1993 - Scampi on Mt. Baker, The Stein Valley Traverse, and the "Half Spearhead Traverse"

Scampi on Mt. Baker (Washington State- North Cascades)
Location of camp sites at the base of the climbing route.
My Flickr site for more pictures - 

Eric on the trail.

Chuck and I took out boys, then age 11, up to the base of the regular climbing route on Mt. Baker for a night out. The final part of the trail goes up a steep moraine, and the boys did very well. The night was clear, and being at about 2000 meters, the sky was extremely clear.

Scott and Eric

The boys were amazed at how many stars there really were. The constellations were hard to make out for all the stars! The boys got to go on the very edge of the glacier and see how much ice there was, and sleep in their own tent. It was great to share this special place with them.

The Stein Traverse
Location of the Lizzie Lake Cabin (western start)
Location of the eastern end of the traverse

Stein Lake

Ken, his son David, and I did the Stein traverse from Lillooet Lake to the Fraser River in July, 1993. We spent the first day driving up the Fraser Canyon to Lillooet as the ferry was out at Lytton. We then had to drive down the west side of the Fraser back almost to Lytton to leave a car. We then drove back to Lillooet, along the Duffey Lake road, and down Lillooet Lake a distance until we turned east and up to Lizzie Lake. We hiked for a couple of hours to a point just above the cabin and pitched the tent beside a small pond.

Day two was spent going to the east side of Tundra Lake amid rain and millions of mosquitoes. Going along the north side of Tundra Lake was not pleasant. The slopes were slippery, it was raining, and whenever you stopped, the mosquitoes attacked.

Ken's water soaked feet

The next day dawned gloomy, misty, and cool. We did a slow descent to the north, discovered a hornet's nest in the gravel, and then ascended into the wind and rain up to the ridge top and the trail. By the time I reached Stein Lake I was beat. Day three was a 20 km hike through timber to Log Jam Camp where the weather cleared and we finally started to dry out. Day four was a looooooong day to a point just upstream of the last cable crossing. I was not eating enough and by the end of this day I was almost sick. I was stupid not to eat more and stop earlier.

The morning of day five was spent doing the last kilometers out the the road and our car. We drove back to Lizzie Lake and got my car. Ken, bless his heart, hiked up the last couple of kilometers to get it.

In retrospect, the alpine western and dry eastern sections would be worth doing again, but the middle section was only especially attractive because it hadn't been touched by commerce. In the middle section we also realized how long it would take a person to get help if you ran into trouble. A twisted ankle would be more than a little trivial.

The Half Spearhead Traverse - Coast Mountains - Whistler/Blackcomb Area

The mountains are another world.

August, 1993 saw Keith Akenhead, Chuck McCafferty, Randy Wheating, Ryan Shellborn, and I head out again on the Spearhead Traverse. We spent our first night on a flat spot on a ridge just north of Decker. The "Photoshopped" picture above was taken on the Spearhead-Blackcomb col.

An expression comes to mind .... :-)

Chuck

Here we have just dropped down from the Trory -Decker col and will head over to the south end of Pattison.

Enjoying the view.

After ascending the Tremor - Shudder col, we take a break and enjoy the view to the south.

Keith R., Chuck, Randy, Keith A. After ascending the Tremor - Shudder col, we take a break and enjoy the view to the south. Randy worshipping the sun god. This is our campsite on the Platform glacier. Now, I'm not absolutely sure what Randy was doing here. Based on the mumbling I heard, it either had something to do with religion or airplanes.  Keith A with two others in the distance crossing the Tremor Glacier. Sadly, the next day was really socked in and we decided to retrace our steps. We didn't feel it was a great idea to try to "feel" our way onward. We did not reach our goal of finding out about the route up the Iago Glacier and around the south side of Fitzsimmons, but we had a good time. This picture is of Keith Akenhead in the foreground and Chuck McCafferty and Randy Wheating in the distance crossing the glacier between two rather large crevasses. This was during our first day of retreat. ... then on a sudden and sad note, my Mom died on October 26, 1993.  It was with her and my dad's support that I developed the life style that made my adventures possible.  I will be for ever grateful.