The Louvre and Skookum Peak between Jolly Mountain and DeRoux Peak sit atop a long ridgeline by Koppen Mountain and Esmeralda Peak. During the snowy season, Salmon La Sac offers a direct way to these high points.
See more trip photos here.
The Louvre and Skookum Peak at a Glance
Access: NF-4315 at the mile 2.4 gate
Round Trip: 12.7 miles
Elevation Range: 3300′-6394′
Gear: helmet
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
The Preface
This weekend, we were back in Teanaway Backcountry after a trip out east. Despite my effort, we haven’t been able to get to The Louvre and Skookum Peak before the gate closure since 2015. Once again, we’ve missed the window.
But this time, I decided to go forth with the plan after a long drive. So we bit the bullet and walked the extra 2.5 miles to the summer trail. I wanted to finally take The Louvre and Skookum Peak off the back burner.
See more trip photos here.
Walking the Road
Boredom soon set in in the first mile. So after making the two long switchbacks, we left the path at the third road bend to gain the ridge at 4080′. Then we scrambled southeast over brushy terrain under a blue sky.
After climbing 200′, we stumbled into a clearing and continued up to the road at 4600′. Then we crossed it and stayed on the slopes full of down trees. The burned logs were the aftermath of the 2017 Jolly Mountain Fire.
See more trip photos here.
Sasse Mountain Trail to Jolly Creek Trail
It turned partly sunny at some point. Soon, snow appeared as we made our way toward the Sasse Mountain Trail. The trail took us through the forest, where the path was mostly bare. So the snowshoes stayed on my pack. We reached the Jolly Trail junction in another 1.25 miles.
It soon became overcast, and we never saw the sun again. Snow reappeared before the next junction. But it still wasn’t enough to warrant the use of snowshoes. It got windy at the pass. So we took a layer break in the trees. Then we moved north on the Jolly Creek Trail.
See more trip photos here.
Getting up to The Louvre
The forest thinned out as we made our way down the ridgeline. There were a few inches of slick snow through this part. But then I saw there was barely any snow up ahead. No need for snowshoes today! We traversed under Skookum Peak. Then the trail dwindled on its east saddle.
From there, we were able to stay on the crest. Then we continued to travel to reach the southwest ridge of The Louvre. The low clouds were now beginning to move upward in the valleys. Damn. I guess we weren’t going to see anything today, after all.
See more trip photos here.
The Louvre Summit Without Views
Under the summit was a narrow section of the ridge to get through. But our main concern there was the downsloping and ice-covered slabs. But we were able to bypass them on the right. Further up below the top were some dense shrubs. So we stuck close to the rocks there to finish the climb.
What perfect timing it was. We got up to the windy summit in time for the clouds. Tees and rocks kept us out of the wind. No views today! But despite not having anything to see, we managed to stay for 45 minutes. It began to drizzle just as we were leaving.
See more trip photos here.
En Route to Skookum Peak
Descending in the mist is always an exciting task. The slanting rocks weren’t as bad on the way down. On the way back to the official trail, we stayed on the ridge and scrambled up to Skookum Peak. Too bad we couldn’t see it earlier from The Louvre.
The peak was just a bump on the ridge. It boasted a super woodsy summit. Though cloudy, I could look down the steep west face from the top. We only spent two minutes up here. Then we headed down on the southeast slopes. Soon, we located the trail 200′ below.
See more trip photos here.
Outro
It was disappointing not to see anything on both summits. Especially after having waited for four years to give them a go finally. Soon, we made our way back down to the road. The overhead clouds looked to be letting in some sunshine to the west.
By the time we got back to 4080′, I had zero interest in repeating the road walk. So I looked at my map and noticed another service road at 200′ below. It made for a nice shortcut. Then it joined our old route at the first junction past the gate.
See more trip photos here.