Poch Peak by Florence Peak via Carbon River / 帕奇峯

  • Reading time:8 mins read

Poch Peak by Florence Peak sits south of Carbon River. It rests outside Mount Rainier National Park‘s northwest border above Evans Creek ORV Park. Meanwhile, the peak shares an extensive network of trails with nearby high points.

Poch Peak in the flesh
Poch Peak in the flesh

See more trip photos here.

Poch Peak at a Glance

Access: NF-7920 (Evans Creek)
Round Trip: 8.4 miles
Elevation Range: 1840′-5075′
Gear: microspikes, snowshoes
Route Info: flatsqwerl
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance

Taking the North Route

It’s the fourth and final day of our Thanksgiving week hiking extravaganza! Yesterday we had a day full of sunshine. So today, we continued searching for the light in the South Cascades.

The Mowich Lake Road wasn’t an option this time of year because of the snow. So we took the other viable way off Carbon River Road. But going up from the north meant gaining more elevation and not seeing the sun.

Road 7920
Road 7920

See more trip photos here.

Poch Peak North Ridge

Right after crossing Tolmie creek, I parked by the old road. Then we hiked for one mile and soon crossed the creek at 2500′. Before long, the path rounded the north ridge in half a mile.

We left the road and climbed 150′ in the open forest. Soon, we were in dense vegetation for the next 200′ through soft dirt. It was the steepest part of the climb that flattened past 3000′.

West Poch Peak from the ridge
West Poch Peak from the ridge

See more trip photos here.

Hiking the Old Roads

We went onto the upper Road 7920 at 3500′, where I saw an old trailhead sign. We walked the long deserted road before turning left onto Road 610 at the next fork. Soon, we bypassed Point 3881 from the east.

We turned onto Road 120 before leaving the path at 4000′ as it veered west. Then we stayed on the crest and followed what looked like a trail. I put on snowshoes in the trees, and we went up west of Point 4898.

Ridge traverse
Ridge traverse

See more trip photos here.

The North Saddle

I wasn’t sure where the trail would take us as it continued. But we left it, scrambled to Point 4898, and traversed the ridge through dense trees. Soon, I caught the view of Poch Peak with Mount Rainer behind it.

The broad saddle sat in the clearing, and there was sun! Judging by the half-buried tracks, it looked like snowmobiles were here before the recent snowfalls. Soon, we continued south on Road 591 and crossed Road 7930.

In the clearing below Poch Peak
In the clearing below Poch Peak

See more trip photos here.

Poch Peak Summit

We made the final stretch up the west ridge. Meanwhile, the sounds of the off-road vehicles were coming from the south. The semi-open forest soon took us to the top.

We sat on the rocks and looked northwest, where Point 4898 sat smack in the middle of the scenery. But behind us were tall trees blocking what would’ve been a great view of point Rainier.

Northerwestern panoramic view
Northerwestern panoramic view

See more trip photos here.

Outro

We got our first taste of sunshine down on the pass. But we couldn’t enjoy the heat on top because of the trees. So I wanted to return to the saddle for some needed warmth.

On the way down, we bypassed Point 4898 from the west using Road 519. But in hindsight, we could’ve taken it on the way up earlier. It’s the same trail we used west of the high point.

We retraced our steps and returned to the car as the sky began to dim.

Finding our way home
Finding our way home

See more trip photos here.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Jefferson

    Glad you’re getting out there!

    1. onehikeaweek

      Stop goofing off and join us! 😁

Comments are closed.

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