Kaleetan Peak (Oct. 22, 2005)

Kaleetan Peak

Oct. 22, 2005

Elain and I were looking for a 1-day climb somewhere in the Snoqualmie Pass area. We read about Kaleetan Peak in the guidebook, and it seemed perfect. When we set out from the Denney Creek Trailhead at 8:30 AM, it was chilly and clear. We made reasonably quick time over Hemlock Pass, arriving to Melakwa Lake at 10:30 AM. We debated about whether to take the low trail along the valley floor, or the high trail along the ridge that traverses over Peak 5700. When we found the ridge trail, Elain thought we should give it a try. It was steep for the first quarter mile or so, and then broke above treeline at Peak 5700. Beyond Peak 5700, the trail meanders along the ridge crest and onto the west side of the ridge. Eventually we made it to the south gully below the summit of Kaleetan Peak. Putting on our helmets because of the loose rock, we scrambled up the 150' gully to reach the summit at 12:45 PM. The weather was perfect on the summit, sunny and no wind. We had not seen a soul since early in the morning. We descended the gully carefully so as not to dislodge any rocks. At the saddle at the base of the south ridge, we had a choice about how to descend. We could return via the ridge we had come up (back over Point 5700), or we could descend a short gully to the valley floor, and follow the creek back to Melakwa Lake. Elain favored the ridge, and I favored the gully. In the end, we decided to take the gully, which turned out to actually be much slower. At the base of the gully, there is a lot of loose scree and talus, so our progress was slow until we reached the creek. We descended alongside the creek until reaching the faint bootpath that goes around the lakes. There were many hikers at the lake and along the trail. I slowed down quite a bit on the last 4.5 miles from the lake to the trailhead, because of pain in my leg. We reached the car at 5:30 PM.

Waterfall on the way to Melakwa Lake