valley, from the Ridge of Wonders |
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| Big Muddy Creek ford |
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| Mt. Adams casting a long shadow out east |
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| Victory Ridge, Roosevelt Cliff, Rusk Galcier; Ben's photo |
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| Almost sunset at 7700', Rainier and Goat Rocks above the clouds |
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| Heading a bit farther to find a sheltered camp; Ben's photo |
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| Goats at sunset... |
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| Ben getting a clouds time-lapse shot |
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| Sunrise from camp, with Rainier and Goat Rocks |
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| Wilson and Lyman glaciers at sunrise |
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| Looking NNW at sunrise with Rainier and Goat Rocks, our cross country route cuts far left across this |
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| Rainier at sunrise |
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| About where we cut left to start the cross country section; Ben's photo |
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| Ben on the cross country section |
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| North Cleaver and Lava Glacier; Ben's photo |
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| Blunt force trauma is the phrase, I believe...Ben's photo |
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| the mighty Adams Glacier splits the mountains NW flank |
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| Descriptive trail name |
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| Finishing up on the west side, maybe Horseshoe Meadow; Ben's photo |
Would you mind sharing a GPX file of your route ?
ReplyDeleteHi Maureen, you can see the track here: https://www.strava.com/activities/1797616736
DeleteThere are at least a few different route options for the XC section; all depends on what you're interested in seeing and what type of terrain you're comfortable with.
thanks Luke!
ReplyDelete