Friday, November 17, 2017

Route: Treen Peak via Green Ridge (Middle fork Snoqualmie)

Mountain Information:

Driving Directions:

  • Elevation: 1,350 ft
  • Pass:  Northwest Forest Pass
  • Directions: 
    • Mountaineers: "From North Bend, drive the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Road. Find a very faint miners/fishermans path on the north side of the road approximately 1.1 miles before the Dingford Creek Trailhead at an elevation of 1,350 ft."

Route Information: Green Ridge






 
  • Caltopo Route: https://caltopo.com/m/40EA
  • Route Description
    • Mountainers: On the USGS Snoqualmie Lake map look for elevation  Point 1571. The path follows steeply northeast toward Green Ridge Lake. At about 4,100 ft where the track forks, continue north up the ridge (the other fork leads east to the lake). After gaining the ridge at 4,700 ft travel cross country northwest through open forest, heather meadows, and past a couple of tarns. After reaching Tarn 4662, proceed west to a boulder field and to Upper Garfield Mountain Lake. Camp at lake. Hike through timber  north to Charlie Brown Lake. Above the lake at 4,800 ft reach a boulder field. Look for a gully northwest and enter at about 5,200 ft. It is very steep. Find forest at the top (~5,400 ft). Scramble north to the summit.








Misc 

  • Notes:
    • A strenuous scramble about 1.25 miles northeast of Mount Garfield with panoramic views of the Taylor River and several lakes in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
    • The caltopo route is not a gps track and please don't rely on it for exact position and use your route finding skills instead.
    • From this WTA trip report: 
      • This one starts along the upper MFK road at 1320'. Treen is a seldom visited peak that offers up a commanding vantage point to a less traveled area of the MFK Snoqualmie drainage.
      • set off up the steep hill toward Green Ridge Lake making respectable time up the deliberate miners trail. crest the ridge at 4680' and then wander over a few bumps until come to Tarn 4662'. Here your target is in plain view just a ridgeline and lake basin away.
      • wander across a grassy meadow to the west and then down a steep watercourse toward the upper Garfield Mountain Lake. Drop to 4300' where initiate a traverse counter-clockwise around the lake. Then end up having to drop to 4180' to avoid various cliff bands, but the route goes well enough.
      • About midway across the main part of the upper Garfield Mountain Lake, trend up and to the north to avoid cliffs. Continue this ascending traverse all the way to Charlie Brown Lake (~4390') which offers up a good view of the route necessary to gain the summit of Treen.
      • From Charlie Brown, Take to the SE slopes of the mountain working through various cliff bands and more duff slopes until come to a broad talus field at roughly 4850'. Here angle left up an obvious gully with some grassy slopes at its head. The gully take you to 5400' and immediately shot you out onto the more south facing slopes of the mountain.
      • The last few hundred feet to the top were on easy, but steep heather slopes. Noteworthy views from the summit included those of Garfield, Big Snow Mountain, Dream Lake and the seemingly small Otter Slide.
    • The trail up the ridge to Tarn 4662 does get faint in places once you pass the 3350' turn-off to Green Ridge Lake.
    • Leaving from Tarn 4662 and dropping down to about 4400' and then taking the rockslide to the west seemed to be the best way to the upper Garfield Lake. 
    • Ascending NW on a boulder field from the lake and through a forest band to the 5000' contour seems to be the best route. Go left in the broad boulder field which gradually changes to talus and heather and then bear north up into a very steep gully. At the top of the gully, 5400', follow the trees and talus north to the summit.
    • There are 1000 plus feet of counter elevation encountered on the return trip.
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