Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Route: Mount Price (Middle fork Snoqualmie)

Mountain Information:

Driving Directions:



  • Elevation: 1,500 ft
  • Pass:  Northwest Forest Pass
  • Directions: 
    • WTA: "From Seattle, drive east on I-90 to exit 34. Turn left onto 468th Street and follow it to the junction with the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road. Turn right and continue up the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road for 12 miles to the large Middle Fork trailhead parking area on the right. Pass the parking area and turn right onto a gravel road immediately after crossing a large concrete bridge. The road is marked for Dingford and Dutch Miller Gap. Continue six miles on a heavily potholed road to a gate. Passes and privy are available at the trailhead."

Route Information: Hester Lake Route (Summer Route)

  • Caltopo Route: https://caltopo.com/m/F7LQ
  • Route Description
    • Mountainers: Hike the Dingford Creek trail 5.5 miles to Hester Lake. After passing the Myrtle Lake Trail, the trail is in poor shape. The trail is washed-out by the creek forking and destroying 0.2 miles of trail between 3,000-3,200 ft. The rerouted trail follows between the streams. Follow it on left side through brush until intersecting the trail or between the streams. The trail in early season has lots of water running down it. Continue cross-country through brush on the north side of the Hester lake to Little Hester lake, then gain the saddle northwest of Little Hester lake. Follow the ridge southerly to the summit. When snow is gone, the north ridge has one tricky move. It's 13 miles round trip with 4,100 feet of elevation gain.
    • SummitPost: 
      • This route nearly circumnavigates the mountain. You start west of the peak, take a trail around the north side to the ENE side, then finish cross-country via the North Ridge. Views are not common for the first few miles. After that views are intermittent but the forest setting is quaint. The trail can be muddy in wet conditions. Hester Lake is pretty.
      • Initially, the trail is very rocky like a dry streambed. It climbs steadily in a series of switchbacks before finally leveling off at about 2,400 ft. In about 1.5 miles the trail passes through a ravine with a picturesque slabby watercourse above. This is the creek draining Pumpkinseed Lake. In about 2.5 miles Goat Creek is reached. To the south across the valley is the cross-country Northwest Route to Mt. Price. The trail maintains a level grade for what seems like an eternity. In about 3.3 miles (2,850 ft) the trail to Myrtle Lake junctions off on the left. Stay to the right. In 3.7 miles the trail crosses the main fork of Dingford Creek. Look for a footbridge or wade the gravelly creek. The trail begins arcing southward up the Hester Lake drainage and finally begins to gain elevation. At 4.6 miles (3,350 ft) a small, swampy meadow is reached. The trail goes around the left (east) side and shortly begins switchbacking up the hillside before making a final traverse westward past two small ponds to the outlet of Hester Lake (3,886 ft). Six miles from the car.
      • It may be possible to hike around the south side of the lake but the north side is probably easier, not to mention slightly shorter. Your next objective is Little Hester Lake (4,220 ft) nestled in a minor hanging basin west of the major lake. The terrain between the two lakes varies between talus, forest, and low-angle rock outcrops.Walk around the north side of Little Hester Lake bearing for the 4,640+ ft saddle to its northwest. The farther left you go on the ascent the shorter the distance to the summit but the rockier the terrain. We crested the ridge at about 4,800 ft almost due west of the lake. Our route involved a steepish gully (snow for us) but otherwise did not impede us. Once on the ridge (Price's North Ridge), simply follow it up the path of least resistance to the top. At first we stayed to the left (east) side but crossed over to the right side in the final couple hundred vertical feet to the top. The map shows the ridge being broad but it is sharper than that. Time: 4-6 hours depending on conditions; Distance: = 7.5-8.0 miles; Gain: 4,200 ft (some ups and downs)
      • Descent A descent can be made the same way. Or, if you're feeling adventurous and you left no equipment at the lake, you could try and descend via the Northwest Route. That route is significantly shorter by distance and probably about an hour shorter in time.

 


 


 

 






  Misc 

  • Notes:
    • In 2017, a log to cross Dingford Creek with care can be found slightly upstream from the Price Lake outflow confluence with Dingford Creek.
    • Winter (snowy conditions): ice axe, ski poles, snowshoes, skis possibly (though it's a long haul for not much open terrain), cold weather clothing.
    • There are three named lakes and a few other unnamed ones on the mountain's various slopes. The most notable of these is Hester Lake (3,886 ft) on Price's northeast side. The lake is actually quite large--over a half-mile in length and over 100 acres in size. A little further up the drainage is Little Hester Lake (4,220 ft). The last named lake is diminutive Price Lake (4,000 ft) northwest of the summit. This lake resides in a canyon that is suggestive of a geologic fault line. On a map, the creek draining the lake courses nearly due north all the way to the valley below.
    • Take the Dingford Creek trail for ~2.2 miles to its crossing of Goat Creek (c. 2,600 ft). Leave the trail and cross the valley southward to gain the obvious basin rising up the other side. This is the basin in which Price Lake resides. Mt. Price's summit should be visible above (provided you can see it through the canopy). There are four cliffs bands to pass through--one at 2,800 ft, one at 3,200 ft, one at 3,600 ft, and a final one at c. 4,500 ft. With diligent map reading and on-site routefinding, all three can be negotiated. The slopes between these bands are easier. They could be talus or forest. It appears it would be best to stay east of the creek draining Price Lake.
    • The Alpine Lakes Wilderness boundary runs along the East-West Mt. Price crest. Hence, the Southeast Route is not within the wilderness. The Northwest and Hester Lake routes are within the wilderness.
    • Since the trailheads for this climb are fairly low (all below 2,000 ft), you could conceivably do the climb at any time of year. Winter ascents have been done. Winter and spring ascents will see brush covered by snow but the trail will be covered too, making things slower in that regard. Further, the trail tends to be muddy and boggy in rainy or snowmelt conditions. 
    • If you'd like to stay in the area (on the Dingford Creek side), then camping sites could be found even though there are no designated areas. If you can find open, flat ground, have at it. There is a moderately marshy area at 3,300 ft on the trail to Hester Lake (0.5 miles NNE of the lake). Camping at Hester Lake could be problematic because it's pretty rocky. This is rugged country. It is wilderness, after all.
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