McGregor Mountain - McGregor Mountain Trail, July 2015
Despite my careful study of maps and satellite photos, we still left the trail much too soon and found ourselves engaged in an unpleasant brush bash across a swampy valley unsure if we were even headed in the right direction. It had become more of a pain in the ass than I had the patience for, and being that it was over 90 degrees out meant it was just too dang hot to do much of anything, let alone climb a mountain. For the second and undoubtedly final time, McGregor’s Sandalee Glacier was not going to be. Joined by Dan and Tim, I once again salvaged the day by hiking back up to Bowan Pass and then on to the flying ant infested summit of McGregor BM.
By contrast, The Mount McGregor Trail approach starting from High Bridge deep in the Stehekin Valley is really quite pleasant and offers something unique by Cascades standards – a boat (or float plane) ride to Stehekin, a shuttle to within a 5 minute walk to camp, and a very good trail to the base of a fun and moderately exposed scramble which itself is considered a “trail” complete with red arrows spray-painted on the rock to show the way. And for those so inclined, it isn’t every day that one can so easily haul everything but the proverbial kitchen sink to and from a backcountry camp!
