Introduction
This was a hard summer for me both in the hiking field and in my personal life. I have had to go through a number of health issues resulting in weight gain, health issues, extreme poverty, marriage separation and a loss of reliable transportation. I am thankful for my job but the alternating days off have damaged my chances for trip. I won’t lie, though I appreciate my job, I am presently looking for better. The weather this summer was near perfect except when I wanted to go hiking. When I was able to schedule trips I ended up having 21 cancelled trips. This would not be such a big deal if I had a vehicle but unfortunately without one I was doomed. I also had lost a number of hiking partners this summer, from climbing injuries, family movements, and others losing interest. My summer ended fittingly with me getting food poisoning just before being able to go on two awesome trips and a FALSE weather forecast that prevented me from getting two Bulgers I had been eyeing for 6 years.
![Morning light on the summit]()
The highlight of the summer; a failed attempt at Shuksan
Before I write this though I just want let others know I am really thankful to be in good health and have no major injuries. I also though want to thank my hiking partners who I was able to get hikes going with and that is SP members CascadeCohen, JordanH, Zephyr2us, mtn.climber and non-SP members Aaron, Adam, Rainie, Bob and Tom who helped me go on the trips I did. I want to thank those who attempted to get trip organized with me despite me not having a vehicle. Without all of you this would have been an even tougher summer. This trip report is dedicated to you because without you my chances of mountaineering would have been non-existent. You all give me hope that my bad luck with hiking will not continue into the future.
Mount Adams Failed Attempt (July 5th)
![Mount Adams]()
Picture from near the lunch counter during the morningConsidering that summer begins on June 21st and you can already tell I am on a rough start here. Normally I will have a couple peaks done by now or at least a Bulger. But this summer despite the good weather the only trip I could come with was Mount Adams. My good friend CascadeCohen really wanted to take a shot at his first volcano in Washington State. We got to the South Climb Trailhead the day before and set camp up there at the trailhead. In the morning we woke up at 3 am and started to head for the summit. We were going to try to get to the summit in one day.
![Me on Adams]()
CascadeCohen on Adams
We made a great time getting to the Lunch Counter. From the trailhead to the Lunch Counter it took us about three and a half hours. Unfortunately that great speed came with disastrous results. By the time we made it to the Lunch Counter, both CascadeCohen and I were starting to feel the effects of altitude sickness. We took a two hour rest there which made me quickly feel better. But for CascadeCohen the effects of altitude sickness really started to hit him. We quickly had to head down the mountain because he was beginning to get blind in one eye. With a little help in navigation we were able to head down the mountain safely. It was a success in many ways in that we were safe and we were able to get some good altitude. I had already summited Adams back in 2008. But it was not a good start to the season.
Mount Shuksan Failed Attempt (July 14th and 15th)
![Clouds over the summit]()
Shuksan in the clouds
I am sad to say this but this was the best trip I had all year. It really was good, even though there was no summit attained. I will make this section very brief because I already wrote a front page trip report about this trip. Essentially we were in a group of 4. After hearing a lot of bad beta, two of us (Dave and I) decided that it would be a bad idea to head up the summit block. The other two people in our group pressed on and found an awesome way up the mountain that did not require a rope. I do not regret turning around on this trip. I do though regret though not having another trip set for August on this very mountain.
Mount Shuksan Trip Report
![A look back at the North Cascades]()
A look back at all the mountains that I wanted to do this year.
Spiraltop (July 25th)
![Spiraltop from the road]()
Hey it's small but better than nothing
By this time I was desperate for any kind trip I could find. CascadeCohen and I were introducing one of our mutual friends and his brother to hiking and we were looking for a good mountain to do it that none of us had been to. So the peak we decided on was Spiraltop, a little summit located south of Rainier that is basically a road-walk to the summit. Other than the fact the road was overgrown at the summit, which caused us to break some of the bushes to get to the summit it was easy and a great way to spend the day. The significance of this trip was that it was the only summit successfully attained in the month of July and the first unique summit of July. Not exactly what I was hoping for going into the summer. But it was better than nothing. Had I not got to the summit it would have been the first month in six years that I ended up summit-less.
![One of the many views of Rainier]()
Hi Rainier! I will be back in 2014 for you!!
Mount Pilchuck (August 4th)
![Evening light at the base of Mount Pilchuck]()
Evening light on Mount Pilchuck
I will limit writing this trip up as well because I already wrote this trip on Summitpost as well. This was a great evening after work on a mountain that the last time I had been it had snowed and there were limited views. It was a great evening trip with CascadeCohen and Jordan Halas.
Mount Pilchuck Trip ReportBearhead and East Bearhead (August 15th)
![Bearhead-East Peak]()
East Bearhead from Bearhead
Summer to this point was one of the driest on recorded. We had no significant rain recorded in Seattle and it looked like that would continue into August. Unfortunately on the day when the weather would change I ended up being in the mountains. I now had met new hiking partner Tom Lackey for a good hike into the mountains. We had originally hoped to knock off three mountains on this trip but bad weather had moved in just after knocking off East Bearhead so we had to bail on Summit Lake Peak. But despite the bad weather this trip was a great success in many ways. First of all Bearhead Mountain and East Bearhead turned out sadly enough to be the highest summits attained during this disappointing summer.
![Looking back at the true summit from down the ridge]()
Looking back at the summit of Bearhead
The trip also was only one of two trips in which I got two different summits on one trip. The first peak Bearhead Mountain was a very easy hike to the top. I was really feeling it though from the lack of hiking I had been doing in 2013. But even with that we were able to summit that peak in under an hour and a half. The second summit, East Bearhead, was a little more interesting, especially in the rain. We headed up a steep grassy slope to the wet summit. Because of the rain the grass was very slippery and traction was very hard to come by. We hit the final summit scramble (Class 2+ with some exposure on the east to what potentially could be a great view of Rainier and the other mountains in the region. Unfortunately the clouds moved in quickly limiting or views and setting us up for an unsettling scramble down the mountain. At some point we were scrambling down in a white out on slippery scree. Not much fun but we made it through and I finally was starting to make some headway in this summer.
![Looking east from East Bearhead]()
From East Bearhead before the rain came in
Summit Lake Peak (August 29th)
![Another view of the face]()
JordanH on the rocky face of Summit Lake Peak
Yes as the summer goes I finally got another hike plan this summer and yes we were greeted with a thunderstorm as we were leaving Seattle. But luckily as soon as we got into the mountains the weather changed its tune and the clouds lifted enough to make this trip among the most scenic of the summer. It had been a long since I have done a good trip with my friend Aaron and we thought Summit Lake Peak would be a great mountain to get back into the swing of things.
![Summit Lake from near the summit]()
A look back at Summit lake
Heading back to the same trailhead as the time I went up Bearhead Mountain was a feeling of déjà vu. It was yet again cloudy and we were prepared to get rained on. The trail up to Summit Lake Peak was relatively easy and the views from the summit were excellent of the nearby mountains. Mount Rainier was fogged and so was some of the others but this excellent bang for the buck mountain was perfect for me to go up and enjoy. We spent maybe four hours hiking and an hour and a half just enjoying the summit area and the beautiful blue lake. Summit Lake Peak was a great find in what has been a not so great hiking season.
![Bearhead from Summit Lake Peak]()
Summit Lake Peak (8/29/13)Stegosaurus Butte (September 10th)
![Green and Moolock Mountain]()
A look back Green Mountain and Moolock Mountain
Both JordanH and I were getting off work the same time so we decided to check out this small little summit right off of the Middle Fork Road. Stegosaurus Butte was a great hike to kill two or three hours and it only took a little over an hour to get to. Another bonus is that very few people actually know about Stegosaurus Butte. The hike up was a good workout. The underused boot-path was at times hard to see as we headed up for the summit. But soon we made it to the top and were greeted with decent views of the Middle Fork River Valley. We made down from the mountain well before nightfall and enjoy this summit quite a bit. For me I had learned to appreciate this summit a lot because of the past issues during the summer. I was just glad to be out to enjoy the beautiful mountains for an hour.
![Preacher from Stegosaurus Butte]()
Preacher Mountain from Stegosaurus Butte
Blowout Mountain and Pyramid Peak (September 13th)
![Mount Stuart from the summit of Blowout Mountain]()
A look at towering Mount Stuart and the Enchantments
I was glad to final be able to hike with my most reliable hiking partner in the past three years. Zephyr2us and I have been on more than 30 summits together and our summit success rate is 95%. He was recovering from a combination of a long trip to Tennessee along with some illnesses that struck over the summer. Because of this we decided on two different mountains. The point of this was so we could both test out how strong we were after what had been sub-par hiking season for both of us. If we were weak after the first mountain we could just call it a successful day.
![Another Rainier shot from Pyramid Peak]()
Rainier from Pyramid Peak
We did not have to do that though because we were strong enough for both summits. It turned out to the perfect call on the perfect day in the mountain. This Friday the 13th was the total opposite of what much of my 2013 summer season was. The weather was excellent, the views were great and the trip was a total success. Plus that road into the mountains was excellent for views. What I did not know was that would be the last hike of the summer season despite me having the entire next week off. A bad forecast and bout of food poisoning sealed the fate of a disappointing and frustrating summer.
![Remenants of a lookout tower]()
Hey there is some fall color!! Maybe that means there will be better luck this fall!!
Conclusion
Face it, this season for me was disappointing. But thankful I had enough good friends to come out there and help during the summer. Without their help the season would have been even worse. I certainly hope 2014 becomes a much better season that 2013 is and I will do whatever I can in my power to make that happen. Hopefully in the near future you will be hearing more from EastKing, like you did in years past.
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