A Rite of Passage on Pilchuck

Pete Forras is a good friend and a missionary in the Philippines. His son Cameron turned 16 in August. Our culture here in the U.S. is fairly devoid of rites of passage as our children move into adulthood. Because of this, Pete conceived of an idea for Cameron that would make his sixteenth birthday a meaningful rite of passage. I was honored to participate in this plan by organizing a physical challenge for Cameron where some key men would come along and speak into his life. Pete had in mind an overnight hike during their visit to the U.S.

So we began this hike this past Friday. I headed out for Mt. Pilchuck with Pete, Cameron, Kyle and Jay. Pilchuck is an easy climb to an old forest service lookout. It is three miles long and a very popular hike. I thought we could make it to the top early in order to relax and enjoy the views. We were going to stay in the lookout and come down the next morning. Unfortunately a body was found near Mt. Pilchuck last week. On our way up we found that due to police activity, the short route up Pilchuck was closed (it is open today). So I opted for the Pinnacle Lake trail as a route I had never done before.



The hike was nice and easy to Pinnacle Lake. At various points along the way, each one us spent time walking alone with Cameron giving him our best advise for adulthood. The setting was tremendous and he seemed very receptive.

Once past Pinnacle Lake, the fun began. From there, the trail is undeveloped and often difficult to find. Iodine Gulch followed Pinnacle Lake -- It is a tough, 1000 foot elevation gain through a stream bed of boulders (but just a hint of what would experience later).

Cameron in Iodine Gulch

The weather was perfect with amazing views as we found ourselves above the clouds. The lakes above Iodine Gulch and are just amazing -- terraced pools full of clear water with panoramicic views of the cascades. They are some of the most beautiful sets of small lakes I have seen.

At that point my party was starting to get tired and the day was getting late. I knew we still had a ways to go, but none of us realized what a challenge the approaching ridge would present.

After missing the steep ridge climb, we backtracked, found it, and began our grueling ascent. Once on top of the ridge, the views were amazing and the hike became a true, continuous scramble. We saw a few goats to our NE as the sun set behind Mt. Pilchuck. At that point nobody in the group was smiling at me as we saw that we still had a difficult climb ahead of us.

It was dark once we made it to the final saddle and my group gutted it out to the top.


The grassy chute marks the final ascent we had to make to the lookout.

Once at the lookout the group collapsed and we enjoyed dinner together. I thought they might kill me for taking them on a not so easy hike up Mt. Pilchuck. We gazed at the stars and the city lights below.

After spending the night in the lookout I got up at 5 a.m. and trekked the three miles down to the standard trailhead. Jay came with me to that point. From there I ran to the road (which was now open), attempted (failed) to hitch-hike to the Pinnacle Lake trail (so I kept running), and then ran up the six miles to my car, for a complete loop by foot. It was a tough run but I was surprised to make it to my car by 9 a.m. (20 miles total).

I drove back to Jay, and took him to the Pinnacle Lake trailhead where he retrieved their car. The standard route down was super easy after what we had done the day before.

All in all it was an unforgettable experience. The physical challenge made a man out of all of us -- and I think Cameron will find future challenges attainable after successfully completing this climb.

All in all, a route worth taking which I plan on doing again. I also am looking forward to planning something similar and meaningful for my two teenage children (although I may look for a hike that isn't quite so risky).