Mileage: 8 miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: 4200 ft/6200ft
Map: Green Trails Silverton No. 110, Sloan Peak No. 111
Favorite Eats After Hike: LJs Bistro & Bar, Mirkwood Public House, Creekside Ale House, Glorybucha Microbrewery, River Time Brewing, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty Please.
My hike:
9/11/2016
We headed up the trail to Vesper Peak with a whole lot of faith as we started out around 8am completely socked in. First through the forest and then up the valley towards Headlee Pass.
There are a billion cairns to follow (didn’t stop some idiot from marking rocks with a red sharpie today) so it’s pretty hard to lose the trail. Lots of loose scree and dirt, though. Oh, and the most root covered trail I’ve done in awhile, too.
The effect of the low clouds and high rock walls on the route to Headlee Pass was actually pretty magical and we were glad to not be hiking in direct sun. The tight switchbacks just before Headlee Pass reminded me of that windy street in San Fran, London St? Pretty cute. Yet brutal at the same time. I will say that the last push to the peak was anybody’s guess, lots of cairns and lots of possibilities. There is no trail, just slabs and boulders of granite to maneuver up towards Vesper Peak on the right.
Just pick the route you are most comfortable with, I guess. Our faith was justified and the sun appeared when we got near the peak, making all the work worth it. We sat on top for awhile and watched climbers come up the other side of the peak from the lake.
It was fun to see the peaks in the distance appear and disappear in the clouds. We could see back to the basin that had been obscured on our way up. We hobbled down all the knee breaking granite and scree making it back to the cars about 4:30pm.
Gorgeous day on Vesper Peak!
Directions: Head up the Mountain Loop HWY out of Granite Falls, WA. Turn right on FR 4065 at MP 28.8 (the sign for the road is on the other side for westbound traffic). The trailhead is 2.2 miles in but be warned. The road is currently closed due to severe washouts (10/24/16). Concrete barriers have you walking an extra mile. Serious avalanche risk in winter. You will need a NW Forest Pass, even if you aren’t parking at the trailhead.
Click here for more hikes on the Mountain Loop Highway.
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