Trip Report
Winter Scramble - First Top & Point 4795 Loop
Gorgeous ocean/alpine vistas, with unexpected sun and dry powder snow on this strenuous two summit trip of ~6000’ gain over 14 miles.
Dave Morgan
- Sat, Dec 14, 2019
- Winter Scramble - First Top & Point 4795 Loop
- First Top & Point 4795 Loop
- Scrambling
- Successful
-
- Road suitable for all vehicles
-
A beautiful crisp, cold, clear day with a trail snow free below ~3400’, and shallow snow above. We brought snowshoes and micro-spikes, but did not use the snowshoes. The micro-spikes were particularly useful on our descent from First Top (the ground was frozen solid below the relatively shallow powder snow cover of 1-2 feet).
A dry November/December and a break from recent storms gave us an unexpectedly beautiful day near Hurricane Ridge. With trails having an unusually limited amount of snow (none below ~3400’), this trip was an odd mixture of trail hiking and 3 separate sections of cross country travel (made slightly longer by our use of trails):
At the end of this long day we finished the last 600’ of gain in rapidly waning daylight (from near Lake Angeles to Point 4795), and were rewarded with the twinkling lights of Port Angeles and ships anchored in its harbor:
Our total time for this ~6000’ gain/14 mile trip was 10 hours, with ~2 hours for our descent to the cars near Lake Dawn. Photos from this and other trips to this venue can be seen here.