Pauls Mountaineering Trips: Ice Lakes

Today I returned from a 4-day backpack into the Glacier Peak Wilderness area, about 40 miles north of Leavenworth, WA. I joined a party of ten other mountaineers and fisherman, backpacking into Leroy Basin and establishing a base camp.

Our agenda was simple - enjoy the vast, wild, and remote wilderness with gusto, amongst good company. Mission Accomplished.

While some fished Upper Ice Lake (15 fish caught), climbed remote Entiat Mountain passes, and took icy dips in glacially cold alpine resevoirs, I (& others) climbed Mount Maude (9082'), then climbed Seven Fingered Jack (9200'), and speculated upon climbing a future route up Mount Fernow (9249').

The scenery was as breathtaking as the terrain was rugged. The hike from base camp to Ice Lakes alone was certainly no cake walk, requiring the crossing of a deep glacial runoff trench, several Talus fields, and ascension of a high mountain pass. The Seven Fingered Jack climb was rife with steep, shifting Talus fields which we gingerly traversed, attempting to avoid dislodging car-tire sized granite rocks which would imperil climbers below. The terrain for the Mount Maude approach was nearly as rugged, yet different.

The fishing, hunting, and mountaineering stories shared amongst this crew were priceless and, well... you just had to be there to appreciate them.

The trip pictures below capture a few of the scenic features mentioned above.

Note on picture size: Click on picture for a LARGER view.

Camping In Leroy Basin