Colors of the Wind

Just west of Glacier Peak lies a ridge of 6,000-7,000 ft peaks with very colorful names – Purple, Black, Brown, White, Magenta, and Painted. Together, they form the “Painted Traverse”. Ever since backpacking the White Pass Pilot Ridge Loop in 2014 (one of my first backpacking trips ever), I wanted to return and do the traverse. After many years of putting it off, I finally went for it.

The route begins from the North Fork Sauk Trailhead with a climb up to the Red Ridge Lookout site, from which a climber’s trail continues steeply up Painted Mountain.

In less than three miles, I ascended nearly 5,000 ft! This route wastes no time getting into the alpine.

The morning clouds were breaking up and there was a cool breeze on the summit. The hike between Painted and Magenta was quick and lovely.

I did not do much research going in, but I knew that Magenta to Black was the hardest part. I remember seeing that Wyatt and Sam traversed the south side of Magenta before crossing to the north side of Black.

I descended some steep grass, traverse down and back up, aiming to contour just below the ridge. The terrain got cliffy, but I found my way up and down through steep gullies. One section required a tricky mossy downclimb move. The easiest route was probably a hundred or two hundred feet lower.

From the Magenta / Black saddle, I crossed onto the post-glacial north aspect. The snow was soft enough for running shoes. As I got closer, I evaluated my options for the summit block. I knew Wyatt and Sam did some route on this side, but nothing looked easy. The best options were a loose chossy gulley in the far left or a steeper but more solid looking weakness just to the right. I went for the more solid looking option.

The scrambling definitely got into 4th class terrain as I followed a corner. The rock quality was adequate, but the feet were sometimes pretty slabby. When I compared my track with Wyatt and Sam’s later on, I discovered that they did the loose gulley to the left. Perhaps that is easier! And the easiest route overall is likely to just traverse the south side of Black the entire way from the Magenta saddle.

Black is the highest summit on the traverse at just over 7200 ft. It felt like the halfway point in the route, both in time and position. It had taken me just over five hours, with another five ahead of me!

A family of goats watched me as I descended the south face of Black. One of them was literally chilling in the snow.

I got distracted by the bountiful heather and descended straight to the bottom of the chute, instead of cutting over to the left to stay on higher benches. Funky clouds passed overhead, where it looked like it was probably precipitating a few thousand feet above.

The basin beneath Black is gorgeous, with abundant waterfalls and streams pouring out of the post glacial landscape. I would guess that some of the springs here flow year round.

I skipped the true summit of Brown, opting to cut over the shoulder. Suddenly, I ran into a mother ptarmigan and its chicks!

After Brown, the route changes in character. It becomes much simpler, traveling straight on the ridge line. There is even a decent use path along the ridge. The travel was fast, the views were awesome, and the flowers were stupendous. From Brown to Portal is as good as it gets, anywhere.

There was a meadow on the south side of Skullcap that was absolutely ridiculous. I sat for a moment, watching the flowers rustle in the breeze – colors in the wind. Damn, the Glacier Peak Wilderness is something else!

There was a bit of class 3 to the summit of Purple Peak, right on the ridge. From there, it was just more wildflower strolling.

I was able to weave between krumholtz on the final climb up Portal, following the path of the goats. There was not a step of bushwhacking on the entire route!

I took a nice long break at Portal Peak, my last peak of the day. One could continue to White Mountain, but I felt more than content with my day. It was time to hop on the trail and move the legs.

The views didn’t stop on the trail. This has to be one of the most beautiful stretches of the entire PCT, soaring thousands of feet above the North Fork Sauk in a carpet of wildflowers. With a gentle downhill tilt, it is simply magical to run.

I took a right at the North Fork Sauk trail junction and started the long descent into the valley. For the first time all day, I felt hot in the afternoon sun.

The only other two times I hiked out this trail – at the end of the Glacier Peak High Route and Glacier Peak in a day – I was completely exhausted. This time, my legs were tired from the downhill, but I generally felt good enough to run almost the whole way out. The uphills on the way out were much smaller than I remembered, and I was able to appreciate the towering trees more this time.

The Painted Traverse completely blew away my expectations. It is well known, but doesn’t command the same recognition as other one day routes. But with zero bushwhacking, stunning wildflowers, and endless ridge travel, it is easily a Top 10 favorite single day high route for me in Washington! The Glacier Peak Wilderness delivers once again!

Notes:

• My route was just over 20 miles and 9700 ft gain. It took me a little over 10 hours.
• There was running water on the way up Magenta, after Magenta, on the north side of Black, and the basin between Black and Brown. Later in the season, I would only count on the water sources around Black. I think the south side of Black would still have water year round, but I can’t confirm.
• I would not attempt this route too much earlier than mid summer. There can be steep snow crossings along the PCT near Red Pass. More snow on the south side of peaks would be annoying. This route would be totally fine late season, just with fewer water sources.
• The snow on the north side of Black was never steeper than about 30 degrees. I chose not to bring any traction, expecting the snow to be decently soft. It worked out just fine. You can always traverse the south side to avoid any snow.
• There were abundant flat potential campsites along the route.