Climb this mountain and see that peak over there? Looks cool, huh? Or how about climbing up here? That's the same mountain, right? Cool. Whenever a peak is distinctive and higher than its neighbors you tend to see it whenever you look across the horizon. That's what Hibox Mountain is like.
Hibox is the high point of Box Ridge above the Box Canyon valley. Access is via a steep, unofficial trail. We're used to steep trails, but this was steep. (Yeah. Italic steep.) The first two miles gain a few hundred feet as it slowly heads up the valley. The last mile and a quarter gains 3,000 feet.
But forget about the steep hike. The route mostly climbs through gorgeous open meadows with the summit on the ridge high above. Looking back down the valley makes you realize just how steep it is.
Finally, we got to the base of the summit block and again thought, seriously? Thank goodness for beta that said we shouldn't take the first obvious gully or the second obvious gully or even the third obvious gully. Each of these turn into technical climbs as the mellow slope goes parabolic. Instead, we gained the shoulder and were rewarded with views into the Stone Kingdom and a spot to rest on flat ground.
From the shoulder to the summit it was a bit of a scramble; it was no place for dogs. Poor Bear, Matt's dog, would have to wait while we topped out. Treen would have been there to keep her company, but after she collapsed on Snoqualmie Mountain she was still recuperating.
The scramble was a bit airy for my tastes and certainly too much for dogs. We moved along the ridge crossing back and forth wherever it was easiest. We crossed over each of the wrong gullies and finally wound up on the jumbled pile of rock that was the summit.
Big views. Really big views. They totally made up for the steep climb and the OMG I'M GOING TO DIE!! on the scramble. We saw four of the five Washington volcanoes, our favorite playgrounds to the west, and the playgrounds of the future to the east. Biggest and most important, as always, was Mount Rainier floating over the smoky lowlands.
As much fun as the scramble was on the way up, it was more fun on the way down. And of course, we didn't go down the same way we went up. That'd be too easy. It looked slightly different from above and it was a better route. Of course. Duh.
While the summit receded behind us we had Mount Rainier staring us in the face. She was with us all the way down to treeline, distracting me as I tried not to trip and roll all the way to the bottom of the valley.
Great weather, a spectacular summit with unmatched views, and friends. Just missing Treen. She would have loved this trip, but her time in the high mountains was done. Our next trip with her would have to be a less ambitious one, but there would be at least one more adventure with Treen.
