By far, one of the most challenging hikes I have ever been on, the Bailey Range also left a strong impression on my visual senses.
From the trail head on the first day to our last nights camp above 5000 feet we dilly dallied very little. The technical hiking constantly competed with the awesome views of Mount Olympus north side and surprises abound in many forms. Scenic wonder, the astounding technicality of tricky descents and thick forests, the bewildering changes in weather and the unsettling need to navigate by GPS all competed with our own surprise at our ability to carry on, and even crack an occasional joke about our circumstance. We used every piece of gear we brought, often to it’s maximum capacity. A suitable test for planned team hiking.
Day 1, a real huffer, took us from the trail head to above 4000 feet with an already beautiful view of the Olympics. Snow still remained in the gulleys near our camp, even after a long summer. A beautiful sunset showed no sign of the coming rain.
On day 2, leaving the trail and heading into the southwest we partially dropped down into Cat Basin where clouds and rain hindered visibility and kept us on a high table above a llama camp. We pitched camp near a small stream and settled down to dinner, as the night grew wetter.
Day 3 finished the descent into Cat Basin. We met our llama campers and I snapped this pic of Bob Shapiro of Deli Llama Wilderness Adventures. (This is a great way to see remote outback country with Bob and Mariann Shapiro.) We climbed out of Cat Basin and picked up the trail for a while, finding a campsite in an ancient stand of trees.
Day 4 we paralleled Mount Olympus with some fantastic views and again left the trail in a steep “four point” climb up to the top of the ridge. Crossing a thin ridge section known as “The Catwalk” we followed along the Bailey Range, dropping into slippery wet creek ravines periodically. A long days hike found us setting up a hasty camp at the edge of an elk meadow just minutes before the sun went down.
Refreshed somewhat on day 5 we floundered along the ridge and descended into a giant knock-down that had been made by an avalanche just a couple of years before us. Finding no way around, we split into 2 groups meandering through and around the knock-down. We finally found a way up to our destination campground at Cream Lake . After a long rest by the lake, and with a little time left in the day, we hiked up to a shelf and camped at the base of the next days climb (or steep hike). This night we had plenty of water and ate as much as we could to lighten our packs.
Day 6 was a hard climb in wet weather. Visibility was bad and got worse as we gained altitude. We used the GPS to locate ourselves on a USGS 7 minute map. But it was a hard long day as each topographical feature had to be verified from literally standing on it. We eventually located a good place to climb up out of the valley. But worsening weather and accumulated wetness from a day in the rain had us put down a hasty camp alongside a beautiful glacial lake. As fate would have it, as soon as the camp was set the weather broke, the sun came out, and we were treated to full views of the mountains around us. Learning our lesson from a day of bad visibility, 2 of our team set out before dinner in the waning light and quickly familiarized themselves with the next days hike.
Day 7 we awoke to ice on everything and frozen boots. We broke camp and packed up as quick as we could. We summited in an area around some glacial lakes and made a scrambling descent down the Eastern rim. One part of the descent was so steep we couldn’t believe it was the route. We scouted it carefully. There were a couple more steep descents. We got a brief reprieve after this descent in an alpine knoll thick with grass and loaded with warm sunshine. Then we descended again and scrabbled along a trail only flying animals would recognize, the hiked along the side of a ridge so steep we had to hold onto tree branches and large rocks to keep from making a quick and final unscheduled descent. One regret we had at this time was that we only had 10 meters of rope –brought along to hang our food from bears. We emerged out of the scrabbling shale and trees onto a narrow shelf of a trail etched out of the rock by dynamite before World War II. Of course we needed verification that this was indeed “the trail” and we followed it a long ways before we relaxed a little (This was day 4 with no trail after all). After a couple of miles we found a bridge and then finally we reached a warning sign intended for hikers coming the other way. It simply said “Trail Not Maintained” We were home free. We made an uneventful camp and celebrated our return to civilization, our last night in the Bailey range outback. An unforgettable hike.
