Alpine Scramble - Jolly Mtn, Mt Skookum & The Louvre

The 7 of us met at Tibbets P&R at 6:45am and drove to the TH in 2 cars.   I was hoping we  could drive FS 4315 to its end at about 5000', but last weekend's heavy snowfall had me worried.  Fortunately we were able to drive to about 4840' where we parked. 

At about 8:45am we start walking up the last half mile or so of road to where it connects with the Sasse Ridge Trail.  This marker marks the beginning.  (Photo from when I was here in 2015.)From the sign, it's about 2.3 miles to the Jolly Mtn trail junction.  The trail starts by paralleling the road and then intersects and merges with the abandoned road for its first mile.  The views on this crystal clear day are phenomenal.  Looking northwest towards Chikamin, Lemah Mtns, Chimney Rock, Bears Breast, etc.After the first mile, it's a good, proper trail.  We have burnt trees, blue skies, sunshine, patches of snow and frequent stunning views.  Mt Rainier Near the Jolly Mtn junction.  Superb views of Mt Stuart and the other Enchantment peaks to our northeast.From the junction it's about a mile and 445' of gain to the the summit of Jolly Mtn, our first of 3 peaks for the day.  The Jolly Mtn Fire in 2017 really did a lot of damage here. Almost at the summit.We arrive at Jolly's summit at about 11am.  There used to be a lookout here.What an incredible view.  We can also see our route to Skookum and The Louvre from here.We depart the summit around 11:15am for the ridge that will take us to Skookum and The Louvre.  Looking westLooking back at Jolly Mtn and Rainier near the trail junction.We continue on the trail, heading north and soon start dropping down about 600' to the saddle between Jolly and Skookum/Louvre.  Photo of us dropping down towards the saddle and our route to Skookum and The Louvre.From the saddle looking back from where we came.The trail takes a right, but we continue straight, traversing along the ridge on bootpaths towards Skookum.  Skookum's summit (6050') which is a simple walk up. On the summit at about 12:30pm where we take a longer break to eat lunch.  Looking back at Jolly Mtn, Rainier and the ridge we came down on and traversed from Skookum's summit.Back down from Skookum, we continue traversing.  The ridgeline splits and we continue on the ridge heading northerly.  From this ridge we get our first closeup of The Louvre and its 2 summits.  The one on climber's right is the false summit.At the base of the rock, we put on helmets, leave our poles and the fun class 3 scrambling begins. Photo taken on the return.Rick reaching the false summit which was easy.The short traverse from the false to main summit was a bit spicy due to snow and exposure in 1 short area.  Unfortunately I don't have a good photo of it, but here is one I took on our return. Some people did it this way, but you can also do this on the other side as well.The true summit at about 2:15pm.Looking back at the false summit.Skookum, Jolly and Rainier.Closer views of Mt Stuart and the Stuart range.We don't stay on The Louvre long as it's already about 2:30pm before we're on our way down.

We trace our route back, taking fewer photos.   The weather forecast calls for snow tomorrow and it appears the dark clouds are coming as we near our cars at about 5pm.Dinner at Markos Place in Rosyln was a great way to end our day.  Great trip and great group in ideal weather.  

One person's GPS read 11.5 miles/4000' gain 

8.5hrs C2C with leisurely breaks.