Lost Slam via Slate Pass / 經石板山道上失落滿貫

Lost Slam along the Lost River Gorge was going to be our Labor day weekend trip. But in mid-August, McLeod Fire forced road closures near Mazama, Washington. So we couldn’t go in through Eightmile Pass. The outing was a nice change from last week.

"Many trails" and not one to follow — “Many trails” and not one to follow

See more trip photos here.

The fire closure order was still in effect this week. So pup and I sought the other way via Slate Pass. But it was a more extended route. It also happened to be the reroute of Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) thru-hikers because of Holman Fire. So we met many of them finishing the last stretch of a long journey.

Lost Slam at a Glance

Lost Slam = Many Trails Peak + Johnny Peak (aka Trailblazer) + Three Pinnacles
失落滿貫=多路峯+強尼峯+三巔峯

Access: Buckskin Ridge Trailhead ( at Slate Pass
Round Trip: 56 miles
Elevation Range: 4,920′-8,241′
Gear: helmet
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance

Logistics Overview

September 27-30, 2018

Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4

Day 1 – Thursday, September 27
Approach to Upper Johnny Lake
Night 1 – Upper Johnny Lake

Day 2 – Friday, September 28
Many Trails Peak + Johnny Peak
Night 2 – Upper Johnny Lake

Day 3 – Saturday, September 29
Three Pinnacles
Night 3 – Monument Creek Basin Camp at 7,200′

Day 4 – Sunday, September 30
Exit

Day 1

Approach to Upper Johnny Lake

Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3 > Day 4

See more trip photos here.

Middle Fork Pasayten River Valley

The pups and I first made the long trek to Slate Pass five years ago. Back then, we were climbing a few of the Bulger peaks. But we have since hiked the same route two more times. One time to Ptarmigan Peak. The other to Mount Rolo via Ferguson Lake. We needed lots of daylight on day two. So we pushed through the 20-mile to Johnny Lakes on day one.

I didn’t know about the PCT reroute until I saw a sign after crossing the Middle Fork Pasayten River. Then we met five thru-hikers back from their victory lap at the border. Some hikers preferred coming back down to Harts Pass to return home because of logistical reasons. While others preferred getting a permit to enter Canada past the northern terminus.

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Freds Lake and Doris Lake

Later, we met two fishers at the Eureka Creek junction. Then we chatted for a while. But I had no idea that fishing in Lake Doris was a thing. So the men were excited to tell me about the types of trouts there. They said fishers had also put trouts in various lakes in the wilderness. But who knew?! Meanwhile, the pup was loving the attention of all the hikers.

We ended up not getting up to Freds Pass until 1 PM. But we had just six more hours of daylight to reach Shellrock Pass. So we started going at full speed in the hope of getting to the pass by 4:30 PM. One we went past Freds Lake, we were hiking through larches. So it was hard to keep from stopping and taking photos!

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Shellrock Pass to Johnny Lake

We were on track getting up to Shellrock Pass. But when I look to the east, I had doubts about getting to Johnny Lakes before dark. Later, we made it past Butte Pass and Point 7275 at sunset. Then we climbed up the west ridge in the dark. It then took us up to the southern end of Johnny Peak south ridge at 8080′.

We spent some time going up and around Pass Butte’s two summits. Then we finally reached Johnny Pass. Shortly, we dropped 800′ on talus down toward Upper Johnny Lake. Meanwhile, we bypassed the leftover ice sheets in the gully by staying close to the left by the cliffs.

See more trip photos here.

Getting to Upper Johnny Lake

I couldn’t remember the last time we scrambled a talus field in the dark! But we finally reached the lake at 8:30 PM. Oh, how I missed those 9 o’clock sunset times.

We set up camp and ate dinner afterward. I then set the alarm clock, so we would start moving by 6 AM. It made sense to climb Mary Trails Peak first since it was the farther one of our two goals. Just in case we ended up running out of time.