I had been talking about day-tripping Mount Fernow for years and this perfect weather fall weekend as the perfect time to make it happen.
I drove out to the Phelps Creek Trailhead the night before and settled in for the night in the back of my car. Big shoutout to the crews who repaired the final switchbacks up to the trailhead, it was night and day different compared to my last visit a month prior.
The alarm rang nice and early and I was up and moving by 4:00. This was my third time on the Phelps Creek Trail in the last month and a half, so I was able to put my brain into autopilot and the miles flew by until the Leroy Creek turnoff. This trail was unrelenting as ever, but went smoothly, and I found myself in Leroy Basin while it was still totally dark.
From here, I ascended easy open slopes toward the 7600’ notch. Getting to the notch was a bit tricky in the faint light, and I ended up scrambling up to it in a slightly more difficult fashion than necessary, but it still went fine. I had heard some horror stories about steep, loose kitty litter and shifting rocks going straight down into Gloomy Basin late season, so I opted to not even entertain it as an option. Instead, I went down to the tarn, which was beautiful (especially on my return in the daylight) and relatively straightforward. From there I traversed down below a rocky rib at 6700’ and into Gloomy Basin. I would definitely recommend the tarn route if going in late season.
Gloomy Basin is a desolate but beautiful place, and it was nice to finally see the light hit some of the surrounding peaks. From here I went up a faint bootpath on the right side of a waterfall gully and began the real climb up to Mount Fernow. This part of the mountain was surprisingly fun and solid, and almost consisted of giant rock stairsteps. There was some loose rock strewn about, but for the most part it was solid.
That all changed at around 8400’ as I picked my way up a narrower constriction below the imposing summit towers of Fernow. This section was ALL loose, and any rock no matter the size would shift under my foot. I never caused any significant rockfall, but I was glad to be solo for this section. At the top of this unpleasant gully, the terrain firmed up again and I traversed pleasantly around the SE side of the summit. I never saw the cannonhole gully that people talk about. I’m not sure what I did differently but my route worked perfectly fine, despite the shifting rocks.
From there it was a fun class 3 romp up to the summit, with I reached at 9:30, five and a half hours after leaving my car. The views were awesome, especially of the steep north faces of Maude and Seven Fingered Jack, and many familiar North Cascades peaks.
I spent 30 minutes on the top and then retraced my steps back down the loose gully, and onto the stone stairsteps. The sun still wasn’t hitting this part of the mountain and wouldn’t reach me until I was back in Gloomy Basin.
The climb back up to the tarn was tough, and I was feeling the cumulative effort start to slow me down a bit as I boulder hopped back up to its pristine waters. I took a nice break there, admiring the deep blue water and the larches that were starting to glow now that the sun was out. I felt very satisfied with my decision to go to the tarn both ways.
The last push up to the notch was a grunt, but I was soon descending back to Leroy Basin, through beautiful larch groves and red undergrowth. It was a spectacular place to be on a sunny fall day.
Before long I was back in the basin and plugged in a podcast to help the familiar miles go by. I returned to the trailhead 11 hours and 25 minutes after I started, which I was pretty happy with. The trailhead was a complete zoo, I have to imagine Carne Mountain was overrun with people. Happy to have Bulger 54 checked off before the snow starts to fall!
Final Stats: 16.8 miles / 7817 feet of ascent
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