APRIL BOWL TO GOVERNMENT PEAK 07/01/23
Published 2023-07-02
Anyway, this is a really fun hike that starts off at the 3886ft high point of Hatcher Pass, right above Summit Lake. There is a trail that takes off from the parking area and guides you up to April Bowl, a sweet little spot that offers a picturesque offering of snowmelt tarns, cascading creeks, and a cool little ridgeline that takes you up to the flat rocky 4811ft summit of Hatch Peak, and the official start of the traverse. For obvious reasons, this side is the more popular starting point due to the quick access and mild elevation gain needed for the Hatch Peak summit and ridgeline.
From here, you follow the obvious ridgeline due south, and upon reaching a sizable gendarm/point/what have you, you can either go hiker's left (like I did), and navigate on boulders and a relatively steep grade. This day's trip also saw patches of semi-firm, semi rotten snow. Doable, but slow. Come to find out, what I felt was the more sketchy way was a steep, but relatively easy scramble for Will. The time it took him to scramble back onto the top of the ridgeline, and take a break, and get going again, I was in a mild sufferfest that was real slow going. Now I know!
Next, you climb up to the base of Bald Mountain East Peak, the highest point of the day at 4875ft, and start in an eastern direction along the Bald Mountain Ridge. Government Peak (when not buried in thiccc cloud banks) is very obvious along it's ridgeline that goes due south again. While the 4781ft summit is the shortest of the three, it offers the biggest challenge as far as a stand alone summit, gaining over 3K feet from the Government Peak Recreation Area trailhead. This would be the more challenging way to do this ridge traverse, which I may do next time!
Musical selections for this trip include the likes of UK neo-folk and black metallers Wapentake, Immortal, and in honor of Will, his project Vir. Please show some support at the following links!
Wapentake:
wapentake.bandcamp.com/
Immortal:
immortal.bandcamp.com/
Vir:
virulent-music.bandcamp.com/
As always, I DO NOT OWN THIS MUSIC! I JUST WANT TO SHARE AWESOME MUSIC THAT GOES WITH MY ALASKAN ADVENTURES!
All Comments (4)
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Another beautiful and successful day. Always love how much fun the dogs have.
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Beautiful snow, clouds views sharing 👌 super Stay connected 👍
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Man that ridge looked like a blast! Those are some incredible views from that area. Definitely one of your best yet. I really like hearing you narrate about the area and what you are doing. Nice tranquil forest at the end. I'm all over Wapentake. \m/
