Outside of Darrington, Washington, spires of beautiful peaks needle the sky. Sloan and Pugh are sublime. White Horse and Three Fingers are mantled in glimmering glaciers. Among all of these impressive peaks sits a homely neighbor, White Chuck Mountain, a block of fracturing rock. In geologic terms, it is dissolving in the mists and winds of the Cascades. To us, with our relative, mayfly-flash of existence, White Chuck Mountain is an isolated monument robed (as the old hymn celebrated) in colors of blooming spring. Certainly, for the adventurous, the mountain possesses intrigue. From its slopes, amazing vistas open up. The climb up bootpaths and goat trails cross exposed and slippery sections of rock. Talus slides offer a fast exit to oblivion for the careless or unprepared. Given its isolation and danger, a trip out to White Chuck Mountain will likely offer more solitude than any other of the alpine scrambles in the Central Cascades. For the technically-skilled scrambler, intent on a quick peak to bag, or the cautious hiker who can be happy turning back before the summit, a half-day on White Chuck Mountain can offer a beautiful challenge.
 |
| Mt. Baker to the north |
 |
| Mt. Pugh and Mt. Sloan |
Getting There. Begin traveling I-5 North from Seattle to the Arlington, Exit 208. Take 530 East past the tragic Oso slide towards Darrington. At Darrington, turn north. Just before the Ranger Station, take a right onto Sauk Prairie Road. ~1.5 miles turn right onto Dan Creek FSR #24 and follow this for 8 miles
keeping left at the fork at 4.3 miles. The road switchbacks several times then
begins a long traverse into the head waters of Dan Creek. After ~8 miles on FSR #24, the
road reaches a T-intersection. Turn left onto FSR #2430. Shortly thereafter stay right at
a minor junction onto FSR #2435. From here-on follow FSR #2435 for
5.3 miles as it winds it way into the headwaters of Decline Creek. It
eventually reaches the ridgecrest, switchbacks some more, and comes to a fork. At this last fork, stay to the
right and follow beyond an impressive, stomach churning "devil's dip" to the end of the road. This is
where the trail starts, elevation 4800'. (Directions courtesy of Summit Post)
Logging Trucks!
If you are making a list of reasons not to hike White Chuck, add logging trucks. The trailhead is near actively logged forests, and independent truckers barrel down the narrow Forest Service roads with dollar signs in their eyes. When we went up in early August, we were lucky to avoid any stand-offs the Suburu would have lost. However, due caution with eyes down the road, and a runoff plan in place are necessary when timber cruising in working forests.
 |
| The Trailhead |
The trailhead is really nothing more than the stub-end of a logging road. We turned around to face down hill before even starting the hike. Obviously, a place rarely visited will not have a privy. Bring your own trowel, and follow responsible wilderness practices. If you're primarily interested in photography, Ansel Adams could have spent a roll of film just where the hike begins.
 |
| Heath along the approach trail |
The Trail to the foot of the Mountain. At the uphill corner of the trailhead, the trail climbs the ridge to the southeast and carries you through brush that tangles up an area logged fairly recently. Soon you will follows the ridgeline to the south for a mile and half. Blowdowns present obstacles in a few places as this is not a trail the forest service cares to improve. Why entice more hikers out on roads with logging trucks, to untrampled mountain meadows, and dangerous, scree-skidded slopes? That being said, enough boots have trodden the path to make it easy to follow to the northwest base of the mountain. When you hit the avalanche field at the foot of the Northwest Peak, the trail veers up towards a gully.
 |
A mountain meadow and a turn up the gully
(photo by L. Eickhoff) |
The Risk Factor Increases. As long as you are not allergic the ubiquitous bees bumbling from blossom to blossom, the first part of the hike is relatively easy and safe. Once you get to the gully, however, the risk profile is altered, and you make your way up among the scree fractured from the rock cliffs above. Ascend the gully carefully. A few traces of trails head north out of the gully.
 |
|
A Slip and a Reflection on My Life. On our way up, we probably followed in the footsteps of others who followed the cloven trickery of a devious mountain goat. A couple of turns took us across some shelves of rock that seemed too treacherously steep to be blazed by gentle hikers such as us. Regardless, we ascended to the saddle between the Northwest Peak and the summit block of White Chuck. From there, we followed a trail that seemed to wend us out to the southwest. Small cairns apparently guided the way. At one point, I followed one across a broken talus field. My handholds disappeared. Still a hundred feet from the next cairn, on a significant grade, I felt the scree slip beneath my feet. 30 or 40 feet below me, a cliff offered a fast trip off the mountain. Unfortunately, at the bottom of the ride is an abrupt coming to terms with the physics of an object falling 1000 feet, 36 feet per second squared. Gingerly, I turned back and told my hiking buddies this wasn't the way for us. Perhaps light-footed elves or climbers with either protection or delusions of immortality could traverse this section, but not us. Since it was getting late in the afternoon, we decided to head down rather than search for a less dangerous path to the mountain top.
 |
| Glacier on the northeast shoulder of White Chuck Mountain |
We stopped at the saddle again, ate a snack, and took some pictures of the White Chuck Glacier, Mt. Baker, Mt. Pugh, and Mt. Sloan. On the way down, we paid a little more attention to the lupine, columbine, and stonecrop in bloom. Even a transient contemplation of mortality can help one's appreciation of beauty.
Vampires have nothing on these guys... The way down along the lower trail to the car seemed humming with more mosquitoes, desperate to get one last bite of us before we left. Of all the miles I tramped through the hills this summer, I encountered more bites per mile on the slopes of White Chuck Mountain. Add bugs to your list of reasons to pick another hike. The solitude of the place will last.
 |
| Pink violets |
 |
| Smooth Douglasia |
 |
| Bluebells |
 |
| Indian Paint and avalanche lily |
 |
| Yellow Stonecrop (photo by L. Eickhoff) |
 |
| Lichen paints abstractions on the rock |
