Huckleberry Mountain is a 6,320+ ft (1,930+ m) mountain summit located on the shared border of King County and Kittitas County in Washington state. It is situated within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness which is part of the Cascade Range. Huckleberry Mountain is set on land managed by Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Huckleberry Mountain is northeast of Snoqualmie Pass, and 0.77 mile west of Chikamin Peak, which is also its nearest higher peak.[1] The Pacific Crest Trail traverses the south and east slope of Huckleberry Mountain, and from the trail a class 4 scramble leads to the summit. Precipitation runoff on the east side of the mountain drains into tributaries of the Yakima River, whereas the west side of the peak drains into tributaries of the Snoqualmie River.

Huckleberry Mountain
Huckleberry Mountain centered (Burnt Boot Peak to right)
Highest point
Elevation	6,320 ft (1,930 m)[1]
Prominence	720 ft (220 m)[1]
Parent peak	Chikamin Peak (7,000+ ft)[2]
Isolation	1.08 mi (1.74 km)[2]
Coordinates	47°28′27″N 121°20′02″W[1]
Geography
Huckleberry Mountain Location in Washington Show map of Washington (state) Huckleberry Mountain Huckleberry Mountain (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Alpine Lakes Wilderness King / Kittitas counties Washington state, U.S.
Parent range	Cascade Range
Topo map	USGS Chikamin Peak
Geology
Type of rock	Andesite
Climbing
First ascent	May 1915 by Charles Hazelhurst and Thomas Acheson[3]
Easiest route	class 4 scrambling[2]

Climate

Huckleberry Mountain is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.[3] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel northeast toward the Cascade Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Cascade Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the Cascades (Orographic lift). As a result, the west side of the Cascades experiences high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but, due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer.[3] Because of maritime influence, snow tends to be wet and heavy, resulting in high avalanche danger.[3] The months July through September offer the most favorable weather for viewing or climbing this peak.

Geology

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness features some of the most rugged topography in the Cascade Range with craggy peaks and ridges, deep glacial valleys, and granite walls spotted with over 700 mountain lakes.[4] Geological events occurring many years ago created the diverse topography and drastic elevation changes over the Cascade Range leading to the various climate differences. These climate differences lead to vegetation variety defining the ecoregions in this area. The elevation range of this area is between about 1,000 feet (300 m) in the lower elevations to over 9,000 feet (2,700 m) on Mount Stuart.

The history of the formation of the Cascade Mountains dates back millions of years ago to the late Eocene Epoch.[5] With the North American Plate overriding the Pacific Plate, episodes of volcanic igneous activity persisted.[5] In addition, small fragments of the oceanic and continental lithosphere called terranes created the North Cascades about 50 million years ago.[5]

During the Pleistocene period dating back over two million years ago, glaciation advancing and retreating repeatedly scoured the landscape leaving deposits of rock debris.[5] The last glacial retreat in the Alpine Lakes area began about 14,000 years ago and was north of the Canada–US border by 10,000 years ago.[5] The "U"-shaped cross section of the river valleys are a result of that recent glaciation. Uplift and faulting in combination with glaciation have been the dominant processes which have created the tall peaks and deep valleys of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area.

See also

• List of peaks of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

References

External links

• Weather forecast: Huckleberry Mountain
• Alpine Lakes Wilderness (Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest) U.S. Forest Service