Burnt Boot Peak and Big Snow Mountain hover over Middle Fork Snoqualmie River by Mount Price. The former harbors the famous Goldmyer Hot Springs at its western foothills, while the latter perches above Hardscrabble Lakes.
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Burnt Boot Peak at a Glance
Access: Dutch Miller Gap Trailhead
Round Trip: 24 miles
Elevation Range: 1400′-6680′
Gear: helmet, microspikes, ice ax
Route Info: Craig Weiland, puzzlr
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance
Friday, July 22
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3
Hardscrabble Horse Camp
The Preface on Burnt Boot Peak and Big Snow Mountain
I took my first photo of Burnt Boot Peak and Big Snow Mountain from Snoqualmie Mountain. But I had no idea what I was aiming at when I took the picture. Back then, everything around Snoqualmie Pass fascinated me wildly.
I thought I’d visit both peaks sooner until other places drew me away. Before I knew it, 12 years had passed when I realized it was long overdue. So I wanted to climb them now with the dogs while we’re all still around.
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Road 56 to Dingford Creek Trailhead
To make the trip more enjoyable for the dogs, we went to Dingford Creek on Friday evening. That way, we could tackle the seven-mile road walk first. I then hoped to make it to Hardscrabble Lakes after Burnt Boot Peak.
My fourth time driving on Road 56 past Garfield Ledges, and it continued to suck. At the very least, we’re keeping out compact cars by not improving the roads or filling the potholes. Talk about exclusive access.
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Dutch Miller Gap Trail
The road turned Dutch Miller Gap Trail used to be drivable to Hardscrabble Horse Camp. Old reports indicated that it was open until sometime around 2010. But I couldn’t find any information about the reason behind the closure.
It’s 4.5 miles on a gradual incline to the hot springs turnoff, gaining 400′. Then, another three miles over 1000′ altitude put us at the empty camp by the river. En route, we saw glimpses of Avalanche Mountain and Snoqualmie Mountain.
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Saturday, July 23
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3
Burnt Boot Peak + Upper Hardscrabble Lake Camp
Burnt Boot Peak via Middle Fork Snoqualmie River
The thing that stood in the way between Burnt Boot Peak and us was the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. The log debris near the camp didn’t stretch far enough to avoid fording the water. So we went upstream to Hardscrabble Creek.
The giant log by the creek was in the middle of the river to be of any use. So I put on slippers, and we crossed the cold, thigh-high water to the other side. It then took some time to go through the brush below the talus.
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The Headwall on the Northwest Route
We stayed north of the buttress after weaving through boulders and tree debris for 400′. Then we hugged the headwall through ferns before crossing vine maples into a narrow gully. But we stepped out of the ravine as it steepened past 4000′.
For the next 200′, we went through steep terrain mixed in with more down logs. But sometimes, walking across the logs was much less painful than avoiding them. Before long, the trees slowly thinned out as the northwest ridge loomed overhead.
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Burnt Boot Peak Northeast Gully
Puzzlr‘s descriptions noted class 4 steps in the northwest gully. So, I opted for the (my) dog-friendly northeast route instead. From 5400’, we traversed below the north wall across a massive talus while avoiding steep snow.
The steep snow ramp quietly awaited as we reached the gully entrance at 5800′. Alas, I had hoped that it’d be snow-free by now. Then we went up the steep terrain with me hugging the rocks and the pups walking up the snow.
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Traversing the Final Stretch
The dogs stayed on the snow until 6200′, which ended by the headwall before a wide moat. They then joined me through boulders and the occasional scree. En route were a few tall steps they could hop on with ease.
A short stretch of snow above the rocks ended right below the saddle. From the summit ridge, the tip of Mount Thomson through the mists quickly caught my eye. Then we turned east and finished the climb with a short traverse.
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Vuewing Alpine Lakes From Burnt Boot Peak
I had hoped to see Lemah Mountain from Chikamin Peak but didn’t. But this time, it sat front and center, sporting the distinct five towers. It was also the closest I saw the awe-inspiring Stone Kingdom from the west.
The mist slowly moved in during our stay, mainly to the southwest. In turn, only the top of Mount Thomson was visible the entire time. Soon, I shifted my focus to our next day’s goal, the stunning Big Snow Mountain, behind us.
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Retracing Steps to Hardscrabble Horse Camp
We stayed true to our route on the return because of the rocky terrain. But the dogs preferred following me through the rocks than taking the steep snow. I looked for a viable way for all of us, and we stuck close together.
Soon, we were back at the gully by the buttress. It wasn’t pleasant going down as I kept sliding on the rocks. The dogs, on the other hand, went through the ferns instead. Then we hopped the talus and forded the river back to camp.
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En Route to Hardscrabble Lakes
The plan was to camp up high, close to Big Snow Mountain. That way, we’d enjoy a shorter climb and an early exit the next day. So I quickly packed, and then we backtracked half a mile down the road to Hardscrabble Lake Trail.
We found the easy-to-miss entrance thanks to Craig and Vanessa‘s track. Soon, we strolled through the mild incline to the lower lake for a mile. We then followed the cairns over a rock field and the sometimes faint trail to the lake’s outlet.
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A Night at Upper Hardscrabble Lake
We stayed close to the shore and hopped through more boulders to the north. After walking through the wetland, I spotted a few cairns and crossed the creek from the upper lake. Then we followed the footpath and reached the upper lake in half a mile.
I glanced at the outlet and saw a tent in the only decent spot. So we continued along the west shore to the north of the lake by the stream. It was mainly damp, but I found a place by the water to set up our camp.
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Sunday, July 24
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3
Big Snow Mountain + Exit
En Route to Big Snow Mountain
Since we were all still recovering from yesterday, we slept for several more hours. So when we started walking, it was a quarter to 10 and hot! Finally, visiting the mountain I’d stared at all these years was exciting.
The official trail ended above our camp, so it was all scramble to the top. But since the campers across the water started before us, we’d likely have a track to follow in the snow. Soon, we went above the trees at 5000′.
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5760′ Pass
The key gully leading up to the pass wasn’t visible lower down. But we were soon in it after going around the corner at 5200′ above the lower snowfield. From there, the route became more apparent.
Much of the snow in the gully had melted, with the visible summer trail. We went above the last trees onto the snow as two people came down, and a day hiker went up. Then I put on microspikes for the rest 300′ to the pass.
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The Final Stretch on Big Snow Mountain
From the pass, it was a little over a mile over the snow to the top. We treated ourselves to the north view and the many small ponds in Lake Dorothy Basin along the way. But it seemed to take forever to reach the dry summit block.
I thought the dogs would’ve been sick of the rocks because of yesterday. So I stayed in the snow for them to follow me to the top. But they decided to take the ridge instead, so I followed directly behind.
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Viewing Burmt Boot Peak From Big Snow Mountain
We met the three campers, Kimber, Pete, and Patrick, at the board summit and chatted for a while. But I soon savored the views I had anticipated all these years. It was a long way to come here on foot if not staying the night.
The Stone Kingdom continued to steal the show despite being farther away. All the high points above the Pacific Crest Trail, including Huckleberry Mountain, were visible. To the east were the notable Mount Hinman and Mount Daniel.
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Leaving Big Snow Mountain
The trade-off of making a loop trip was carrying everything up with me. But going out via Myrtle Lake would let us avoid repeating the seven-mile road walk. It all sounded good on paper until we started going to the lower lakes.
The ridge south of Big Snow Lake ended steeply above the cliffs. After several tries, we backtracked and went around the west of Snowflake Lake via a rock field. Soon, we found the lake trail and finally reached Big Snow Lake.
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Exiting via Dingford Creek Trail
The gully below Big Snow Lake’s outlet didn’t look viable for the dogs. Judging by the few reports, it’s best to go that way with snow present. So we took the adjacent ridge to the north and dropped through the steep hill.
We exited the steep ridge at 4400′, above the cliffs overlooking the rock field. A brushy scramble through the forest brought us to the wetland filled with mosquitos. Soon, we found the trail across the stream from Myrtle Lake and walked five miles to the car.
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