Mt. Catherine 1/28/2012

Trail blazing!! (Top to Bottom: Alistair, Jan, Rena and Bao)

Alex

Me (photo taken by Mike)

Keechelus Lake

Mt. Catherine

Reassessing our direction.

Those clouds would later bring rain!

Frog Lake

Me, followed by Bao, Mike and Alex as we pass by frog lake. (Photo taken by Rena)

Left to Right: Bao, Rena and Alex

Alex and Rena pass by Frog Lake.

Me (Photo taken by Jan)

Bao blazes up the hill.

Mt. Catherine almost (our false summit). Left to Right: Bao, Me, Rena, Mike and Alex; not pictured Alistair and Jan)

Headed back down.

Lunch time wouldn't be complete without the esspresso.

Jan pours the first cup!

View as we pass by the cross-country skiing trails.

.....and then the rain came.

Looking back towards Mt. Catherine

Compass check to make sure we're still headed in the correct direction.

Pinwheels that formed in the snow.

Last remaining downhill before hitting the roadway that will lead us back home.

Our topographic map!

Today we attempted to summit Mt. Catherine. We failed  to make the summit by 893ft as we had hit our agreed upon return time of 1pm. We had agreed on this time as bad weather was supposed to hit around 4pm and we did not want to take the chance of getting stuck in it. We did encounter some light rain on our way back down but fortunately made it to the car before the sky really opened up. I think everyone was a little disappointed in the end that we were so close to the summit yet  we were unable to obtain it. But as Ed Viesturs says “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” 

Start time: 9:26 am
End time: 3:45 pm
Total time: 7 hours 1 minute
Distance: 7.86 miles
Speed: 1.1 miles/hour
My Peak Elevation: 4,159 ft
Peak Elevation to Mt. Catherine: 5,052 ft
Elevation Gain to Mt. Catherine: 1,300ft

Driving Directions:

From Seattle, drive east on I-90 to exit 54 (signed "Hyak").  At the bottom of the ramp turn right onto Hyak Drive East. Park in the lot for Hyak Ski area (on right). To begin hike leave parking heading north on Hyak Drive East. Then turn left (west) onto Snoqualmie Drive. Walk for about a tenth of a mile to where the telephone wires cross the roadway. Begin hike here headed west (Iron Horse Trail). At about 3200ft start heading sw toward Mt. Catherine.

*Please note these are directions during the winter months when you may be unable to drive up the forest service  road 9070. This hike will be almost twice as long as it is during the summer months. 

For directions during summer please refer to this link: Mt. Catherine hike