Inspired by WW7D's recent Activation of Humpback Mountain, I decided the relatively short drive to the Humpback Mountain trailhead was perfect. From my home in Bothell, Exit 47 on I-90 takes me about 45 minutes to reach. I've hiked numerous peaks in the Snoqualmie Pass area, but had never hiked Humpback. Access to the trailhead was as described in WTA's hiking guide.
There were only a few cars parked in the parking area when I arrived at about 10:15AM. The first 0.7 miles follows an old logging / mining road, gaining a few hundred feet. At about 0.7 miles along the road, just past a sharp switchback, an obvious trail veers off to the southeast. I took a photo of the turn-off for the trail -it follows the ridge all the way to the summit. The trail is relatively steep, gaining about 2750 feet of elevation in about 1.8 miles. There are 2 places on the upper sections of the trail where it was difficult to "see" the trail as it crosses boulder fields. I ended-up do some unnecessary "bouldering" on the way up, but found the trail more easily on the descent and followed it all the way back down the ridge. It took me 1.5 hours to ascend, slowed by the 2 boulder fields...Descent took 45 minutes back to the trailhead. On the ascent, about several hundred feet below the summit, it started raining heavily and the wind picked-up. The summit was cold, wet and zero views. I've seen WTA trip reports from the summit taken on clear days, so I know the view could be spectacular!
As it was far to windy to set-up my 4-element Yagi, I chose to attempt contacts using the MFJ-1714 1/2 wave whip - instant success! I quickly made 5 contacts on 146.52, logged them in my waterproof notebook, then made a hasty retreat down the mountain. Special thanks to the members of the PSRG Repeater Group, who were standing by and listened for me on 146.52-FM. I made contact with KD7DK - Doug, KF7UHK - Jessica, and KG7CNE - Elaine. I also made contact with WW7D, Darryl who should now be able to get a "SOTA Complete" as he Activated this peak recently.
