Lobox Mountain shares the extensive Box Ridge with the notable Hibox Mountain. It rises above Box Canyon to the south and is accessible via Rachel Lake Trail. The two mountains are close together to climb in one trip when time allows.
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Lobox Mountain at a Glance
Access: Rachel Lake Trailhead
Round Trip: 4.2 miles
Elevation Range: 2760′-6032′
Gear: helmet, rope
Route Info: Brett Dyson
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: no
Rachel Lake Trail
It’s been eight years since I last set foot on Rachel Lake Trail. Back then, the pups and I did a do-over of Hibox Mountain. But today, I came back to visit its shorter neighbor, Lobox Mountain, less than a mile away.
I pulled into a packed lot and started walking soon afterward. The decent trail in the old forest took me through the first switchback. Then I reached the small stream at mile .3 and dove into the trees.
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En Route to Box Ridge
Judging by the slope angle on the map, going directly north should be straightforward. That was, indeed, the case as well. The open forest also allowed me to bypass the vine maple from time to time.
Later at 4000′, I reached the boulder field below the impressive headwall of Box Ridge. Then I went up through the rocks over the mild terrain to 4600′ and turned northwest.
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Lobox Mountain South Gully
I had planned to go up to Lobox Mountain’s west saddle at 5200′. Then I would go east and make my way up through the rocky ridgeline. But that was until I came up to the bottom of the steep gully at 4800′.
I didn’t have any information on this route. But I thought I’d try it out and see how far up I could go before turning around. Even though it looked steep on the map, the path looked doable in person.
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The Final Stretch on Lobox Mountain
The gully turned out to be exposed class 3. Lower down was a dropoff, which I bypassed from the west over the buttress. Choss gradually turned into heather at the top of the route.
I almost went up on the south ridge at one point. But I was glad I didn’t because it was a broken ridgeline. So I stayed east of the crest and walked up to the tower from the gully.
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The Summit Tower Crux
Brett‘s report mentioned the low class 5 crux below the top. So I brought a rope if I needed to rappel off the summit. Then I looked around the tower, and it was vertical on all sides, as he had described.
The only decent spot to go up was via the diagonal line across the south side. It was about 20 feet tall, unprotectable with crappy holds. But it was somewhat awkward to climb it in the boots, though it worked.
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Lobox Mountain Summit Views
Not sure if I ever saw Lobox Mountain from the west. But the view of Hibox Mountain from here was quite impressive. Then there were Three Queens, Kachess Ridge high points, and Rampart Ridge.
The clouds to the north had shifted just before I left. So I was able to see most of Chimney Rock, Lemah Mountain, and Chikamin Peak. Then there’s Huckleberry Mountain looming in the distant west.
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Outro
The grassy area in the south gully happened to be the steepest part of the route. So it made down climbing a little tricky as it was pretty slick. Though, soon, I retraced my steps down to the rock field.
I stopped several times to see Kachess Lake. Too bad I only saw a sliver of it from the top. Later on the trail, I met two ladies on their way back from Rachel Lake. Together, we chatted our way back to the parking lot.
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