Home»All Photographs»2018 Hikes»Noseeum Peak 08-21-18

Noseeum Peak is located next to Mosquito Mountain, and presents interesting hiking and scrambling.
The approach is barely a scratch in the ground along Noseeum Creek - there are many loose cobbles and awkward blocks that had my ankles feeling it a bit the next day.
After about an hour or so, you arrive at a dominant headwall encircling the way forward. Two slightly exposed chimneys take you up the headwall, where a 'Lord of the Rings' type of landscape opens up. There are endless possibilities for exploration on this elevated plateau, and soon the beautiful Noseeum Lake comes into view. There are no trails here - evidently everyone takes their own path.
Once across the plateau, there is a distinct gully that must be taken to avoid a long band of cliffs guarding the summit ridge. We helmeted up here, as the terrain quickly changed to steep and loose rock. The gully was a bit spicier than I was expecting, but easier than what we faced once we were on the ridge proper.
At the top of the gully, I was quite surprised at the narrow and exposed nature of the ridge (no pictures here - both hands on the rock). David and I carefully maneuvered up a ledge system and then squeezed through a narrow crack that grabbed at our clothing. I saw faint signs of others having been there, but was surprised that there wasn't a better route - or was there?
The ridge tamed down the farther we went along, and soon became an enjoyable hike to the top. We enjoyed the view from our third summit in three days, but were both mentally focused on the fact that we still had to get down the ledges safely. After a brief lunch, we geared up and started retracing our steps.
Upon approaching the ledge system, I noticed a path that was significantly more beaten in than our ascent route. There was an easier way around the north side of the ridge - I just hadn't seen it from the top of the gully earlier. David built a couple of cairns to direct scramblers the better way.
Care was required down the gully, as some of it was hard-packed like concrete, and a short stretch near the top was exposed to cliffs below.
Back on the plateau, we had an extended break by the shores of Noseeum Lake. Route-finding on the return was easy until we got into dense forest and got turned around a bit. We spent 20 minutes searching for the exact place that is necessary to descend the headwall. Oh well, that's life without a GPS I guess.