Trip Date: September 14-16, 2024
Argonaut Peak Climbing Attempt
Fourth Creek Pass
Ingalls Creek Valley
Colchuck–Argonaut Saddle
Argonaut Peak Attempt (8453/8455 ft)
Trip Report Summary
Region: Central Washington Cascades
Sub-Region: Icicle Mountains
Area: Alpine Lakes Wilderness
Starting & Ending Point: Beverly Turnpike Trailhead at end of Beverly Creek Road #9737-112 (Elev. 3650 feet)
Way Points: Beverly Creek Trail / Bean Creek Trail junction & Bean Creek crossing & Fourth Creek Trail / Beverly Creek Trail junction & Fourth Creek Pass & Ingalls Creek crossing (trail hike)
Campsite: Fourth Creek / Ingalls Creek Confluence Camp (Elev. 4250 feet)
Sidetrip: Ingalls Creek Trail junction & South Argonaut Creek crossing (trail hike); Southeast Argonaut Ridge notch & Porcupine Creek Basin & Colchuck–Argonaut Saddle & Northeast Argonaut Gully (bushwhack & off-trail hike & rock scramble)
Summit Attempt: Argonaut Peak (rock scramble to Northeast Gully at 7850 feet via Northeast Ridge)
Approximate Stats: 16.0 miles traveled; 7200 feet gained & lost.
Related Post
>>> Argonaut Peak via Colchuck Lake—Colchuck Col—Northeast Face – July 1999
Full Trip Report
Eileen, Kerry, Cody, and I were planning to do a three-day climb in the Olympics this weekend, but a rainy forecast made that an unappealing destination. As a last-minute alternative, I suggested Argonaut Peak in the Stuart Range, and everybody gave it a thumbs up. I had climbed Argonaut 25 years ago via Colchuck Lake, Colchuck Col, and the northeast ridge, so I had a little familiarity with the mountain. However, because we held little hope of getting a permit for ultra-popular Colchuck Lake this late in the game, it made sense to approach the mountain from the Teanaway side, via Fourth Creek Pass and Ingalls Creek. I had no knowledge of south-side conditions on Argonaut Peak, but I figured that we could wrap around the eastern side of the mountain and get onto familiar terrain. Things didn’t play out quite as envisioned, but we had a memorable adventure regardless.
Day 1: Trailhead to Fourth Creek Confluence Camp
Our foursome pulled into the Beverly Turnpike Trailhead parking lot on a sunny Saturday morning and took two of the few remaining spots. After distributing group gear, we all headed up the trail, keeping a steady pace and a lively conversation. So lively, in fact, that we missed a key junction and went ½ mile up the wrong fork before realizing our mistake. Oops! After backtracking to the junction, we proceeded up to Fourth Creek Pass and stopped for lunch.
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From the pass, we continued hiking down Fourth Creek on a well-maintained trail that descends to the southern shore of Ingalls Creek. An easy rock-hop across the creek brought us to a roomy campsite on the northern shore (5.2 hours + 5.5 miles + 2150 feet from TH). We pitched our tents and spent the rest of the afternoon doing assorted camp chores, which included a knot-tying practice session for Kerry and Cody, both of whom are aspiring mountaineers.
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Day 2: Argonaut Peak Summit Attempt
We awoke to an overcast morning and headed out with summit packs at 8:30am. After hiking downstream on Ingalls Creek Trail for ½ mile, we made a sharp left turn and began working straight upslope toward Argonaut Peak. Our ascent route took us through brushy jackstraw forest for 300 vertical feet, followed by horribly dense slide alder for another 1000 feet. This entire hillslope was a green purgatory, such that our rate of progress was frustratingly slow—a meager 400 feet per hour!
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At an elevation of 5500 feet, the dense brush transitioned to low vegetation, so we were able to make better progress up to 6500 feet. At that point, we turned right and traversed over to Argonaut’s southeast ridge, using a prominent granite pillar as a navigational landmark.
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We crossed over Argonaut’s southeast ridge at a 6750-foot notch and scrambled down a broken ramp that opened onto the vast Porcupine Creek Basin. Dragontail Peak and Colchuck Peak were visible up to the right, and the Colchuck–Argonaut Saddle was visible up to the left.
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We ascended heather, talus, scree, and rock slabs for 1000 feet until gaining the Colchuck–Argonaut Saddle at 7750 feet. This put us on Argonaut’s northeast ridge, with a view of the summit block and the broad upper northeast face. We scrambled up the ridge crest until it steepened, then we traversed along the right (northwestern) side of the crest a bit farther.
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A short Class 2-3 scramble across an exposed ledge brought us to a deep gully in the mountain’s northeastern flank. This gully is typically snow-filled throughout most of the year, but it was now completely snow-free, thereby revealing a steep swath of loose rubble.
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It was nearly 4:00pm (7.4 hours + 3800 feet from camp), and we were still 600 feet below the summit. Furthermore, all of the possible exit routes out of the gully appeared to involve a full pitch of low- to mid-Class 5 climbing, for which we had neither the time nor equipment to tackle today. Disappointingly, our summit bid came to an end here.
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None of us wanted to return to camp by way of the horrible brush that we’d ascended this morning, especially considering that we would run out of daylight well before reaching Ingalls Creek Trail. Instead, we descended along a route farther to the east, generally following Porcupine Creek the whole way. Our route initially took us down a series of pleasant heather benches and polished granite slabs through the wide basin.
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Upon reaching the brushline at 5200 feet, we were delighted to discover a game path cutting through the slide alder. This path led us down a timber rib on the eastern side of Porcupine Creek for 800 vertical feet before fading away in a valley-bottom jungle. During the last 30 minutes of twilight, we slowly wandered through dense brush and jackstraw forest, finally stepping onto Ingalls Creek Trail in complete darkness at 8:10pm (3.8 hours from turnaround point). Our day ended with a 1-mile headlamp hike upstream to our campsite.
Day 3: Fourth Creek Confluence Camp to Trailhead
Following a clear, cold night, everybody was packed up and ready to go by 7:45am. During our hike over Fourth Creek Pass, Eileen and I kept looking back at Argonaut Peak, studying the terrain and contemplating a revised strategy for approaching and climbing the mountain on a future attempt. One thing was for certain: neither of us had any interest in battling through the south-side brush again!
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Route Maps & Profile
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Photo Gallery
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