Eagle Cliff Peak: On Tuesday Skye & I headed up Dry Creek to the stateline and hiked over to Eagle Cliff Peak. On the drive up I saw a young bull moose and got a bad picture, oh well. Eagle Cliff Peak is a 5.5 mile round trip hike along the stateline trail. The first mile is uphill but then you get a break with some rollers to the first overlook of Cliff and Diamond Lakes and then it is back up hill most of the way to the peak. The stateline trail goes within 100 feet of the summit so the actual climb to the top is not much. The provides Along the way we saw 2 goats in their full fluffy white winter coats, but they didn't stick around for a picture and on the drive back we saw a bear alongside the road.
Ward, Eagle & Gold Peaks: On Thursday I headed up along the stateline road 391 to the Ward Peak Trialhead. I have hiked to all 3 peaks at sometime, but I haven't done all three in one day. Each peak offers a unique view of the area with little overlap of the summit views. It was 45 and windy when I started up Ward Peak. The peak is not a bad hike and I made the summit in 45 minutes. The old lookout cabin site is still there, but with little of anything left. The summit views are good; looking toward Eagle Peak and down at Mary Lake. It was really windy on top and I only stayed a short 15 minutes before heading back down toward Eagle Peak. Instead of taking the trail all the way to Eagle Peak, I headed down the main ridge to the saddle between the 2 peaks; a cross-country venture. The going is good down the ridge with not a lot of brush or small trees.
The climb up Eagle Peak from the saddle is steep with very little relief until near the top. There is several old mining holes near the summit and a large pile of rocks mark the summit. The views back toward Ward Peak and down at Hub & Hazel Lakes is very good. There are a lot of shadows this time of year off of Ward Peak, so summer offers better pictures. Again, it was really windy on the summit so I sat behind the summit roack pile to take a break and have a snack. Then is was down the hill and over to Gold Peak, just a mile away.
The hike to Gold Peak is fairly easy and only took 1/2 hour or so. The summit is just a big pile of rock that used to hold several different lookouts over the years. The views are good with Gold Lake below and 360 degree view at the surrounding country. Both Eagle and Ward Peaks are visible, but there are 3-4 lakes that are just out of view, but you can see where they lay in their respective basins. I stayed longer than I planned, eating lunch and lounging on the summit. The way back went well. The climb back up Eagle Peak is steeper than the front side but shorter. Not a bad day, I started at 8:45 and was back to the truck at 2:30 covering 7.5 miles and 2640 vertical feet.
