Intermediate Alpine Climb - Inspiration-McAllister-Klawatti Ice Cap Traverse

This was our third year planning this trip (first two were cancelled due to bad weather) and we were excited to finally have a 4-day week-end and a great weather window. 

Unfortunately the weather had been 'too good" the previous week and the heat wave we had caused an exceptional amount of snow melting which fed Thunder Creek to flood-like stage.

Our beta indicated the location of a large log-jam to cross Thunder Creek about 7 miles from the trailhead at Colonial Creek campground. The log-jam was still there but the creek was a raging river and the mid-channel bars were completely submerged. The very last crucial  log that was used by Stephen Sujiyama and team in 2020 to bridge the last channel to the  west side of Thunder Creek had been dislodged likely by the recent snow-melt flooding stage.

For anyone interested in this traverse from the Thunder Creek side, even when the water level drops the last channel is the deepest and I do not think it will be passable any longer at this location until another log gets stuck across it.

Picture of team member crossing  log by Stephen Sujiyama 

Picture of same log by Stephen Sujiyama from above (west side) showing mid-channel bars and log in position

No log was spanning that section for our team to cross (picture taken from east side). Water level was up to a person's neck (measured with a stick) at the time we were there