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Silver Peak - A few more willows, but maybe less suck
The most-reported option for going up or down from Silver Peak from Lake of the Clouds seems to be directly, but no one ever seemed happy going that way. I wanted to benefit from the beta before me and explore a slightly different route up. Good news - it's a solid option. Bad news - there are more than zero willows.
If you just want to get the beta, the TL;DR shortcut is the second map. Otherwise, I'm going to use this TR as a chance to post some pretty-to-me pictures. You've been warned.
The "I'm just gonna look at a map" route This is what I sketched out in advance. Sometimes alpine creeks offer great pathways depending on the terrain. You can't know until you go!
Don't do this.
Initial thoughts, to meet with reality later
Why not? Willows.
The sketched-out route would take us up the stream in the background, surrounded by everyone's favorite wilderness molasses.
The "Here's what we actually did" route
Actual return trip, which featured small improvements from the way up. See, I care about you all.
Scouting We turned a day hike into a backpack so we could hang out at the lake. That also gave some extra time to scout the route from many different vantage points.
I found the scenic overlook, without a single sign pointing it out!
It also gave us time to scout some very pretty vistas nearby.
Sunrise from the waterfall. Wasn't terrible.September hiking means sleeping in and enjoying the sunrise
The hike
Honestly, pretty easy! If you're reading this TR, you're fine. The only novel thing was that one of the short stretches of mandatory willows were in full-blown pollen creation mode.
I've never wanted to hike with an N95 mask. Until now.Seriously.
The views were pretty spectacular from this path.
The wildlife Hawks, I've seen before. Small birbs, seen before.
I've never seen a hawk harass small birds in a willow grove before. They gotta eat!
Hawk very active looking for a mealMore hawk harassing birdsFlying away, with no dinner in tow
Ptarmigans, also found at 13k'.
They are such fluffy rock-like blobs!So delightfully fluffy.Is this a ptarmigan? A hawk? I don't know birds. I'm just gonna call it a pigeon and someone will correct me.
Conclusion
The Sangres, always a delightful hiking experience.
My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Comments or Questions
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