O emailed me and V about climbing these 3 peaks south of Snoqualmie Pass earlier in the week. I expressed my interest. However, I wasn't sure if I had energy to go after a long hike (a potential climb/scramble) on Saturday, so I told them maybe. O stayed at V's house after a day hike to Defiance on Saturday. Saturday night, when I contacted them, V said he was expecting me, and there were 4 others joining us.
10/31, Sunday. I walked to Ar's building to catch a ride with him. 3rd time I met him, 3rd home. He broke one leg this spring skiing. Seems fully recovered. Being in his 20's, everything heals fast. The 7 of us met at Issaquah at 8am, and Ar and I rode in Q.L.'s car with M.C. We started at the Silver Peak TH on PCT. About 6 miles rugged FR-9070 from Hyak. Already windy at the trail head (quite open and flat). M.C. and I wore helmet on top of our caps, so the caps don't get blown away.
PCT is flat. After getting into the trees, wind wasn't an issue. Silver Peak is the longest of the three, but with established trail, and quite a few hikers. Some of them turned around due to the wind. It was ferocious when trudging along the ridge.
We huddled behind the top rocks for the first snack break (see the first picture). Wind was from the north. Blue sky, clear view all around. But I wasn't steady enough to take panorama photos. Snow is thickest along the flat stretch between the two ridges. Mostly dusty on the rock. I brought ice axe, but never took it off. Did put on a puffy when stop.
We didn't stay long due to the wind, and continued down. The next is Abiel Peak. There's a boot track before the junction to PCT. This one has a couple of icy rocks to manouver over (I took to the trees on the way down). But nothing too difficult.
The top is more wooded than Silver, so not as windy. We were the only group to/from Abiel. We took a second short food stop, and back down to PCT.
Walk PCT for a bit, and we found the boot track to Tinkham. The trail in the trees is mostly snow free, so easy to follow. It is pretty steep. Every once awhile, a no-trespassing sign nailed on a tree. This makes me think that the trail was built to put up these no-trespassing signs.
The top most 100' is rocky, and had a few icy spots. A group of 3 Russians in Holloween costumes stopped here. Ar also waited here for the rest of us. He didn't feel comfortable due to icy rocks. I took a different route up than everyone else. Made to the top right after R. On the way down, I followed the group. This scramble should be easy without snow/ice.
They signed summit registry and took many photos. Less wind now.
Unevenful on the way out. Very efficient outing today. Both Q.L. and V drove fast. I got home still in daylight. This stat is from V's iphone. Various people's phone recorded different numbers.
More photos from my group.
