Freezeout Mountain by Full Moon Rising perches atop Freezeout Creek and Castle Creek in Pasayten Wilderness. Castle Peak is the only neighbor in the top 100 peaks of Washington State with a 15-mile radius. Meanwhile, Manning Park in Canada offers the most direct way to these border peaks.
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Freezeout Mountain et al. at a Glance
Environs = Royal Mountain + Peak 6520 + Two Buttes + Three Aunts + Mount Winthrop
周圍地區=皇家山+6520高峯+二孤峯+三姨媽+溫斯羅普山
Access: Monument 78-83 Trailhead
Round Trip: 42.7 miles
Elevation Range: 3700′-7850′
Essential Gear: helmet, multi-night
Route Info: Cascade Alpine Guide
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance
Playlist: Hopeful
Friday, June 23
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3
Royal Mountain + Peak 6520 + Two Buttes + Point 6407 Camp
Revisiting Manning Park, British Columbia
Connor and I embarked on another divine adventure through the area of Manning Park. Our main objectives were Mount Winthrop, Three Aunts, and the gorgeous Freezeout Mountain near Full Moon Rising. But we also explored Royal Mountain and Peak 6520 along the way.
The plan was to visit these places in Pasayten Wilderness over last year’s Labor Day weekend. But the 2022 Parks Fire had me ditch my itinerary at the last minute. After returning to the park, I drove back to the US and climbed Repulse Peak in the North Cascades.
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Monument 78-83 Trail to Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)
Most of our trip was smooth sailing except for the start, where we forded the water twice. Through reports, I found out the once sturdy bridge over the Similkameen River was no more due to flooding. But with shallow water, we were able to cross nearby.
The second washout soon followed, where we forded the calm water before last year’s burn. Afterward, we navigated through down trees before the Monument 78/83 Trail fork. Soon, there was the annoying swamp with a flooded trail for the next quarter of a mile.
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PCT Northern Terminus to Castle Pass and Boundary Trail
The swarms of mosquitoes somehow appeared out of nowhere before the border. To my surprise, a dozen or so thru-hikers were on a break when we walked up to the monument. Through chatting, I found that they had skipped the Sierras due to snow conditions.
After saying goodbye, we soon met other hikers who also flip-flopped before heading southbound to finish. I even briefly chatted with the famous family of seven on their way to complete the Triple Crown. From Castle Pass, we then continued west on Boundary Trail without stopping.
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Freezeout Mountain via Royal Mountain and Peak 6520
The trail to Royal Mountain unveiled breathtaking south vistas above the trees. We left with a day pack from the southwest saddle and soon reached the top in 1000′. There, we got our first glimpse of Freezeout Mountain to the far west.
A curious young deer gazed at us from the ridge on the way back to the saddle. After a short walk back on the trail, we climbed 600 feet on the east ridge to Peak 6520. Views were similar to Royal Mountain’s, so we only stayed for a few minutes before exiting via the south ridge.
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En Route to Camp via the Old Burn and Two Buttes
The scenery drastically changed as we walked through the old burn toward the saddle. Here, the trail had faded under the down logs but reappeared as we regained altitude near Two Buttes. It drizzled when we reached the higher of the two bumps.
The drizzles soon turned into heavy rain as we continued to the 6133 saddle. So we squeezed ourselves among the dense shrubs and waited. The rain dwindled after 20 minutes, and we hurried uphill back on the trail toward 6407.
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A Night by Point 6407 Above Two Buttes Creek
There hadn’t been any water since before we left Castle Pass. When we saw the snow patches below the high point, it was our cue to call it a day. The area past there looked dry, so I doubted there’d be water farther ahead.
Setting up the tent in the rain and wind gusts was challenging. Of course, it stopped just as we prepared to dry off inside. Instead, we savored the evening views atop Big Face Creek Basin and to the south.
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Saturday, June 24
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3
Three Aunts + Freezeout Mountain + Frosty Pass Camp
Climbing Three Aunts Atop Big Face Creek Basin via Southeast Ridge
We awoke before sunrise to a partly overcast sky. But the weather would stay decent throughout the rest of the trip. After watching the sun rising behind Mount Winthrop over breakfast, we strolled up the southeast ridge. We then left the trail as it dipped into Big Face Creek.
Our first goal, Three Aunts, was visible through the open terrain sprinkled with sparse trees. Despite the sheer north face, the south side was relatively gentle. It wasn’t long before we walked under Point 7257, where we first saw Castle Peak through a notch.
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Impressive View of Castle Peak from Three Aunts
It stayed flat for a while so we could stay on the ridgetop before bypassing a buttress at 7200′. A gradual ascent then took us through scree and onto the ridge. From there, we hugged the crest again, making the final traverse.
We walked to the lower of the two high points before returning to the higher east summit. However, the west point gave an unobstructed view of our next stop: Freezeout Mountain. After scoping out the fantastic scenery, we continued west over the broad open terrain.
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Traversing the Mild Ridge to Freezeout Mountain
While Freezeout Mountain was only under a mile away, we needed to go over two ridge bumps en route. The first looked just as tall as Three Aunts, giving us our first glimpse of Lake 6639. We soon descended the other side over the next knoll.
The serene lake looked enormous in person and still held some ice along the edges. The rest was a leisurely walk from the saddle to the top of our farthest destination. Along the way, we spotted an intrepid ptarmigan that scoped us out from the nearby talus.
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Viewing Pasayten Wilderness from Freezeout Mountain
We must’ve spent two hours savoring the views, which included the massive Castle Peak. To the near north, only the top of Full Moon Rising was visible behind Ozymandias Peak. Clouds to the west had shrouded the top of the taller peaks but impressive nonetheless.
Looking at Uncle Peak and Joker Mountain, the diagonal rock layers were quite fascinating. I thought about adding the two to the itinerary, but from the north, neither one looked dog-friendly. We finally left the summit after pacing back and forth along the ridge for photos.
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Back to Castle Pass and Onward to Frosty Pass
After retracing our steps back to the notch below Point 7257, we made a beeline for the camp. We hung out for three hours before packing to return to Castle Pass. I wanted to camp on Frosty Pass to get a head start on Winthrop Mountain in the morning.
Views were scarce through the forested path. We arrived after sunset but could still look for a campsite without the headlamp. I glanced around and decided to continue south to the bump for the morning views. After setting up the tent by the weather tower, we ate dinner and soon turned in.
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Sunday, June 25
Overview > Day 1 > Day 2 > Day 3
Mount Winthrop + Exit
Climbing Mount Winthrop via South Ridge
It was yet another gorgeous day enveloped by spectacular views. I contemplated going up to Blizzard Peak but decided against making the detour and letting the dog rest instead. So, we went back down to the pass well after sunrise.
My only concern on Mount Winthrop was whether the south ridge would suit the dog. But the route was pretty direct, as it turned out, and we stayed on the crest for the most part. We’d occasionally avoid the dense vegetation by briefly dropping onto the west slope.
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Views from Mount Winthrop Plus Exiting via the West
My favorite part about the scenic traverse was seeing the broad, sheer south face from the ridge. Besides the small snowfields, much of the snow in the area had melted out. The dog thoroughly enjoyed them, given there was no water on the dry ridge.
It grew cloudier as the day went on, but the clouds mainly gathered on the west. All the places we visited in the last two days were visible. After the dog’s nap, we descended the north slope and plunge-stepped through the soft dirt before the talus.
Below the saddle, we continued downhill through the broad gully and found a stream near the trees. Soon after re-entering the forest, we briefly encountered steep terrain with dense vegetation. Right before reaching the PCT, we navigated through the annoying avalanche debris.
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Leaving Freezeout Mountain et al. and Back to the Border
From the trail at roughly 5400′, it was only a little over two miles north to reach the border. I’d expected to run into more hikers but didn’t see any more of them. The pup and I took a group photo by the monument before hiking the seven miles back to Manning Park.
Before the second washout, we had missed a side trail on the way in. I remember seeing an arrow-shaped cairn but didn’t bother to see what it was pointing at. Curiously, we followed the path into the trees and reached the shore shortly.
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Reaching Back at Manning Park, British Columbia
After I poked around and found two logs over the water, it looked like people had crossed the river here. From the other side, we scrambled through some criss-crossing windfalls in the forest. Suddenly, we stepped out into the open onto a sandbar.
Just upstream was a big tree over the raging water, which we used to cross onto the main trail effortlessly. We had completely missed it because of the curvature downstream from the washed-out bridge. But I was happy not to have to take off the shoes and get my feet wet!
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What a fantastic return! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Alexei.