Carne Mountain to High Pass (page 17)

Glacier Peak

Finally we reached the pass. Funny, on all the maps it was called "Buck Creek Pass," but the sign read "Buck Pass." Whatever it should be called, it is truly a wonderful spot. The meadows were just entering their full-flocked fall foliage stage. We passed under Flower Dome and headed for the camping area just off the pass proper.

The views across the Triad Creek drainage to the east side of Glacier were every photographer's dream. The vivid bright green of the grass contrasted with the subdued, richer shades of darker trees. Isolated patches of brilliant orange indicated blueberry bushes. The sky was a pure, deep blue and in the middle of it all stood white robed Glacier Peak in all its majestic glory. The white robe trailed off into streamers of grayish-brown as the Honeycomb, Suiattle and Gerdine glaciers flowed down into the valley below.

At just over 10,500' Glacier is not the highest volcanic peak in the range but it truly is my favorite. And it is probably the most isolated of the Washington volcanoes. I have now been around its every side over a period of several years, and I never fail to find myself audibly gasping every time the mountain first appears on each trip. The anticipation is always there, knowing that just around the next corner or over the next ridge, it will be there.

Mica and I stopped at a campsite and opted for a quick lunch and a reconsideration of the night's camp location. There was plenty of time yet to reach High Pass!

All the guide books and travel accounts regarding High Pass all pretty much said the same thing: the trail stops at a spot overlooking Triad Lake; hikers should stop here, the rest of the route being for climbers only. Besides, there was supposed to be a hellacious steep snow slope perched precariously above the waters of Triad Lake, and one miss-step could result in a quick, uncontrolled fall into the waters 500-feet below.

Of course, this description totally captivated me as I sat in my living room reading about it while planning the trip. Now, as I started getting closer to the actual event, I found a little trepidation beginning to creep in. I wondered if I should rope Mica up. Yeah, I could use my clothesline to rope her to me. And we could both slide down into the lake below together.

Well, I had traversed the Carne Mountain High Route and surmounted Spider Pass. I wasn't going to back out now. The remaining problems of negotiating the route to High Pass and finding my way down into the Napeequa River Valley were going to be faced.

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