Rock Mtn - Sept 12

I'm not sure how this particular lump of rock was awarded the generic name, but Rock Mtn it is. And, like virtually all the other summits in the Cascades, it's rocky.

Once the site of a Forest Service lookout, the 12 x 12 summit foundation is now home to some sort of unpleasant flying red ants that seem intent on maintaining absolute control of the summit. One need only step slightly to the side and they were no problem, but I figured this out only after dropping my pack on the summit and standing to take in the view. At that point an attack was mounted and I had to retreat a few feet.

The views are incredible. Glacier, Baker, Pugh, Sloan, the Monte Cristo massif, and on and on and on. Spectacular. We arrived via four and a half miles of trail and a gain of about 3250 feet - which is the easy way up. Climb from highway 2 and you'll need to add another thousand feet. We also added in a trip down to Rock Lake, just the other side of the summit ridge, and managed to tack on another three miles as well as the thousand feet so it ended up being about a dozen miles for the day. The tough part is that at least half (or more) of the gain is in the last couple of miles so it's a grunt but well worth it.

We made the exit at about 7pm on some very sore feet - how many times can you shove your toes against the front of you boot until the pain ceases to get your attention? I don't know, because I never achieved that blissfull state. I'm all better now, but when I reached the truck I was convinced I'd never hike again. I think I need to fill my boots with some of that expanding foam insulation you inject in your walls - maybe that will prevent this from happening next time.

On the drive out we turned a corner on the gravel road just as dusk was settling in and the biggest black bear I've ever seen popped onto the road in front of us - paused and gave us a good look before he lumbered up the cut bank and "hid" behind a tree. Too dark for a real photo, we had to be satisfied with a staring contest between us. A big bear!

We head out on Wednesday for a trip to Yellowstone. This will be the first visit for Suzanne and Jamie. In addition to the usual sites of geyers and mudpots we'll be taking in an organized wolf inpsection tour with "Bearman" - http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/

I'll report back on the outcome of this much anticipated adventure.