This week’s adventure was a day trip to French Cabin Mountain North, located near the northwestern corner of Cle Elum Lake. The forecast called for rain so I was eager to try out my new rain wrap. Recent trip reports indicated that there was a swift water crossing at the very start so I was excited to give that a go as well (I don’t really do many water crossings).
Goals
- Test out creek crossing using DexShell waterproof socks ✅ (they were awesome)
- Test out Enlightened Equipment rain wrap in extended heavy rain ❌ (barely got sprinkled on)
The water crossing actually turned out to be a concrete spillway under French Cabin Creek and I probably could have driven across it and parked on the other side had I known it was only about fifteen inches deep. In any case it gave me a much-needed opportunity to practice crossing swift water. On the way in I rolled up my pants and wore my DexShells – my left foot got a bit wet (hole?) but my right remained dry and the overally experience wasn’t the least bit unpleasant. On the return trip I decided to hot dog it with my hiking socks and holy Lord was that water cold! Turns out that even if your waterproof socks let in a bit of water it’s still a night-and-day difference as far as overall temperature. In my mind water crossings were the final question mark as to what the DexShells were good for so they have – once again – cemented their place in my clothing arsenal. They. Are. Incredible.
The road eventually continued on for a couple switchbacks before a birm signaled the transition to a hiking trail. Poorly maintained and deeply rutted from mountain bikes, it was actually a relief when I started to hit snow and could throw on my traction spikes and then my snowshoes soon after. I left the snowy trail for a short detour to the lookout point above before engaging in some cross-country navigation across a saddle and onto French Cabin Mountain North proper.
At this point any notion of trail was lost beneath the north-facing snow until topping out on the ridge at a hair above 5,000 feet. From here it was light bushwhacking along the snow-free ridge with the trail buried a few feet down the southeast face. Eventually I reached the base of the summit and began ascending one steep snow slope after another. A particularly steep slope had me kicking steps in snowshoes and wishing for an ice axe – I ditched the snowshoes after reaching rock and traversing up the moat separating it from the snow.
At 5,220 feet and 0.2 miles away from the summit I came to a narrow ridge of snow with an incredible view of Cle Elum Lake and the surrounding area. Sadly this view also revealed what appeared to be a serious thunderstorm on the horizon and I recalled something about scattered thunderstorms in a recent forecast – was that today? I pulled down the latest forecast on the inReach Mini and saw a 50% chance of heavy rain for the rest of the evening. Given the increasingly technical terrain and lack of proper equipment I decided to call the trip rather than risk a descent on unfamiliar rain-slicked rock.
I did, however, get the idea to make this the start of a loop around French Cabin Basin ending at Thorp Creek via Little Joe Lake. Stay tuned.
Gear
What Worked
I can’t say enough good things about my DexShell waterproof socks. In addition to all the other good things they’ve done on trips this year I can now add that they make water crossings completely comfortable.
In a similar vein, the TSL Outdoors Symbioz Hyperflex Adjust snowshoes are just as functional and comfortable as their name is a mouthful to say. Easy on, easy off, and I was able to adjust the length down to match my trail runners in a matter of seconds.
My Oboz Aretes are absolute champs when it comes to drying out. Of course, it’s helpful that the TPU overlays can’t absorb water but still, they’re running circles around my old Oboz Sawtooths with their leather uppers.
Despite the seemingly outrageous initial price tag and ongoing monthly costs the Garmin inReach Mini two-way satellite communicator continues to be worth every penny and then some. On this trip it enabled me to pull down a detailed weather forecast (with a data point for every two hours) and confirm my suspicion that a storm was incoming.
What Didn’t
One of my big learnings from these early-season trips is that if you expect snow on the summit you should bring snow shoes. After this trip I think I’d like to add in an ice axe as well. I actually had one uncontrolled slide on my way down that fortunately ran out a few dozen feet ahead at the edge of a stand of trees. I wasn’t in any danger but it left me feeling unprepared which is something I hate. And try as I might, a carbon fiber trekking pole does not make a suitable brake for glissading.
The zippers on my Prana Stretch Zion pants‘ thigh pocket are too small to reliably use with gloves when you have to fish them out of the ends of the zipper track.
3M Durapore “silk” tape is absolute trash. No sticking power whatsoever. I tried this on my big toes and it was scrunched up into a tiny ring on one toe and came off with my sock on another.
I’ve complained about the poor retention of the key clip on my Osprey Levity backpack before but this was the final straw, the momentary panic of thinking I’ve lost my keys before realizing that they’re still in the top pouch but just not on the clip is going to give me a heart attack some day.
In Ultralight Winter Travel they recommended using Voile Straps to bind winter gear together and also to your pack. I’m using a pair for my snowshoes and noticed that they tend to come apart without much provocation. While I was originally going to write about possibly replacing them with plain ol’ buckle accessory straps I now realize, having looked at the official website, that I most likely wasn’t using them correctly. Let me put it this way: if I’m too still too dumb to use them properly on my next outing then I’ll consider replacing them with something that’s simpler (to me).
What’s Next
I’m going to try adding a zipper pull to the thigh pocket on my pants. How hard could it be?
After returning home I promptly filed the key clip off of the Levity and replaced it with a silver Litesmith micro-carabiner whose spring is almost too strong for other applications but perfect for this one.
Route
I had a mishap with Gaia so the tracking was a mess. You’ll have to settle for overall trip stats:
- Distance: 6.5 miles
- Elevation gain: 2,300 feet
Flowers & Critters
Not a direct bear sighting but exciting nonetheless:
Photography
SmugMug gallery:
https://turigrinos.smugmug.com/Adventures/2020/French-Cabin-Mountain-North
I’ve already included all of the “good” pictures in this post. I was never able to reach a spot with really stunning unobstructed views due to the relatively low elevation and even if I had its debatable as to whether the overcast skies would have made it worthwhile.