My brother and I went up to Vesper today but had to turn around after about 45 minutes of hiking. The trail was a bit rugged, but enjoyable. Unfortunately, on about the 3rd or 4th stream crossing the water was pretty high and the only crossing point available was a fairly narrow, wet log. Both of us are decently experienced/confident but it was too risky looking and the water underneath was moving fast and deep. Coming back down the trail some of the earlier crossings were also pretty tricky going the other direction. Would have liked to see the summit, but the crossings did us in today. Obviously comfort levels vary widely in this area, but at the moment I would say this one is a little too precarious for most hikers. There was another car at the trailhead so presumably someone out there made it just fine!

It was a perfect day for hiking, which is pretty much the case any day if it's not raining. The rout to the top of Vesper is snow free all the way to the top. This trail requires a lot of stepping up and down much like stairs, so if you have issues with those kind of conditions, consider yourself warned. My Garmin watch said 8.2 miles, but I lost satellite connection a couple times so I think it's closer to 9 miles with a total of 5260' of elev gain. Peak elevation approx 6200'. The views are spectacular up there, so if you have the chance to go I would go now before any snow comes. There is plenty of water along the way and one potentially difficult creek crossing (for some people). I sat down and scooted across the make-shift bridge....it seemed a little slippery and wobbly. If you fell in you would just get wet and probably not get hurt since it's low flow this time of year.

Great time to visit Vesper Peak, totally snow free to the summit. The trail is in fine condition and there is ample water along the route to quench your thirst. Bugs were present, but not in numbers great enough to be concerned about. Some berries left, but dessicating fast. Fall is coming, and with it eventually the snow, Get high while you still can! Happy Trails, BvG Read more at: harrybipedhiking.com

Vesper is a mixed bag. The trail is rough to say the least. Roots, rocks, and more rocks. But what a trail! This old miners trail winds upward through some impossible country to an impossibly beautiful lake tucked into a primordial bowl of scoured granite and screaming marmots. Our 'hike' was really a climb as we ascended the North Face. To do this route one needs ice ax, crampons, rope, a small rack, and lots of experience. We topped out a half hour before sunset. We crossed Vesper Lake's outlet just at dark. Descending this trail without a flashlight would be impossible. The wildness of this area is remarkable. Jagged ridge lines, glacial remnants, tumbling creeks, and domes of white granite. An overnight trip is in order:)

We made plans to attempt the North Face of Vesper Peak. We read some guidebook information and previous trip reports which were helpful as usual. We drove to the trail head using the WTA directions. The trail was easy to find, it was 10:30 am, there were no other cars and it had been lightly raining all morning. We decided to hike in and see how the weather and trail looked. The trail included water crossings, lots of rocks, larger and smaller rocks at different points. We both hike frequently and agreed that this was a very difficult trail to negotiate quickly and easily due to the rocky and uneven terrain. It is three miles into Headly Pass. There is a clear sign when you make it there. It seemed like quite a bit farther than 3miles due to slow terrain.....mostly rough rocky trail at this point, and some beautiful switch-backs in the final ascent. Headly Pass is elevation 4600 (our altimeter read 4800) If you think you are getting close its good to check your elevation, we thought we were close at 3500ft;-) The weather was very wet and we mostly worn rain pants, jackets, etc the whole day. The visibility was low. After Headly Pass we knew it was questionable whether we were going to try the climb, with the wetness and visability, but we wanted to make it to see the route. We continued on from Headly Pass.......this is where the rocks and boulder crossing was more intense, it was a trail well marked by fellow hikers, but was entirely rocks and a lot of focus on foot placement. We had some amazing views. We reached a very misty Vesper Lake. You reach a point before the lake where there is a fork to the left across water to summit the Peak from the regular trail. We continued on the right of the water (lake spillout creek) a little farther and then began our ascent up toward the north side. The trail began to head up and was more boulders and rocks and steep climbing. We hit the top of the boulder field followed the trail around the mountain side and emerged onto a littke snow field. We did not use crampons or have ice axes. Crampons would have been okay too. Across the snow field there is a decent into the Vesper Glacier area where the north face climb start was. We made it this far and visibility was very low, it was very wet and had taken hours longer than expected. We headed back, and look forward to trying again in better conditions. The route down was equally challenging on foot placement, ankles and feet........ we made it out at 8:00pm. It was a much more beautiful hike than I was expecting, views breathtaking and surreal.....the lake was amazing!!! Definitely worth the trip, be ready for the trails and have a great time.