Trip Report: Lewis Peak ...back to home

 A sunny day climbing in the mountains...what better way to celebrate the first day of spring? Dallas suggested Lewis Peak, an obscure peak in the Mountain Loop Highway area. By obscure, I mean I'd never heard of it before, and neither had anyone else except Dallas and Fred Beckey. Dallas had climbed it in 1989, and had spotted a likely gulley approach while climbing Morning Star Peak last December.
Dallas, Mark Nelson and I arrived at the Sunrise Mine trailhead about 8am. This is also the access to Vesper, Sperry, and Morning Star Peaks. There were 3 vehicles at the trailhead, but we didn't see any other people until back at the car that afternoon.
After about 15 minutes on the trail, we veered off and started the brush crunch towards the creek. What began as an unpleasant bushwhack through sticker bushes soon changed to mostly pleasant walking on talus and then snow over talus. On the broader upper snow field we had a spectacular view of the slabby slopes of Del Campo directly ahead. Picking our way through avalanche debris, we arrived at the base of the snow filled gulley. The gulley rises 1200 feet to a saddle in the ridge that connects Lewis Peak with Del Campo. The conditions were ideal for kicking steps, about 4 to 6 inches of soft snow over harder snow. We'd brought crampons, a rope, harnesses, and pickets, but didn't use any of it. If the snow had been harder, the gear might have been needed. We did however need our secret weapon. Most people don't know this, but Mark's middle name is "the Lung with Legs". Yes, it's true, and he made his mama proud that day. He also was an underwear model in Japan in the '80s, where he got his taste for the big peaks. But that's another story for another time.
At the saddle, you turn left (east) and head up the ridge through small trees and then onto broad convex slopes to the summit. From the top (5608 feet) there were fantastic views all around. Being on a summit with Dallas is fun; with his encyclopedic knowledge of the Cascades, he can name all surrounding peaks, both obvious and obscure. Another endearing trait of his: he barely eats or drinks anything during a climb, but about halfway through, he'll start fantasizing out loud about the "burgers and beer" awaiting him back in civilization. This begins as a quiet muttering under his breath, but if you egg him on, it evolves into a full blown mantra that is chanted for the remainder of the outing.
The wind was chilly and dark clouds were starting to collect on the horizon. After a quick break, it was time to descend. The snow conditions were perfect for glissading the gulley. While the ascent of it had taken us an hour or more, the 1200 foot descent was over in about 10 minutes. Wheeeeeee!
It took us 4 hours to reach the summit, and 2.5 hours (with some lollygagging) to get back to the car. Dallas has been climbing for 50 years, and Mark took the Skagit Mountaineering class when he was 15. Between the two of them, they have about 80 years of climbing experience, and heaps of great stories about their mountaineering escapades, which kept me in stitches on the drive home.
I hadn't been through Granite Falls in a few years, and its recent transformation is shocking. It's on the slippery slide of becoming yet another boring sanitized yuppie Seattle bedroom community. Once holding the honor as the Methamphetamine Capital of the US, it's now home to a Gold's Gym and a Thai restaurant. It saddens me to think of all those entrepreneurial meth lab operators now working as personal trainers or slinging pad thai for a living. I'd also forgotten what an alpine playground the Mountain Loop area can be. The area was crawling with people that Saturday. Trailheads were spilling over with cars. The Big Four massif looms over all, keeping the peace. So many peaks to climb, so many burgers and beers to consume. Spring is in the air. Go out & play!

Little known fact: There is also a Burgers and Beer couloir on Sauk Mt, first ascent by Dallas Kloke