11 July Heliotrope Ridge
7/15/08
WA Cascades West Slopes North (Mt Baker)
5101
5
Scotsman and the others lied... This is not good corn -- this is as great as corn gets! Jeff_s and I harvested the best corn I've ever seen, and the only ski tracks we saw were from last weekend. We saw about a dozen climbers, but only one had skis, and he intended to ski from the summit.
We left the car at 8:59AM, crossing the log of death and climbing through woods until about 10:45. Jeff says he's seen much worse trails, but I was impressed by the blowdowns and general difficulty of the trail, especially while carrying skis. Expect to walk over, under, and on many logs, and at several points bushwhack to find the trail. Once out of the woods, we climbed along the rock ridge until a little before noon, when we broke down and put on ski boots. Climbed a little further before settling down for lunch, and reached the top of the ridge around 2PM. Spent an hour at the top admiring the view and generally just being estatic, then harvested the best corn I've ever seen in my life. Returned to car around 6PM.
No suncups. No skinning. Some small runnels near the bottom, but nothing like the Bagley Lakes area. Photos will be coming, probably tomorrow. Given the difficulty of accessing and the outstanding snow, I would rather have camped and spent two days there, but I'm still glad I went.
I am undergoing surgery on Monday that will put me out for a few weeks. I have something I promised I would do tomorrow, but I'm rrgently seeking partners for a repeat performance on Sunday.
We left the car at 8:59AM, crossing the log of death and climbing through woods until about 10:45. Jeff says he's seen much worse trails, but I was impressed by the blowdowns and general difficulty of the trail, especially while carrying skis. Expect to walk over, under, and on many logs, and at several points bushwhack to find the trail. Once out of the woods, we climbed along the rock ridge until a little before noon, when we broke down and put on ski boots. Climbed a little further before settling down for lunch, and reached the top of the ridge around 2PM. Spent an hour at the top admiring the view and generally just being estatic, then harvested the best corn I've ever seen in my life. Returned to car around 6PM.
No suncups. No skinning. Some small runnels near the bottom, but nothing like the Bagley Lakes area. Photos will be coming, probably tomorrow. Given the difficulty of accessing and the outstanding snow, I would rather have camped and spent two days there, but I'm still glad I went.
I am undergoing surgery on Monday that will put me out for a few weeks. I have something I promised I would do tomorrow, but I'm rrgently seeking partners for a repeat performance on Sunday.
Here are some of my photos... Between Jeff_s and I we took so many that I couldn't hope to share them all, but I've uploaded the best 70 to the web. You can see them here (high-res versions may not finish uploading for a few hours)
Some of the highlights:
I do suggest looking at the complete photo set to get the panoramic shots and views of Jeff crawling underneath logs. Anyone want to join me for Sunday?
Some of the highlights:
 The "Log of Death" |  Outstanding trail conditions |  Victory shot! |
 How do you like your corn? |  I like plentiful corn, thank you. |  To think this was a workday... |
I do suggest looking at the complete photo set to get the panoramic shots and views of Jeff crawling underneath logs. Anyone want to join me for Sunday?
author=lordhedgie link=topic=10630.msg43205#msg43205 date=1215836623]
and the only ski tracks we saw were from last weekend.
Some of those tracks could have been ours from Tuesday. In fact we saw tracks that were likely put down by Stewie and Scotsman the week before. I am glad you had snow conditions as good as we did. Still wonder why the Bagley Lakes area is so bad.
Nice photos, I wish you photos of the blowdowns were not so good, they bring back memories!
I guess that it is common practice for skiers to carry the ski boots and hike in light hikers these days. My son does not have light hikers so we both hiked the trail in our ski boots. He did well and felt comfortable. That would seem like a poor choice, but I have to say that my overly worn Megarides are now so comfortable to walk in that the only complaints I had was on descent, and then only when the trail pitch was steep, which is rare on that trail. I have to admit that I like the extra support that my ski boots gave me in the bushwacking part of the trip and they sure do toe-in nicely.
Prior to my Megarides my most advanced ski boot was leather tele boots, which just happened to be my most comfortable hiking boot. (No I did not use the tele boots as hikers on non-ski trips! But on trips to Ruth, I wouldn't have traded the tele boots for anything else.)
I wonder how many people use light hikers for approaches of 2 miles or less, or 2-4 miles, etc. Or rather, to reword the question, who forgoes hiking boots and just walks in their ski boots on these approach lengths?
I am aware that there are also much lighter touring boots out there and I have also seen the reengineered boots described by Lowell Skoog.
Glad you found such nice conditions.
Alan
I don't mind a mile or two in ski boots, I've done far worse before. But I think I would rather carry my boots on my back when faced with the number of log traverses the Heliotrope trail currently has. Mud and rocks I can handle, but when balanced above a roaring river on a narrow log, I want something with a flexible sole.
On the other hand, my Soloman trail running shoes are pretty much built for that type of trail, and extremely lightweight, so it's really not too much of a hassle to use them. If I were debating steel toed hiking boots like Jeff_s brought with him last time, I'd lean much more heavily towards sticking to ski boots.
On the other hand, my Soloman trail running shoes are pretty much built for that type of trail, and extremely lightweight, so it's really not too much of a hassle to use them. If I were debating steel toed hiking boots like Jeff_s brought with him last time, I'd lean much more heavily towards sticking to ski boots.
I think that it is also somewhat person specific. My frame and weight (220+lbs) pretty much relegates me to heavier hiking boots anyway. I do have light hikers, but unless I am carrying no pack on a stroll or a very light pack my feet get very fatigued. Under my weight there is simply too much flexture of my arch, especially on trails with uneven surfaces. So my ski boots vs. my steel shanked hikers are pretty much a wash weight wise.
I don't know if there were past threads addressing this, but I am sure I remember people discussing lighter ski tour boots that hike well, probably much better than my Megarides. I think I could easily be happy with a more streamlined boot on such a tour. Maybe my next boot.
My son on the other hand is ~120lb. and his Scarpa Intuitions should have impacted him more than mine affecting me. He did not complain, however. Another pair of boots, this is all adding up to $$$!. These boots are so light, yet in ski mode are stiffer than what he is used to in his Lange race boots.
I'm just curious, because we would like to get out once or twice more this season and getting to the snow is requiring a little bit more of an approach. Any opinions and experiences are appreciated.
Alan
I don't know if there were past threads addressing this, but I am sure I remember people discussing lighter ski tour boots that hike well, probably much better than my Megarides. I think I could easily be happy with a more streamlined boot on such a tour. Maybe my next boot.
My son on the other hand is ~120lb. and his Scarpa Intuitions should have impacted him more than mine affecting me. He did not complain, however. Another pair of boots, this is all adding up to $$$!. These boots are so light, yet in ski mode are stiffer than what he is used to in his Lange race boots.
I'm just curious, because we would like to get out once or twice more this season and getting to the snow is requiring a little bit more of an approach. Any opinions and experiences are appreciated.
Alan
I almost always use approach shoes and carry boots, unless almost all of the walking will be on snow (I ski on big tele boots). If my feet get wet a change of socks takes care of it.
The old saying is, "A pound on the feet is worth 5 on the back."
The old saying is, "A pound on the feet is worth 5 on the back."
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