Paperboy and Boomerang by Twin Peaks via Quartz Creek / 報童峯

Home > Trips > Paperboy and Boomerang by Twin Peaks via Quartz Creek / 報童峯

Paperboy and Boomerang by Twin Peaks are north of Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area (NRCA). The former sees out to Middle Fork Snoqualmie while the latter overlooks Lake Philippa. The closeness of the two peaks makes it a feasible day trip.

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Paperboy and Boomerang at a Glance

Access: Snoqualmie Lake Trailhead
Round Trip: 12.7 miles
Elevation Range: 1160′-5185′
Gear: snowshoes, microspikes
Route Info: Marcus Peinado, Outside & Stuff
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance

Paperboy and Boomerang

This weekend we came back to Middle Fork Snoqualmie and drove to the end of Middle Fork Road. Then we started walking from the gate before the bridge. Despite the cloudy forecast, we had a clear sky.

Paperboy and Boomerang first came on my radar from The Ark, aka Rooster Mountain, a decade ago. Then back in January, we had another close encounter with them from Twin Peaks. But I haven’t thought about climbing them until now.

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Quartz Creek Trail

It’s been ten years since we last set foot on Snoqualmie Lake Trail. On the way to Quartz Creek Trail, we walked past a couple of empty tents by Taylor River. Then in half a mile, we turned left at the fork.

Snow later showed up in half a mile. Then I changed from microspikes to snowshoes in continuous snow. The path climbed steadily through The Ark’s south side and flattened past Road 112.

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Road Washouts

We went past the junction for the first time. Right away, a large washout awaited our arrival. There were one too many, so I’ve lost count. But the first one and the two before the switchback were more profound.

Two big dipping logs in the middle of the first washout looked like part of an old bridge. We used them to cross and then continued. En route, we sometimes had views of Quartz Mountain to the south.

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Continuing on NF-5640

The second significant washout had a thinning snow bridge. So I took a giant leap to the other side of the water. Oddly, I saw a cable hanging next to the waterfall right before jumping. But I’m not sure how useful it would’ve been.

There was scarce snow around the final washout. So we carefully worked our way around the edge using the leftover slush. Then I used a few small trees on the other side to go back up on the road. The dogs just hopped.

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Shortcutting Through Waterfall Gully

Later we reached the 3200′ switchback before a waterfall gully. The roadway went for another mile before ending at 400′ above us. Instead, we shortcut the ravine via a snow bridge to the minor ridge on the west.

The first 200′ was pretty steep. Then it eased up right before we went out to the road’s end. During this, the view of Treen Peak and Garfield Mountain was behind us. To the south was the striking sight of Bessemer Mountain‘s pointy top.

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3600′ Meadow to Paperboy’s Summit

Here we had our first sighting of Paperboy towering at 1400′ overhead. So far, we haven’t gone as fast as we’d like because of the snow quality. It felt a tad better than last week, though not by much.

So we moved at turtle speed through the open forest toward the southwest ridgeline. Later from the ridge at 4700′, we made the final 300′ up to the top. Meanwhile, we stayed west of the crest, away from the line of cornices.

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Paperboy Summit

Glad I decided not to try and come up through the east ridge. The ridgeline seemed tame from the meadow. But it was steeper when I looked down from the top. It also didn’t look conducive to traversing for the pups.

By then, it was an overcast sky. But all the familiar places around us were visible because of the high clouds. We still needed to go over to Boomerang a mile away and back. So we only stayed for 10 minutes before moving again.

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Paperboy Northwest Ridge Traverse to Boomerang

I wasn’t sure what the ridgeline was like from Paperboy to Boomerang. But we stayed just below west of the crest because earlier, I saw more cornices from Paperboy. Other than losing 600′, the traverse was straightforward.

I couldn’t find information on Boomerang’s south ridge. But from the 4400′ south saddle, we followed the steep ridgeline to see where it’d lead us. Apart from having to plow through more snow, it was a direct route up to the top.

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Boomerang Summit

One thing I wanted to see was Twin Peaks. But it could be the angle because the ridgeline looked unimpressive. It was more exciting to see Lake Philippa from here. Has it been over seven years since we visited the lake?

I thought about going back up to Paperboy on the way out. But I figured we’d spend more time on this taller summit instead. Trees lined the southern slopes, but we had unobstructed views to the north. More clouds had moved in during our time here.

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Outro

Another highlight was seeing the plethora of jagged peaks in Middle Fork Snoqualmie Valley. So hard to leave this place. We only needed to regain 400′ before joining our tracks on Paperboy’s southwest ridge. But the snow had worsened.

It drizzled a few times as we made our way down the mountain. At one point, the clouds had covered most distant peaks. But the sky cleared up again with sun rays strewing the valleys. Then it was time for the annoying washouts again.

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