Wilderness Peak/Cougar Mountain
Summit #58 of 70
I haven’t hiked in the rain much during my 2023 slog to 70 summits, but today was an exception. Since there are no views on this one, it’s a perfect hike for a rainy day. As a follow-up to my hike on Tiger Mountain a few days ago, I’d wanted to go back to the Issaquah Alps and catch Wilderness Peak, the high point on Cougar Mountain.
I had some business in Seattle till 2:00 pm, so it was cutting it a little close on daylight. But with 1,200 feet of elevation gain and about four miles round trip, I figured I could knock out a loop hike in two hours and be down before dark. I hit the trail at 2:30 in a light shower.
Named for the legendary climber, Jim Whittaker, the trail starts out fairly steep, though not grueling, and crosses a bridge over Wilderness Creek. The first half-mile weaves among nice Douglas fir trees. At a junction, I chose the steeper, shorter leg up the mountain, later descending via the longer, more moderate return.
The rain let up and I passed a few folks coming down, and two more near the summit, though I seemed to be the final customer for the day. I reached the foggy summit, as planned, in one hour and one minute. The indecisive rain picked up again under a leaden sky, so I hustled down to complete the loop while there was still good light.
I love the place names here, including Shy Bear Pass (didn’t see any, shy or otherwise) and Gombu Wilderness Cliffs. Tent mates Nwang Gombu and Jim Whittaker reached the summit of Mount Everest together on May 1st, 1960, with Whittaker being the first American to summit the Earth’s highest peak. Gombu later became the first person to summit Everest twice. He was also the nephew of Tenzing Norgay, who accompanied Edmund Hillary in 1953 on the first known ascent.
So, this wasn’t quite Mount Everest, but ‘twas another enjoyable hike to keep the knees oiled and bones a-jangling. And #58 to boot. That leaves me an even dozen to go, with 33 days to get there. Can he do it? Can he do it? The imaginary crowd grows restless . . .
