Chugach peaks

[atodor]

I am planning to hike one of the peaks in the South Fork Eagle River area in Chugach State Park, AK: Eagle, Cantata or Hurdygurdy (or if everything else fails, Harp). I want to do it in a day, Aug. 29. I am wondering what the difficulty level would be for each and if there are some spots that would cause me to turn around before reaching the peak. Should I aim for the highest (Eagle) or content myself with the easiest (Hurdygurdy)? Are the views comparable? Cantata would be a nice option for the views above Eagle and Symphony Lakes. I am an experienced hiker (e.g. I hiked Mt. Whitney or Mt. Katahdin as day hikes), but not a climber.

[Scott P]

I havent climbed them, but summitpost.org and lstsofjohn.com list Cantata Peak at class 3+ and Hurdygurty at class 3.

[Wentzl]

I have a couple friends in Anchorage and put the question to them, here is what I got back:

Well, I’ve only been harp and Cantata. Not eagle or hurdy-gurdy. Harp is easily done in a day and it is at the front of the valley so not a long ways in. We actually hiked in the hanging valley trail because we were going to climb a different peak and then decided not to. Went up to the ridgeline and around to harp.

I remember we brought a rope for Cantata, but never used it. We used survey tape to mark our way up to the peak so we would go back the same way. Lots of steep scree fields and cliffs, and it would’ve been really easy to get cliffed-out if we didn’t return the same way.