The pups joined me on Damnation Peak after my solo outing two days ago. I have driven past Goodell Creek and Bacon Creek off Highway 20 many times. But I haven’t explored the area. Other than Mount Triumph, I was unfamiliar with most peaks here.
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Damnation Peak at a Glance
Access: NF-3745
Round Trip: 7.7 miles
Elevation Range: 2240′-5635′
Gear: snowshoes, ice ax
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: on the trail
Road 3745
We arrived at the hidden decommissioned road (Road 3745) turnoff at 2245′. Then the pups and I walked the path to its end. Along the way, we bypassed brush, slide alder, down trees, and mud puddles on the left.
Snow appeared at mile 1.5. But it was still firm enough to continue in boots comfortably. I punched through a few times before finally putting on snowshoes before the tributary of Damnation Creek. We then crossed the raging water on a log there. When the slopes began to steepen at 3400′, I removed the snowshoes.
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Damnation Peak South Ridge
South ridge was at its steepest from 3600′ to 4600′. It was snow-free from 3600′ to 4000′. It was still too steep to walk in snowshoes comfortably for the rest of the 600′. So I waited until terrain flattened at 4600′ to put them on again.
Soon, a broad and steep gully at 5000′ forced us to bypass through the slopes on the right. In other words, no thank you, avalanche!
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The Final Stretch
From 5200′ to the top was the most scenic part of the climb. All the high points around us had finally taken shape. Then at 150′ below the top, we transitioned from snow onto a group of large boulders.
I left the snow gear at the bottom, assuming that we were almost on the summit. But I quickly realized I was wrong. So I went back down and grabbed everything to finish off the last part.
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Damnation Peak Summit Plus Views
Mount Triumph and Mount Despair alone could make me gaze for hours. O.M.G. Mount Baker, Mount Blum, Bacon, Canadian Bacon, and the tip of Mount Shuksan were looking so gorgeous! We’ll need to come back for Salvation Peak.
There were also the Snowfield group, the Icecap group, Big Devils, Snowking, Razorback, and the top of Glacier Peak! Mount Triumph was in front of the Picket Range and most eastern peaks. Though, I managed to catch a glimpse of Mount Fury.
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Outro
On the way down, I packed up the snowshoes at 4600′ where it steepened. Then we plunge stepped our way back down to 4000′ to re-enter the old-growth forest.