Monashka Mtn loop (low elevation alternative)

[Philip]

Right now is a nice time to hike a loop around the base of Monashka Mountain. The normally swampy benches at the foot of the NE side of the mtn are mostly frozen and a lot of the alders on the NW side are under snow right now. You start out on the old ATV trail contouring around the base of Monashka Mtn, taking it until it peters out and becomes indistinct inland of Azimuth Point. From there you just follow along the forest/meadow edge at the base of the mountain until you hit the creek that drains down to 'Long Beach' (not named on maps). You follow that creek upstream and then climb up on the west side of that drainage into the spruce trees until you get up on Monashka Reservoir Ridge. From there you take the normal trail back down to the end of the road at White Sands Beach. It is about 8 or 9 miles as a loop. You will want to be comfortable hiking through brush, off trail, and making your own route in many areas. The ATV trail in the beginning will only get you so far, and after that it is your wits and fortitude against the alders and terrain. If you don't know the trail off the Monashka Reservoir Ridge this loop could suck as the end can be very brushy if you miss the trail. It is classic Kodiak navigating in a very remote-feeling area that is actually very close to town.

Here is the loop:



Passing below the east side of Monashka on the ATV trail past the inland beaver pond:



The mostly frozen swamps on the NE side of Monashka:



Looking west towards the mountain across from Ouzinke:



Headed SW up the creek that drains onto Long Beach:



Looking back down towards Ouzinke Strait and Spruce Island:



Ouzinke is behind the mountain in the middle of the pic:



Up on Monashka Reservoir Ridge looking east towards White Sands Beach:

[patrick]

That snow on the backside of resevoir ridge looks OK! Much better than what I found on Pyramid. Even at 4 PM the south facing slopes had not softenned up. I did the Couloir that leads into the gulley that goes to the gravel pit (to the skier's right of the wedge) and it was AWFUL. All frozen bumps. It looks like you had the better plan for the day! Patrick

[Philip]

In the gut of gullies there was 1-2" of dust on crust, but the rest was all bare crust. Pretty smooth, not icy, but still crusty. The places we skied on your B-day are still covered in thick, firm, smooth snow. The snow coverage seems about identical to when we were up there last. On a warm day it would probably be pretty nice. I'm totally uninterested in skiing at this point until sea level temps hit well above 40 F and the wind dies. The hiking is great right now.

[Philip]

Sunday April 14.

Adelia had time today so we went and did the loop together. A stunning day. Slightly warmer and less breezy than yesterday. We headed a little farther west as we climbed up onto Monashka Res Ridge and so ended up on the dome that marks the end of the ridge (the mountain on the upper right of the map I posted earlier). Good stuff.

You know what this means...



Climbing the reservoir ridge with Monashka Mountain in the background. Our route took us the long way around the base:



On the end of the ridge with Whale Pass, Kupreanof, and the mainland faintly visible in the background.



A pair of golden eagles joined us for lunch:

[Philip]

Saturday March 8

I did the loop again today. Just lovely out. The swamps north of Monashka are semi frozen and the creeks are low, so that was good, but there is very little snow on the north side of the Monashka Reservoir Ridge so there is more brush to deal with, and that's bad. All in all a great way to spend a few hours and see some new country. I brought snowshoes but never put them on. When I got up to the ridge the snow was firm enough to just walk on it, though I would always recommend bringing snowshoes JIC.

Reaching the valley behind 3 Bear Cove:



This sucker was sprouting a full month earlier than the pic I took last year (above):



Normally this time of year most of this stuff would be covered by snow:



Part way up the climb and looking back towards Monashka. Tons of bunnies and a few ptarmigan too.

[Philip]

Saturday Feb 25, 2017

I have done this loop twice this winter; 2 weeks ago and again today. The loop is in SUPERB condition with the swamps frozen on the north side of Monashka Mountain and plenty of snow on the north side of the Monashka Reservoir Ridge to make the brush a non-issue. Today I ran into bear tracks for the first time this spring. It was probably only one bear, but boy he sure stomped all over the place. There are lots of tracks going hither and yon.

If the snow on Pmid is poo and you own snowshoes and want some exercise, this is a cool hike. I know one other person is doing it because I saw snowshoe and foot tracks in places I have never seen another person go on this route. Good on ya!

The old ATV trail around the base of Monashka Mountain is nicely frozen and snowed in. Trail crampons are a MUST!





They're baaaa-ack:



Once you emerge from the trees and break into the brush on the north side of Monashka Reservoir Ridge, there are plenty of options:





This is taken from the dome at the end of Monashka Reservoir Ridge looking back (Monashka Mountain is in the center of the image):



Goats taking a break from the less-hospitable Devil's Prongs wander over to Monashka Mountain and the Reservoir Ridge in the winters:

[johns]

2/26/2017
After skiing Pyramid to Easter Sunday yesterday and finding nothing but ice, hard snow, and breakable crust we grabbed snowshoes and gave this loop a try. Ended up being just under 10 miles and it was pretty nice. The tracks left by Philip from yesterday made route finding a breeze. Should be a nice stomped out path now. We did the loop clockwise and decended to Long Beach. Lots of bear sign around deer carcasses but didn't spot any wildlife. Highly recommended trip right now when the skiing isn't great.

[mrsquishy]

Tuesday, 2/28/17: I attempted the loop today in a clockwise direction. I put on my microspikes in the parking lot and wore them all the way to the Reservoir Ridgeline; the trail was hard packed and icy in spots with some hard frozen glare ice in overflow sections. I turned back at the high ridgeline as the wind was directly in my face and blowing hard (Weather Service reported gusts to 40, I think). I was warm and dressed appropriately, but it was too much effort to fight that wind head on, especially when gusts just about blow you off your feet. Discretion being the better part of valor, I opted to hike back the way I came up to return another day. Thanks to Philip for the route and the brushing. Although I carried snow shoes, I had no need of them. Perhaps a counter clockwise hike would be better with this wind. BTW, the road is literally solid ice from the reservoir entrance to the parking lot.

[Philip]

Saturday March 10, 2018

I did this loop again today. It was great. On the walk out to Long Beach I mostly took the singletrack trail inside the spruce forest to avoid the somewhat punchy snow in the swampy meadows at the base of Monashka Mtn along the old 4 wheeler trail. Walking up the creek that runs down to Long Beach was easy with the low water. Leaving the creek and climbing into the spruce was a bit annoying with the punchy snow and salomberries, but once in the trees the walking was easy again. There are fresh blow-downs, but they don’t block the main route up the ridge. There is a lot of snow out on the reservoir ridge and the brush is nicely buried. Snowshoes are absolutely mandatory! Micro spikes were nice, but not strictly needed. No bear sign anywhere.

[Philip]

I did this loop again and brought a saw along and did some trimming in a few key spots. Don’t worry, there is still brush along the creek that drains down to Long Beach if that is your thing, but the steep descent leading to the Long Beach Cr valley floor is trimmed out as is the climb into the spruce where you leave the valley floor. Those bits I found annoying.

FANTASTIC weather today!

[Philip]

Saturday February 15.

Patrick and I did this loop today, and it was excellent. There was about 6-8” of uniformly distributed, light and fluffy pow over a variable firm layer/crust. I had always done the loop counter-clockwise with the direction not really mattering since I have always used snowshoes. Since Patrick opted for skis today, he suggested we go clockwise (starting by climbing the Monashka Reservoir Ridge) so that he could have some nice runs down the north side of the ridge. The initial climb was a bit funky with a loose layer of pow snow over a semi-firm base with still-exposed brush, but after a bunch of sweating and muddling upward we gained the ridge.





Looking north towards Ouzinke from the loop’s high point:



Looking back at the high point, one set of snowshoe and one set of ski tracks:



Lovely touring conditions:





Unusually pleasant snow conditions for Kodiak:











Even the Termination Point Forest and the swamps on the north side of Monashka Mountain had good snow coverage. Amazing.



If we don’t lose snow, this loop will stay a viable option for a while though I would be surprised to see such exceptional conditions again soon. Patrick was happy with his choice of skis and I was glad I stuck with snowshoes.

[Philip]

Saturday Feb 22

I snowshoed the loop today, counter clockwise. The snow in the forest was just punchy enough that I was happier on snowshoes than microspikes, and some form of floatation is absolutely required higher up. As soon as I started I walked into a 2-hour ocean-effect blizzard. It snowed hard on me all the way until well up the reservoir ridge climb, 3/4 the way along. The snow down in the trees on the climb was 4-8” of new pow over a variable rain crust. It actually would have offered great skiing if the area wasn’t such a total booger to reach. At higher elevations above the trees the new snow coverage got a bit variable, and was largely blown away on the ridges. Overall it was a sort of taxing day with some somewhat punchy crust down low and surprisingly deep snow mid-mountain (on the Ouzinke side, anyway). The Monashka side of the res ridge had less fresh snow and was mostly dust on crust. I love this loop but today seemed like a bit more work than usual. And it was COLD.

Seriously dumping on the climb:



The ocean-effect snow let up as I climbed higher:

[Philip]

Sunday March 22

I thought I’d do this loop today given the lovely weather. I figured I’d go clockwise to get a feel for the snow in open areas before committing to the full loop. The snow was utterly terrible for traveling. It had gone sort of isothermic, but without settling. There was just enough of a freeze crust in some areas to stay on top for 10 paces or so, but then you plunged through to you knee or deeper. Other sections were just constantly punchy. I climbed out of the Monashka Creek Canyon and turned around when my snowshoeing dysphoria was multiplied by air pockets under the salmonberries. I’m too lazy to wallow for 10 miles.

On a happier note, the Near Island trails are great, but definitely wear Microspikes.