A couple weeks ago I hiked up Vesper Peak for the second time. I got there in the early morning, and started hiking just after sunrise. The road was closed due to a washout about a mile from the trailhead, so the overall hike ended up being 10 miles round-trip with about 4200 feet of elevation change.
Map and path I took
Looking up the valley
Sunrise on a nearby mountain from the start of the trail
There were two guys from Portland who started at the same time I did. They had larger packs, and were planning on climbing the technical route up the north face of the mountain. We kept leapfrogging as we hiked up towards the summit.
Waterfall running down a rock face
At the start of the valley
A bit further up the valley
A tree
The toughest part of the hike is Headlee Pass, which was snow-filled during my hike. I went up with crampons and an axe. The guys from Portland were just ahead of me at this point, so I was able to follow the steps they kicked.
Getting near the end of the valley
Looking back down the valley towards Mount Dickerman
The beginning of Headlee Pass
Looking up Headlee Pass
Looking back from Headlee Pass, with Glacier Peak in the distance
Looking back from the top of Headlee Pass
Vesper Peak, from just beyond Headlee Pass
View of peaks to the south
Looking back at Headlee Pass
Creek crossing and snow
Mount Rainier in the distance
Vesper Lake from above
Heading up Vesper Peak
Looking back above Headlee Pass
Further up Vesper Peak
Looking off to the northeast
The hike up above headlee wasn't bad with crampons and an axe. The only problem was the heat, which meant that the snow was slushy. It also meant that I took my shirt off and hiked up with only shorts and gaiters, which proved to be a mistake, since it as also very sunny and the snow was reflective.
The summit of Vesper
Panorama from the top
Copper lake and Mt Baker
My stuff at the top
Me. Without sunglasses. Idiot.
Glacier Peak in the distance
Rainier and other peaks
Spada lake, with Seattle and the Olympics in the distance
Me, soon to be sunburned, and Glacier Peak.
I was the first to the top, followed by the two guys from Portland. They had decided that the technical route was too snowy, and had followed me up the walk-up route. We hung out for a while, talking about different climbs to do in Washington. They would be up here for another week, and were planning on going to the Snoqualmie region soon.
After they left, I was joined by a guy named Mark, who was an experienced hiker in the area. He told me stories from many of his hikes, of which he had done over 300. It seemed like he had been up almost every visible peak.
I started heading down from the peak after probably 2 hours at the summit. The glissade down from the top was very fun, and I passed probably 15 people on their way up. I ended up plung-stepping down Headlee, because glissading down would be a recipe for a broken leg.
I hiked pretty fast for the rest of the hike, because I was already starting to feel the effects of sunburn. As it turns out, multiple hours with the sun above and bright snow below can result in burns.
Sperry Peak and Vesper Lake
Morning Star Peak and Del Campo
Back at the creek and Morning Star