Hike of the Week: Vesper Peak

Scrambler Ed Sibrel enjoys the view down to Copper Lake

Vesper Peak

High peak above Headlee Pass calls out to be bagged




by Craig Romano
photo by Craig Romano
produced by Michael Fagin

September 1, 2006

Quick Facts
Location: Mountain Loop Highway, Snohomish County, WA
Land Agency: (US Forest Service) Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Roundtrip: 9.0 miles
Elevation gain: 3,800 feet
Access: From Granite Falls follow Mountain Loop Highway east for 19 miles. Turn south on FR 4065 following for 2.3 miles to trailhead at road end.
Notes: NW Forest Pass required. Vesper is a class 2 scramble-off trail skills are required.
Green Trail Maps: Silverton, WA- No 110, Sloan Peak, WA- No 111

I love to scramble-ice-axe in hand, map and compass in pack and adventurous spirit in my heart. I usually scramble to escape people, but ironically, it is often the people who have traveled before me I owe my off-trail experiences to. Face it-there is very little terrain on the planet that has not met the bottom of a boot. Well before the U.S. Forest Service began administering much of our wild lands, Native Americans, trappers, miners, and others traversed our wilderness areas developing routes. As they faded from the land, so did many of their trails.
Often in my adventures I come across remnants of ancient pathways. Many times, I follow them. One of my favorite places to scramble is off the Mountain Loop Highway. The area is dotted by old mines. In the early 20th century, the mountains of this region swarmed with prospectors. The two nearby ghost towns of Monte Cristo and Silverton attest to their past flurry of activity.
Scores of abandoned miners' routes remain discernable in the region. A few of them have been converted into trails. The Weden Creek trail to Gothic Basin and the Sunrise Mine trail to Headlee Pass are two of them. Both lead high into rugged country from where you can scramble as far as your endurance, ability and desire will lead you. The trip to 6,214- foot Vesper Peak from Headlee Pass is one of my all-time favorite off-trail pursuits.
The initial climb is grueling, gaining 2,300 feet in less than 2.5 miles to Headlee Pass. In many ways, the trail is more difficult than the scramble route afterwards. The trail traverses brushy slopes and loose talus on its way to an inconspicuous gap between towering and rocky Morning Star and Sperry Peaks.
Once you attain the pass however, a whole new world unfolds as rock leads to forest and alpine meadows. From here, the scramble to Vesper Peak doesn’t require any special equipment, but you may want to bring an ice axe for glissading on the descent. Beyond Headlee, hike a scant path across scree to a beautiful tarn between Vesper and Sperry. Now through heather, follow a way path above the tarn to the rocky upper slopes of the peak. Pick your route, clambering over granite ledges to the summit.
The view from the rocky summit is amazing. Vesper’s northface drops almost 2,000 sheer feet to a large glacier below. Its melting waters feed azure Copper Lake. In past years, miners ran all over the valley below looking for big strikes. None of the mines ever yielded much, and that's probably a good thing for these mountains. Scramble routes lead down to Copper Lake and beyond, but only a crazy miner or masochistic hiker would dare try to follow them; or perhaps an alpine bear. On a recent outing, I watched a young bruin dart across summit snow fields. I guess humans aren’t the only ones who prefer to scramble this peak.