John Guilford's Hikes
Dickerman Mtn on 2001-09-15
Date: 2001-09-15
People: (including myself): Pam
Real Alt. Miles
Leave home: 10:00
Start: 11:20 1920
Top Switchback: 1:00
Meadow: 1:30
Summit: 2:20 5723 4
Leave Summit: 2:50
Top Switchback: 3:30
Out: 5:00
The day started off gray with low clouds. That, coupled with the bugs I
experienced on my previous hike, caused me to wear long pants instead of
shorts. That proved to be the wrong choice. By the time we got to the
Dickerman trailhead, the day was sunny and warm. Almost all of the other
hikers we saw had shorts on. Our long pants were lightweight and not that
bad, but shorts would have been more comfortable. Unlike Pilchuck, there
were essentially no bugs for most of the hike. At the summit a few flies
and a mosquito or two came around. They were mildly annoying, but not
bad. At first we felt that the 2 liter bottles of water that we brought
would not be enough, but the water ended up being fine. However, had I
another bottle of water, I would have drank more on the way up.
We had a relatively late start and the parking lot was almost full when we
arrived. There were only a few spots left. After parking we set off up
the trail. Pam led and set a pretty good pace, in fact we set my record
for fastest ascent of Dickerman.
The trail is good and generally smooth. In places they've laid a path of
small rock to walk on, probably to reduce mud problems and erosion. On
this hike, the trail was dry and mud free except for a little water when
you crossed little streams.
Near the top of the switchbacks we stopped on a convenient log adjacent to
the trail for a snack. Continuing through the meadows, we ascended through
blueberry bushes filled with ripe fruit. We saw more than a few hikers
picking berries, either to eat or saving for later.
Pam started developing a blister on her heal nearer the summit. Coupled
with getting tired, this reduced our rate. The summit wasn't as crowded as
I thought it would be, though it was by no means empty. We wandered a bit
east on the ridge to a less occupied spot to rest and eat. I pulled out
the map and compass and identified some of the surrounding peaks for Pam.
The sky was cloudless and haze was the only thing limiting visibility.
Pam found that the moleskin she had put on her heal had come loose, folding
over. This is what gave her the blister. She decided to try going down
w/out the moleskin. This worked fine, though it isn't clear whether the
difference was the lack of moleskin or the going down rather than up.
The bugs on the summit weren't that annoying, but they were annoying enough
that we didn't stay longer than a half hour before beginning our descent.
On the way down, we initially set a pretty good pace, but the relentless
down hill started to pain Pam's knee that she had injured last spring.
There wasn't much to do, however, besides continuing on, though our pace
slackened. Half way down the switchbacks we heard a tumultuous commotion
from a squirrel and saw two squirrels, one chasing the other. Oblivious to
our presence, they chased each other along logs, over the ground, across
the trail, through the brush, until they were lost to view below us. The
one in front must have robbed the second one, or something like that.
My watch battery was low and hence my altimeter wouldn't work (it only
would say "Help" when I tried to use the altimeter) which is why I don't
have "My Alt." readings for this hike.
All in all it was a gorgeous day and a pleasant hike.
Please send comments or corrections to
john_guilford@keysight.com
Last updated on: Mon Jun 8 16:50:16 PDT 2015
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