Day Hike: Vesper Peak

Where: Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Morning Star National Resource Conservation Area
Where, Bounding Box (bbox): (-121.519806 , 48.011280, -121.475427, 48.025830)
What: Hiking (non-technical), Snow(steep ascend/descend), Scramble (beginner)
When: 28 July 2018
Who: 2 people

Google Maps

Washington Trail Association Links:

• Vesper Peak
  • https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/vesper-peak

Appropriate Maps:

• National Geographic Maps:
  • Mt Baker, Boulder River Wilderness Area, Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest #826
    • This provided a good overview of the area/surrounding area, but would not be practical between Vesper Lake and Vesper Peak due to size and general map clutter.
    • This map gives more references south of Vesper Peak, where as the Green Trails Map puts this hike near the lower right boundary of the map.
• Green Trails Map:
  • Mountain Loop Highway, Map 111SX
    • This was the best map for this hike and area, though you’ll have a limited overview of the surrounding area since its in the lower corner.

$16

Overall Difficulty:

Moderate to strenuous during most sections. Easy to moderate difficulty in others. The hike up the valley to Headlee Pass was the moderate to strenuous part.

Gear Load-out(ranked by importance, high to low):

• 3L Hydration Reservoir
• First Aid Kit
• Micro-spikes
•  Ice Axe
• Sunglasses/Glacier Glasses
• Food
• Light down jacket
• Compass
• Map
• Hat
• Light rain jacket
• 1x pair extra socks 
• Sunscreen/Bug Spray

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Getting to the Trailhead:

From Granite Falls Park & Ride, head east to Alder Ave then go north.  Alder Ave turns into Mountain Loop Highway at the Granite Falls Middle School.  From the Middle School, continue driving north on the Mountain Loop Highway for about 28.2 miles.  From the Big Four turn off (NF-4059), its about 3.1miles further east.  You will take a sharp right turn onto NF-4065. The Forest Road is not clearly marked so it will be easy to miss, but will be on your right as you drive east. Once you make the sharp right turn (almost a U-Turn) you’ll see the small NF-4065 sign. You’ll know that you missed the turn off when you get to the Barlow Pass area.

The Sunrise Mine Trailhead is about 2.2 miles down the gravel unimproved road.  About 0.5 mile down the road you’ll see a Road Closed sign.  At this point it would be advisable if you have a low clearance car to park in that area and walk it in if you’re not comfortable.  If you have a higher clearance vehicle, you should be good. The semi-high clearance part is more noticeable around the 1.5 mile in.  Its possible that sometime in the future that the Forest Service might not make an effort to fix or improve the road in the event of a washout.

The road will deadend at the trailhead area.  Parking could be tight on the weekends.  We got there around 7:15 and about a quarter to a third of the area was filled in.  Park smartly on the sides but try not to park in the noticeable areas to turn your vehicle around.

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Google Maps Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/DpTnAW2F83T2

Day Trip:

Pack Weight Start: Did Not Measure, est 15lbs

Sunrise Mine Trailhead to Headlee Pass. 1hr 41min. 1400 cal.

The initial part of the hike started going downhill through some soft soil, which you will appreciate on the hike back because this is short lived.  In about 15min in you’ll start creek crossing. The water level was not anything to worry about when we went through.  The first crossing had what looked like an old used-to-be bridge, but it is quite broken up so only a few logs are disjointedly scattered across. Watch out on these because they can be a little slick.  There were plenty of exposed rocks on the smaller creeks/streams. You’ll cross about 3 streams before you start the climbing upward through the valley.

After your last stream crossing, you start your climb and the soft ground starts to turn into rocks for most of the rest of the hike.  The vegetation seems pretty overgrown and encroaches on the path in the lower section (within quarter to half mile after last stream crossing).  After a good rain this will lead to you getting somewhat soaked as you brush through it all like we did.

As you gain a little elevation through the valley you start to gain a better vantage perspective of the valley bottom and surroundings.  The vegetation also begins to thin a little more as you can see in the following two pictures. In the first picture you start to see Mount Dickerman.  The background was still a little hazy from the morning showers we encountered on the drive in, as well as some of lingering humidity. In the second picture you can look up in the general area where we will be heading.  You can start to see some of the rock rubble but you can also observe the towering ridgelines of rock faces.

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A little more than half way up through the valley, we entered more of the rock rubble but you can also see a lot more detail in the surrounding rock faces.  There is a lot of red-metallic rust streaks from the iron and other minerals in the rocks, which later on in the hike get much more noticeable in the sunlight. Some of the surrounding cliffs also had several water streams flowing pretty steadily from the snow melt.

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As you ascend higher in the valley toward Headless Pass, you’ll gain a better vantage point of Morning Star Peak, but not nearly as great as the views from Vesper Peak! Soon you will approach the funnel of switchbacks between two small ridges leading to the Headlee Pass.  In the picture below, you can see the rock rubble in the foreground followed by the rather steep funnel area.  This is an area to pay particular attention to any groups above you and potential falling rocks from the path.  This is something to be conscious about as you ascend, because there may likely be people behind you as well.  An inadvertent kick of a rock or stepping on a loose rock could cause it to trickle down.  You’ll appreciate the same from others.

Alas, your at Headlee Pass after climbing about 2200-2300 vertical ft from the parking lot.  Something to note is that the sign on the tree, though worn, says 4600 ft, but my Green Trails Map(111SX) says 4700.  The distance I believe at the trailhead also says 2 miles to Headlee Pass, while the Green Trails Map says 2.7 miles.  The hike up felt more like 2.7 miles, but we weren’t out there measuring it.  You’ll get there when you get there. There isn’t much of a view from this point but you do get a narrow view in the eastward direction.  At the sign, there does look like a light trail that goes toward the rock face but I didn’t explore that part.  My guess if there is a view, it would be a higher perspective on the valley.

Headlee Pass to Vesper Peak. 3hr 54 min (2hr 13min). 2854 cal (1454 cal difference).

This next section to Vesper Lake goes through an inclined rubble field.  Continue to watch your step as it would be a good fall if you did slip and skid. This by no means makes this part difficult though.  This part is a pretty gentle grade in comparison to what you covered to get to Headlee Pass.  As you get closer to the still frozen and snow covered lake you’ll here the sound of rushing water from some of the snow and ice melt.  You will have to cross this.  When we got to the exposed water, there was plenty of snow to cross on without worry of potentially falling through to the icy cold water flowing in the stream.  This would be a good spot to fill up on water if you are inclined and out of water. Due to the freshness and source of the snow/ice melt, it wouldn’t necessarily be needed to filter the water, but that would be a personal call. 

We stopped here a little bit of a break to drink and eat a little food.  This was probably a better area to break in comparison to the Pass.  From here you can see Vesper Peak.  When we got to this point, we could see a couple people ascending in the upper portion of the snow field, as well as a couple of folks on the peak.  The picture below was at the stream, where we had a little break.  You can see the peak about middle picture.  The clouds were looking pretty thick at this point as well, giving the feeling that it might by raining on us later..or sooner.

We didn’t break for too long, for soon we were crossing the stream and ascending through some low vegetation and shrubbery.  Around 0920 (~1hr 57min into the hike) we got to the start of the snowfields.  This snow patch wasn’t anything to worry about or strap on our microspikes. 

The picture below is a view looking north toward Sperry Peak.  In the picture you can also see more clearly that rain is falling and coming our way in a matter of minutes.  In the far right part of the panoramic picture you can see an outcrop of trees.  As it started to rain, we walked over to the trees for a little cover and to wait and see what would happen over the next several minutes.  We hung out amongst the trees, which looked like someone had recently camped out at, until the rain passed (~15-20min). 

Once everything looked like we were in the clear, we headed back toward the snow to put on our microspikes before ascending through the snowfield.  From my perspective it looked somewhat steeper than it actually was, except for the upper portion, which was actually pretty steep.  The snow field was lightly covered with dust and particulate from the surrounding peaks, as most peaks have.  The ripples and divots across the snow fields are also quite interesting to look at and think about how they are formed.  Almost like very shallow cups.

On the climb up, I used my ice axe more for support than out of necessity, though there was a spot where I had slipped a little on the snow and slid a little bit but had caught myself with the ice axe.  The movement up the snowfield took a little bit of time for, though my friend had seemingly climbed up pretty quickly.  Eventually I got to the end of snowfield and at the base of the rock base of the peak. 

The rock was clearly granite, which is much more grippy on your shoes than the rock rubble we experienced on the way up.  If you are going to be scrambling up boulders, granite is much more preferred.  The scramble up to the peak was pretty simple and straight forward.  I would not categorize that as difficult and could easily be done by beginners.  If beginners made it up to this area, the scramble would be easy (unless you happen to be uneasy climbing and jumping boulder to boulder).

Finally at the peak for a long break of observation and sight seeing.  Initially when we got to the peak, there was another group of folks there, but started gaining some crowd steam by the time we began our descent.  The sky was still pretty cloudy, which made the temperatures pretty cool and easy going for the ascent (always a nice little feature in the summer heat).  The following pictures give you a great view from the peak.  While we were at the peak, some of the visibility improved so we could see further and with more clarity.  The sun even poked through to cast some rays on the westward peaks, working its way east where we were.  Something not quite captured in the pictures were the skyblue water in parts of Vesper Lake where some of the snow had melted and pooled.

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This was such a great view in the midst of the central cascades.  From here, you can look North, South, East and West with amazing mountain views.  Because of the elevation of the peak (6221ft), the 360 degree vantage you get is ideal with little obstruction  so you have a better overview of the entire region.  Certainly worth an extended stay if you have the time. This would definitely make the list for a yearly visit and would recommend to others.  The pictures just don’t do the view any justice.

Vesper Peak to Vesper Lake.

Around 1050, after we finished soaking up the views (about 30-40min), it was time to start our descent back down to Vesper Lake. By this time the clouds were starting to clear, making the sun light bright. The sun light makes being on the snow a little more blinding since you tend to look at the ground to see where you’re stepping, so best to where some sunglasses or glacier glasses to prevent hurting your eyes.  As you can see from the following picture the slope at the top is much steeper than it appeared from below.

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This following picture is a look back up toward the peak, which you cant see because of the false summit.  In the picture you can see the divots in the snow much better, as well as the dust and rock particulate.  Shortly after this picture, my foot had slipped and skid on the warming snow and sent me sliding a little bit down, but nothing to be worried about. A quick catch with the ice axe and a quick stop.  Dust off and keep pushing downward.

As we went further down the slope angle decreased, making the descent down much faster and easier.  We reached the area were we had originally put on our microspikes very quickly, as is typical for most descents.  By the time we got to Vesper Lake, we had probably passed 4 or 5 different groups of people making through way up. Some were just casually hiking and not quite sure and others were looking to go to peak.  We had talked with a few of them on possible routes up to the peak through some of the rock fields to take since they didn’t have any microspikes or ice axes.

Vesper Lake to Sunrise Mine Trailhead. 5hr 30min (1hr 36min).  3687cal (833 cal difference).

Once we hit Vesper Lake, we sailed pretty quickly to Headless Pass, navigating more groups heading up.  We did have to stop for a little bit to allow a large group through on the rubble field leading back to the Pass.  By this time the sky was pretty clear, making the sun a little more intense with the heat.  There wasnt much of a breeze either so the heat just lingered about.

In the picture below you can see the path heading toward that tree to the left.  That was the path I did not explore to see what the view was/would be, but from here you can easily see Morning Star Peak straight head. The second picture shows a few groups of people making their way up through the funnel area to get to the Pass.

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After the funnel, the rubble field was starting to heat up with the unobstructed sun.  The bittersweet about the clouds receding, you gain more of a view but you have to deal with the heat.  Certainly worth it in my book as we finished up back towards the trailhead.  After the stint in the heat, we made it to the trees and vegetation that provided some relief from the beating sun followed by the cool air surrounding the few stream crossings.

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Total Mileage: ~8.0 miles
Total Elevation: ~4200ft
Start Time: ~0725
Finish Time: ~1430 (7hr 05min)
Est Calories: 4650
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