The Tooth North Ridge

Published on 2003-7-12 by Michael Stanton

The Tooth, July 12 2003

I had a morning free to go for a hike, and started up the Snow Lake trail planning to do something interesting. Maybe Bryant, Chair, Snoqualmie or the Tooth? The Tooth looked pretty good as I reached the overlook to Source Lake. I'd never been up there with no snow before. Wow, it's definitely more tedious, as you are hopping boulders for a mile or so. The climb was great. I was on the summit 2 hours and 10 minutes after leaving the trailhead. I hung out for a while, then descended. I'd never taken the North Ridge before, but found this to be a very straightforward route. On the way out there were numerous parties on the climb. One couple arrived below Pinapple Pass, and promptly turned around when I said there were several other parties on the route. How can you expect solitude here on a sunny Saturday? I stopped to admire the views above Source Lake, it's very pretty there. Once on the Snow Lake trail again, I encountered dozens and dozens of hikers. In one case, a man and the infant on his back looked so alike I tripped. In another case, a woman had a dog leash attached to her like a chest harness. The dog was still 20 feet ahead of her! Many bored teenagers and dogs wandered by. I was back home at 12:30 pm.