A little background. Two years ago, Fred and I attempted to take a Japanese exchange student up this route, but I somehow got off route, and we ended up doing some real unpleasant bushwhacking through thorns and brambles. Then last fall, I took a friend I've known since junior high up here, and we tromped around the lake for a while, and I verified that I could in fact find the trail.
So, here we were again. We left the trailhead around 8:20, and headed on up. I was lagging behind taking photos of mushrooms and stuff. And, we managed to find the spot where we'd gone wrong last time. Fred was heading up the hill, and I noticed that the trail seemed to turn to the right and cross the stream. I didn't remember crossing a stream that way, and there did seem to be a trail heading up the hill as well. But on our trip two years before, we'd ended up in a valley to the left (north) of the correct valley, and it looked like the trail which crossed the stream continued out into a wide open hillside, which is in fact where the trail is supposed to go. So I called Fred back, and we followed the trail.
I was pretty relieved when we passed some landmarks which showed to me that we were in fact on the right trail. And the trail headed up, up, up, and turned to the left into the wide valley which my Exploring Washington's Mines book says is called Wirtz Canyon.
Fred was doing quite well, considering. The big problem with the broken hip was three full months of enforced inactivity. He'd had to stay COMPLETELY off his leg, and by the end of it, his leg looked more like an arm, the muscles had atrophied so much. He's worked hard to build it back up, but we're not 25 anymore, neither of us.
In Wirtz canyon, we were passed by another party: a man in his 50s and two kids, one a girl who looked about 12. Fred was pretty chagrined by this, expecially the girl.
The day was clear and sunny, and it was a beautiful hike up to Headlee Pass (4800') and views of Glacier Peak. Then the trail heads southwest along a scree slope, with views of Morningstar Peak, Del Campo, Gothic, and the whole range to the east.
This trail, as its name implies, will take you to the Sunrise Mine, which is said to consist of four adits (and which I've never been able to find.) But we didn't do that, we turned right into the basin that separates Vesper and Sperry peaks, and followed the trail up Vesper. I hadn't taken the trail up (when I came up here with Max, we took the trail down) and it is rather easier than clambering over the rocks.
At the summit were four hikers and their dog, and of course, beautiful views. It was a bit hazy, but we could see Mt. Rainier in the south, the hazy outline of Stuart to the east, and all the mountains to the north: Baker, Shuksan, the Twin Sisters range, the southern Pickets, White Chuck, Pugh, Whitehourse, Three Fingers, and dozens of others we could and couldn't name. From up there, Twin Peaks looks like a reasonable objective.
So we hung around for a little while, and looked down on the N. Face route, which looks pretty appealing, and the Vesper Glacier, before heading down. Predictably, there was no cell phone service, despite the phone showing a strong signal. How do those people stay in business?
WE signed the summit register (I don't remember one from last time) and I saw that Alex Krawaric was on the N. Face a couple of days ago. It's fun to see names of people you know in registers.
We headed down rather slowly and carefully. I'd been thinking it would be a good opportunity to bag Sperry as well. Fred didn't want to, but told me to go ahead, but I decided to pass, since it's not that important to me, and I didn't want to leave Fred. After all, part of the point of climbing with a friend is hanging out together and talking.
Descending Vesper, I convinced Fred to take one of my hiking poles, and he said it did make a difference. I felt a bit easier, actually, to descend with just one pole. Perhaps not so much cushioning of the knees, but it's less complicated to hike that way when the trail is pretty uneven.
On the descent, we passed three older guys, in their 60s, probably, heading up Vesper, apparently hiking separately.
At the bottom of Wirtz Canyon over on the lower flank of Sperry peak, there's a mine adit I noticed when I was up here with Tom last year, and I saw again today. So I left Fred to his own devices and headed over to check it out. I had visions of going hundreds of feet in, finding old mine lanterns and tools, but it was only about 15 feet deep. A but of a disappointment, but now I know.
We were back to the car by about 4:00, and stopped at the Timberline in Granite Falls for beer and burgers, at Dairy Queen for dessert, and home again.
Given my track record, I sort of expected to be kind of resentful about having missed a more macho climb, just slogging up little old Vesper a second time. But I didn't, I felt quite good, happy, and content. You don't have to super-macho stuff, sometimes it's more fun to hang out with a good friend and enjoy the outdoors. I'll sucker someone into the N. Face of Vesper real soon now, that'll make up for it.
Photos to follow