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 | Trailhead |
| Parking |
| Access trails |
| Trail forks, junctions |
| East summit |
| West summit |
| The saddle |
GPS Stats and other info:
| Milage: 8.1 |
| Elevation: 2600 feet |
| Access road 5.4 miles |
Hiked Tinkham peak w/ Joan, Lizzie, and Masataka
We get an EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA late start picking up Lizzie at her new REI job at
2pm and I exceed the designated speed to get us to the Mirror lake trailhead at
windy pass. This is a section of the Pacific Crest Trail that I've been on
before and it's a wonderful collection of big Douglas fir, beautiful little
creeks and nice views.
Our goal is the west summit of Tinkham, an awesome, craggy, medieval looking
summit (seen from the northwest). I think it should be fairly easy but a search
of the web turns up few details that make any sense. Even the Becky guidebook is
ambiguous about which of the east and west
summits is the highest! I guess we'll figure it out on the fly ;-)
We're on the trail at 3:30 pm - yah yah, I know. Hey, the days are long AND
we're planning (PLANNING!) on coming out in the dark. We have headlamps for all
and the last hour of
our return will be on the PCT which should be easy to follow in the dark if and
when it comes to that.
Seattle is just coming off a week of 90+ degree weather and today they are they are predicting rain. We're ready for that too and no sooner do we hit the trail and it does... rain. Not badly though but it is clear from the dripping emerald green everywhere that it had been raining earlier too. It doesn't last long and leaves the wild flowers glistening.
The PCT traverses under the east flanks of silver steadily climbing for 1.75
miles where it reaches the 'S' curves, the only place where
it does lose elevation. Over the next quarter of a mile we get some beautiful
views of your goal - Tinkham hanging like a castle in the sky. At the end of
this quarter mile is a fork marked by a large cairn (elevation 4280). We follow
this little trail up for a half mile to the saddle you can see above you
(elevation 4730). Here the trail splits in 3. Right goes to Silver, middle to
Abiel, and the left to Tinkham.
The Tinkham trail gains elevation a little more seriously here, following the right side of a ridge that runs to the west summit. The trail isn't the most distinct but the direction is obvious - up. Also, as long as you continue to see signs reminding you not to trespass into the Cedar River watershed you're going the right way. At about 5:30 PM we reach the summit rocks. There are a few spots that look like they might require some major scrambling but that just means that we've wandered off the path. Stay on the path and the top is an easy but occasionally steep and exposed walk.
Forty minutes after leaving the saddle, we reach the top. It's blustery,
sometimes foggy, only occasionally offering views that come and go but the north
edge is a spectacular vertical drop! We find a sheltered spot and celebrate with
food. It's cold but Joan had the great idea to bring hot chai tea which really
hits the spot. We sup and discuss out options. I suggest that we NOT go back the
way we came in. The trail up from the saddle is guaranteed to be a knee breaker
plus it's slippery and muddy. The ridge to the east summit looks really cool and
appears to have a well traveled trail. From here we can find the descent to
mirror lake where we'll reconnect to the PCT. I estimate it'll add a mile and a
half "worth of adventure" to our trip and probably guarantee we'll come out in
the dark, but it will theoretically be easier. We all agree.
Abiel Lake from near the summit
Silver peak from near the summit
The ridge walk is indeed easy. The weather is getting a little better and there
are lots of great views. It's about a half mile to the east summit where the
descent trail continues southeast through a big talus field. We keep leftish
heading toward mirror lake. when we re-enter the forest we have a little trouble
finding the trail but once found it's easy to follow (accompanied once again by
the ubiquitous "no trespassing" signs). In an hour and half we reach Mirror
lake, circumnavigate counter-clockwise, find the Pacific Crest Trail and begin
the hike out. Joan has some knee problems that are acting up and we move pretty
slow, reaching the car at 10:40 PM.
I highly recommend this hike - it is gorgeous and doing it as a loop minimizes
going over the same ground twice. We took 7 hours but I'm sure it could be done
comfortably in 6 without any hurry at all. 8.1 miles round trip, 2600 feet.
Directions:
Drive I-90 to Snoqualmie Pass, take the Hyak exit and drive through the Hyak ski
area slash development area. Stay on the main road and drive south past a sewage
treatment plant, past Lake Keechelus for a total of 5.4 miles to reach Windy
Pass (elev 3830) and the Mirror lake trailhead (same as the Pacific Crest
Trail). Follow the PCT 2 miles (.25 miles past the 'S' turns where you lose
elevation) and fork uphill (at elevation 4280) to the saddle (4730) between
Silver, Abiel and Tinkham peaks. At the saddle there are multiple forks - take
the left most to the west summit of Tinkham (5390). Follow the ridge to the east
summit (5380), then descend on a southeast line to Mirror lake (4200). Here you
can regain the Pacific Crest trail (northbound) and walk out (3.5 miles). Total
8.1 miles round trip, 2600 feet.
Note - there's an alternative approach to Tinkham that I have not done where you
hike in from a trailhead southeast of Cottonwood lake (which is southeast of
mirror lake).
Remember grasshopper, "the path IS the goal".
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