Trip Date: September 13-15, 2002
Reynolds Peak Climbing Trip & Purple Mountain Loop: Boulder Creek to Purple Creek
Lake Chelan / Stehekin Landing
Boulder Creek Valley
Reynolds Peak (8512 ft)
Lone Mountain Pass
War Creek Pass
Lake Juanita
Boulder Butte / Lookout (7350 ft)
Purple Pass
Trip Report Summary
Region: North-Central Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Sawtooth Mountains
Area: Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Starting Point: Rainbow Loop South Trailhead on Stehekin Valley Road (Elev. 1200 feet)
Way Points: Boulder Creek Trail junction & Boulder Creek & Rennie Creek & Reynolds Camp & Lone Mountain Pass & War Creek Pass & Lake Juanita & Purple Pass & Purple Creek & Stehekin Landing (trail hike)
Ending Point: Purple Pass Trailhead at Stehekin Landing on Lake Chelan (Elev. 1100 feet)
Campsites: Reynolds Camp & Lake Juanita
Sidetrip: Camels Hump Basin & Camels Hump Saddle (off-trail hike)
Summit: Reynolds Peak (off-trail hike & rock scramble via Southeast Slope—Southeast Face)
Summit: Boulder Butte (hike via lookout trail)
Approximate Stats: 25 miles traveled; 10,000 feet gained; 10,100 feet lost.
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Full Trip Report
Day 1: Fields Point to Stehekin to Rainbow Loop to Reynolds Camp
Friday morning, Laura and I met Donna at Fields Point Landing, where we boarded the Lady Express for a quick trip to Stehekin. There, we rode the shuttle bus several miles up-valley and debarked at the Rainbow Loop South Trailhead. Hot, sunny, dry weather followed us all afternoon as we hiked up Boulder Creek to the comfortable accommodations of Reynolds Camp (5.9 hours from TH), with its picnic table, babbling creek, and bear wire.
- Hiking Up Boulder Creek Trail
Day 2 (AM): Reynolds Peak Summit Climb
After a leisurely breakfast on Saturday morning, we shouldered summit packs and struck off through the forest on an eastward bearing. Dense firs gradually gave way to sparse larches and heather slopes below Reynolds Peak.
- Reynolds Peak From Upper Basin
We veered right and wandered through a delightful grassy basin, then ascended talus slopes to gain the 7300-foot saddle between Reynolds and Camels Hump. From here, a long northward traverse over sand, scree, loose talus, and rock ribs led to Reynolds’ imposing southeast face. We scrambled up a Class 2-3 gully to a notch in the ridge crest, which features slightly exposed Class 3 climbing on nice rock to reach the summit.
- Donna and Laura Scrambling Up Reynolds Peak
Laura and Donna prudently opted to take advantage of the lightweight rope that we had packed with us, so we completed the climb with running belays. We topped out in early afternoon (5.1 hours from camp). Hazy skies prevented long-range viewing, but we enjoyed more than an hour of gazing from the warm summit.
- Jim and Laura On Reynolds Peak Summit
The register indicated that Outward Bound classes virtually own this peak during the summer months; several groups of a dozen or so instructors and students have signed in each year. Curiously, many of the independent groups mention climbing Reynolds Peak via “The Horsefly” route.
Day 2 (PM): Reynolds Camp to Lake Juanita
After retracing our steps to camp (2.5 hours from summit), we packed up and continued hiking toward Lone Mountain Pass. This location provides a splendid vantage of Reynolds Peak and its impressive architecture.
- Reynolds Peak From Purple Mtn Trail
For the next 3 miles, we traversed high ridges on well-worn trails as the sun sank behind Purple Mountain and turned the landscape from brown to gold to gray. I couldn’t resist declaring this visage to be true “Purple Mountain majesty”! We crested War Creek Pass in dusky light and descended to tiny Lake Juanita (2.2 hours from Camp 1), where grassy flats provided a welcome campsite for the night.
- Camp At Lake Juanita
Day 3: Lake Juanita to Stehekin to Fields Point + Boulder Butte
Sunday dawned with overcast skies but warm air. We arose at first light and quickly ate breakfast, then broke camp and headed up toward Purple Pass. I insisted that we take a sidetrip to Boulder Butte, an old lookout site, so we dropped packs and hiked up.
- Donna, Jim, and Laura On Boulder Butte Summit
The overcast was dissipating and allowed nice views in all directions, including straight down to Lake Chelan—6300 feet below us. We groaned at the thought of our impending plunge to lake level but were hoping to catch the Lady Express before she left Stehekin at 11:45. About 3 hours and a thousand swithbacks later, we hiked across the concrete landing (4.5 hours from Camp 2) and directly onto the waiting boat, scant minutes before departure!
Photo Gallery
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