Trip Date: August 13, 2011
Dewey Peak Day Climb
Naches Flats
Dewey Lakes
Dewey–Seymour Saddle
Dewey Peak (6710’)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Southern Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Naches Mountains
Area: Mt. Rainier National Park
Starting & Ending Point: Naches Trailhead at Tipsoo Lakes pull-out on Highway 410 (Elev. 5300 feet)
Way Points: Tipsoo Lakes Basin & Naches Flats & Dewey Lakes & Dewey–Seymour Saddle (trail hike & snow hike)
Summit: Dewey Peak (rock scramble & rock climb via Northwest Ridge—West Face)
Approximate Stats: 7 miles traveled; 3100 feet gained & lost; 4.1 hours up; 2.9 hours down.
Related Post
Dewey Peak Attempt + Dewey Couloir Ski Descent – June 28, 2008
Seymour Peak via Dewey-Seymour Saddle + Naches Peak Ski Circumnavigation – June 13, 2010
Full Trip Report
Despite being one of the most important summits in the Naches Mountains, Dewey Peak is not officially named on any maps. It is also, to my eye, the most attractive peak in the area, with a nicely symmetrical summit pyramid. Eileen and I waited for a warm, sunny day to tuck in this little gem.
- Dewey Peak From Naches Flats Trail
Starting from still-snowy Tipsoo Lakes near Chinook Pass, we wrapped around the snowfree southern flank of Naches Peak and followed the crest trail to Dewey Lakes.
- Mt Rainier From Naches Flats
From there, we ascended easy snow slopes to the peak’s northwestern ridge, which led us directly to the craggy summit pyramid. The west face of the pyramid presents exposed Class 2-3 scrambling with one exposed Class 4 move, so we roped up and belayed two short pitches to the summit (4.3 hours from car).
- Traversing Below Summit Pyramid
- Climbing Up Summit Pyramid
Views of Mt Rainier and all of its courtier peaks were outstanding, as expected. There was also a summit register that had been placed by a family named Dewey. Unfortunately, the Deweys violated all the rules of good registermanship: They used a slip-on cap that required much pounding with a rock to remove but offered little resistance to water infiltration, and they did not use waterproof paper. Consequently, the little register booklet was a soggy mess.
- Eileen On Dewey Peak Summit
- Dewey Lakes From Dewey Peak Summit
We spotted a rappel station leading down the pyramid’s southern face, but our half-length rope would not have reached ground at that location. Instead of rappelling, we did a belayed downclimb of our up route. The rest of our return to the car was on pleasant snow slopes and mostly snowfree trail.
Photo Gallery
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