July 20 - Exploration day. Scramble/hike around west side of Cathedral, cross US-Canada border, scramble/hike up to north shoulder of The Deacon, scramble over the summit of The Deacon (8,400'), and scramble/hike through a saddle to intersect the Boundary Trail on the east side of Cathedral. We enjoyed seeing new terrain, and were impressed with how friendly the Pasayten terrain is to rambling (unlike the more rugged terrain of the North Cascades to the southwest we were used to). Note: We had tentatively planned on including the MMG (Matriarch, Macabre, Grimface) Traverse in the circuit. But we had two concerns that prevented us from going for the Traverse: (1) the potential for afternoon thundershowers and (2) whether two high energy output days in a row would affect our plans to climb Cathedral, which was the primary objective of the trip. If we had done the MMG Traverse on this day, we probably would have decided to climb Cathedral two days later and then gotten shut down due to the unforecasted rain. So overall, I'm glad for our decision not to do the MMG Traverse.)
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Photos: 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. | Photo Descriptions: 8. The view back towards Amphitheater and Upper Cathedral Lake from the west shoulder of Cathedral. Cathedral Pass on left. 9. Enjoying the open terrain on the broad saddle between Orthodox Mountain and The Deacon. 10. Mt. Grimface, Macabre Tower, Matriarch Mountain. The MMG Traverse (5.7 A0, ~0.5 mile of ridge) is supposedly a really fun traverse of these three summits, typically done right to left in this photo. Janet and I both want to come back and do the traverse. 11. Janet standing on our furthest north point of the day, overlooking the Wall Creek Valley. Wall Creek is the typical Canadian approach to MMG and The Deacon. 12. On the ridge north of The Deacon. MMG group behind. 13. Looking towards the summit of The Deacon along its north ridge. We scrambled over the summit of The Deacon as we hiked back towards our camp. Janet and I want to come back and climb a route on the steep east face of The Deacon. 14. Looking down the ridge between The Deacon and MMG group. I think this ridge would be a nice way to access the MMG Traverse if coming at it from the US side. The MMG Traverse would be a long day from camp at Upper Cathedral Lake, but it would be very possible, especially using this ridge. 15. Janet surfing on a large rock perched near the summit of The Deacon. 16. Me on the large rock. 17. Mushroom. 18. It seems we found the location of the resident mountain goats' bathroom. 19. On the summit of The Deacon, looking towards Cathedral Peak. On the way back we traversed through the saddle between The Pope and Cathedral in the photo and intersected the Boundary Trail on the other side. 20. A pleasant 3rd class scramble down the south ridge of The Deacon. 21. This feature just south of The Deacon and lying right on the US-Canada border is called The Pope. 22. Crossing back into the US on the western flanks of The Deacon/The Pope. Note the border swath in the distance. 23. Meadowy slopes leading to the saddle between The Pope and Cathedral. 24. The mellow terrain between the saddle and the Boundary Trail. 25. At Cathedral Pass. The Boundary Trail brought us through Cathedral Pass and then down to Upper Cathedral Lake. Now that we had gone around both the west and east sides of Cathedral, I would say that going around the east side is probably a bit easier way to access The Deacon from Upper Cathedral Lake, but both ways work fine. 26-27. A nice bivy spot under a boulder at the south end of Upper Cathedral Lake. If you could guarantee a goat had not already claimed this spot you could hike in without a tent. 28. Sock-drying at camp. 29. There were a few mountain goats that hung out near our camp at the south end of the lake, on call any time one of had to pee. 30-31. Stormy afternoon light on the crags of Amphitheater rising above Upper Cathedral Lake. The buttress on the left is Ka'aba Buttress and the one on the right is Middle Finger Buttress. 32. Ka'aba Buttress. On this trip we had planned to climb a route called Pilgrimage to Mecca that goes up the left side of Ka'aba Buttress. 33. Buttress between Ka'aba Buttress and Middle Finger Buttress. I am not aware of any good climbs on it but there must be some routes. 34. Middle Finger Buttres. On this trip we had planned to climb a route called Left Side Route that goes up the left side (no surprise) of Middle Finger Buttress. 35-36. Evening light on Cathedral Peak as seen from Upper Cathedral Lake. 37. The 10b/c corner of the first pitch of Left Side Route on Middle Finger Buttress. This is reportedly one of the best 5.10 corner pitches in the Cascades. It does look good.... 38-41. The weather improved as the evening went on, giving a more golden glow to the light on the buttresses. |