Fortress Mountain and Buck Mountain

Fortress and Buck Mountains are the highest and second highest summits of the Chiwawa Mountains. Fortress has a steep northeast face adorned by the Fortress Glacier and a terminal lake. Notwithstanding, Fortress is reasonably gentle when approached from the southeast. Buck dominates the divide between the upper Napeequa and Chiwawa Rivers. There are three distinct summits; the middle point above King Lake is the highest. Like Fortress, the northern facade of Buck is formidable and dangerous whereas the upper south slope is largely filled by perennial snow. The gateway to this duo is through legendary Buck Creek Pass. This spot is famed for the close, intimate appearance of Glacier Peak; it’s as if you can reach out and touch its hanging glaciers. The trail farther along the divide above Buck Creek to High Pass is even more airy and splendid. High Pass has a wild, glacial appearance, with moraines and snow cover late into fall. Many parties follow the trail to High Pass, but scrambling Fortress and Buck present a better opportunity to experience dramatic high-country roaming. An energetic party can scramble the subsidiary summits of Helmet Butte, Flower Dome, and Liberty Cap as easy side excursions. These grassy knolls magnify the splendor of the perspective of icy peaks, which give contrast to the fragile beauty of surrounding meadows. Herders once heavily used Buck Creek Pass on an old trail crossing from the Chiwawa to the Suiattle River. A century ago about 2500 sheep grazed the area, resulting in harsh meadow damage before pasturing declined in the 1930s. Nowadays horse packers and hunters overcrowd the region. During September, first bear and then deer fall prey to modern weapons. Horses straddle the trail, and a constant human parade reaches to timberline. It is therefore prudent to avoid this sector during the opening of the hunt. But farther on, the highest reaches are still lonesome. In autumn, yellow, red, magenta, and purple hues of foliage create a multicolored cover. Particularly in September, wandering in the resplendent high country can be exceptional if you are prepared to wear bright orange, to dodge the bullets, and to steel your ears to the staccato of distant gunfire at dawn and dusk. The sensation of kaleidoscopic freedom and space justifies the distraction.