Mike went with the varsity scouts of troop 525 on a 50-mile backpack trip to the Glacier Peak Wilderness in the Cascade Mountains this Summer. The group consisted of 8 varsity scouts, and two adult leaders. The group covered 50.3 miles and 13,300 feet of elevation gain in five days.
Report
Day 1: After a 3+ hour drive to the Phelps Creek Trailhead, we were all ready to stretch our legs on the slight grade up the creek basin. At Leroy Creek, we stopped for lunch and a quick dip in the stream. At this point, Dave Christie, who had come with us for a day hike, turned back, and we continued on our way to Spider Meadow. Past the meadow, it was a tough grind of switchbacks we had to overcome to reach an amazingly beautiful campsite at the base of Spider Glacier. (Start time: 9:48am, End Time: 5:15pm.)
Day 2: After waking up before sunrise, we again enjoyed the scenary from our campsite, retrieved the food we hung off a cliff to protect from wildlife, packed up camp, and began the ascent up Spider Glacier. We were so glad to be fresh climbing up a steep grade of snow to climb 800 feet to Spider Gap. Once all 8 scouts were accounted for, we descended the equally steep snowfield down to Lyman Basin. The beauty of Upper Lyman Lake beckoned to us, so we stopped for a brisk swim. Refreshed, we continued on to Lyman Lake and then proceeded up the long climb past meadows awash with wildflowers to Cloudy Pass, where we stopped for a photo op and a decent rest for the final push along Miners Ridge. After a full day of hiking, we enjoyed the final rays of sun on Glacier Peak and descended into camp while enjoying the final colors of the sunset. (Start time: 9:23am, End Time: 9:03pm.)
Day 3: After two grueling days of hiking, we opted to stay at our Image Lake campsite for two nights to let some of the less healthy members of our party recover on hump day. We took side trips to Miners Ridge Lookout, Image Lake, and saw a curious marmot aprising our group and another one enjoying the view from an interesting perch. Due to an early thunderstorm that rolled in, we all tucked ourselves in pretty early, which was a blessing, since we were going to need to be fresh for a long and tough day four. (Start time: 9:31am, End Time: 5:04pm.)
Day 4: Having retired pretty early, I woke up around 5:15am and figured I'd take the opportunity to walk over to Image Lake to watch the sun rise on Glacier Peak. Thanks to the thunderstorm the night before, the skies cleared up, and the haze was gone, allowing for some great reflections of the peak on the lake. After packing up, we headed back down Miners Ridge and dropped into Miners Creek before making the ascent to Middle Ridge. The 1800-foot climb was a kicker that can only be described by the carnage found at the summit. We were encouraged that the worst was behind us as we descended to Small Creek, but were completely unaware that a similarly graded climb up 1100 feet to Buck Creek Pass still lay ahead of us. Along the way, we would say farewell to Glacier Peak shortly before arriving at our foggy campsite. (Start time: 9:05am, End Time: 5:25pm.)
Day 5: Waking up to a soggy camp, we packed up as quickly as we could and began the descent to the Chiwawa River trailhead. The fog insisted on keeping Glacier Peak hidden from us on our final day, but we still enjoyed occasional glimpses of the scenery around us. Crossing the Chiwawa River was a welcomed indication that we were on the home stretch. The boys really booked it on this day... I hardly ever saw them ahead on the trail. I suspect it was because everyone was thinking about burgers and fries at Zeke's drive-in on the way back home, which has become a mandatory ending to these backpack trips this summer. (Start time: 8:18am, End Time: 1:08pm.)
Final Thoughts
I think I can speak for the whole group that the trip was an amazing experience. We all came to commune with the beauty of nature like never before, and gained a renewed gratitude for the Earth that God created for us. It was appropriate that we read through the entire booklet, The Holy Temple, by Boyd K. Packer. We all made a symbolic connection with the temple-like nature of Glacier Peak Wilderness and learned more about the purpose of temples. Unfortunately, one member of our group, Hollan, was quite ill the entire trip and had a hard time holding down much food. While he was able to stay hydrated, he wasn't able to consume many calories. That he was able to hike nearly 50 miles, climb over 10,000 feet of elevation, and carry a backpack in the meantime with enough energy and strength is nothing short of a miracle. I trust that the prayers offered and the blessing of health that he received were contributing factors to his safe return from the wilderness. I am certain that many testimonies of God's truths were strengthened, including my own!
Photos
Here is a collection of online photos. Other pictures were taken by David Mann and Dave Christie as well.
GPS Info
Maps
Elevation Profile
Coordinates and other details:
| Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | |
| Mileage | 7.3 Miles | 12.3 Miles | 9.3 Miles | 10.9 Miles | 10.5 Miles |
Moving Time: | 3:10:09 | 5:49:35 | 3:28:37 | 5:23:53 | 4:16:47 |
Average Moving Speed: | 2.3 MPH | 2.1 MPH | 2.7 MPH | 2.0 MPH | 2.5 MPH |
Elevation Gain: | 3077 Feet | 3641 Feet | 2214 Feet | 3507 Feet | 874 Feet |
Trailhead Coordinates: | N48 04.959, W120 50.097 | N48 04.337, W 120 51.042 |
If you would like to use this info with your GPS unit, the full GPX file is here.
If you want to view this in Google Earth, you can download the KMZ files of the track and topographic overlay.
