Placeholder Routes & Places

Trip Report    

Backpack - Devils Dome

4 day backpack on the Devil's Dome / Jackita Ridge loop in the Pasayten Wilderness. Challenging terrain, ferocious mosquitos, and scarce water. Breathtaking views and brilliant flowers in every direction. 360° sunsets. Worth every ounce of suffering.

  • Thu, Jul 11, 2024 — Sun, Jul 14, 2024
  • Devils Dome/Jackita Ridge
  • Backpacking
  • Successful
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

Five Mountaineers spent 4 amazing days backpacking the Devil's Dome / Jackita Ridge loop.  We started at Canyon Creek trailhead and hiked counter-clockwise to Devil's Junction (on Ross Lake).  In other words, we skipped the flat parts!

Day 1 (12.9 miles, 5250' gain)
Canyon Creek TH to Devil's Park

We started our adventure at the Canyon Creek trailhead.  The advantage of this trailhead over the East Bank trailhead is that you avoid a 3+ mile creekside hike parallel to Hwy 20.  The downside is that the bridge is out and Ruby Creek can be almost-knee-deep and pretty fast.  Luckily, we spotted a log approx 100 yards upstream.  It took some work to get to, but it nicely spanned the river:

IMG_2183.jpeg

IMG_2192.jpegThe log was our last flat stretch for a while... for 5 miles and 3900' of gain, to be precise.  With very few views.  But after that effort, we found ourselves at gorgeous Crater Lake, with Crater Mountain towering above us and multiple waterfalls cascading before us:

IMG_2228.jpeg

And the views from a meadow near Crater Lake were also a nice treat after the long ascent:

IMG_2243.jpeg

It was then time for our final push to our destination for the night: Devil's Park.  It was a very flat 7 miles, but the heat (temps in the 80s) didn't make our progress easy.  We passed through McMillan Park:

IMG_2249.jpeg

And found a nice spot at Devil's Park...

IMG_2306.jpeg

...where the mosquitos were absolutely relentless:

IMG_2307.jpeg

Day 2 (9.6 miles, 3250' gain)
Devil's Park to Devil's Pass

Our second day was spectacular from the start.  Wildflowers everywhere.  Views of Jack Mountain, Jerry Lakes, and Jackita Ridge.  It was so gorgeous we didn't mind (too much) that we had to spend the morning hiking with head nets on.

IMG_2338.jpeg

IMG_2355.jpeg

1.5 miles into our second day, we found a boot path to the summit of South Jackita Ridge.  In the mood for more views, and hoping that a summit might provide more wind and some needed relief from mosquitos, we dropped our packs and ascended.  We were not disappointed.

IMG_2407.jpeg

Returning to the main trail, we then descended the itinerary's major scree field:

IMG_2440.jpeg

The heat wave continued into our second day, and there was little tree cover.  It was tiring.  We stopped at nearly every stream (they were few and far between) to dunk our hats in the cold water.  Shockingly cold at first, our wet hats were a big help.

IMG_2511.jpeg

We were hot, we were tired, and we were tired of bugs.  But the views made it worth it.

IMG_2556.jpeg

IMG_2566.jpeg

We had originally planned to get all the way to Devil's Dome on day 2, but our progress had been slower than anticipated, so we were all content to stop for the night at Devil's Pass.  We had to hunt for water, but we found a tiny, tiny spring at 48.81427, -120.85246.

Day 3 (4.1 miles, 1200' gain)
Devil's Pass to Devil's Dome

Our original plan for day 3 was to go from Devil's Dome to Lightning Creek (along the shore of Ross Lake).  But since we stopped short the day before and really, really wanted to overnight on the summit of Devil's Dome, we decided to turn day 3 into a short day.

As with day 2, day 3 was spectacular from the start and provided eye-popping views the entire way:

IMG_2598.jpeg

IMG_2608.jpeg

IMG_2648.jpeg

We had a really fast morning -- the weather was cooling off just a touch, and we were very motivated to get the small camp at the summit of Devil's Dome.  As luck would have it, we got the spot we wanted:

IMG_2689.jpeg

With our camp set up by 10:30am, we needed something else to climb.  Luckily the 360° views at the summit made it easy to spot a suitable objective: Bear Skull.

Day 3 Side Trip (4.5 miles, 1500' gain)
Bear Skull

Off we went...

IMG_2691.jpeg

Lots of off-trail opportunities on the way up...

IMG_2712.jpeg

We were all thrilled to reach the Bear Skull summit.  Devil's Dome looks pretty small in the background!

IMG_2755.jpeg

Returning to our camp at Devil's Dome, we found a nice kitchen with a view:

IMG_2865.jpeg

Yes, there were more mosquitos, even on the summit of Devil's Dome

Later, we were treated to an epic 360° sunset that we'll never forget.

IMG_2920.jpeg

Day 4 (8 miles, 65' gain, 5450' loss)
Devil's Dome to Devil's Junction

We were all a bit worried about day 4.  WTA trip reports made it sound like a bone-jarring, knee-punishing descent with countless blowdowns relentlessly whittling away at our morale.  But we found the day to be surprisingly mellow.  The trail was decent, there wasn't a cobweb of roots to navigate, and there were maybe a dozen blowdowns.  Easy.

We had an early breakfast...

IMG_2953.jpeg

IMG_2959.jpeg

...started hiking at 8am...

IMG_3027.jpeg

And were swimming in Ross Lake by 11:30am!  The only thing left was to wait for our water taxi.

We all agreed that this was one of our all-time favorite PNW backpacking destinations.

Caltopo Route: https://caltopo.com/m/NKBF4Q0