Andrew Peak, Amos Peak, Peepsight Mountain, and Freds Mountain in Pasayten Wilderness stand above Glory Creek Basin. All of which are on the Washington State Top 200 Peaks list. They’re close to one another to tackle in one trip.
See more trip photos here.
Andrew Peak + Amos Peak + Peepsight Mountain + Freds Mountain at a Glance
Glory Slam = Andrew Peak + Amos Peak + Peepsight Mountain + Freds Mountain
榮耀滿貫=安德魯峯+阿摩司峯+窺視山+佛瑞德山
Access: Andrews Creek Trailhead
Round Trip: 37.3 miles
Elevation Range: 3040′-8301′
Gear: helmet
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: on the trail
The Preface
Happy Seattle Pride weekend! The pup and my first backpacking trip together this season, and Pasayten Wilderness was calling our names! I spent last weekend up by Snowfield Peak. Then this week, we went to tackle the four peaks.
Most parties would perhaps add an extra day for a more enjoyable trip. But I only had two days to spare and wanted to see about climbing all four. Then it’d save us from repeating the long Andrews Creek Trail.
See more trip photos here.
Andrew Peak + Amos Peak + Peepsight Mountain + Freds Mountain
We car camped on Friday night for an early start. Chewuch Road from the turnoff in Winthrop to Andrews Creek Trailhead was smooth sailing. It was in great shape for the stretch with a dozen cattle guards were along the way.
We saw two cars at the trailhead early the following day as we got ready. Then another one showed up right before we started hiking. It was a low clouds morning with spotty views of the upper valley.
See more trip photos here.
Andrews Creek Trail
It was clear that the trail had had lots of work since the fire. So the 8.5 miles to the Peepsight Trail fork was debris free. Along the way were a few stream crossing, light brush, and mud puddles that we went through with ease.
I chatted briefly with a horse rider by the junction. She mentioned that the trail crew typically goes in after the Fourth of July to work on Peepsight Trail. It was valuable info for possible future trips.
See more trip photos here.
Cross-Country to Rock Lake by Andrew Peak
Many down trees showed up half a mile past the fork, which slowed us down significantly. Then at a mile shy of Andrews Pass, we made a beeline for the north Peepsight Trail. The path was hard to follow when we found it.
Someone was kind to have built many one-rock cairns so that we could stay on track. We later reached Rock Lake 1.5 miles from Andrews Creek Trail. Then we took off for Andrew Peak after setting up the tent.
See more trip photos here.
Bear Sighting at Rock Lake
My heart skipped when I heard screeching sounds in the forest. It had come from two bear pups that went up a tree by the east shore after spotting us. So my plan via the southwest ridge was out of the question.
Without further assessing the situation, we backed up right away. Meanwhile, I made loud noises as we moved to the opposite side of the water. I didn’t see the mom bear but wanted to ensure we wouldn’t pose a threat.
See more trip photos here.
Alternative Route to Andrew Peak
We went counterclockwise around the lake and climbed up to the south ridge from the north shore. The many hidden ramps among granite rock slabs allowed us to go up fairly quickly. It took a shorter time than I expected.
Higher up on the ridge, heather soon gave way to the talus. Before long, we were on the flattish ridgeline above 8200′ with views around us. Another 100′ of walking north then put us on the top.
See more trip photos here.
Andrew Peak Summit Views
Views of the nearby basins were excellent. I also previewed day two’s goals, Peepsight Mountain and Freds Mountain, west of Glory Creek. Meanwhile, the stoic Remmel Mountain loomed across the valley the entire time.
Andrew Peak had the least comfortable seating of all four peaks on this trip. It was also the only one with a summit register from Fay Pullen in 2009. So I browsed through the few pages of register entries.
See more trip photos here.
Next Stop, Amos Peak
I noticed someone had cleverly corrected the peak’s name by penciling in an “s” to the word Andrew. Since the naming for Andrews Creek, Andrews Pass, or Andrews Trail didn’t apply, I erased the “s.”
Although it was windy on top, we stayed for an hour to savor the views. Then we started going north toward our second goal of the day–Amos Peak. It was under smile away, so I didn’t anticipate taking long to go there.
See more trip photos here.
Amos Peak Summit Views
The rocks grew larger the farther north we were. Shortly after, we bypassed the giant boulders from west of the crest and reached the 7800′ saddle. Then we went through more talus amid the charred area to the top.
Views were similar to Andrew Peak but at a slightly different angle and farther north. It was the front-row seat to see Bald Mountain across Spanish Creek. We were also at the northernmost point of our trip.
See more trip photos here.
Back to Rock Lake via Andrew Peak
Instead of returning to Rock Lake through Andrew Peak, we dropped below the saddle to 7400′. Then we made a rising traverse over the meadow above Glory Creek. Soon, we were on the southwest ridge at 7600′.
I wasn’t sure if the bears were still hanging out by the lake, but I didn’t care. So we made our way back to the south ridge by rounding the crest. Before long, we had returned to camp by the lovely pond.
See more trip photos here.
Glorious Day Two
The following day, we went to Crazy Man Pass for Peepsight Mountain. Much of this area had been through wildfires, so the trail was almost nonexistent. But along the way were more one-rock cairns that guided us.
The north ridge wasn’t far from Crazy Man Pass and looked doable. So we bypassed Point 7990 from the south to the joining saddle. Then Peepsight Mountain was only one ridgeline away.
See more trip photos here.
Peepsight Mountain Summit Views
The north ridge turned out to be pretty direct and moderate. We walked on or east of the crest for most of the climb. Along the way, we bypassed a few small ridge bumps with no real issues overall.
We enjoyed an hour of breakfast while savoring beautiful morning views. Afterward, we moved on to our second and final goal of the day–Freds Mountain. As always, mountains looked farther apart in person.
See more trip photos here.
En Route to Freds Mountain
The ridge was three times longer than Andrew Peak to Amos Peak. But the annoying things were the larger ridge bumps to bypass. Boulder hopping was enjoyable, but not so much the sideway traverse.
The last high point south of Freds Mountain was Wilma, which I decided to skip. So we went around it by staying at 7600′ through the west slopes.
See more trip photos here.
Long Ridge Traverse
Earlier, I had mistaken Wilma for Freds Mountain’s actual summit since it blocked our view. But soon, I could see beyond the peak once we were at 7800′. Then we had at least another half a mile to go.
Despite the lengthy traverse, the ridge grew increasingly more comfortable to move through. As we neared Freds Mountain, we could easily stay on the crest. Then that allowed us to avoid the dense shrubs on the west.
See more trip photos here.
Final Stop, Freds Mountain
Freds Mountain had the most space of all the summits we visited in the last two days. It had a tall cairn marking the otherwise hard to tell high point. There was even enough room to house an entire army.
It was an excellent viewpoint on this warm and sunny day!
See more trip photos here.
Shortcutting to Glory Lake Basin
The last thing I wanted was to go back through Peepsight Mountain. So I poked around the edges and found a way down the steep northeast ridge. En route was lots of choss but saved us lots of time on the return.
We later exited from the adjacent gully. Then we went into the boggy and mosquito-infested Glory Creek Basin soon after. What joy it was to fight the pesky creatures on this warm day!
See more trip photos here.
Back to Rock Lake Camp and Out
Glory Creek Basin had been through fires, so we never found the trail on the map. We walked east of the creek up to the 7200′ saddle and saw the path from this morning. Soon, cairns led us back to our camp by Rock Lake.
I kept my guard up but was glad not to see more bears since yesterday’s brief encounter. We took a needed nap and packed right after. Then we embarked on the 13-mile trek back to the car.
See more trip photos here.