Clark Mountain - Walrus Glacier (Attempt), June 2003
After having climbed Mount Baker's North Ridge the previous weekend, I wanted to climb something a little less involved but still interesting. Clark Mountain satisfied this requirement. I had spied the peaks of the Dakobed Range from various other summits over the years (Mt. Maude, Seven Fingered Jack and Chiwawa Mountain, for example) and promised myself that I'd visit the area someday. Scott and I ambitiously settled on Clark as a day trip with a trailhead bivy the night before. We headed east on US-2 (Stevens Pass) to the Lake Wenatchee turn-off (Coles Corner, about 20 miles east of Stevens Pass). We turned north onto Lake Wenatchee River Rd (SR 207); bearing left after crossing Wenatchee River and proceeding west along the north shore of the lake, passing the Lake Wenatchee Ranger Station. About 1.5 miles after the ranger station, we turned right onto the White River Road (FS 6400). We followed this road for about 11 miles to where it ends at the White River Trailhead.
Scott folded the rear seats down in his Legacy wagon, and we tried to get some quick sleep before our 3:30am wakeup time. Our one-day ascent was dictated by my having to be back in Seattle by 9pm the same day. With over 10 miles to reach Boulder Pass (near glacier's edge) we had a big day ahead of us. To help speed things along (albeit illegally), Scott and I brought our bikes for the four miles of the mostly flat White River Trail. We hopped on our bikes and cruised easily along the White River Trail. It was little after 4am. Seldom did we have to get off and push our bikes. The trail, however, was covered in bear scat; a detail I will pay more attention to in the future. We reached the junction with the Boulder Creek Trail in less than 45 minutes. Bikes stashed, it is here that I would make a navigational blunder. Knowing that the approach entails at least one creek ford, I ignored the obvious and stupidly assumed that we had to cross the White River. (more...)
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