Was originally going to do this as a late season overnight, but changed our minds after seeing the forecast shift the morning of. Did it as a day hike instead, and I’m glad we did. Started snowing when we arrived around noon and dumped at least 2-3 inches of pow while we were there, especially at the top. We stopped before the final scramble to the lake because it looked too sketchy in these conditions. Larches are basically done. Didn’t end up using my camera since it was snowing hard, so only got some phone pictures. Still a great day in the mountains!

Snagged some late season alpine. The rock was shitty and cold but dry.

From an October 2022 lap of the loop, right at peak larch. We went counterclockwise from the Rainy Pass trailhead — 7.2 miles, about 2,200 ft of gain. The stretch above Lake Ann is where it really opens up: the larches were fully gold and Black Peak had just a dusting of early snow. If you're timing it, mid-October was perfect this year — parking fills by 9 even on weekdays.

serious question. i’m moving to the pnw soon and im genuinely curious how people deal with hiking in rainy conditions, particularly afterwards having to get back in the car and drive home. do you bring towels? do you change clothes, and if so where are you keeping your wet clothes?

I'd like some advice from anyone, but definitely folks that have done Vesper Peak.

TLDR; Looking for recommendations on trails that are difficult due to elevation gain, but not as technical or perhaps as steep as Headlee pass.

We got through the rock field yesterday, and the start of Headlee pass was steep enough to spook me off. I knew I would surely be too frightened to get off Headlee after ascending it. The dirt yesterday in spots was slightly damp and I narrowly avoided becoming a statistic a few times.

I have limited range of motion/mobility/strength in 1 knee, which is kind of recent. I already have poor balance and Im sure this has made it worse. The rock fields took me forever (~4hrs out and back for that section). So I'm ruling out anything technical like Vesper for the foreseeable future.

I'm wishing I had done something like Dickerman or Perry Creek instead, but dont know how similar to Vesper they are. My assumption (hope) is that despite having similar ratings, theyre vastly different.

Types of trails I've done: Pilchuck, Chain Lakes Loop, Heather Lake.

Stuff I'm looking at: Dickerman, Goat Lake, Mailbox, Ptarmigan Ridge.

I knew I was likely punching above my weight with this one, but I picked the trail that was the farthest outside of my abilities out of all candidates 😅. Im strongest at the endurance aspect of this hobby, but I'm finding my balance/stability are really bad and it's making scrambling kind of daunting.

Thanks for any reccomendations, you can't hurt my feelings so dont feel bad about being blunt. Cheers.

This video and trail is suitable for regular day hikers, occasional hikers, families with children who are used to easy hikes, Cub, Webelos and Scout troops, and school field trips.

We have an experienced group, lots of winter summits etc but I am seeing conflicting information on whether you can drive to the summer trailhead after October 31.

Thanks!

Who needs larches when the forest is alive with Big Leaf and Vine Maples? Bonus: Shrooms!

hello, i wanted some info and guidance on mailbox peak. we are planning to do it for sunrise, and ive heard that we should hike up the old trail and down the new trail. what time is sunrise expected to be, what time should we get there, and is there any confusion from going to the old trail to the new trail we should be aware of? if sunrise isnt realistic, we want to do it mid day. how hard is the hike compared to others like rattlesnake ledge and lake 22?

This one has been on my list for quite some time, so I was thrilled to sneak out on a quick trip recently with a buddy; given my upcoming work schedule, probably my last solid trip before the weather truly turns on us. But we made it count!

Fall color is past its peak, but Yellow Aster Butte was still a stunner. It’s such an enjoyable hike in, with beautiful views and a trail that gives you a little stretch of everything.

Tomyhoi looks a lot closer from YAB than it felt getting there! 😅 The summit disappears for a good while as you slog your way along, but on a clear day there are lovely views the whole time, at least.

Lots and lots of up and down to get there. You’ll lose and re-gain solid elevation on a few occasions.

Once we reached the scree and put on helmets, a little more route-finding started. There were two short snow patches of the Tomyhoi Glacier that you cross (far enough up that you’re just on a snow finger, not the glacier itself, so nothing special needed). We didn’t use spikes or anything like that, but the snow was HARD and the runout was actually quite consequential - a long slide onto the glacier which had quite a few open crevasses. A bit of a no-fall zone given that self-arrest would be difficult on the hard snow even with an ice ax.

Thankfully those patches had established tracks and were short in length. But they required caution.

At the end of the second patch, you scramble up a ledge system. This one was easy to go up but kinda sucked coming down because the rock was smooth without tons of good holds AND covered in lots of loose debris. Going back down this stretch was my least favorite part.

From there, we followed the narrow track to the edge of where you drop steeply into the final saddle before the summit block.

The summit block looks very menacing, but it’s actually really doable and fun! The route sort of makes itself known as you go… if you find yourself in terrain that feels tougher than Class 3 you are likely off route.

After the initial scramble up, there’s a short exposed traverse, then the final scramble to take the summit.

We had great views and spent 20-30 minutes at the top before heading back down. Down-climbing the summit block felt like the safest way to take it.

This one keeps you working all the way to the end, as the hike back from the summit includes all that up and down again!

I would not recommend this one to a new scrambler - but for anyone who is comfortable with some exposure and has some good Class 3 experience under their belt, it’s a fun option!

Logged just under 13 miles and around 4,500’ gain.

Starting from the west trailhead, road to the trailhead was recently logged out (thank you PNTA crew). Pretty chilly especially at the summit with 19f windchill but clear skies and larches were still on fire. 7.95 miles and 2450 ft of elevation. Highly recommend the northeast corner of Washington state if you like to hike in solitude.

Last evening’s flight out of SEA

I climbed vesper peak a few months ago and really enjoyed it and was thinking about going back to see it again but with snow, when would be the best time to see snow up there? Also, what type of warm clothes are best? Last time i was kept fairly warm with just pants, boots, and 1 pair of socks, will I need winter boots or double socks in order to not get hypothermia? Or is that only a problem on actual mountains? Also has the road gotten worse since August? I was only able to drive like 3/4 of the way up to the trailhead in my Honda civic because of the potholes

I think Wyeth is the 3rd hardest trail in the Gorge, 2nd last pic is a panorama

The 8th and 9th pics (last 2 Big 4 picnic area shots) have a new within the last 2 (or 3 tops) weeks beaver lodge. They built it really close to the boardwalk. Quite the hefty mound.