I have little to report on driving on a dirt road because I parked at Annette Lake TH. It is a very short drive off I-90 with a few potholes that can be easily avoided.
A few minutes after I arrived, however, a sheriff showed up at the parking lot. It appeared to me that someone called on a "suspicious" pickup truck. The sheriff talked to driver and passenger then they drove away peacefully without any incident.
I left the trailhead at 10:50 for an exact 7-mile hike to Silver Peak. The weather was sunny and warm, felt just like summer, but in fall colors. I did not see any hikers until I reached SP trail turnoff. They were all coming down and I was probably the last to go up. Finally topped at 2:10PM. Three other hikers were a few minutes ahead of me. We took pictures for each other and had a wonderful chat. We parted ways at 2:45, me going down the west face，and them turning back to SP trailhead.
The downhill section is mostly scree field. Every rock under the feet is moveable, and helmet is definitely a must here. You may get away fine without it 98% of time, but 2% of chance it will lead to head injury. I also had previous GPS route map downloaded on my phone so I constantly made course corrections, as my orientation skills are poor. I was aiming for the Lake’s camp ground where it is fairly open and flat, requiring the least bushwhacking. I reached the Lake at 4:00PM. The rest of trail to Annette Lake TH had been reconstructed and a total bliss.
Milage-wise, my Garmin watch says 11.65 miles. With the identical GPX file, AllTrails says 11.12, Strava 11.98 and Relive 11.8.
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