Snow Peak Cabin - Kettle Crest, WA
February 21, 2009 |
Snow Peak Cabin is a great snowshoe destination. The trail is a hair over 4 miles in length without too much elevation gain. Sometimes it's a wallow and sometimes it's smooth sailing. The cabin can be reserved for overnight stays through a permit system with the Republic Ranger Station. Permits can be had on-line but if you want to spend the night, apply early. Not just because they fill fairly fast but also because the person handling them at the station isn't always too quick with checking the mail. I've enjoyed this place several times in the past; once in the summer with Teri and a few friends and a few other times in the winter when the temps were brutal. The cabin has a wood stove but when the mercury drops, the stove does not keep up too well.
Brian and Tanya arrived at our home in Mead at 6am on Saturday. We loaded the Tundra with gear then headed north on somewhat slippery roads. The parking on top of Sherman Pass was nicely plowed and it was easy to see that the plow driver was having an easy season given the relative lack of snow. Seems we got all of the regions snow dumped on our front yard in Mead this year - now I feel selfish :)
We carried the snowshoes 100 yards or so up the road then crossed to the south side of highway 20 and located the trailhead a short distance down the east side of the pass. The snow seemed consolidated on the path but snowshoes were probably a good idea just the same. I saw some bare boot tracks but I also so some post holes where the person stepped off the trail a bit too far. At the trailhead, one could ascend directly south on a worn path that hit the Sherman Peak loop just east of Sherman Lake (mud hole/pond/small meadow). We took this path on the return and it would be a steep grind - more than would be fun just starting out. We decided to stay on the main path as it veered east, paralleling the highway for a short ways before switch backing up towards the loop. We eventually reached a signed intersection. Some maps do not show this intersection or the trail that goes west but it is clearly signed and easy to identify. Heading clock-wise at this point can be a gamble depending on the year as the route takes you into a bowl directly below the steep north face of Sherman Peak. I always take the west trail at the fork to avoid that area. Left does have some nice views and is a good choice when the snow is stable.
We soon came to what the map refers to as Sherman Lake. It's a cool little flat area with poplars and an open area. I've never seen a lake here though. It's always been either snowed over or dried up when we've come through. The trail remained well defined as we rounded Sherman Peak's west side and headed towards the saddle that separates it from Snow Peak to the south. The west slope of Snow Peak was kinda suck with fine powder and hidden holes to get stuck in. Staying on the main trail would have helped though : We passed a few skiers just shy of the cabin so we knew the cabin would be warm when we arrived.
First chore was to melt some snow on the wood stove then get lunch started. We had to choose our snow carefully since the previous residents felt the need to piss all around the perimeter of the cabin rather than walk the few yards to the outhouse. Even the snow further out was littered with piles of dog crap where they apparently left the dog tied up while hitting the nearby slopes. With clean snow melting and lunch cooking, we relaxed and enjoyed the heat from the stove and read entries in the log.
After a few photo ops outside the cabin, we headed back to the trailhead. The lighting heading out was much nicer than when we hiked in so I took whatever opportunities I could to snap pictures. The drive home was quick.
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