[pct-l] Glacier Peak Detour (was Yellow Blazing)

[griffin at u.washington.edu (Tom Griffin)]

<enyapjr@adelphia.net> writes:

>As for the Glacier Peak
>"temporary" reroute, I would probably either try the 'permanent' route without the bridges or the High Pass route (see <http://www.phlumf.com/>)...  I will just have to wait
>and see until I actually get there to make the decision at that time!  See Yogi's PCT Handbook for some further discussion/insight on this...
>
Living in Seattle, and having hiked the Glacier Peak PCT detour this September, I have been collecting a lot of information and shared some of my notes with this list and with Yogi.

According to a conversation I had with the Forest Service many months ago, they plan to rebuild the bridges in 2006 and open up the original PCT in 2007. However, for northbound thruhikers who usually arrive in the North Cascades in mid-September, I am guessing that in 2006 the bridges MAY already be completed by that date. If this is true, the trail telegraph will spread the word quickly. Or PCT thruhikers could check with the Forest Service when they are at the Dunsmores in Skykomish.

If the bridges over Mill Creek and the Suiattle River are not completed, hikers have four alternatives:

1. Take the original PCT anyway and ford Mill Creek and the Suiattle. This is what many 2005 northbounders did when they reached the North Cascades in September. Some reported that they crossed both rivers on logs and never got their feet wet. However, the winter of 2004-05 had record low snowfall for much of the state. Rivers were running much lower than usual. If we have a high snowpack or lots of rain, this could be risky in 2006.

2. Take the official PCT detour over Boulder Pass, Little Giant Pass and Buck Creek Pass. This is what I did, but I am a section hiker and took my time. See my trip report for many details at <http://staff.washington.edu/griffin/pct2005>. This year the Forest Service did a lot of work removing brush on the detour trails, so  they are in much better condition than in 2004. But this is not the PCT and some of the trail sections--especially between Little Giant Pass and the Chiwawa River, are very rough. Also, there are two rivers to ford. The Napeequa is often not ready to ford until August, according to the local guidebooks. We had no problems fording either river in early September and this year southbound PCT hikers were fording them in late June, but it was an unusual year.

3. Take the High Pass alternative after fording the Napeequa, see 
<http://www.phlumf.com/>. The trail disappears as you climb higher toward the pass, according to some hikers I met on the trail. But you avoid the notorious section at Little Giant. This may not be a good alternative late in the year since you may have early snows and would need an ice ax and/or crampons. I would definitely take it if I were hiking southbound from Buck Creek Pass. (The reason is that you are already high and you can see your "target," the Napeequa River, below. In addition, going uphill on the detour from the Chiwawa River to Little Giant is my version of the 13th circle of hell.) For those going northbound, my advice is to skip the High Pass alternative unless the weather is great and your route-finding skills are top-notch.

4. Take the 50-mile road detour from Stevens Pass, hiking along Hwy. 2 and then Forest Service Road 62 to Trinity and the trailhead for the Buck Creek Pass trail. This is the official PCT detour for stock parties. In 2004 lots of thruhikers took it because of bad trail conditions on the detour (and they were in a hurry to finish). I haven't heard of anyone doing this in 2005. Road walks suck. (IMHO "yellow blazing" sucks too.) I wouldn't recommend it unless it was very early/late in the season and you were hoping to avoid snowfields or treacherous fords.

These are my opinions only. You can e-mail me directly if you have additional questions.

-- 
Tom Griffin
Seattle
griffin@u.washington.edu
PCT Pages: http://staff.washington.edu/griffin/pct.html