Trip Date: September 24-27, 2009

GOLDEN LARCH OUTING:  PASAYTEN MOUNTAINS

Monument Peak & Lake Mountain Climbing Trip

Lost River
Pistol Pass
Lake of the Woods
Lower Monument Basin
Monument Peak (8592′)
Lake Mountain (8371′)

Trip Report Summary

Region: Northeastern Washington Cascades

Sub-Region: Pasayten Mountains

Area: Pasayten Wilderness

Starting & Ending Point: Monument Trailhead on Lost River Road (Elev. 2400 feet)

Way Points: Lost River Valley & Eureka Creek Ford & Eureka Falls Camp & Pistol Ridge & Pistol Pass & Lake of the Woods (trail hike & off-trail hike)

Campsites: Lake of the Woods & Eureka Falls Camp

Sidetrip: South Lake Mountain Saddle & Lower Monument Basin (off-trail hike & rock scramble)

Summit: Monument Peak (off-trail hike & rock scramble via South Ridge—Southeast Slope)

Summit: Lake Mountain (off-trail hike & rock scramble via East Ridge—East Face)

Approximate Stats: 31 miles traveled; 13,200 feet gained & lost.

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>>> Shellrock Pass Loop: Rolo Pass to Pistol Pass + Lost Peak – September 2010

Full Trip Report

I spent a delightful weekend in the Pasayten Wilderness with Fay, Steve F, Lisa L, and Eileen. The weather couldn’t have been better for a late September trip, and although it was a bit early for prime golden-larch season, there were enough to add a beautiful splash of color.

Day 1: Trailhead to Lake of the Woods

On Thursday, we headed up the Monument Trail in summer-like 90-degree heat. Lost River babbled through the gravel bars below us but remained out of reach. This made the ford of Eureka Creek, which is now missing its sturdy bridge at the 4-mile point, almost welcome. Unfortunately, Eureka Creek was also our last water source for the next 8 miles and 5000 vertical feet. We toiled up the “infamous” (per 100 Hikes) abandoned trail that climbs onto the crest of Pistol Ridge, hoping that our water supply would hold up to the exertion and heat.

Once on the crest, it was a long but scenic traverse to 7100-foot Pistol Pass, then a mile down to camp. Eileen and I were the last to arrive at Lake of the Woods—an inviting alpine oasis below Lake Mountain—shortly after dark (9.4 hours + 12 miles + 5300 feet from TH).

Day 2: Monument Peak Summit Climb

On Friday, Fay headed down the trail alone to climb Three Pinnacles while the rest of us headed overland toward Monument Peak. We crossed the south ridge saddle of Lake Mountain at 7400 feet, then descended into Lower Monument Basin at 6100 feet (2.8 hours from camp).

Steve, who had previously climbed Monument Peak, parted company and headed up-basin to tiny Monument Lake. After filling water bottles in the outlet creek, Lisa and Eileen and I cut sharply up a left-angling ramp system to reach the south ridge crest of Monument Peak at 6900 feet, then began a long traverse toward the summit.

Farther up the ridge, Eileen decided to turn around and return to camp. Lisa and I pushed on to the distressingly distant summit, which was still a mile away. We groveled up long talus slopes interspersed with some Class 3 scrambling and eventually reached the leaning summit horn at 3:00pm (6.2 hours from camp).

The afternoon was calm and warm, and the views were long-ranging.

On descent, we retraced our route back to Lower Monument Basin and up to the Lake Mountain saddle. Nightfall came long before we reached the crest, so we navigated the last part by moonlight.

At the 7400-foot saddle, we were greeted by the wonderful sight of pinpoint lights emanating from the vast inky darkness—1/2 mile away and 800 feet below. They were headlamps in camp! This was such a welcome greeting because we had doubts about finding Lake of the Woods in the moon-shadowed blackness.

We donned headlamps and began a painstaking descent of the loose talus slopes. Our comrades guided us into camp (5.6 hours from summit) by keeping their lights focused on us the entire time. We all stayed up until midnight swapping stories of our separate adventures.

Day 3 (AM): Lake Mountain Summit Climb

On Saturday, we split into three groups:  Lisa and Steve hiked out to the car and made a late-night drive home; Fay headed out for Pistol Peak, then hiked down to Eureka Falls Camp; and Eileen and I headed up Lake Mountain.

The east ridge of Lake Mountain turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant ascent route, with enough exposed Class 2-3 granite to keep things interesting. We reached the summit in late morning (1.9 hours from camp) and enjoyed a leisurely 1/2 hour on top, despite getting blasted by an icy northern wind. The sky was vivid blue, but it felt like the weather was changing. We scurried back down to Lake of the Woods and quickly packed up.

Day 3 (PM): Lake of the Woods to Eureka Falls Camp

After breaking camp, we hiked up to Pistol Pass, took one last look back at Lake Mountain, and then began a long southerly traverse on Pistol Ridge.

Far out on the shoulder of Pistol Ridge, the abandoned trail seemed more confusing than it had during our ascent. We repeatedly lost and regained the path, each time losing precious daylight. When darkness fell, we were still a mile from camp, but Fay was once again waiting there to reel us in with her headlamp.

We stumbled into the spacious, comfortable accommodations of Eureka Falls Camp at 7:45pm (5.5 hours from Lake of the Woods). Without even trying, I had managed to score an “alpine-finish hat trick” on this trip:  three consecutive days of rolling into camp by headlamp!

The night was perfectly clear and unseasonably warm, with a gentle breeze rustling through the aspens. The sounds of nearby Lost River and Eureka Creek, which converge at this campsite, provided a backdrop of stereophonic babbling.

Day 4: Eureka Falls Camp to Trailhead

On Sunday, I awoke to find that the resident snafflehounds had stolen two of my wool socks! Worse yet was that they took one inner sock and one outer sock, leaving me with a mismatched pair. The nerve!

We ate a quick breakfast, then made a cold but easy ford back across Eureka Creek to reach the trail. With freshly chilled feet, our 4 mile hike back to the car went quickly and painlessly.

Route Map & Profile

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Photo Gallery

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