TL; DR Summary: I started at 0541 from White River on 18 August and finished back at White River on 20 August at 1536 for 57 hours 55 minutes. The stats from Cal Topo added up to ~105 miles and ~29,000’ of gain. Self-indulgent report below.
I have always loved the Glacier Peak Wilderness, for all of its brushy, wet, cold, forested ups and downs. With this love in my heart, I wanted to link up some of my favorite and more “out there” spots while also gaining the summit for which the wilderness is named: Dakobed – “great parent” to the Sauk Tribe, or “Glacier Peak” to the gringo community.
With the summer largely having already flown by, and with uncertainty about both route and glacier conditions, on 18 August 2019, I opted for a solo hike/jog adventure around Dakobed. I went far from light and carried an ultimate direction 20 fastpack, a SOL bivy, down quilt, MSR pocket rocket stove and titanium bowl, ice axe (Petzl Ride) and crampons (Camp XLC 490), and ~10,000 calories. All that I aspired to was a safe, responsible, and solo summit-circumnavigation in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.
I ran from the White River over Boulder Pass, down to the Napeequa River where I crossed and headed up valley to High Pass and then down to Buck Creek Pass where I proceeded to the PCT. I took the PCT west over the Suiattle River before heading south on the PCT and eventually linking Glacier Peak Meadows (an alternative that prevents retracing steps on White Pass as an out and back) to Glacier Gap. I then tagged Glacier Peak via the ever-widening Gerdine and Cool Glaciers before reversing course to Glacier Gap, exiting via White Pass where I rejoined the PCT and headed back to the White River via the endless brush of Indian Creek.
I bivied after 46 miles on day one to make sure I was on target for good climb and exit. I awoke early on day two to light rain, wind, and warm temps and doubted my original notion of climbing Glacier Peak in the afternoon sun following the lack of a refreeze. As I passed around the northwest side of the mountain that morning, temps quickly hit the 70s (and then upper 80s), and I heard seracs falling high above. I knew this would be a two night endeavor to ensure safe climbing.
I worked south on the PCT until mid-afternoon where I hit Glacier Peak Meadows, stopped to dry my down quilt in the sun, and made the hot meal I had brought. With a full stomach and dry quilt, I headed up to Glacier Gap where I took pictures of the stars and glaciers and slept a few hours.
I awoke and made my way up to the Gerdine Glacier, which was in very late season condition, donning my crampons and ice ax. I picked up my hiking pace under the section below Disappointment Peak, which was already shedding rock in the early morning light.
Tucking around the corner to my first view of the Cool Glacier, I saw the late summer’s route, which had several large and deep crevasses. I found safe passage, and with immediate hindsight at the ridge, I realized that the deep crevasses I had just jumped unroped (see: vertical limit) were far from a sure bet…and that I’d need to cross them again on the way down. I climbed the final ridge, signed the register, and had a snack out of the howling wind. I had only seen one other climber since exiting the PCT at Glacier Peak Meadows the previous night.
I retraced my steps down the ridge, briefly considering downclimbing Disappointment Peak before I reminded myself of the crumbling rock and my reasonably straightforward line over the glacier. I re-leapt the crevasses on the Cool Glacier, turned the corner on the Gerdine, and jogged the same stretch down as the Disappointment Peak rockfall intensified behind me.
Back at Glacier Gap I boiled up for coffee, dried my quilt, rationed my remaining calories, and said hello to the only climbers I would see that day, and then began the traverse to White Pass and the PCT. White Pass and the PCT were uneventful, and Indian Creek lived up to its reputation. If Glacier Peak is the “great parent,” this drainage is your estranged uncle who lived in a van back before it was cool. I schwacked and jogged through the creek beds and head-high hawthorn thickets, finishing at 1536 on 20 August 2019.