Photos from this trip can be found here.
Revolution Peak was one of the nearby peaks that stood out when I saw it for the first time from Mount Defiance two days before. After digging up a trip report on SummitPost, I realized that getting to it would probably take a full day. The route is approximately 16 miles round-trip, with steep, cliffy ridge line running from Thompson Peak to Revolution Peak.
Just as expected, my 7 AM start time turned out to be three and a half hours late. Although I was optimistic and brought my bike along in hope to make up for lost time. Overall the trail was in great conditions with a couple of brushy sections that were totally manageable with a bit of ducking. I had left the bike at just before mile 5, knowing that as long as we could make it back to the bike by sunset, then the five-mile bike ride back would be a breeze. Besides, the trail beyond mile 5 was steeper and rockier than I’d like to have tried and ridden the bike on it.
Two trail junctions and seven miles later, we found ourselves standing below Thompson with Revolution directly due northeast. It was hard to tell whether there was snow from where were standing, at least not until we got on the ridge. It appeared that the area had just gotten dumped with a few inches of snow the night before on the north slope of most peaks.
We traversed to the halfway point between Thompson and Revolution and made this rock band our turnaround point. By then it was 4 PM and there was only 2 hours and 15 minutes left before sunset. I sort of had a feeling that we wouldn’t make it all the way since we started quite late. The views from the rock band was nice enough to snap some decent shots. The northeastern views were blocked by Revolution so nothing to see in that direction. I guess we’ll have to come back in late season when the ridge is covered in snow and easier to walk on.
Just as I had anticipated, we got back to the bike at sunset. With the dogs running behind me, it took us only 30 minutes to get back to the car. I was left with just enough time to get to the second half of my Portuguese class in Bellevue.