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Falls Creek to South Suicide Peak
by Don Hansen, Scree
Four hearty souls, Bernie Kaye, Marcy Custer, Mark Miraglia and I showed up on a rainy Saturday morning, July 11, for the hike up South Suicide Peak. It looked like it was going to clear up as we drove down Turnagain Arm towards the Falls Creek trailhead. The trip began in low overcast with clouds moving up the Falls Creek valley obscuring the view of the mountains. Openings in the clouds with partial clearing encouraged us up the brushy vegetation which was wet enough to soak all four of us from the waist down. It was too warm and humid to be wearing rain pants.
We stopped for a snack and sat watching six Dall sheep on the opposite slope about half way to the summit. We had temporary views of South Suicide when clouds would move past. On gaining the ridge we came upon about 20 sheep, ewes and lambs on the ridge crest, 100 feet away. We took pictures with the overcast background before they scampered down the other side of the ridge. We stopped for lunch within about 600 feet of the top, waiting for a view. As it cleared, we hiked to the summit but the next batch of clouds got there first and we spent 10-15 minutes in the drizzle taking pictures of each other in the fog and signing the register (the MCA register is missing its cap, so anyone planning a trip up the peak should try to get a replacement).
I got a little sidetracked leading the group down in the fog (down the wrong ridge towards Indian House Mt.) but after a compass check we figured out where we were and descended an easy scree and snow slope back to Falls Creek. The lower trail was as wet coming out as it was going in. Otherwise it was a pleasant trip with very little wind.
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