In the middle of the night, I awoke from a light that illuminated our yellow and white tent. Nothing stands out like a full moon in a dark wilderness. At daybreak, the skies were clear but a high cloud cover would soon sweep into the valley over Buck Mountain (above).
We broke camp and started our long trek to Buck Creek Pass, about eight miles up the trail. According to Fred Beckey, legendary mountaineer and author, “the unnecessary low-gradient switchbacks add needless distance” to the trail. True that, but the moderate tread was a welcome respite compared to some trails in the area.
After an hour or so, ominous clouds from the predicted storm brought rain. The good news was that the precipitation doused the black flies completely for the next 24 hours. More good news: the storm was brief and the sun shortly reappeared for the remainder of the day.
The brief storm led to a discussion of rain gear. Back in the day, wool was the clothing of choice for dealing with inclement weather. Though somewhat bulky, wool would keep you warm even when wet. Today, quick-drying synthetics are the rule in the backcountry: super light and easy to store in your backpack.
By the time we reached Mile 9 on the Buck Creek Trail, the troops were clearly ready to call it a day and pitch camp.
As the trail rounded Helmet Butte on the north side of the pass, we were rewarded with our patience and persistence with stunning views of Buck Mountain, Mt. Berge and Mt. Cleator (above, from left to right) down valley and Glacier Peak (below) to the west.
The next day, we would trek even higher, taking the trail to High Pass on the cusp between the Napeequa, Chiwawa and Suiattle Rivers.
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