Glacier Peak, Washington
July 22-23, 2024

We had finally made our way up to North Cascades National Park. Apparently, there had been big lightning storm just a few days ago that started a bunch of fires. Laura and I had planned to go into Boston Basin to do some climbing, but because of fire closures, our permits had been canceled.

Our camp at New Halem Campground in North Cascades NP

Hazel making pizza at our camp

After spending a day at New Halem, doing the guided nature walk, and speaking extensively with the rangers, we decided to change plans and head for Glacier Peak. We were optimistic that the fire would calm down and we could go back to our initial plan later in the week.

Hazel, Laura and Justin at the New Halen visitors center

Laura and I got up early and spent some time with Hazel before heading out at 9 AM. Hazel was excited to work on some of her schoolbooks and do some exploring around the campground with Grandma and Bob. Our plan was to be gone for two days and attempt to summit Glacier Peak, the most remote of the major volcanoes in Washington state. The trail is approximately 36 miles round-trip from the North Sauk Trailhead, so we knew we had our work cut out for us.

Justin at the North Sauk Trailhead

We were hiking by 10:45am and worked hard to get to a high camp that would give us a manageable second day for summiting and getting back out to the trailhead at a reasonable time. We hiked 14 miles into high camp and set up camp at about 7,800 feet. The sky was smoky from the fires and the views were obstructed, but the sun was still really beautiful and nice.

Justin on the approach hike to Glacier Peak. This is climbing up from the North Folk of the Sauk River before White Pass.

Our first views of Glacier Peak through the smoke after crossing White Pass. Beautiful wildflowers everywhere.

Laura crossing a snow bridge in the moraine below the White Chuck Glacier

Our camp for the night at Glacier Gap

We woke up at 2 AM and were walking by 2:30. We chose to ascend the Disappointment Peak scramble route rather than crossing the glaciers since it was late in the climbing season and didn’t want to bring a rope with us. It took us exactly 3 hours to summit, up the mostly class two route over Disappointment Peak and up the south ridge of Glacier Peak. The smoke was pretty heavy in the morning and we were bummed that we didn’t get to see many views; although the sky was pretty cool because of the smoke.

Our view of Glacier Peak as we were coming over the shoulder of Disappointment Peak

Laura checking out the final route to the summit. The peak had twin summits and we weren't sure which one was taller.

Laura on Glacier Peak with the Mazamas summit register

Geological survey marker at the summit of Glacier Peak

Justin chatting with the group from Seattle

We spent about 20 minutes on the summit with some other people from Seattle and were quickly off, descending back to our tent. We chose this time to exit by walking down the Cool and Gerdine glaciers despite not having a rope. We weren’t 100% sure about our decision, but the distance was relatively short and the glaciers appeared to be in pretty good condition. There weren’t many crevasses to speak of that we had to cross and we were able to make our way safely down the glacier and back to camp.

Our view of the route back down. We climbed over Disappointment Peak on the way up, but we descended back on the Cool Glacier to the left. You can see a group of three still coming up near where the glacier meets the ridge.

Looking back at Glacier Peak from the Cool Glacier. A few crevasses are starting to open up.

The sky was interesting with a mix of clouds and smoke

We loaded up camp and made the long, 14 mile hike out by about 2 PM in hopes to get back up to New Halem Campground to have dinner with Hazel. What a cool experience and a beautiful area. We’re happy to have spent time here and wish we could’ve had better views. Not only did we make it back for dinner, we were able to grab a shower at a campground in Darrington.