Third time’s a charm.
After two previous attempts both ended in turnarounds due to snow I finally got enough sense to bring a pair of snowshoes with me. The final turn into the northern bowl at just above 4,000 feet was the end of bare ground but this time I was able to float over places where previously I was postholing.
On the way up I encountered a few interesting people, one told me about a giant white “spirit turkey” that he’d seen a few weeks earlier down in the clearcut where I’d parked my car. Unfortunately searching for spirit turkey yields only page after page of booze links. Another guy in a silver Jeep showed me a picture on his phone of him camping on a rock bar out in the middle of Cle Elum Lake. Apparently it was connected to the mainland by a shallow shelf so he had just driven out to it. Amazing.
Unfortunately the snow-covered forest service roads ended just shy of this trail marker and the real fun began: ascents up slopes so steep I often found myself reaching forward and touching snow.
After crossing in front of the northeast face of Not So Sasse Peak I headed towards the saddle between it and Sasse Mountain. Gaining the ridge I turned eastward and was overwhelmed with disappointment at the complete lack of views at the summit:
Boo. On the plus side I learned a lot:
Gear
What Worked
The stars of the show were my TSL Outdoor Symbioz Flex Adjust snowshoes. They were comfortable and grippy on the uphills although I found them a bit lacking for sidehilling and going down slush. However, I knew that going in and by either following ridges or heading straight toward them I was able to ascend without too much trouble. The decision to place the heel lifts on the heels of the binding rather than on the decking is pure genius and makes engaging and disengaging them as simple as lifting your knee.
I’ve turned a corner on navigation. Between my Casio AB watch, Suunto compass, and CalTopo map I was able to locate myself on the hour every hour without using my phone. The altimeter readings on the watch were good enough on their own but I also used triangulation on nearby peaks as well as the angle of the road. Using the environment to figure out where you are without relying on technology is very reassuring. Of course, I used to do all this years ago and landed somewhere between lazy and overconfident so it’s nice to be back on the right track.
What Didn’t
My CalTopo map was printed at what I believe to be a ratio of 1:25,000. This was good for local detail but when you’re trying to use nearby peaks to triangulate your location they tend not to be on the map at that scale. I’m pretty sure this resulted in me missing one location exercise by a few hundred feet.
I brought a trekking pole but forgot the snow basket which rendered the pole useless during the only part of the trip where it might have actually been helpful.
While glissading down Sasse I lost my favorite tripod, the Manfrotto Pixi Evo. This was only my second or third trip with the thing so I’m especially annoyed at myself for being so careless. My guess is that it wasn’t buried all the way in the side pockets so it caught on the snow and was pulled out. I actually realized it was gone when I was done glissading but due to the steepness and length of the descent I didn’t want to take the time to go back up and locate it. Sadness. In any case it’s a reminder to lock everything down before glissading or bushwhacking: if it’s not attached, it’s gone.
I’ve started hanging my inReach off of my shoulder strap in order to improve connectivity and increase the chances that I hear it beep when it sends or receives messages (I’ve definitely missed these before). However, for some reason while I can send messages from my phone through the inReach via Bluetooth I am unable to see received messages on the phone until hours (or longer) after they arrive. This is obnoxious because the device isn’t exactly easy to detach (nor should it be, thing is expensive) when it’s just a few inches from your neck. Perhaps there’s a software update available but this would be a significant flaw in an otherwise incredible device.
What’s Next
I’ll be printing two-sided maps from now on, one side for detail (1:25,000) and the other for context (1:50,000).
I need to put together a snow checklist to ensure that the snow baskets aren’t forgotten.
Now that I’ve moved my hand saniziter from my ditty bag to my first aid bag I keep forgetting where it is. In any case between that and the sunscreen and Vaseline I’m thinking of keeping them in my pants’ zipper pocket to make them easily accessible.
I like keeping my map, compass, and pen all within a single zipper bag. However, the pen is only slightly shorter than the bag so I have to fiddle a bit to get it to line up just right. Solution: mini pens.
While lamenting the lack of neck coverage of my collarless shirt I realized that a dark colored UV buff could serve as both a neck gaiter, face mask, sleeping mask, cooling towel, and regular ol’ towel. This is obvious to anyone who’s ever given it some thought but I’ve shied away from Buffs for many years. I’ve ordered a fancy reflective one (plain black felt too boring) so I’m hoping to try it out on my next outing.
Route
Gaia track:
https://www.gaiagps.com/public/7xGCj1mzyEgtsGauMZ4HRuAZ
I shaved off a bit of distance by parking in a clearcut just before the first gate instead of at the main road but you could drive up to about 3,800 feet without too much trouble. Given that the summit is a bust I would recommend stopping where the road ends just west of Little Salmon La Sac Creek and enjoying the nothernly views of the central Cascades.
Flowers & Critters
Photography
SmugMug gallery:
https://turigrinos.smugmug.com/Adventures/2020/Sasse-Mountain-3/
Aside from the panorama (not really, it’s just cropped that way) at the top I’m fond of both the flower picture and this one of a creek:
Both were taken with my Manfrotto Pixi Evo tripod (RIP). The creek has that nice silky look which I was able to grab without use of a neutral density filter due to the shade. Creeks like this are, of course, nature’s garbage dumps for random sticks so there’s quite a bit of clutter going on, but overall I think it looks nice enough.