Backpack - Ross Lake East Bank Trail – Desolation Peak

Meeting place and time 5:00 AM at Tibbets Lot, 1675 Newport Way NW, Issaquah, WA

Leader's notes Although open to all club members over age 18, this trip is also part of the B3 backpacking Building Blocks series and eligible for B3 course credit.

Co-leader: Linda Kuramoto.

These notes are also on my website at [AlpineRover] Ross Lake East Bank Trail - Desolation Peak – 06-15-2013 to 06-18-2013.

Join us on a 4 day journey along the East Bank of Ross Lake. This is an easy trip with one very strenuous day hike. We will take each day at a slow to moderate pace.

• Day 1, Water taxi to setup camp at Lightning Creek Camp (we will be camping here for two nights). Short afternoon day hike up Lightning Creek to the Three Fools Trail junction near the Deer Lick Cabin.
• Day 2, Long strenuous day hike up Desolation Peak (13.6 miles round trip from camp, 4532 ft. elevation gain, 6102 ft. peak). Current trail report (Big Beaver, Little Beaver Creek, Desolation Peak, East Bank Ross Lake, Happy-Panther - Washington Trails Association) looks good for doing this (require foot traction, poles). Maximum 12-hour day, 7:30am - 7:30pm. Sunset at 8:30pm. This will be the hardest day, but will give the greatest return on views, etc. Should be the highlight of the trip. Participants are free to turnaround and head back to camp anytime along the route they choose.
• Day 3, Break camp and depart late (about 10:30am) for an easy hike along the prettiest section of the East Bank Trail to Rainbow Point Camp, one of the most scenic hiker campsites in the North Cascades.
• Day 4, Hike out 8.7 miles to Highway 20.

Itinerary

	Date	Time	Trip Mileage	Elevation	Daily Mileage	Daily Elevation Gain	Hiking Time (hours)	Notes
Depart Issaquah	15-Jun	5:00am
Arrive Marblemount Ranger Station	15-Jun	7:00am						Obtain Backcountry Permits
Depart Milepost 134 on Highway 20	15-Jun	8:30am
Water Taxi to Lightning Creek	15-Jun	9:00am						Total cost for 2 taxis: $210
Arrive Lightning Creek Camp	15-Jun	11:00am
Depart Day Hike to Deer Lick Cabin	15-Jun	12:00pm	0
Return to Lightning Creek Camp	15-Jun	6:30pm	7.6		7.6	2329	6.5
Depart Day Hike to Desolation Peak	16-Jun	7:30am	7.6					Peak Elevation: 6102 ft.
Return to Lightning Creek Camp	16-Jun	7:30pm	21.2		13.6	4532	12
Depart Lightning Creek Camp	17-Jun	10:30am	21.2
Arrive Rainbow Point Camp	17-Jun	4:00pm	28.5		7.3	1339	5.5
Depart Rainbow Point Camp	18-Jun	9:00am	28.5
Arrive Milepost 134 on Highway 20	18-Jun	3:00pm	37.2		8.7	1346	6

Mileages and elevation estimates from the Falcon Guide, Hiking the North Cascades, by Erik Molvar. 4 mile shuttle between trailheads

The day hike to Desolation Peak (6102 ft.) will be at high elevation, so be prepared for patches of snow along our route. (The Desolation Peak Trail is snow free to ~ 5300', where minimal patchy snow begins. Solid snow starts at ~ 5700' and becomes patchy the last 100' or so to the lookout.) Bring poles and foot traction.

Backcountry Permits are required and can be obtained free at the Marblemount Ranger Station (360-854-7245) on our way there. We need to arrive at the Marblemount Ranger Station at 7:00am on Saturday morning to get our permit. Bear canisters are not needed, since there is are bear vaults at both our campsites. We will shuttle one of our vehicles from milepost 134 on Highway 20 up to the East Bank TH at milepost 138, so that we have a vehicle there when we finish our hike. All this needs to be done prior to beginning our hike down to our water taxi at 8:30am.

I have booked two water taxis (206) 386-4437 under my name. I booked them to depart at 9:00am on June 15th. We need to show up with $210 cash at the dock. I'm estimating about 30 minutes to hike down the trail from Highway 20 to the dock. It is about a 40 minute water taxi to our destination, Lightning Creek Camp. Because the taxi has a maximum capacity of 6, we will need to take two trips. Hence it will take about 2 hours to taxi our entire party to Lightning Creek. Each participant should expect to reimburse me $26.25 for their share of the water taxi.

I will facilitate carpool arrangements to our meeting place in Issaquah the week prior to our trip. We may have to arrange pickups at people's homes to avoid leaving vehicles in P&Rs; over 48 hours.

References:

• Wilderness Trip Planner - North Cascades National Park
• Ross Lake Resort Transportation / Rockport, Washington
• Green Trails Ross Lake No. 16
• Green Trails Jack Mountain No. 17
• Green Trails Diablo Dam No. 48
• Green Trails Mt Logan No. 49
• Hiking the North Cascades, by Erik Molvar, No. 17 East Bank Trail, No. 19 Desolation Peak, and No. 20 Lightning Creek and Hozomeen Lake
• Backpacking Washington: Overnight and Multiday Routes, by Craig Romano, no. 57 East Bank Trail and Desolation Peak
• Backpacking Washington: From Volcanic Peaks to Rainforest Valleys, by Douglas Lorain, No 9 Western Pasayten - Ross Lake Loop

From the Topo route below 37.2 miles, 9546 ft. gain

Driving Directions The trail to the water taxi starts at milepost 134 on Highway 20 - GPS (48.727662,-121.062484). The East Bank Trailhead is at milepost 138 on Highway 20 - GPS (48.707672,-120.978026).