Tried to squeak in some peaks on Sat morning before the rains came and timed it perfectly. Started to sprinkle just as we got back to the car! Tagged Tinkham, Silver, and Abiel Peaks with JeremyAnderson8. Lots of people out today on PCT and Silver Peak. Fall colors are good, but not at peak.
This route starts at the Windy Pass/Silver Peak TH on the PCT up at Snoqualmie Pass. The 4-5 miles of gravel road to Mount Catherine TH are way better than last year. A few sections of rocks to take it easy over. Pretty sure a sedan could make it up there. The final 1/4 mile or so after that is as bad as always. The road gets very rocky. We made it fine in higher clearance small SUV.
Hiked up PCT trail going south until intersection with Silver Peak trail that takes you up to the ridge. From the ridge, you can find trails to all 3 peaks. We decided to hit Tinkham first as it has the most steep off trail stuff and some scrambling and we wanted to finish that before any chance of rain. The trail going up is decent, but gets faint and you can lose it in a few places. We rain into one group of 4 coming up as we were leaving the east peak. From Tinkham, we headed back down and decided to hit Silver next. Silver had a lot more traffic on it, but still not too busy. The trail is very well defined, but still lots of boulder path and some scrambling if you so choose. Had lunch at the summit. On the way down we decided we felt good enough to go after Abiel as well. It's the shortest one but felt a little longer due to our fatigue. It's also pretty steep and the trail is faint in places, so we lost it a few times. We ran into the same group of 4 from TInkham when we hit the top. After a snack and drink, we headed back out to the car. Overall a great way to tag 3 peaks (technically 4, since Tinkham has 2) in one go, without too much mileage or vert!
Stats: 8.8 miles, 3670' gain, 5:40 total time, 0:50 stopped time.
Gear: Gore-tex trail runners which were perfect. Was expecting rain and wet vegetation but had to deal with neither. Brought gaiters for wet veg but didn't need to use them.
GPX: https://www.peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=2320094
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