Combine old friends, a scenic location and quesadillas - what do you get? A great hike/campout! Such was the case on the 12th when Matt and Gretchen returned from Denver to join the hike. The party started in the parking lot at Eastgate, where Dan showed up with two Jet City pizzas (even though he wasn't hiking). Joan and her surgically repaired knee was there to visit - good to see you Joan! Heal fast. Don stopped by to drop off a camp stove, in case we needed an extra.
The event brought out some TNAB vets we haven't seen in a while: Ania (with her friend Gordon), Bruce, and Shu-Chih (Suji). Great to see everyone! With all the food and conversation, we got off to a late start, around 5:30 PM. At the Denny Creek campground, we started the hike at 6:20 PM. There were two set of TNAB'ers that night - hikers and campers. The hikers were Damon, Jason, Larry, and Shu-Chih. The campers were Ania, Bruce, Gordon, Gretchen, Mark, Matt, and Russ.
Shortly after 8:00 PM, everyone had arrived at Melakwa Lake. Somewhat surprisingly, we had the place to ourselves, although there were rumors of climbers on Chair Peak. In true TNAB fashion, when presented with a cool, clear lake, there only one thing to do - jump in! I will vouch that Melakwa was much colder than Mason Lake from a couple hikes back. Very refreshing!
Matt then lead a charge up the ridge to catch the sunset, which put us almost halfway to Kaleetan Peak. The effort confirmed that no one was going to summit that night, but the view was worth it. We returned to camp where Matt got down to business making quesadillas. Several bottles of brew made the circuit around the camp stove, to go with the wine Russ brought. The quesadillas were very satisfying, and for dessert Ania brought a whole pear pie - delicious!
The next morning, Matt and Gretchen had to leave WAY early to make an appointment in town. About that time, Ania, Gordon, and Russ took off for Kaleetan Peak. They returned around 8:30 AM to report the early morning views were awesome, but that top was infested with flies. Shortly thereafter, Bruce and I made our way to the summit, where, yes, there were swarms of flies all over the very top rocks! Despite the pests, the views were fantastic (except far north). Based on this experience, I would estimate that one should allow 3 hours travel time to make the round trip from the lake to the peak.
Bruce and I were definitely the last ones out, making it back to the parking lot by 1:30 PM. It is here I regret to report we found out that car prowlers were busy that night, breaking in to Bruce's new Passat as well as Matt and Gretchen's rental. Valuables were lost. A bitter way to end a great campout - take heed and do what you can to minimize the risk of break in!
Next Hike: Rampart Ridge! This is a relatively short hike, but very scenic. We've seen the ridge from the other Snoqualmie pass peaks - due east and quite dramatic. And there's a lake to jump into as well! :) Hope to see you there!
On Deck: North/West Granite
-Mark
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