On September 10th, Fay and I headed out on our annual trip. Just the two of us. The Hanging Gardens and Bannock Lakes hit both our radar last year so it was easy to decide where to go.
It would be a loop trip starting on the Suiattle river trail, joining the PCT over Suiattle pass, then leaving the trail from the basin under Saddle Bow peak and heading straight up hill to the pass above Bannock Lakes, over to Ross Pass and the Hanging Gardens, then hike out past Canyon Lakes, over Miners ridge, picking up the trail at Image Lake and heading back out the Suiattle river trail.
We allowed 5+ days to give us time to climb Saddle Bow from the Bannock Lakes basin and take a stroll through the Hanging Gardens. Jim and I wanted to climb Sitting Bull and Plummer from Image Lake so the plan was for Fay and I to do our trip and then on the last day, Fay would hike out and Jim would hike in while I swam in Image Lake. My plan saved me 4000 feet of elevation gain.
The Suiattle river trail is in excellent shape as is the PCT through this area. Fay and I chatted the day and the miles away. We got about 2 miles further than expected which put us in great shape to make it to Bannock Lakes on Day 2.
On Day 2, we finally got high enough to break out of the trees and enjoy some of the views of the area. The north end of Fortress mountain sticks right up from the PCT.
Soon we crossed Suiattle Pass and got views of Plummer and Sitting Bull from the East. Not sure how Jim and I were going to climb these, but this was a problem for another day. (Or as Brooke says, “It is a problem for future Eileen”)
Plummer is a real mass of pinnacles and ridges…
where Sitting Bull has one scary face.
Fay and I arrived the basin below Saddle Bow by 1pm. Plenty of time to reach Bannock Lakes by the end of the day. I hoped the cross country travel would go well so we would have time to climb Saddle Bow. After all it was Fay’s 75th birthday today and she should sit on a summit to celebrate.
After taking a break and changing out of trail shoes and into climbing boots, we headed up hill. This was my first trip using trail shoes and it certainly makes a difference on these good trails. We would have never got this far if I was in climbing boots the whole way.
Fay and I should have spent a little more time discussing the route before charging off. We were a bit too excited. We headed left instead of right. By the time we realized our error, there was too much brush between us and the correct route. We ended up heading straight up the treed cliffs.
The next 400 feet took us 3 hours. We pulled our way up trees and steep forest duff. Just trying to move 10 feet at a time. I was completely amazed every time I looked back and saw this 75 year old woman climbing the cliffs with a full pack on her back. She is truly an inspiration.
When we finally popped out of the trees and hit the heather, Fay was off.
I was dragging behind trying to enjoy the beautiful basin instead of thinking of the 1000 feet we still had to climb.
Finally, we reached the pass and could see the summit of Saddle Bow.
It was 7pm and dark would be coming soon, we would have to climb Saddle Bow tomorrow. Since Fay was not going to get a summit on her birthday, I had her find the highest rock at the pass so we could take a birthday picture.
Thankfully the drop into upper Bannock Lakes was quite easy through rolling heather benches and magical larch trees, not sure either of us could do much more. We set up camp in the dark, ate dinner, and celebrated Fay birthday.
Since Fay and I had built some extra time into our schedule, we slept in…
and enjoyed the seldom visited Bannock Lakes.
After a slow morning, we headed off to climb Saddle Bow. A smaller but scrappy peak which offered amazing views of Bannock and Glacier Peak to the west, the Dome peaks to the north, and the Bonanza massif to the east.
The climb of Saddle Bow included heather meadows, boulders the size of cars, loose scree, hard dirt, class 3 ledges, and loose climbing rock. Everything one would want in a scramble, right?
The summit did not disappoint. There are not many places where you can get a picture of Dome, Sinister, Gunsight, and Agnes all in the same frame.
As we hiked back to camp, we really got a sense of being in a very special place where not many people visit.
After our mistake getting into Bannock Lakes, Fay and I want to take some time to make sure our exit to Ross Pass and the Hanging Gardens was as efficient as possible. We thought it would be better to move camp down to
lower Bannock Lakes so we could get a good look at the route tonight before we climbed out in the morning.
Lower Bannock Lakes is just boulders and scree everywhere. No heather benches and larch trees. This was the day the weather went from summer to fall. Temperatures dropped and the winds came up. Luckily we were able to find a camp just big enough for Fay’s small 2 man tent. It had rock walls on 3 sides which kept us out of most of the wind. It did offer a good view of our exit route as well as Dome, Sinister, and Gunsight.
The next day, our exit went smoothly and soon we found ourselves taking a break on some heather evaluating our traverse to Ross Pass.
After another hour, we arrived at the Hanging Gardens, about 2.5 hours from lower Bannock lake. I saw the backside of Stonehedge for the first time. What an incredible range of peaks.
The Hanging Gardens are so difficult to describe. Heather benches, rock out croppings, and clumps of evergreen trees rolled across the foreground.
We had some time so Fay and I dropped packs and went off to find the high point. To our delight, the high point was a large heather bench with a close up shot at Dome and Sinister.
As well as a view of the climbing route on Agnes. So glad I have already climbed Agnes. From here it looks impossible.
Behind us, you could see the Bannock Lakes, Saddle Bow, and Bannock mountain. I hope that someday I get to return to this magical place.
Fay went off to find the true high point of this bump. I think she found it in these trees.
Our goal was to get past Canyon Lakes today so we picked up our packs and headed across the Hanging Gardens towards Totem Pass.
The traverse was lovely heather not too steep. The last 500 feet to the pass was nice solid rock slabs.
After a quick break, the cold wind didn’t allow for a long break, we dropped into Canyon Lakes and a view of Glacier Peak.
We still had an hour or so of daylight so we decided to climb the 800 feet out of the lake basin and camp along the Canyon Lakes trail. After about 2 miles, we found the most beautiful camping spot with views of Glacier and Plummer.
This would be Fay and I’s last night together so we sat out watching the sunset and the stars come out. Good thing Jim and I recently switched to a comforter sleep system. It kept Fay and I warm until we decided to turn in.
For our last day, Fay and I had about 4 miles of trail and 1200 feet of gain before we reach the heather benches right below Miners ridge. Image Lake was just on the other side of the ridge. I decided this was a great spot for Jim and I to camp. It would put us in a good position to climb Sitting Bull plus the views were pretty dang good.
I said goodbye to Fay. I don’t think we can ever top this trip. Definitely one of my top 10 ever.
I setup camp, packed up some clothes that desperately needed washing, and headed to Image Lake where I swam, napped, and waited for Jim to arrive. Thankfully, I was blessed with one more day of summer.