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Trip Report    

CHS 1 Hike - Jim Whittaker Wilderness Peak Loop, Shy Bear Pass, Doughty Falls

I led a group of 7 CHS-1 students on a beautiful early morning hike with 16 bird species, 3 dozen rescued slugs, an encounter with a geocacher, and we were down to the cars by noon. Doesn't get any better!

Courtenay Schurman Courtenay Schurman
June 17, 2025
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • 8 of us from the Mountaineers' CHS-1 cohort (Conditioning for Hiking Series 1.5-2 mph group) met at the Jim Whittaker Wilderness trailhead to do the Whittaker-Shy Bear Pass-Doughty Falls loop. I got there early to scout out conditions on the trail (dry - ferns are in major need of water and in steeper spots, watch your footing!) and see how my new boots would fare, but decided to stick to my old ones for this trip. I heard a large mammal in the woods while I was alone, but I couldn't see whether it was a deer, bear, or something else.

    (BTW I tried adding 3-4 photos and the Mountaineers website currently is inexhaustibly, inexplicably slow, so I'll upload when it's working better. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report-2025-06-17.141412627487 has some)

    The portapotty is stocked with TP; no parking pass is needed. We had parking spaces available when we arrived (7 cars there ahead of us at 6:30) but the lot was full with roadside parking only when we got down around noon on a Tuesday (6/17). Go early to avoid having to park out on the highway.

    I'm always impressed with the excellent signage on Cougar, Tiger, and Squak mountains -- but it helps to have AllTrails, Gaia, CalTopo or a paper map (we had them all!) to make sure you go the way you intend. There is only a trickle of water at Doughty Falls this time of year, so go between November and May to see them running.

We averaged 1.5 up and 2.1 down for 1.8 mph on the day, roughly 8 miles and 1800' gain (but whose data are you going to believe)? We started at 6:45 and finished around noon, with a 15-minute break at the summit register (maybe 20, we got to chatting with a geocacher) and 20-25 for a snack break at Doughty Trickle.

Highlights included more than 3 dozen rescued slugs and millipedes, although we weren't as fortunate with a poor chestnut-backed chickadee, may it rest in peace.

We had great looks at some rather unusual occurrences: a slug eating fungus, a robin's egg with yolk still inside, encounter with a successful geocacher, "Bushido" = way of the warrior at the summit register (which some of us signed), 16 bird species including "cat bird" spotted towhees, a great look at a tiny Pacific wren singing his heart out, and lovely songs of Swainson's thrushes.

FOLIAGE: Salmonberries are ripe, skunk cabbages are past their prime (no stink, yay!) and I have NEVER seen so many slugs anywhere, on any hike. We had a lovely tiger lily in bloom, plenty of sword ferns and bracken ferns, and bleeding hearts. Our resident retired botanist couldn't identify the "beard-like" lichen but we all had fun discovering what the woods had to reveal.

While students were complaining about the 6:45 a.m. start time everyone appreciated being back to the cars by noon. Beautiful area and a lovely outing.