Hidden Lake Peak

Saturday promised to be the last nice day for awhile but here it is Sunday and perfectly sunny.  Anyway, Jenny hatched a plan to hike and scramble Hidden Lake Peak with friends and dogs.  Her husband Chris, Shannon, and Randy plus the three household dogs: Bea, Bil, and Jodee.

The trailhead is up Cascade River Road, past Marblemount and past the Lookout Mountain/Monogram Lake Trailhead then several miles up the Sibley Creek Forest Service Road.  Randy and Chris rode together while the girls rode with me. Shannon was slightly hungover from a gathering of the girls at Jenny's the previous evening and the bumpy gravel road with switchbacks didn't help at all.

The parking lot was suprisingly full already at 9:00 a.m. but we found parking and hit the trail.  The trail goes through old growth forest then pops out into a meadow.  Thankfully the trail had been brushed; otherwise we would've been soaked from morning dew. The sun was out and in our faces.  Wildflowers that we'd ordinarily see in July were still pretty much in full bloom. There were several parties on the trail that we passed one by one until we reached the gully where we would leave the trail and take the climbers path up to the saddle.

I let Jodee off leash at that point since she wouldn't bother other hiking parties.  She darted off to investigate some whistling marmots and then I didn't see her again until I got up to the saddle.  Shannon was feeling a lot better by then.  We had a snack, enjoyed the sun and fabulous view, and Randy took a group photo.

There was a lingering snowfield below us and we had one "dusty knob" (Smoots description) to cross before gaining the main access to the ridge, which was the route described.  We opted for the snowfield, which is a way since there are many routes to the summit.  The dogs were happy on that but it looked like gaining the summit from there would be trickier with dogs.  So we changed course and attempted to gain the ridge from where we were.  Jenny said the route looked really easy from there.  I remembered that it was fairly straightforward on the ridge from when I scrambled it in August 2006.  We could've had it made from there.

Unfortunately Jodee is not a scrambling dog.  For her, the shortest way is a straight line and it doesn't matter what is between her and her objective.  Even giant holes and impossibly steep steps.  She is not trail or rock smart at all.  Since she is a 55-lb dog it is difficult for me to influence her without putting myself in harm's way.  By then she had totally freaked herself out, was panicked and quivering.  Even Bea, the Danilson-Baker dog, got confused and scared.  Only Bil was completely competent.

Since I had brought Jodee I had to rescue her.  We were running out of time anyway since Chris and Jenny had an evening engagement.  In the meantime I lost site of them while I was attempting to reach Jodee and figure out a way to get her down to ground where she'd be confident again.  I coaxed her down a scary section and she immediately fell into a big hole where I had to haul her out by her collar.  By then she was really quivering and panicked so to get her down to a ledge I had to take off my pack and drop it on the ledge, put her as best as I could under my left arm and get myself down using my right arm and sliding down granite on my butt.  I have the scratches on my butt to prove it.

Thankfully that was the last hard part but Jodee had to rest from the trauma.  I think I did too.  She laid next to me panting hard and closed her eyes.  If she could've sat in my lap she would've.  The rest of the way down to the snowfield and back to regular dirt (not talus) was much easier.  By then the rest of the party had caught up and passed me.  Shannon and Bil were still behind me and let me take my time coaxing Jodee up the right route back up the "dusty knob".

From there the trauma and drama was over.  We started back down the gully to the main trail.  Unfortunatly I slpped on a wet rock and twisted my right knee.  Randy was right in front of me so he was able to take Jodee while I caught my breath and attempted to stand on it.  With two poles my knee agreed to function and I was able to take Jodee back.  She's hard to walk with as she really wants to run about.  At her size, she influences the leash-holder's speed and direction in a big way.  However, she doesn't come when called and will maul another hiker for snacks.  Not polite, not good hiking etiquette.

We were almost down when I slipped on a perfectly dry root.  Down again.  This time the only damage was a flesh wound in the heal of my hand.  And probably a bruised ego.  At the trailhead there was a large group (maybe 10?) of NOLS hikers who were about to go out on a 10-day excursion to Forbidden Peak and environs.  Their packs looked impossibly big and they were dressed in heavy boots, gaitors, and long pants.  It was over 70F so it was a wonder how far they'd get that late in the day.  They'd have about 4 hours to get to camp before dark.  Hopefully they'd be able to travel a mile an hour with those packs and get to the lakes below Hidden Lake Peak.

At the car, Chris provided cheap cold beer and Jenny pulled out a big bag of salty thick potato chips.  Perfect snacks for the end of a sweaty day with a mission that was not accomplished.  However, I gained important information: I learned that Jodee is only a trail dog — Oyster Dome, the Tree Farm, Mt. Dickerman.  No backpacking or scrambling with her.

Randy's pictures are much better than mine so I'm posting his.