|
HIKE |
Abiel |
|
ROUTE |
Read the TR! |
|
DATE |
06/29/2006 |
|
ATTENDEES |
John, Damon, Chris M, Mark, Larry, Joan, Jeff, John II. |
|
NOTES |
Sunsets! |
PHOTOS
Photo credits: Mark
TRAIL REPORT
Hello, TNAB'ers:
Just the facts this time:
Warning: Major Ramble Ahead!
-----------------------
Hello, TNAB'ers:
In a constant effort to please you, the hiking consumer, we here at TNAB work hard to come up with interesting hikes. For instance, next week is now officially "The Pirate Hike". Dress like a pirate, say "arrrr" a lot and you'll earn valuable TNAB points!
Also (and somewhat more seriously), we strive to come up with new hikes to expand our current roster. This is more of a challenge than you may realize, given time and distance restraints on what can qualify as a "TNAB" hike. Such was the case this night, as we made the first TNAB attempt on Abiel Peak. Survey says........it's a winner!
Attendance: John, Damon, Chris M, Mark, Larry, Joan, Jeff, John II (Tokul and Digger, too)
Abiel lays just south of Annette Lake, and shares ridgelines with Silver, Tinkham, and Humpback. It's north face is an intimidating rocky cliff over 1000 ft high. Our goal is to take the east ridge and follow a faint trail to the summit. To get there, we make an extended drive via the Hyak exit to arrive at Windy Pass, where we picked up the PCT and headed south. We traveled in the shadow of the Silver Peak ridge for 45 minutes, much of it in snow, before rising to the shoulder between Tinkham and Abiel - nearly 100% snow travel at this point. Fortunately, the snow is firm and easy to negotiate.
From the shoulder, we head west by southwest, lose some elevation, then gain the trail to Abiel. This trail is a fun little scratch in the ground, obviously more a climber's trail than an established pathway. Early season mountain flowers abound. So do bugs. :( Finally, we top out at 5365 ft el, the summit. Woo hoo! Standing on the ridge, mere inches away from the precipitous north face, we can gaze down upon Annette Lake. It seems directly below us, so very close...
At this time, a little Cascade magic decended, turning convention wisdom on it's head. It was well after 8:00 PM, a time when we usually pack up and head home. But for some reason, Silver Peak was standing there like a giant neon "Welcome" sign hung over it. Chris, Damon, John and I could not resist the siren call to destiny. We returned to the saddle, then trucked up the trail that winds its way up Silver's southside. By 9:15 PM, we're on top of Silver! (This makes up for the first Silver attempt this year)
Our reward is a stunning sunset - easily one of the best I've seen for a TNAB.
Wisely, the Silver Four decide to return the way they arrived, rather than try to run one of Silver's ridges back to the trailhead. :) Sure, it was 11:00 PM by the time we exited, but it was so worth it. I may be mistaken, but I cannot recollect another TNAB hike that bagged two peaks. Beer and stars made a perfect end to a perfect hike.
For the record - peaks bagged this night:
Jeff (the compulsive peakbagger) hit Tinkham and Abiel
Chris M, Damon, and Mark: Abiel and Silver
John: Tinkham, Abiel and Silver
Moosefish and Tokul: They rock!
Misc Statistics
Starting El: 3800 ft or so
NEXT HIKE: Arrr, it be McClellan Butte, arrr! Shiver me timbers!
Cheers,
Abiel Peak: 5365 ft el
Silver Peak: 5605 ft el
Tinkham Peak: 5395 ft el
Silver Summit: 9:15 PM
Exit: 10:55 PM
-Mark