Bare Mountain

Had planned to do Bare Mountain earlier this fall but was thwarted by downed power lines following a wind storm so when a friend asked where we should go this week I suggested Bare Mountain and he agreed. After a long ride to the trailhead, passing through a major logging operation, we set out on very rocky tread, crossing countless small streams as we headed into the Bear Creek Valley. The day started out slightly overcast but the temperature was comfortable for hiking. We were soon at Bear Creek and after crossing on two small logs we soon crossed it again, this time on a bridge. We needed to be mindful of our footing during these early stages due to ice and rocks. At about 3300 feet we came upon the first snow but it was easily hiked as it was very compact; unfortunately, this would soon give way to a lot more snow on trail with a southern exposure and the warming solar rays made for slow going as we were post-holing every other step (note to self: do not listen to self and decide to leave snowshoes in car). The way up the mountain would have been much more pleasant if we were on the snow's surface rather than exploring its deeper recesses but the views which began to be revealed to us were making up for it. Just below the summit the way became quite challenging as, except for a few rocks in a small patch of heather and some krummholz, the final ascent required kicking steps into an often frozen, almost vertical, snow-covered slope. We made it to the summit, however, and the 360 degree views on a mostly clear and sunny day were well worth the effort: Baker, Ranier, and Glacier were the three titans of a panorama that contained too many peaks to count, let alone name. After a quick snack, the obligatory summit snapshot, and a prayer asking for safety on the descent, we headed down. The view from above made the way down appear quite precarious as there was not much room for error with little room to self-arrest if we slipped. With ice-axe in hand, we slowly headed down. The steps we had kicked in the ice and snow during the ascent were not always providing the purchase needed for our feet so we added some hand holds for our free hands and kicked a bit harder into the ice-crusted snow. After an arduous ascent, the descent proved to be even more of a challenge but, in time, we regained the trail began the post-holed journey down Bare. The slowness of travel due to the snow necessitated our pulling out the headlamps at about 3300 feet for the final mile or so. This made the passage along the rock strewn trail, now icy in many places, an ankle twisting, knee wrenching challenge we would have preferred to have done without, especially when you added in a couple of stream crossings complicated due to ice and darkness. Thankfully, we survived sans incident and soon were headed to a post-hike repast but not before passing a few deer and an elk on the way.