Day 2
8.45 miles, 2350ft gain/3977ft loss
Knowing what we had in store for us this day, we ate quickly, and broke camp, on the trail by 8. We had just crossed the first of many stream crossings, and were heading uphill, when it happened again!!! Yelling and swatting, and then everyone running as fast as possible uphill, away from another hornets nest! How in the world had we missed this one the first day? We came over the same section, and they hadn’t bothered us before! Again, I think Greg and Kipp got the worst of it, probably over 10 stings apiece. And, somehow, I remained the only one who didn’t get zapped…Now, all we’re thinking is we just want this trial to be over, and get back to the safety of the truck, without disturbing more hornets. This has been the worst hike ever for hornets, and I hope it’s the last like this…
“… as soon as his foot left the ground a swarm came billowing out of the ground and swarmed him…”
The way back, as it’s more down than up, goes quickly, partly due to we know what to expect, and because we’re not having to climb as much. Finally we reach the crossed sticks in the trail and make our detour, but as luck would have it, it seems that this is where all the cool hornets decide to live and as Dan and Greg head back to the trail from our detour, they hit another nest close to where the first one was, and so there is more running and yelling. Needless to say, the rest of us continue on around this new nest…Dan gets stung on the knuckle, and Greg, fortunately, does not draw their ire this time…He did say, though, that when Dan stepped on the nest, as soon as his foot left the ground a swarm came billowing out of the ground and swarmed him…
We reach the truck in just a little over 7 hours, cutting almost 2 hours off our previous time, and there is much rejoicing at the prospect of sitting and riding the rest of the way, at least to the Buffalo Run restaurant, where we can’t wait to get a burger and a beer.
“… but apparently, I did not pay close enough attention to the small clues that this would end up to be a death march, and I’ll give you some “for instances”…”
All in all, consider this a cautionary tale; of a trek best not hiked…I cannot imagine that the view from South Cascade Lake would be that extraordinary that it would justify the absolute punishment this trial dishes out. There is little to see on the way there, as most of the way is in deep forest, and when you do reach a small clearing, you spend all your time battling the brush. In short, it’s not fun, and the only trail that exists here are small pieces of surveyors ribbons. I had a Garmin Oregon 450 GPS that confirmed we were on the trail that the TOPO maps insist is there, but that doesn’t really help you find the right way around some of the brush and obstacles. I thought I had done all my research on this trail, but apparently, I did not pay close enough attention to the small clues that this would end up to be a death march, and I’ll give you some “for instances”…
“…“Not recommended”…Yeah, right. Neither is trying to walk to Hawaii….”
The first cautionary bit that I missed was from the North Cascades Natl. Park website, on the South Cascades trail #769. We’ve all been to the doctor, and when he tells you, “this is going to sting a little”, you know he means a heck of a lot more than a little….A classic understatement, right? Well, it seems that the park rangers are also masters of the understatement at least in this regard…The first two words about this hike on their website? “Not recommended”…Yeah, right. Neither is trying to walk to Hawaii….And, still they persist on calling it a trail…Right about the time we decided to call it quits, so did the ribbon, as we could no longer find the “next one”…
“…Would that include, “absolutely no trace of trail left, except for remnants of pink ribbon tied hither and yon?”
The other bit of caution that I missed, was on the Green Trails maps, #80 Cascade Pass. Just before reaching the box canyon, the trail line goes from solid green, to dotted green…Looking at the legend, this is noted as “other trails”…Other trails, indeed! Would that include, “absolutely no trace of trail left, except for remnants of pink ribbon tied hither and yon?”
So, I hope this helps in dissuading you from trying to follow the South Cascade River Trail #769, unless you’re a bit of a doubter, as I was, or if you’re slightly masochistic, an expert off trail adventurer, nutty, or a little of all. I would imagine that over the years, the way will become even harder to follow, as people that don’t have the benefit of a helicopter will become disenchanted with trying to get to this lake for the simple pleasure of being able to say, “ooh, pretty!”, or “Yep, I been there!” Even as hard as it was for us, we at least had the benefit of someone else having gone before us, marking with surveyor ribbon, and on occasion, having cut out some of the worst of the vine maples, but that won’t last forever.
I want to be the first to tell you, that I told you so! If you persist in your determination to see the lake and glacier…You’d be better off deciding to become a scientist, and be on the team that is doing the study on the South Cascade Glacier, and catching a ride on the copter to their digs at the gaging station overlooking the basin…