Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - Hawkins Mountain
Enjoyable scramble despite occasional wind and rain. Pretty good views below the clouds, especially of the peaks along the Cascade crest.
- Sat, May 5, 2018
- Alpine Scramble - Hawkins Mountain
- Hawkins Mountain
- Scrambling
- Successful
- Snow and ice on road
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Snow was fairly soft, but not enough to make snowshoes worthwhile. There were some awkward transitions between snow and wet rock approaching the southern false summit, which we were able to bypass on the descent.
The spur road off of the Cle Elum River road had enough snow that we didn't try to drive it; this added a minor amount of distance and elevation gain. From a little below 3400' on the road, the route is approximately uphill to the SE until the ridge becomes well defined at around 5000', then following the ridge to the false summit and on to the summit. I chose to have the group traverse below the false summit on the descent. Occasional wind and rain were not enough to dampen our spirits, especially since the clouds were high enough to allow for good views, especially to the west and north. Despite the soft snow, we were able to find a couple of short slopes on which to glissade.