With yet another weekend of beautiful weather forecasts, Chris Morehead, Jon Toner and I elected to have a go at the Northeast Ridge on Black Peak, near Rainy Pass. At the last moment, Lisa, Jon’s wife, decided to come along, rounding out our party. We departed Seattle at the leisurely hour of 830, checked at the Marblemount Ranger station to confirm that we did not need a backcountry permit, as Wing Lake, where we planned to camp, is just outside of the NCNP (the NE ridge and summit of Black Peak actually form the boundary line). The ranger did inform us that Lewis and Wing Lakes have been getting “hammered” with people, and that there are many toilet tissue flowers near the lakes. An unfortunate reality of many highly traveled and completely unregulated areas. The upshot is that we didn’t need a permit, which is lucky as we probably wouldn’t have gotten one.
Big talus field below Lewis Lake. Many people claim this is the worst part of the approach. I suppose it is, but it's not bad
