For this year’s Golden Larch trip, Jim and I were joined by Yoko, Baram, Todd, Kellie, and Gordy to head into the Pasayten Wilderness. Our peak goals were Cathedral Peak and Remmel Mountain. Jim and I have been trying to get into Cathedral Peak for over 5 years now. We were either stopped by early snow, forest fires, or road closures.
Todd, Yoko, and Baram met Jim and I at the Thirtymile trailhead at 11:30am last Thursday. Though we had driven in 3 different cars, we all arrived within minutes of each other. Kellie and Gordy had arrived an hour before us so they could get further up the trail. Their itinerary included a climb of Amphitheater Mountain.
Before long, the five of us were heading up the trail enjoying some splashes of fall colors.
We arrived our planned camp by 4:30pm, to early to camp, so we all agreed to head up and get another 1000 feet of elevation gain out of the way. Once we hit the next plateau, we began looking for a camp. We found a large camp on a knoll with creeks running down both sides. We could hear the creeks all night long.
In the morning, we were all glad to have a large part of our climb already behind us. Soon after we started hiking, we came to the abandoned Tungsten mine. I have seen old mines before but this one was the most intact with lots of artifacts lying about.
From above the mine, we got a great look at Apex Mountain and the golden larches we had come so far to see.
As we left the mine, our group headed off to check out the old miner’s cabin. I was more interested in taking my time to stroll up to Apex Pass and immerse myself in the golden larch trees.
As the trail rounded the basin and I continued to climb, the fall colors got more and more vibrant. Before I knew it, I was hiking among the golden larch trees. So soft and delicate yet hardy and persistent.
I couldn’t help but stop and put my pack down. Spending the next 5 minutes just wondering around the larches.
When I reached Apex Pass, I dropped my pack and started running around looking for the classic view of Cathedral Peak. What a striking mountain! No wonder this hiking loop is so popular.
After another 5 minutes, the rest of my group arrived, and we all enjoyed a long break at the pass. As we hiked down from Apex Pass, we were treated to glimpse of Cathedral Peak. Then we rounded one corner and there it was. An unobstructed view of the glorious peak.
As we hiked on, we returned to the trees. As we got closer to the peak, we were treated to views of the summit block and near vertical south wall. The trail would take us directly under the south wall. The classic climbing route for those willing to carry in climbing gear. Kellie and Gordy were two such climbers.
After hiking over Cathedral Pass, we dropped down to Cathedral Tarn and found Kellie and Gordy cleaning up. They had recently returned from their scramble of Amphitheater Mountain.
We setup camp on the rock slabs surrounding the tarn.
The evening was quiet and warm. I took the opportunity to wash up before dinner.
At dinner, we all shared stories of our adventures so far and discussed our plans for the next few days. Kellie and Gordy would be heading out in the morning to climb Cathedral via the south face. 10 pitches of class 5 climbing. The rest of us planned on doing the scramble route which was plenty exciting for us.
We had feared we would wake to smoke filled air but our luck was holding. We had blue skies yet again.
The scramble up Cathedral Peak starts at Cathedral Pass. The hike up is a combination of rock and sandy, scree. I stayed to the rock. Not the easiest route but I hate hiking in the sand.
Soon we had reached the ridge and started scrambling up the blocky mountain. Luckily, this is a very well used route, covered with rock cairns aiding in route finding. This mountain could quickly become class 5 climbing if you got off route.
We scrambled up and down the ridge until we reached the infamous cleft. A 6-foot split in the rock. We would have to work our way up the north side of the cleft and then work our way onto the south cleft via a chockstone step across.
The climb was class 3 bouldering moves with lots of exposure. Jim had brought a panic rope with minimal gear, so we decided to take our time and protect the most tenuous moves. This was my type of climbing so I took the lead.
The views as we climbed were amazing. There was definitely smoke in the distance but nothing within 50 miles of us.
It was so fun to climb with no real schedule. We felt like we had all the time in the world to enjoy this beautiful mountain.
When we got to the exposed step across with virtually no hand holds, I insisted on leading. I questioned my decision once I reached the other side of the cleft and now had to make an exposed move with no hand holds. Oh, I wish I could go back and give the lead to Jim but it was too late. I was committed and there was no place to go but up.
Once I was up on the south ridge, we setup a fixed line and one by one everyone prusiked their way up. From the cleft, we slowly worked our way along the wide but very exposed slanted ridge.
Then we arrived the large, solid summit. It had been a super fun scramble and now we could spend some time taking in the views.
Everyone was very interested in how far away Canada was. It was simply one ridge over.
We listened for Kellie and Gordy coming up the south face but heard nothing. We figured they were going to be several hours behind us but it was fun to hope that we would run into them on the summit.
After 45 minutes of snacking and taking pictures, we headed back down the west ridge which starts out so gently.
Then quickly becomes something you don’t want to take a fall on.
The step across the cleft was pretty uneventful on the way down. We all had the rope to support us, and Jim had a belay over the top.
We were able to avoid downclimbing one of the bouldering sections by finding a cannon hole. (I think these photos work way better as a slide show.)
From here, our decent back to camp went very quickly. We took a long lunch break at Cathedral Tarn before packing up camp and heading down the trail. At this elevation, we hiked along enjoying the fall colors.
Before long we came to Upper Cathedral Lake.
The larch trees on the lake shore almost glowed.
We opted for the high trail through the upper basins below Amphitheater Mountain. It involved some additional elevation gain, but no one cared.
Before long, the high meadows were over, and we were heading down toward Remmel Mountain.
Just before the junction to Remmel Lake, we came upon two hikers who had just completed the off-trail route to Remmel Mountain. They said it was horrible. The fires from the last several years had left a jackstraw forest. Think of trees as pixie sticks. They all fall down on top of each other and now you must try and figure out how to get through them. Needless to say, none of us wanted to do that. So instead, we went to Remmel Lake for a swim. Can you believe the lake was warm enough for both Todd and Jim to go swimming? Was this really October?
After a long break at Remmel Lake, we headed off into the burn. The trees were covered in soot making them black. The undergrowth had come back and was turning colors for fall. We all found it quite beautiful.
The down trees on the trail slowed us way down. We arrived camp just before dark. We had to search for campsites through the down trees, but we had running water nearby and someone had built a fabulous kitchen area for us all to congregate at.
The next day, we headed down the trail looking for the junction to Remmel Mountain. When we came to the junction, we dropped packs, left a note for Kellie since our plans had changed, and headed up the trail.
Everyone coming down the trail was warning us about the trees across the trail. Having been warned, we found them to be easier than expected.
Some we had to go under, while others we had to figure out how to get over.
Once out of the forest, the trail was clear, and the fall colors were popping.
Then we got our first view of Remmel Mountain. Remmel was a lookout site so there was a trail all the way to the summit which was good. After all the down trees, I was looking forward to cruising up a trail.
On the way to the switchbacks leading up the mountain, the trail cut through a magical hidden basin full of color and a babbling creek.
Somehow the larch trees have figured out how to grow in the rocky environment.
They seemed to line the trail through the rocks.
A hundred feet below the summit, we saw two people hiking down the trail. It was Kellie and Gordy. They got up early to try and catch us. They had done the horrible off-trail section and said it was indeed pretty bad. It was great to be a group once again. They headed down to our packs while we continued up to the summit.
Having been an old lookout site, the summit was quite large giving us plenty of room to spread out and enjoy ourselves.
When we headed down the sun had dropped below the ridge giving the larch trees a whole different look.
And the grasses in the magical basin, glowed orange and yellow. I found myself wondering through the basin oblivious of where the trail might be.
Since there was a cliff on the other side of the basin, I did have to find the trail again before we started heading down hill.
When we arrived the junction, we found Kellie and Gordy. They had looked around for good camping and gave up. We ended up camping among the blow downs and having dinner at the junction which worked out quite nice.
We ended up with 12 miles to hike out on our last day. Much more than we had planned but definitely doable. The trail started out in the woods but as we came to the valley floor. The aspens popped out. They were not this yellow when we had hiked in just a few days before.
We took a break every hour to visit and count heads. When we were within 3 miles of the car, we took off and arrived the cars in under an hour. There was a creek right next to the parking lot, so we all enjoyed a cooling soak before loading in our cars and heading home.
After the Golden Larch trip, I put away my backpack for the season. It is in the bathtub soaking as I write this blog. Jim still has one more outing which has fondly been named the frozen larch trip. The word “frozen” keeps me home every year.