7/19/2017 Route: Northwest Gully Posted On: 7/24/2017, By: mr_Chris Info: The washout area of the road up is really something to behold, but the reroute is no problem. On the trail, we found the log before the river crossing, but we couldn't imagine being able to have crossed it without taking a dive. Passed a couple other hikers who had jumped across on some boulders in the same area, but that also looked sketchy. The wade across wasn't all that bad. Lots of mud leading up to that point. Agree that the north face gullies are no joke. Exact route a little hard to follow in places going up, but we seemed to find many more cairns and segments on the way back down to indicate we were generally on the right path. Pick the most solid path, often on the edges, and work your way up. |
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7/16/2017 Route: Northwest Gully Posted On: 7/16/2017, By: egano76 Info: Climbed Mt Lindsey with a friend this morning. We were able to drive all the way to Lily Lake TH in an Infiniti FX35. If your vehicle has as much or more clearance than a Subaru Outback, then you can make it up there with some careful driving. We took the gully (North Face) route and hugged the right or left side climbing up, had no issues. Returned the same way. The RT mileage is definitely almost 9 miles. We reached the summit in just under 3.5 hours. Weather was gorgeous, windy up top. |
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7/16/2017 Route: Northwest Gully Posted On: 7/17/2017, By: pcrotty41 Info: Climbed the North Face route yesterday. Drove in 4WD vehicle to Lily Lake TH and you will need a 4WD to get to the TH. Brought sandals for the stream crossing and would suggest the same as I did not find the log crossing? The gully is steep, very loose and exposed in spots. There are some class 3 moves, therefore I would rate this route as Class 3. There is no such thing as hard class 2, it either is a class 2 or a class 3. If there are class 3 moves involved then the route is class 3, regardless if the rest of the route is class 2. The gully is no joke and I would suggest a helmet. Hail storm developed rather quickly and respect the weather in this area. |
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7/12/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 7/12/2017, By: johnfegy Info: Summited Lindsey this morning. I made it to 1 mile short of upper trailhead in a nissan juke. The only thing that stopped me was a very deep puddle in the road (~2 feet deep). I didn't want to risk it. The route was fine, if not a little steeper than I expected below tree line. Once on the saddle, i chose to go the ridge route. It was surprisingly fiesty with a couple of class 4 bits...but definitely fun. I tried to come down the chute (which was mostly melted out now) and had quite a bit of trouble entering it from above (since I didn't go up that way). I ended up scrambling across the mountain for a decent bit and eventually came to a section that I couldn't down climb. I recommend either going the same way up and down, or really nailing down the entry point on top. The chute was very loose and slippy as well with lots of rocks getting into shoes....so maybe bring ankle gaiters too. I wish I had brought mine after emptying my shoes out the fifth time. One last note, I clocked 9 miles round trip from trailhead and there isn't much flat. You are basically climbing for 4.5 miles. The log is still about 100 meters downstream of the major stream crossing too, so you don't have to get your feet entirely wet. |
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7/9/2017 Route: Northwest Gully Posted On: 7/10/2017, By: MonGoose Info: The first mile of the trail is flooded in quite a few spots, be careful not to get your feet wet in the dark. When you get to the river, just past the Lily Lake turnoff, look for a log crossing a few hundred feet downstream. We went up the NW Ridge, which is in great shape, and came down the gully which still held some snow. We brought microspikes but never needed them as we were able to avoid the snow by down climbing the Class 3-ish white rock just to the side. Regardless of which route you choose, I would recommend wearing a helmet. |
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7/7/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 7/8/2017, By: quinnwolf Info: The route is in great shape. There is some water on the trail below the stream crossing, which can make staying on the trail a little difficult in the dark. I waded through the creek since I couldn't find the log bridge in the dark (I didn't look that hard) (then I chose to wade through on the way back to cool off). There is no snow on the route. Thanks Scott for hiking with me and helping me through the more technical parts |
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7/3/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 7/4/2017, By: goldenite Info: Like jkasmann said, there's a place to cross the creek without taking off boots. Once at the creek, follow it to the left as it curves until you see what pictured. Poles are recommended as a guy almost fell in before borrowing mine. |
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7/2/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 7/3/2017, By: jkasmann Info: Near the normal stream crossing there is a log with some rocks that is easy to cross without getting wet or wading. |
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7/1/2017 Route: Northwest Gully Posted On: 7/2/2017, By: 81trucolors Info: Went up the NW Ridge and down the gully. Everything on Lindsey is in summer conditions except the gully. Gully has the option of choosing between two sections of steep snow (that can be awkwardly avoided if you are comfortable on steep talus). The snow was still hard at 12:30. I would not have wanted to ascend the gully this time of year. Stream crossing is shallow but still above boot height. I brought crocs and was fine. |
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6/25/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/26/2017, By: cochsman Info: Summer conditions! You can avoid getting your feet wet with some meandering in the trees but you will have to take your shoes/socks off for the stream crossing. It's not that bad. We got off route in the trees due to some misleading cairns. If you get to a spot that has a lot of cairns that leads you into the boulder field on your left, ignore them and stay on the teail in the trees... you should be hugging the stream into the basin. Great fun! |
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6/22/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/22/2017, By: soloclimber97 Info: You will get wet down low, the runoff is in full force and is running all over the place. A lot of the remaining snow in the upper basin is avoidable if you want it to be. The Northwest ridge is in excellent condition and snow free. Here's some pics of the Basin and the ridge. |
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6/18/2017 Route: Northwest Gully Posted On: 6/19/2017, By: stoopdude Info: Leave the snowshoes at home. There is some snow on the mountain still, but its all either a) avoidable or b) in places where snowshoes would be of negligible benefit. Large 'islands' of dry land and snow in the upper basin, but mandatory snow crossings no more than 10 yards. There is still snow in the gully and on the upper mountain, but not for long. Gully made for a decent snow climb on the way up, but was sloppy and would rarely hold a step by 9am. Ridge alternative looked totally dry and clear of snow. |
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6/17/2017 Route: Northwest Gully Posted On: 6/18/2017, By: kkarutis Info: Road is clear to 4WD trailhead, nothing a stock SUV can't do. The first mile or so of trail is very wet - many stream crossings, which can make getting off trail easy - especially given how nondescript the trail is in places. We got off trail a handful of times. The trail through the woods is quickly becoming clear of snow, but is also somewhat nondescript - keep an eye out for small cairns here and there to guide the way. The basin has a ton of snow but it's melting quick. Some postholing in the afternoon but not too bad. Shoes were soaked though! The gulley is still full of snow, with multiple snow crossings to get to it, and above it. We did it all in trail runners and microspikes but would have loved an ice ax for stabilization as it definitely felt a bit sketchy at points. WEAR A HELMET - a group above us on the ridge route trundled several rocks straight onto the gulley route. Summit ridge is entirely clear. Even with the off-trailing and snow and gully issues, we were TH to TH in 7.5 hours. Should be close to summer conditions in a few weeks if the weather continues to stay as warm as it has been. |
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6/11/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/13/2017, By: lucmacarthur Info: Road clear to trailhead. Streams are overflowing, so finding a crossing can be tricky. Gaiters and waterproof boots were helpful. Snow fields before the basin were solid in the morning. The snow fields in the basin were solid enough that only minor post-holing occurred even in the afternoon. We packed in snowshoes but ended up not needing them. The deepest snow can be circumvented. The ridge up is mostly clear, but water can make a down climb delicate. The gully (standard route) is still full, and a safe descent even in the afternoon. |
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6/2/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/2/2017, By: dugball Info: Road clear to 1/4 mile before trailhead. Half of the first mile of trail is running water and the creek is high - I couldn't find a place to do a dry crossing. Plan on a wet river crossing. Not much post-holing in the trees, drifts were fairly solid both early morning and around noon on the return. Trickiest part was working up the hill from the river to the gully - tracks in multiple directions and I ended up with a sketchy descent to find the gully. Actually found part of the trail on the way back which worked better. Switched to snowshoes part-way up the gully up to the 13,000 ridge and used them on the way back down (see pic 1). Bad post-holing in spots without them. Ridge was a mixture of ice/snow and wet rocks from melt. I turned back around 13450 prior to the Class 3/4 crux which looked icy (see pic 2). Beautiful day, fun trail, I'll definitely return to finish this one - only one on the mountain today :) |
