Foggy day down in the lowlands. Foggy on the trail until we got up to the switchbacks in Wirtz Basin heading to Headlee Pass. Once at the pass, sunshine everywhere and quite warm. Crossing the Stillaguamish at a mile and a half from the trailhead was no problem. Same with the creek up near Lake Elan. The short, steep switchbacks near Headlee Pass were quite chewed, be careful of dumping rocks on people below you. Route up to Vesper was snow-free at this time, but not for long.

I had scrambled up Vesper Peak one time before. It was in October following the record snow year of, I believe, 1998. The upper mountain was under 4-6 inches of fresh snow on top of several feet of ice from the previous winter. I had hoped to hike up the great rock slabs and instead had a winter like climb. Since then I had meant to do a late season trip and finally see the mountain without ice and snow. This was a mountaineer trip with Karen leading so I was sure it would be a fun day. We were the first hikers to arrive at the trailhead and were on the trail by 9:10. I expected the creek crossings to be very easy since the summer has been so dry. There was a little rain the last week and surprisingly the creeks had a substantial flow. They were still easy enough to rock hop across. The final crossing is the S F Stillaguamish and that would have been a big problem except for a log across. It is not very wide but the top has been cut flat. It was not there on my previous trip and made for a much better crossing than we had then. Soon the forest gives way to more open terrain and some views begin. Sperry Peak is high above and Mt. Dickerman is across the valley to the north. Fall colors are just beginning. This will be even more impressive in a few weeks. The group came back together at the river crossing. We planned to do the same when we reached the beginning of the upper valley. The trail makes a number of switchbacks as it climbs up into the valley. This is an old miners trail and is definitely not up to modern standards. Still it is better than most miners trails I have been on. When we entered the upper basin we stopped to wait for the others. From here we could see up towards Morningstar Peak and to the vicinity of Hedlee Pass. The actual pass is not visible until you are directly below it. Karen was with the latter half of the group and they took a side trail which took them across the valley. We soon spotted them and the group came back together. I missed out on their little scrambly adventure. The trail is nearly nonexistent in places as the dirt gives way to talus. There are cairns periodically to keep you on the correct route. Most of the way from here to the lake is on rock. It can be more than a little jarring on the knees, especially on the descent. Higher up the valley the trail is much more obvious and some is even on dirt. When the trail finally switchbacks this is the signal that the climb to Hedlee Pass has begun in earnest. The gully narrows and so do the switchbacks. The grade is not too steep but there are many switchbacks. Hedlee Pass is small and forested. A short trail leads to views out towards Mt. Pugh. On the other side Vesper Peak came into view for the first time. There were a few clouds as we hiked from the start to the pass. I was surprised to see that on the other side of the pass it was mostly cloudy. The clouds were very low. Vesper went from hidden to visible as the clouds blew through. We had agreed to reform the group near the lake so we had the OK to proceed to there. From the pass the grade drops slightly and traverses across a long talus field. Across the rocks is the creek coming from the lake between Vesper and Sperry Peaks. I have heard this lake called ""Vesper Lake"" and ""Elan Lake"". Whichever, it is completely surrounded by rocks and still has snow along several sections of the shoreline. An iceberg island is floating in it as well. We dropped our packs where the climbers trail begins to ascend Vesper and hiked the short distance to the lake. A lake this barren seems out of place this low and this far west of the crest. After returning to our packs and having lunch the rest of the party arrived. We bundled up while waiting as it was getting cold. From here to the summit tuned out to be some of the most enjoyable scrambling I have done. It was much different, more interesting, and safer than the icy trek I had done before. The route is at first through heather with some trees. It then steepens considerably but is still just a trail. The vegetation soon ends and there was nothing but bare rock between us and the summit. We followed cairns part of the way but they are really not necessary. Most any route will do if you just aim a little to the left of the summit. This rock had as much traction as anything I have ever been on. It might be a little tougher if wet but it was dry today. We purposely tried to find some slightly more challenging spots to make it more interesting. In no time we were on the summit. I expected it to take more than 30 minutes to gain the 1300' from the creek to the summit. Clouds were all around us. They blocked many of the views. On the positive side it was sunny directly above us and we were comfortably warm. The tip of Glacier Peak periodically poked its head above the clouds. Nearby Big Four never did. The clouds were especially bad to the south and west. One other hiker was on top. Her climbing friends had rappelled down to climb the very challenging north face. We later met them and after descending they were unable to cross a huge moat and didn't get to do their climb. Karen wasn't sure she felt well enough to make the summit but make it she did. This is a popular place. The summit register is two years old and it is already full. Photography from the summit was a little frustrating. Peaks would come out of the clouds for a few seconds then be plunged back out of sight. The clouds did make for some very interesting photos as well. The descent of the rocks was as much fun as the climb. Once I had confidence in the traction I was able to walk down sections which seemed way too steep. After the rocks came the heather slopes and soon we were back at the creek. The rest of the descent was straight forward but slow as a few people were having leg and knee problems. We still made it out comfortably before dark. This turned out to be a fun trip. The slabs of Vesper were even better than I had hoped for. The company was A+ and the weather was not great but it never rained. I'm sure I will be back to Vesper on a more or less regular basis. The distance listed on maps and books seem to conflict for this trip. I estimate that it was about 8 miles round trip with 4200' gained. Photos have been posted at http://www.hikingnorthwest.com. Go to ""Trips-2003"" on the left margin.

Do this hike now, before the snow arrives. Very good trail all the way up and up and up. Three of us went for the day, weather was perfect with sun, no bugs, about 12 others on the trail all day. There are nice camping areas beyond Headly pass about 15 minutes, next to the stream made by the melting snow. A fantastic place to sit for awhile before continuing up, or down. This is the BEST hike I have been on, Dickerman used to be my favorite. Views are great, the trail is a good sweat. Unless you have skill at the ice ax, now is the time to go. I will do this again.

this peak was much easier than we anticipated. first, crossing the stillaguamish was very easy. the log across is now right-side-up. i can see how this crossing can be very precarious during high water season. second, headlee pass is snow free. so with the two major barriers gone, the scramble from lake elan was done half on easy rock and half on moderate snow slopes. we used our ice axes on the way up. from the top of vesper descended east to the ridge connecting vesper and the 5800+ knob nw of vesper. we climbed most of the way up this knob then dropped down to the saddle between it and sperry peak. we clambered down to and traveled on the east side of lake elan till we met back up with the trail. we did not need ice axes for this route down from vesper.

Mark and I started at the Sunrise Mine trailhead at 8:45 AM on September, 28 2002. After crossing four creeks, including a log crossing over the Stillaguamish River, we came to the beginning of a handful of switchbacks that climb up a fern covered slope. Watch your footing up and down this stretch of the trail, there are a lot of slippery rocks that can easily twist an ankle, especially with a heavy pack on. Continuing past the slope the trail flattens briefly, then enters an awesome valley which leads to the steep ascent of Headlee Pass. The valley is full of avalanche debris including broken trees, snow pack, and tons of large boulders which lost their battle with gravity. The trail continues over open rock slides then switchbacks through some standing trees and then once again makes its way over more open rock slides. The last 600 feet is in a very steep, and tight gully that finally sends you over the 4600’ Headlee Pass. It took us about 2 hours 15 minutes of hiking time to reach the pass at 2.6 miles. Looking at the summit of Vesper Peak from the pass may intimidate an average hiker, but strong legs and determination will reward you with an outstanding view of Mt. Baker, Glacier Peak, Monte Cristo Peaks, Mt.Rainier, Morning Star Peak, Sperry Peak, the Olympics, and too many more to count. So just put your head down and start climbing. If you are just planning to hike to Headlee Pass, go for 10 minutes more across the rock slide and find a seat next to the still frozen Vesper Lake. The lake is a neat place and the cirque it sits in is exhilarating with the broken granite that surrounds it. If going to Vesper, continue over the outlet stream of the lake, climb a little bit past some outstanding campsites, and eventually start climbing steeply up a tree covered slope. Eventually you come to a small plateau that leads to the beginning of the rocky eastern slope of Vesper Peak. Continuing straight up the rocky face toward the summit you will eventually realize that all the peaks you were staring up at are now well below you. The views will expand with each step you take. You can pick out any route you want on the huge rock slabs that make up Vesper Peak, some parts are steeper than others. After about 1 hour and 20 minutes of hiking from the pass Mark and I stood on the 6200 foot summit of Vesper Peak. All told it took us about 3.5 hours from the trailhead and 3900’ elevation gain. If you have extra time, find a nice cozy slab of rock to perch on below the summit and take in the scenery with your own private view. If you’re the slightest bit uncomfortable with heights, be careful when you look over the north face, it drops straight down about 2000 feet to a glacier which feeds Copper Lake. Wild stuff! Have fun! And most importantly, leave no trace. Josh joshco7@nwlink.com