Squire Creek Pass via Eight-mile Trail — Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023

On the heels of the timely Dec 17 report from thenomadicartist, SoaringEagle, Kidz Won't Hike, and I set out for Higher Squire to take advantage of the excellent warm Dec weather and stunning views. What a great day! The conditions have changed a bit since the previous report - some of the lower snow has melted and the upper snow was crusty and soft. 

Trail starts at the Eight Mile Creek TH, but good luck finding it on Google Maps. You can find descriptions online how to get there. There is a sign at the right hand turn off past Clear Creek Campground south of Darrington on Mountain Loop Hwy. Final section is 6 miles down a rough single lane road. Plenty of potholes, some washouts, and jutting rocks. But not the worst road in North Cascades by any stretch. Best to have higher clearance as there are a few big dips. No facilities at TH. No one there all day, though a jeep showed up as we were leaving at 3pm. 

We followed the Eight Mile Creek Trail up to Three O'Clock Rock of rock climbing fame, about 30 mins and continued on. The trail is steep in sections and has some slippery roots and exposed rocks in places, but again, not the worst I've experienced this season. At about 3400' and just over 2 miles, cut left to start up the slopes to Higher Spire. There really isn't any trail. We had several GPX tracks, but the way wasn't obvious. So we just ended up finding a path of least resistance. The first part was the trickiest bushwhacking and was steep and slippery at times and required numerous veggie belays. Lots of running water here. Eventually it opens up some more and the snow gets more consistent at about 3800-3900'. We were starting to posthole more and swapped in snowshoes. That worked. We kept on snowshoes almost all the way to the summit, except the last short steep stretch. The snow was uneven, some places pretty firm, some you'd break through 6", and occasionally drop down to your hip due to buried trees or gaps in boulders. We had to be on guard the whole time. Conditions on summit fantastic and warm, no wind. We had a leisurely lunch and took in all the amazing surrounding views, especially Three Fingers! On the way down we kept our snowshoes on as long as possible, below where we had put them on going up. Once the snow ran out, we switched to microspikes which helped keep footing on the way down. Probably not strictly necessary. 

Stats: 6 miles, 3200' gain, 5:45 total time, 1:45 stopped time - probably includes lots of gears changes

Gear: Gaiters, poles, microspikes, snowshoes. Waterproof hiking boots. Brought crampons but didn't use them. 

GPX: https://www.peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=2401632