Hummocks to Johnston Ridge and Coldwater Lake: 4-22-14

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Sean Thomas
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Joined: February 25th, 2012, 11:33 pm

Hummocks to Johnston Ridge and Coldwater Lake: 4-22-14

Post by Sean Thomas » April 23rd, 2014, 11:59 am

I was in the monument on Tuesday to check conditions and enjoy the solitude the area has to offer on a weekday in spring. The Hummocks TH was completely empty when I arrived around 11:30 a.m. The sun was shining too and I was giddy to get out and see what things were like out there. Nearing the Boundary Trail on that first stretch and things were looking good:


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I worked my way onto the ridge a little bit a midst a spring mix of snow and rain, melting on impact when it hit the ground. The mountain was beautiful with a fresh coat of snow even though it never fully revealed itself:


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Mountain and Hummocks:


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The mix turned to full on snow as a nice system blew in and began to dress the area in a fresh coat of white:


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The storm was fun to experience first hand as I made my way up to the Loowit Viewpoint:


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The trail had some damage in the form of several large boulders and a mess of smaller rocky debris about 1/2 mile or so from the viewpoint. A small detour path is forming and can be seen below the mess on the right side in this picture:


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I wimped out and turned around about 1/4 mile past the viewpoint due to the relentless wind:


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Here is a pic of the viewpoint when I arrived, it was totally covered by the time I got back:


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Dropping some elevation and moving out of the storm offered up that winter wonderland sort of feel:


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It was awesome:


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Back down at the Hummocks TH there wasn't a drop of snow with the afternoon looking perfect for a trip over to Coldwater Lake:


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The north shore has one of the best trails I've ever hiked with great views of the lake and surrounding mountains:


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The Ants didn't seem to mind a tff shot or two:


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I read somewhere that Doug Firs have an irregular pattern of seed production, producing one heavy crop every 5-7 years. It must be "that year" for this one:


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The giants that used to stand in what used to be a creek canyon, not a lake bed, might be the most amazing part of the hike:


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Cottonwoods are leafing out everywhere:


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Hard to beat an afternoon with views like this:


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I took a nice long break at the big creek crossing and just watched the water dump into the lake while I munched on some gorp:


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Here is a pic of the crossing yesterday for anyone interested in going further:


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I backtracked along the lake to an empty boat launch and made my way back up to the high point of Spirit Lake Highway around 3,800 feet. An inch or two of fresh snow had completely covered the road way above 3,500 feet so I just took it slow and made it over the hump with no issues. The mountains were sending a reminder that it wont be summer up there for at least a little while longer ;)

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Splintercat
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Re: Hummocks to Johnston Ridge and Coldwater Lake: 4-22-14

Post by Splintercat » April 25th, 2014, 4:09 pm

Cool report, Sean -- I definitely like those "force of nature" hikes, too! :) Did you happen to experience Thunder Snow..? The conditions were perfect for that, by the looks of it..!

Thanks for posting -- the legend of the Mighty Sean continues...

-Tom :D

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Roy
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Joined: January 25th, 2010, 6:35 pm

Re: Hummocks to Johnston Ridge and Coldwater Lake: 4-22-14

Post by Roy » April 25th, 2014, 10:22 pm

Nice report Sean I like those force of Nature days to. Some how I never think of you and wimp in the same sentence ;)

Thanks for the trail updates was looking at doing the cold water lake loop next week and your updates were helpful. I am with you on that North shore trail.
The downhill of the mind is harder than the uphill of the body. - Yuichiro Miura

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