Damnation Peak by Salvation Peak and Oakes Peak is reachable via Thornton Lakes Road. It overlooks North Cascades Highway above the headwaters of Damnation Creek. In turn, the highway offers the quickest way to the peak.
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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
The Preface
In the past, I’d driven past Goodell Creek and Bacon Creek off the highway many times. But I haven’t had the chance to explore the area until now. Other than Mount Triumph, I was unfamiliar with most areas’ peaks.
The pups joined me on Damnation Peak after my recent outing. I wasn’t 100% sure if the peak was dog-friendly, but I thought we’d try it. As it turned out, both could reach the top with some guidance.
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Road 3745
We drove up to the abandoned road (Road 3745) fork at 2245′ in the early morning. Shortly, we walked the path to its end without route-finding. We bypassed the brush, down trees, and mud puddles, mainly from the west.
Snow appeared at mile 1.5 but remained firm to continue in boots comfortably. After putting on snowshoes by the confluence, we crossed the raging water on a big log. I took off the snowshoes when the slopes steepened later at 3400′.
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Damnation Peak South Ridge
The south ridge was steepest from 3600′ to 4600′ and snow-free from 3600′ to 4000′. At the same time, it was too steep to walk in snowshoes comfortably. So I waited to put them on again until the terrain flattened at 4600′.
Soon, a broad, steep gully stood before us at 5000′ without any releases today. But we bypassed via the milder east side to avoid potential slides.
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The Final Stretch
The most scenic part of the climb went from 5200′ to the top. By then, all the high points around us had taken shape. Later at 150′ below the top, we went from snow onto a group of large boulders.
I left the snow gear at the bottom, thinking we were near the summit. But I quickly realized that wasn’t the case. So I went back and grabbed everything to finish the climb.
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Damnation Peak Summit Views
Views included Snowfield Group, Icecap Group, Big Devils Peak, Razorback Mountain, and the top of Glacier Peak. I could barely see the Picket Range behind Mount Triumph but caught a glimpse of Mount Fury.
Mount Triumph and Mount Despair alone made me gaze for hours. Then there were Mount Baker, Mount Blum, Bacon Peak, Canadian Bacon, and the tip of Mount Shuksan. But we’ll come back for Salvation Peak for sure!
On the way out, I carried the snowshoes from 4600′, which steeped again. Then we plunge-stepped our way to 4000′ and re-entered the old-growth forest to exit.
See more trip photos here.