Cascade via Cascade Slide β€” 10/11/11

[Gregory Karl]

Inge Aiken and I met at the Cascade trailhead on 73 at 12:30, made the final decision about where to leave the second car (East Pitchoff trailhead), and then drove to the campground between the lakes. The provisional plan was to ascend Pitchoff via the spectacular Cascade Slide and then to bushwhack to the second car by way of the lower ridge, the one between the summit ridge and the lakes. I say provisional because we had by no means committed to the return route, we just figured if you have two cars it's stupid not to give yourself more options. Leaves room for improvisation.

Anyway, I was struggling with adrenaline depletion after that hairy ascent of the new Beckhorn Slide on Saturday, and was perfectly happy to bypass some of the steep stuff on the main cascade, the one for which the mountain is named. Inge concurred. The first falls is a hard act to follow but the second is a perfect answer to it, its antithesis or inversion, in fact. Where the first spills ever outward across a convex face for most of its 200 foot drop, the channel of the second twists ever inward, beginning as an upward, left-curving cataract around a rock prominence, then narrowing to a cascade and flume, and finally down to a narrow dike. The third falls—they get progressively shorter as one ascends—were easy to climb on the left side. The balcony view toward Pitchoff above them had some eye-gorging contrasts: flaming peak foliage below, sun-blasted white and gray cliffs and ledges on Pitchoff's Balanced Rock prominence, and blue skies above.

Drunk with color, we returned to the ever-varied terrain of the slide, a mix of broad slabs, staircases and walls. The last pitch began with a rubble road up a mud flow, now dried, fortunately, and ended with a headwall of two broad convex steps separated by a muddy bench. From near the right side of this bench we looked over to the left and thought we saw the top of an older slide sneaking up and around out of sight way across the slope. This went about fifty feet higher than the new slide but was too wet, steep and slippery for easy travel. So we went into the woods to the left of it and began the 700-foot bushwhack to the summit. It was a beautiful climb through ferns, birches and the occasional boulder, a maze with many open channels and an ever more prominent record of human passage. The last 100 feet were a fun climb on open rock. We came out precisely at the summit stakes and USGS marker feeling like we must be walking into a surprise party; Where was everybody? All the lots were full when we started and there was no one in sight.

We absorbed the great views on this clear and windless day as we snacked and discussed the return plan, our options arrayed on a vast canvas below. Because of the late hour we decided to return the way we came, staying in the woods for the muddy and perilous parts, returning to the slide for the fun bits. Some of the rock hopping was pure kinaesthetic delight, and there were geological marvels everywhere: volcanic sponge stone, little beds of rock salt, some iridescent green boulders with nets of white frosting (phosphorous powder?, rock tinged with copper oxide?). We followed the run-out of the slide all the way down to the lake.

This is just an all around great hike. Much better than I imagined from the previous reports. Thanks Inge! Good idea! Should I have mentioned the snake?

pics:
https://picasaweb.google.com/curugroth/CascadeSlide

[Inge]

Great report and photos! Looks like I may need to borrow your camera to get a few shots of you - maybe even one picking up and tossing that poor snake around! Maybe next time we will have time to explore an alternate route to descend since the woods seem very friendly. Thanks for the company

[mastergrasshopper]

Nice climb
Great weather
I was sad to have to go home Sat after climb as I had seen long term weather forcast.
MG

[Gregory Karl]

Glen, if it makes you feel any better, it's raining now.

Inge, I was thinking the same thing—not enough photos of me! And I didn't really throw the snake around, just dropped him when he curled his head around to kiss me.

[Inge]

OK Greg - next trip I carry the camera!!

[Teleskier]

Beautiful shots, guys - what a gorgeous route!