leaveyouryesterdaybehind

Description

(you can also read this trip report on nwhikers: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8038728)

I'm always on the lookout for a good loop hike in the Cascades... this one was a first for me. The hike ticked a few boxes on the checklist:

• A good workout... with all the vert from Mailbox and from Dirty Harry's Peak up to the Granite Creek headwaters.
• A Home Court peak... hitting Dirtybox Peak along the ridge from Mailbox Peak to Dirty Harry's Peak
• A new challenge... I needed solid route finding and bushwhacking skills on the drop along Granite Creek down to Upper Granite Lake.

It was puzzlr's winter trip report that keyed me in on the fact that it was possible to link up Dirty Harry's Peak with Granite Lakes, although I didn't traverse Coincidence Ridge and took a slightly different approach on the descent.

Onto the trip report...

Overall, I really enjoyed the traverse from Mailbox over to Dirty Harry's Peak. It was a good mix of rock scrambling and light bushwhacking. I did manage to crush my a couple fingers under a rock when it moved on me during a scramble move. Nothing major, but the cork handle on my left hiking pole is now soaked with blood.

In the bit between Dirtybox and Dirty Harry's, it was tough to tell how far to drop down on south side of the ridge line because there were clearly trails 50-100 ft down the slope. In the hand line bit immediately west of Dirty Harry's Peak, there was one dynamic rope that was kind of a pain to ascend with because it was so bouncy.

To get over to the headwaters of Granite Creek, I ended up descending the Dirty Harry's Peak trail, then climbing back up heading east along an unmaintained trail (old road?) starting at 3450'. I guess this would be the route to take if you were looking to do the Web -> Putrid Pete's Peak -> Defiance traverse.

Boulder hopping around the start of Granite Creek was fun as you could hear the creek running underneath the rocks, but couldn't see the water at all.

I don't have a ton of experience with off-trail travel outside of snowshoeing, where it is relatively easy to "choose your own adventure" as long as you're out of avalanche terrain. This 0.6mi, 1200ft drop down Granite Creek felt like a true test.

I started off rock hopping right along the northeast edge of the creek. It didn't take too long until I ran into my first waterfall and could not longer use the creek as a path. At this point, the terrain on the northeast side of the creek looked more manageable, so I side hilled and veggie belayed my way down in the dirt, trees, and shrubbery. After a couple hundred feet of descent, the northeast side of the creek got too thick with wet vegetation and devil's club, so I crossed the creek and moved down hill in the trees on the southwest side.

At 3600', I cliffed out. I couldn't find a safe way down in the trees and there was a big drop off the creek itself - presumably a waterfall, but hard to tell from above. The topo lines in this section are much tighter in the creek gully and on the southwest side of the creek, but appeared to be more manageable on the northeast side of the creek. So I backtracked a bit, crossed the creek again, and made my way up into the trees on the northeast side. At this point, it was pretty easy going (steep, but very manageable) getting down to a boulder field on the east side of Upper Granite Lake. A short, but thick, bushwhack along the east edge of the lake got me over to the Granite Creek trail and I was home free. The full trek from the tarn to the lake took me about an hour and a half.

Stats:

• 12.1 miles
• 5029ft gain
• 7 hrs 39 mins total time

GPX: https://www.gaiagps.com/public/peIrLgcnl1i4hESRvSWbX4uI