Took a hike to the top of Vesper Peak today, what a day, phew! The Headlee Pass trail starts off innocently enough, and then into a decent gain, which flattens out a bit as you enter more alpine lands. The gain starts to become more direct here before taking off like a rocket up to Headlee Pass. If you make it to Headlee, the trail then traverses a wide talus slope before entering the Vesper Lake bowl. The lake is still entombed in snow for the most part, but water is ample, fresh and ice cold! The climb up Vesper Peak begins directly across the outlet stream. Soon you are at a fine viewpoint for the Vesper Bowl, great spot to rest before heading up. The climb follows a well established trail until you reach bare rock, at which point cairns start to serve as waypoints. I followed my own path, avoiding snow as much as possible and merrily working my way up very pleasant rock. Not long I arrived at the summit and took in the views, and the views were fantastic. I was slightly disappointed to not find the summit register, or perhaps to have discovered that it was missing, either way, I didn't see it. On the way down I took a different route, opting to glissade instead. While righting myself I heard the crack of cannon fire, just to catch a large chunk of ice and snow hurtle towards Vesper Lake from the flank of Sperry Peak!

This week we headed out to the Mountain Loop Highway to take on Vesper Peak, one of the many hikes in the area that remain snowbound most of the year. The hike description hinted at stunning views, a lake, and perhaps traces of a mining operation, but cautioned that the route was difficult and a little treacherous. Vesper Peak delivered on both counts – we got our views, but our legs paid for them. The Sunrise Mine Trail #707 begins by threading through a ragged stand of trees, with almost no underbrush. Greenery soon appears as a series of creeks and rivers cut across the rocky trail. The largest and most formidable is the South Fork Stillaguamish River, located about a half-mile down the trail. There are no permanent bridges here, so use caution crossing over rocks and logs, especially during the spring. Once you make it past the water, the trees begin to recede and the work begins. The trail slices through a valley of dense underbrush, switchbacking upwards toward the cliffs above. The narrow trail is more root and rock than earth, with parts of the trail missing where sections have fallen away. To see the full report, check out: http://www.hikingwithmybrother.com/2012/09/sunrise-mine-trail-707-to-vesper-peak.html Nathan & Jer

Good conditions and fresh snow made this super enjoyable. The "big" river crossing early in the hike is easily navigated this time of year. Snow is solid from the beginning of the hike up to Headlee Pass. The trail is easily followed to the lake. From the lake follow shelves up and left of the lake. Much of the upper hike to Vesper is on remnant snow from last year. The fresh snow on top makes for a moderately good base. Winter is coming! Photos are linked to below. http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharer-_-Images&_requestid=658836

I read about this peak in a friend's blog. Looked up information on wta and on summitpost.org. Looked like it would be a fun scramble, and it might be the last good weekend for it for a while. I arrived at the trailhead at 8:15 am, and no one else was there yet. Leave room at the end of the road to turn around and park on the side of the road. The Google Map directions will get you there perfectly. We began walking at approximately 8:30. The trail is steep. Just about every section, whether in the woods at the beginning, the open meadows below Headlee Pass, or the rock scramble up to Vesper Peak, you are moving straight up. It is fun, but it is a workout. There are a lot of cairns to mark the trail, but once you get to the snow and exposed granite on Vesper you can easily make your own way. It took me three hours to get to the summit, and two and a half to come down. I hike a lot and average over 2 mph when I have a light pack and the elevation is around 500 ft per mile. With a light pack on this hike, I averaged 1.3 mph.

One of the most beautiful and varied hikes I've been on. I'll skip the details since they're well covered elsewhere. The trail up to Headlee Pass is obvious most of the time; look for kairns when crossing talus. Once at the outflow of Sperry Lake, take the ridge on the left to the peak; should be pretty obvious. The lake was still mostly frozen and there was snow most the rest of the way up,except in one area of the rdige with shrubby trees. Our day was warm and sunny and the snow soft and grippy, but I think the nights are cold enough now that you might encounter ice on the snow fields. Though we didn't use crampons or ice axes, they may be needed very soon. There's a terracache box at the summit. If you want to particpate, bring something to exchange!