Cold Creek Loop via Tinkham and Silver Peaks, Mount Catherine — Sunday, Jul. 1, 2007

Snoqualmie Region > Snoqualmie Pass

Cold Creek/Silver Peak Loop Summary Looking for a new trail we picked this out of the 100 hikes South cascades book, where its description is not glowing. We found it to be a very scenic loop hike, through lots of mature forest, with lots of lovely views across the mountains. The 2 paths that link Twin Lakes to the PCT are in need of brushing. Large snow patches on the PCT occasionally made route finding a little challenging, but we were able to find the route fairly quickly. Details The trail head is at a large bend in the road, the sign is in the trees to the left of the road. Parking is along the road edge and with no trail head facilities so you don't need a parking pass. We did note 2 recent piles of window glass so leave no valuables in your car and consider leaving your doors unlocked. The trail to Twin Lakes is slightly over grown but flat and well used. Once at Twin Lakes we chose to do the loop clockwise, which I would strongly recommend. The trail up towards Tinkham Peak is steep climbing 1300', in need of brushing, and rough in places. There are a number of blow downs, all of which can be scrambled over or under. On the plus side the trillium were massed in groups, in full flower, and every so often you'd get superb views across the mountains. Just before we met the PCT the snow patches became much larger so finding the trail was more challenging. As you reach a pass there are large PCT signs. We followed the PCT north as it traverses under Tinkham and Silver Peaks. It was the first mile here where we met most of the snow. Poles were very helpful and careful observation meant we avoided post holing into streams under the snow. The second part of the PCT was snow clear and easy hiking. There was only one blow down on the PCT which was no trouble from humans, but could be problematic for pack animals. We slowly dropped down to the logging road 9070, which is at a recovering clear cut. 400 yards down the road a little cairn marked the trail back down to Twin Lakes. Again very over grown, but no where near as steep as the route up. You quickly drop back to Twin Lakes and then you retrace your steps to the trailhead.