Cape Horn and Ladies Peak by Snowgrass Mountain are on the extensive Icicle Ridge. The latter ranks #5 in Chiwaukum Mountains before Grindstone Mountain. Moreover, both places are easily accessible via Chatter Creek Trail.
See more trip photos here.
Cape Horn and Ladies Peak at a Glance
Access: Chatter Creek Trailhead
Round Trip: 14.5 miles
Elevation Range: 2760′-7708′
Gear: helmet
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
The Preface
The pups haven’t been out with me since the end of June. So this weekend, I took them up to Cape Horn and Ladies Peak as a trial run for the black dog. It was his first overnight outing with us ever, and he carried his food.
I could use something lowkey after last weekend. So I picked this hike for the moderate and scenic approach via Chatter Creek. Plus, we’d have gorgeous views over many ridgelines inside Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
See more trip photos here.
Not That Cape Horn
The late black pup, the yellow dog, and I had visited a different Cap Horn. But being in the rain shadow, the scenery on that one contrasted greatly. Plus, the altitude was lower by 5000′ in comparison.
Cape Horn and Ladies Peak were right off the beaten path. I had planned on visiting them last November, but the area had received snow days before. So we paid a visit to the nearby Icicle Ridge lookout instead.
See more trip photos here.
Chatter Creek
On the way to Lake Edna, I ran into an old friend Alastair, whom I met through the Seattle Mountaineers years back. So we caught up some before he went on his merry way to climbing Snowgrass Mountain.
Soon, I marveled at the sight of Grindstone Mountain as we made our way through Chatter Creek Basin. The weather was terrible the last time we were here. And it was a whiteout when we reached the summit.
See more trip photos here.
Cap Horn Climb
As I had suspected, Lake Edna was the go-to place for many campers. We met a family of four as the trail took us past the serene water. Before long, we were up on Cape Horn’s northeast slope.
Shortly, we walked up the decent footpath and reached the top in another 200 vertical feet. The day was still young, so we enjoyed the views, including Ladies Peak, for a while.
See more trip photos here.
En Route to Camp
I saw four backpackers walking past the peak before we left the top. Soon, we caught up to the group on the trail. Then I found out I had met one of them on Instagram a few years ago. Small world, indeed!
I chatted with them as we went down to Ladies Pass and took their group photo before parting ways. They were heading to Upper Lake Florence as the pups as I looked for a place on the pass to camp.
See more trip photos here.
Ladies Peak Climb
As I had suspected, there wasn’t water on the saddle. But glad I noticed a few snow patches on the north side earlier from Cape Horn. So I set up the tent off the pass on the small ridge above Trail #1571.
Soon, we set off for Ladies Peak in the afternoon sun over a direct route. Despite the rocky ground, we were able to stay on the crest mostly. Then we reached the windy summit 800′ above camp.
See more trip photos here.
Ladies Peak Summit
Ladies Peak was 400′ taller than Cape Horn, which looked much shorter from this angle. The afternoon sun had long cast shadows on the western peaks. So it was hard to identify the familiar high points.
Views were vast in all directions, and even Chiwaukum Mountains’ extensive ridge looked to go on forever. But the most eye-catching features were The Cradle and Mount Daniel to the south.
See more trip photos here.
Back to Ladies Pass
We later moseyed our way down the peak after an extended visit. Before long, we were back at the pass. The day had taken its time to end; gotta love the long summer days.
It grew windy, but the pass had kept us out of the south wind. We later grabbed water from the snowmelt below the campsite. Then the pups and I bummed around and enjoyed dinner in peace.
Morning of Day Two
It was a windy but warm night, and I got up before midnight to take photos. Then this morning, the sun rose at 6:15. But the pups had been up for a while and couldn’t wait to go out of the tent!
As we took time to pack, Alastair showed up on the pass. It turned out that he had decided to climb Snowgrass Mountain this morning instead. We chatted briefly before bidding each other goodbye.
See more trip photos here.
Exiting Through Cape Horn
The relaxing trip made me feel too lazy to move. But we still needed to go through two passes before going all downhill. The first one was up by Cape Horn, and then the other was above Chatter Creek.
The area was incredibly calm; perhaps it was because of the recent wildfire smoke. We saw four people before diving back into the trees. It felt great to be out with the pups again after their two-month break!
See more trip photos here.
