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hiked  Eaton Peak West Summit (From Eaton Lake trailhead)  and did 15.0Km and 1750m   
Mood and date:  Sep 12, 2009
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On this unusually hot September day, we left the Eaton Lake Trailhead at around 10:20 am and followed the wide trail to the lake. After a short break, we started to bushwack towards Eaton Peak, with Peter leading us confidently through what seemed to me the densest bush we could possibly find in the area.

Comparing our GPS trace on GoogleEarth (one of the last pictures in this report) to Matt Gunn’s suggested route, it seems we traversed much further east instead of going directly south to the ridge. Luckily, we came across a creek bed to follow on the way up thus shortening our bushwack. The running water made rocks slippery, but thankfully, most were covered by moss and provided a sure grip. Once past the creek, we bushwacked up the ridge at a very steep gradient on slippery vegetation, traversed below a cliff face, and crossed a boulder field arriving back at the ridge. At that point, I though the bushwack was over, but then came “bush-scrambling”: bushwacking through krummholz-overgrown boulders, which was very time-consuming and called for concentration.

We navigated a number of mildly- to moderately exposed ledges and slabs on the way to the peak, including the chimney crux. Both ascending it and climbing down wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, in part thanks to Bahman who, armed with his climbing experience, stuck around to suggest hand/foot holds to all group members. We tied a rope as a back-up but didn’t use it. A short somewhat exposed scramble along the narrow ridge, scrambling over the “horse back”, and we’re on the summit! The reward – fantastic 180-degree views.

On the way down the boulder slope we saw a black bear: continue reading »
 
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Eaton Lake, a start-off point to more interesting destinations...
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