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Trip Report    

Bacon Peak

Overnight trip, bivvied on summit. Very demanding but rewarding trek, we logged 18 miles and 18k total elevation over 18 hours of trail time.

  • Sat, Aug 31, 2024 — Sun, Sep 1, 2024
  • Bacon & Canadian Bacon Peaks
  • Backpacking
  • Successful
  • Road suitable for all vehicles
  • The Summit Post route description is a great reference. 

    Here is our route:

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    1.2 miles of formal trail leads to a ~1 mile climber's trail up the ridge to Upper Anderson Lake. From there you're rock-hopping across north side of Mount Watson. Numerous water sources across the high route, lots of up/down over gullies, try to stay reasonably high. Once you get to the notch east of Elementary Peak you have a choice to descend a steep creek with a couple down-climbing moves bearing left of the lakes or a more sweeping bushwhack bearing to the right of the lakes. We took the creek down and the bushwhack up.

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    Summit Post shows a much higher route from notch to notch but that was never obvious to us. Would be ideal though. 

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    Bushwhack up and over the notch, descending into the valley below where the terrain opens up. Limited water at this point in the season, we hiked to the toe of the snowfield where we were able to very slowly refill from dripping snow. 

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    From here the route is relatively straightforward with a lot of heather pulling for a couple thousand feet until you finally reach the glacier. We didn't rope up given it was bare ice, late season, and the two crevasses at the top are easily avoidable but it's imperative to be careful, especially after such a long day as it gets moderately steep leading up to the cracks which sit a hundred feet from the bare summit block. 

  • Be prepared for a very demanding two days. 18 miles, 18k elevation, 18 hours. 
  • Be prepared for complex route-finding. 
  • Be prepared for bushwhacking through thick vegetation. 
  • Be prepared for pulling on heather and roots through steep terrain. 
  • Be prepared for no cell phone service. 
  • Be prepared for endless wild berries, incredible views, and a serious feeling of accomplishment!

Gear:

  • Trail runners
  • Crampons
  • Small ice ax
  • Helmet
  • Trekking poles
  • Standard overnight gear

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