Vesper Peak, Headlee Pass and Vesper Lake — Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024

Vesper has been on my list for a while, and today was finally a day to check this box. This trail is an absolute PNW experience - heavenly view for a hell of an effort.

Getting There & Trailhead

The road is fine for any car up until 0.3 mi from the trailhead. Watch out for rocks sticking out of the roadway. Potholes are surely there, but they are mostly quite rounded and almost pleasant.

At -0.3 mi, there’s a significant washout that will require high clearance or incredible skills. Since I packed neither today, I decided that adding extra mileage to my hike is a low price for not being stuck. I did see a couple sedans past this washout, but if you don’t feel brave, get ready to park before you get to it. Turning around in that particular spot could be more complicated than a bit further down the road.

Trailhead itself parks ten-ish cars. There’s an outhouse that is usable but totally unstocked.

Trail

If I’m able to walk to my fridge tomorrow, it will be next to a miracle. This is one of the most difficult of 200+ trails I’ve so far hiked in PNW.

The following will be helpful if not life-saving musts:

• Water, tons of it (though refilling is not an issue);
• Sturdy hiking boots with a good grip on rocks;
• Offline map that shows the trail precisely enough because you will be checking it numerous times, unless you have Ranger-sense.

The trail is plain steep. If 4k ft gain over 4 mi does not look intimidating, keep in mind elevation gain is not evenly distributed. For example, approaching Headlee Pass, the trail climbs 400 ft in a quarter mile. Rocks, roots, screes and other natural phenomena don’t make it easier. Payoff is huge, but the effort is real.

I started at 9.30 am to already hot temps, switching into a sloth-slug mode to avoid overheating. Early start definitely helps - not only with temperatures, but also with leaving a significant portion of the climb in a shade of the ridge. Stream crossings were not an issue. Huckleberries start to ripen at mid elevations, looking delicious but mostly not tasting anything like that (yet?).

Boulder section was expectedly tough in terms of trail finding; try to follow cairns where you can find them, but offline maps will be your best friend there. I saw a few groups getting way off the trail, although getting lost is unlikely.

Climb to Headlee Pass is atrocious, that’s it. Rocks from hikers above are common, so if you have a helmet, you might want to use it there.

Past the pass, the trail soon turns into alpine wonderland. I didn’t check Vesper Lake out closely, but from above quite a few campers were seen. The lake still has some ice. Outflow of the lake is also one of the last reliable water sources; there’re minor streams higher up but this one flows strong and full.

Past the lake, another strenuous climb begins, with some loose soil or mud sections posing extra risk for unwelcome glissading. Scramble to the peak is not much technical, but some basic experience or common sense are needed to find the safest way on granite slopes.

Finally, reaching the peak is probably the most beautiful reveal in the Cascades. You can’t see Copper Lake until the very last step, but when you finally see it, all pain just goes away. It’s an amazing moment. Even if I can’t walk to my fridge tomorrow. Seeing people’s reaction when reaching the peak was as good as the view itself. As beautiful as it is, backdrop of several hundred feet is no joke, so caution should be used while intaking the beauty. The peak gets crowded easily (“Quite a party here!” - climber who just reached the peak from the climbers route), but solitude can be found if you descend a bit along the edge.

On the opposite side from Vesper Peak, there’s a secondary peak that can also be climbed easily for better views of Vesper Lake and the Cascades to the southeast of it. I was almost heading down from Vesper when curiosity won over shaking legs, and I decided to add this extra elevation gain to my exercise.

Hike out is just a pure knee killer, but hey, you just saw probably one of the most awe-inspiring views in the state.

Stats & Crowds

Quite a few folks, but never too crowded, and everyone was super courteous.

Timing:

• Total: about 6.5 hours
• TH to the pass: 1 h 40 min / 2.3 mi
• Headlee Pass to Vesper Peak: 1 h 15 min / 1 mi
• At the peak: 1 h 10 min
• Detour to the secondary peak: 22 min
• Vesper Peak to Headlee Pass: 46 min
• Pass to TH: 1 h 14 min