Day 5 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast!
Wee hours, Purcell Mountains – A gentle paw woke SPHP up. Again? Yes, again. Lupe wanted out. Although still weary from yesterday’s ascent of Robinson Mountain, this time SPHP joined her. Must still be cloudy. The night was quiet and infinitely black, as SPHP directed the faint beam of the little flashlight. Meanwhile, the restless Carolina Dog sniffed her way both up and down USFS Road No. 7205.
7:52 AM, 54ºF – After being woken up half a dozen times during the night, small wonder that it was practically 8:00 AM when SPHP finally turned the key causing the RAV4 to spring to life. Sad to be leaving this place, but time waits for no Dingo! Funny how quickly one can become attached to a previously unknown spot. Pink Paradise was only a short hike away! Already, the Carolina Dog was leaving it behind.
Upon reaching USFS Road No. 92, SPHP turned W. Paved, but stripeless and narrow, the road wound higher mile after mile before a similar long steady descent began to the Yaak River. After crossing the river, Lupe had a blast barking at deer congregating in a region of homes on small acreages that SPHP mistook for the town of Yaak.
Confusion reigned. An hour got wasted driving back and forth due to poor signage and the absence of a decent map, but the Yaak Mercantile Store finally appeared, and from there it was only 3 miles W on No. 508 to a R turn N onto USFS Road No. 338. After that, the rest was easy.
12:22 PM, 60ºF, USFS Road No. 338 – Already afternoon by the time Lupe reached the Northwest Peak trailhead, but that was alright. A new sign said it was only 2.3 miles to the lookout. Despite having been awake half the night, the American Dingo was rarin’ to go! Crossing the road, Lupe passed a few white boulders as Trail No. 169 curved up into the forest.
Heading S, a short climb led to an old roadbed which the trail followed W for a little way. Leaving the roadbed behind, a couple of sharp curves brought the Carolina Dog up onto a broad ridge.
The forest had burned. Although there wasn’t as much here as at Pink Paradise on the way to Robinson Mountain yesterday, fireweed added splashes of pink to the scene.
At first, the ridge was flat, but soon Trail No. 169 started climbing at an easy pace. The trail headed W near the S edge of the ridge then veered N. Almost as soon as Lupe made it over to the N side of the ridge, the trail doubled back to the SW.
Soon Loopster was back along the S side of the ridge again. No. 169 now ran WNW, staying well below the ridgeline. Northwest Peak (7,705 ft.) was already in sight ahead.
S of HP7326, the trail passed along the lower edge of a boulder field. Once beyond the boulders, it wasn’t much farther to the end of the burnt forest. Happy to have the shade of live trees, Lupe soon insisted upon taking a little break. Water and a chocolate coconut bar got shared. SPHP enjoyed a Mott’s blueberry applesauce, too.
Continuing on, the rate of climb gradually increased. No. 169 went NW, eventually leading to more talus. By then, Loop was already almost as high as HP7326, which was now visible back to the E.
As the American Dingo kept climbing, the forest thinned. Trail No. 169 wound through increasing amounts of rock. Occasional cairns helped mark the route.
Couldn’t be much farther! Near the end, the trail steepened and began trending SW. Few trees remained, until there were none at all. Nothing but talus the rest of the way.
Hardly any rock-hopping required! Good trail the entire way. Lupe was heading SW, when a lookout and a tall cairn came into view.
2:31 PM, 50ºF, Northwest Peak (7,705 ft.) – Next to a huge cairn, Lupe stood squinting into the sun, not really caring for the unexpected gusty 20 mph wind sweeping over the mountain. Hadn’t even been breezy on the way up! Tall as the cairn was, it could easily have been much larger.
Enough rock up here to build a pyramid, SPHP!
No doubt, but forget that! Building pyramids is a lot of work. Someone must have had an awful lot of time on their paws just to build that cairn.
Northwest Peak’s summit plateau was a sea of talus. Not a tree, bush, or even a blade of grass, anywhere. The gigantic cairn was more than 100 feet NNE of the lookout cabin, which sat up at the true summit near the S end of the plateau. A flagless flagpole stood just S of the lookout, with a second, much smaller cairn nearby.
Definitely break time again, but with all the rock, there was nowhere comfy for the Carolina Dog to curl up.
Let’s check out the lookout cabin, SPHP! Maybe it’s unlocked like the one on Robinson Mountain (7,321 ft.)?
You just want to get out of the wind, don’t you!
It’s the sensible thing to do, SPHP!
The door wasn’t locked. Lupe went right in. The lookout here was about the same size as the one on Robinson Mountain, but cleaner and better furnished. Almost everything was painted green. 3 wooden beds were next to the walls. In the middle of the room stood a tall table. A deck of cards was on it.
Sitting together on the bed closest to the door, SPHP shook Looper’s paw, congratulating her on her successful ascent of Northwest Peak. This feat, plus escaping the wind, was celebrated with the disappearance of the last chocolate coconut bar.
All the windows were closed, just like at Robinson Mountain. In addition to the beds and table, there were two desks and a bench. A clear plastic bin with a blue cover was resting on one of the desks. Unsnapping the cover revealed a nicely folded American Flag plus instructions on how to fold it. There was also a registry.
After entering Lupe’s name, SPHP read some of the other entries.
Anything interesting, SPHP?
Seems that most of these entries are by people hiking the PNT, Looper. Apparently Northwest Peak is part of it.
The PNT? What’s that?
The Pacific Northwest Trail. 1,200 miles long running E/W through Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Guess we should have brought the sleeping bags, Loopster! Quite a few people spend the night here.
Oh, that would have been fun!
After a bit, it was time to have a look at the views. Venturing outside again to brave the wind, Lupe first had a look S. The air was kind of hazy with smoke from distant forest fires, but it wasn’t too bad. From Northwest Peak, a long ridge extended S to Davis Mountain (7,583 ft.), then W over to Canuck Peak (6,934 ft.).
Apparently, that was the way the PNT went.
NW of the lookout cabin an outhouse sat not too far from the mountain’s W edge. Lupe went that way next. Burke Benchmark (7,461 ft.) was in sight beyond the outhouse, and past it, fabled, forbidden Canada, dimly seen through the smoke. American Mountain (6,591 ft.) was 3 miles W.
Returning to the lookout cabin, shelter was again sought from the wind. After spending a little more time perusing the registry, SPHP broke out the deck of cards that was sitting on the table.
While you take it easy, Loop, think I’m going to play a little solitaire. Soon as I win a game, we’ll head out! How does that sound?
Fine with me, SPHP! I like this cabin. Really a shame you didn’t bring the sleeping bags!
I know it. Wish I had.
Time passed. SPHP played several games before putting the cards away.
Finally won one, SPHP?
Let’s just say it’s a good thing we stick to climbing mountains. There’s a reason you’ve never been to Vegas, Looper.
You lost every game?
0-4, if you must know. I’ve lost interest in it. Odd, I know. C’mon, let’s see if we can get a glimpse of the Hawkins Lakes before we go!
Rather reluctantly, the Carolina Dog left the nifty lookout cabin for the last time. Heading N along the summit plateau, it was slow going on all the talus as Lupe gradually lost elevation. The Hawkins Lakes did not come into view, and it began to look like Loop might have to go quite a bit farther before they might.
Eh. Too windy! Losing interest in this project, too, Loopster. Maybe we ought to just head back to the trail?
The American Dingo had no objection. Returning to the tall cairn and the region near the lookout cabin, she gazed for the final time from the top of windy Northwest Peak upon HP7326 and the long ridge she was about to head back down.
Relief from the wind came almost immediately after leaving the summit plateau. With a good trail that wasn’t all that steep, the return was fun. Leading the way, Lupe trotted happily along, sniffing and exploring both on and off trail at will. Before long it was time for that last glance back at Northwest Peak.
Oh, things that might have been! It could have been done! Lupe made it back to the RAV4 with hours of daylight left. The Carolina Dog still might have spent this night listening to the wind moan in the lookout cabin, but she never did persuade SPHP to grab those sleeping bags and head back up to lonely, remote Northwest Peak (7,705 ft). (5:19 PM, 65ºF)
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GPS track by Greg Slayden (8-16-16)
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