Home > Trip Reports > June 24, 2018, Mt. Pilchuck hike/ski/bushwhack

June 24, 2018, Mt. Pilchuck hike/ski/bushwhack

6/24/18
WA Cascades West Slopes Central
2518
4
Posted by JimD on 6/25/18 6:36am
Short version: Pilchuck is done for the season unless you are into some type 2 bushwhacking fun.

I finally managed to get up on my little home mountain after a long recovery from a broken leg this winter. The road just opened to the trailhead last week, so that worked for a short window I had on Sunday. I left skins at home and bootpacked to the top - trail is a bit tricky with firm snow and exposure to short, but nasty falls in a few spots - I was very glad to have my poles and worried about the hikers I saw in running shoes without any sticks for balance.

I dropped into The Gunsight about 1 on perfect corn. The left side has melted out so I had to hug the right, then hike down the last 1/4 which was totally melted out. Larrison ridge was also good, and I managed to ski all the way to the exit gully, but it has mostly melted out so I had to use the talus field to climb up just as the heat of the day came on. I'd hoped to climb back up to the trail at that point, but the steep slope of alder, wild rose, and gnarled firs above had melted out and looked hideous so I followed snow down the normal spring route. The snow ended but I only had to work through a couple hundred feet of alder etc. which wasn't too hard to slowly back down.



Glad I went (I couldn't go a year without doing Pilchuck!) but I wouldn't recommend it to others.
Glad to see you're back on it, Jim- Happy Trails!

Pretty strong comeback trip Jim. Well done. Worth moving north and doing Squak with some Scott Paul hiking. Bring your skins!

Thanks guys, it's good to be back out in the mountains! You're right Nick, Baker is next, and I'll let you know when I'm heading up there Mr. Burns.


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june-24-2018-mt-pilchuck-hike-ski-bushwhack
JimD
2018-06-25 13:36:01