Big Craggy Peak, Copper Glance Lake & West Craggy Peak — Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020

Chose to end my trip to the east side of the crest with an attempt on the Craggies.   Had originally planned to push a big day attempting Cathedral and Amphitheatre but the forecast called for overcast skies by early afternoon so I decided for the shorter day with this duo of peaks.

Left the motel at Winthrop about five AM and was at the TH by 5:45.  The road is mostly paved with the last five miles being gravel but in great shape.  One other car at the TH.  Shouldered my pack and was on the trail.  First two miles are fairly steep but no major obstacles. One creek crossing but plenty of trunks to use to keep your feet dry.  Because of the recent burn, the terrain is open and I lost count of how many pairs of eyes were reflected in my headlamp beam. Always a little unnerving! 

At the two mile mark, you round a ridge into open terrain. Here I left the trail and beelined for the summit of Big Craggy.  There is little in your way as you follow the ridgeline and the views were tremendous as the sun broke over the eastern horizon.  After nearly a mile, you break out of what few trees there are and find yourself on a massive pile of talus.  It's tedious work getting to the summit ridge but once you crest the ridge, the views are tremendous.  I then followed the ridge to the summit.

From there, you follow a very obvious climbers path down talus and scree towards the saddle between Big Craggy and West Craggy.  There wasn't much guesswork on the route as the climbers path is obvious the entire way to the summit of West Craggy.  Most of this is class 2 with maybe a few class 3 moves that are not exposed.  Again, the views are amazing from West Craggy.  

As expected, the clouds were rolling in at this time and after a brief summit visit, I followed the climbers path back down to a saddle and then plunge stepped down scree and talus.  There were some cliffs to navigate but again, with the right route, it never exceeded class 3.  Another long stretch of talus broken up by groups of larches (past their peak) and finally some mild bushwhacking back to the Copper Glance Trail which I then used to return to the car. 

Fall colors are still there but past their prime.  I used most of the trail in my climb and it is in great condition.   Sorry for the lack of pictures, only had time to clean up one!  Hopefully, I can catch up on about ten reports over the next few days.  :)