Bomber Traverse II: Reed Lakes-Bomber-Holden- Snowbird

Most people spend 4th of July with BBQs and fireworks, I prefer to spend it away from the merriment and noise tucked quietly into the mountains.  July 4 was on a Wednesday this year, so I took Thursday and Friday off with an eye towards doing my first ever adventure in the Wrangells.  When the amazing forecast deteriorated, it no longer made sense to drive 7 hours, do a heinous pack in up steep, brushy terrain in 80 degree heat to have no views. So, we opted for a more local Plan B- the Bomber Traverse with a climb of Lynx Peak.  To avoid traffic, Charlie and I left town on Wednesday morning and set out from the Reed Lakes Trailhead with 3 days of food.  It was hot and humid.

 Clearing the infamous, well-despised bolder field.

Mountains on all sides

 Upper Reed Lakes under snow.

 We did not expect so much snow!  It was a long, slow slog through an isothermal snow pack. It was often scary on the snow surrounding boulder fields.  We punched through a lot!

So nice to run into Cory H returning from the Holden Hut construction.

Uphill grind thru punchy snow

The view from Bomber Pass

I matched the decor at the pass, so we had to take a picture.

 Lynx Peak was not in good shape as there was a large cornice overhanging the ascent route. So, with time on our hands we decided to go look at the bomber wreckage

 The Bomber glacier gets its name from a B-29 four-engine bomber that crashed amid clouds on November 15, 1957 killing 6 of 10 passengers.  We were surprised at the size of the plane.

descending towards the Bomber Hut into softer terrain.

 The Bomber Hut is one of my fav places to hang my hat. I love the verdant setting amid harsh terrain of glaciers and rocks

Evening feet washing ritual

After running into Cory and Dave @ upper Reed Lakes on their way out from constructing the new Seth Holden Hut. We decided to take a look see on Thursday.  Someone wrote in the Bomber Hut log book "directions to the Seth Holden Hut without map or GPS".  So I hand copied them down on the back of a NYT crossword puzzle (the only paper I had), snapped a photo of the map, and off we went to explore.

Map showing hut locations

Near the remnants of the Wintergreen Glacier on our way to Neltini Pass

The route was straightforward and scenic

 And for the most part, the crew did a good job marking the route

 The somewhat exposed snowy traverse from Neltini Pass to Ozone Pass which I jokingly referred to as Ovaltini.

Traversing the Northern Cwm pocket glacier from Ozone Pass to Sobriety Pass

 About 4 hours into our day we stood on Sobriety Pass looking down the Julep Glacier.  With threatening clouds and a poor forecast we deliberated whether to proceed or turn back since our food and gear were stashed at the Bomber.

 We kept going and stopped on a bench above the new Seth Holden Hut and took a break.  What an incredible setting for the hut.  We could see the small village of tents where our friends were volunteering and building the hut.  I was low on food having forgotten a snack bag on the kitchen counter.  I wished we had had an extra day of food so we could overnight at the new hut, but that wasn't part of our original plan.  Hindsight!  We reasoned that we were 45 min max from the hut.  But if we went there, we'd feel compelled to visit and hang out, which would mean that we would not get back to our camp for 6 or 7 hours.  We were already 5+ hours out.  Sadly, we made the decision to turn back cursing ourselves for not taking more food.

 We slogged back, but for the most part, our boot track held our weight and we punched through far less often.

 The clouds threatened, though made for some beautiful scenery!!

 

 From "ovaltini" ridge between passes the sky opened up and it began to thunder.  Not a place you want to be in a thunderstorm!

Back down on the Wintergreen Glacier terminal moraine and smiling, but soaked.

The sunny skies we ordered up came to fruition and we had a relaxing evening back at the Bomber.

The next day we headed down valley towards the Snowbird Glacier.  We were a little nervous for the river crossing since the river was flowing pretty high in the warm weather.  We chose our crossing carefully and only waded above the knee.  Then we picked our way around the corner bushwacking thru willows.

 A wolverine came bounding up in a bushwacky section of the trail.  It made Charlie nervous, and sadly he scared him off.  Wuss!

 fresh wolverine tracks

 This is only the 2nd wolverine I've ever run across.

 The lake below Snowbird Glacier.  This part of the route was way easier than I remembered.  I was really pleased that the waterfall and the climb up on the moraine were buried in snow and made for relatively easy travel.

 The view from inside the Snowbird Hut.  Spectacular!  And love that triangular table.

The best backcountry hut in Alaska!

 After working on the foundation of this hut several years ago, this is the first time I have ever seen the completed hut.  Very cool!

 Still lots of isothermal snowpack for the walk down to the glacier.  At this point in our trip, I had run out of food and was eating Charlies.  It's nice to have an understanding climbing partner!

Charlie punched through up to his chest

 Below the pass, the snow continued most of the way down to Reed Lakes.  Here's a photo I couldn't resist taking of Charlie all the way in to his chest.

Greener pastures.  I did not want to leave and head to the big city with 2 more days of weekend left.  If we had only brought more food.