Pasayten Peak of Gold Ridge and Buckskin Ridge divides Pasayten River into middle and west forks. Silver Pass connects the two ridges above its namesake creek. Moreover, they harbor several alpine lakes right off the beaten path.
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Pasayten Peak at a Glance
Access: Slate Pass
Round Trip: 17.6 miles
Elevation Range: 5800′-7850′
Gear: helmet
Route Info: Craig Weiland (mountainflamingo.com)
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance
Seventh Time Through Slate Pass
We came back to Slate Pass weeks after our mid-July trip. It was also our seventh time starting from the pass. However, I dread going back up the hill at the end of a long outing.
The nice thing about this trip was that we didn’t need to drop clear to the bottom. So from the Buckskin Trail junction to Silver Lake, the altitude ranged within 400′. It was our most relaxing outing so far this season.
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Buckskin Trail
Smoke had permeated the area from the recent Cub Creek 2 Fire and Cedar Creek Fire. So we started in the valley under a hazy sky. Soon, we reached the trail fork in under a mile and continued straight.
The limited visibility didn’t give us much scenery to enjoy. So we didn’t stop much for photos either. Later we met a hiker on his way out after a multi-day trip. We chatted a bit and then continued.
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Camping at Silver Lake
At 4.5 miles, the trail turned uphill and climbed 200′. Soon, we were back in the trees and went down a short distance to the fork of Silver Lake. Then we walked briefly to the north shore to see the serene water.
The man we met earlier had said that the lake tends to get busy. Then he suggested that we stay at the secluded Lake 6945. After tossing the idea back and forth, I decided the logistics wouldn’t have worked.
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Onward to Pasayten Peak
So instead of continuing to Silver Pass, we set up camp at the southwest end of the lake. I noticed some decent campsites by the outlet earlier. But it’s not where we needed to be to avoid other campers.
After a power nap, we walked west into the forest and up the slope. A meadow that looked like a decent place to camp was just beyond the trees. Later we made our way up the talus to Point 7588’s west saddle.
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Pasayten Peak Climb
From the pass, I saw Pasayten Peak for the first time. Then we went north at the same altitude through the talus basin. From Point 7588’s north saddle, the smoke across the valley looked to have increased.
Later big rocks replaced the talus. Then we weaved our way up the south ridge using grass ramps. Although it’s more efficient for me to boulder hop, I didn’t want the pups to do that the entire time.
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Pasayten Peak Summit Views
Boulders coated the entire peak, with one diagonally marking the high point. The massive rocks here reminded me of Hoodoo Peak. The first thing that caught my eye was Silver Lake, which I didn’t think we would see from here.
Views were subpar because of the smoke. But I still saw the familiar peaks the yellow pup had gone up with me. They included Mount Rolo, Osceola Peak, and the distant Ptarmigan Peak.
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Leaving Pasayten Peak for Lake 6945
Later we went down the northwest ridge with tall, rocky steps. Then at 7300′, we dropped onto a receding snowfield on the north side. The dogs were ecstatic since there hadn’t been water past Silver Lake.
We made a beeline north through more talus and unstable rocks. Then we reached Lake 6945 in the larch meadow–Silver Creek’s source. Had we camped here, it would’ve added more distance to the trip.
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Buckskin Ridge Climb
We walked along the creek through the meadow before seeing a faint path that sometimes disappeared into the grass. Then we reached the woodsy Silver Pass and crossed Buckskin Ridge Trail in under a mile.
We went up the open forest over Peak 7632’s southwest ridge. Then at 7200′, we veered north toward Buckskin Ridge’s south saddle. After a 400′ walk-up through grass and rocks, we later reached the top.
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Buckskin Ridge Summit Views
The smoke wouldn’t budge, of course. But I got a better look into Eureka Creek Basin. Robinson Mountain and Wildcat Mountain looked more prominent from this angle as well. But the other high points were just blobs.
The sheer side of Pasayten Peak also looked more impressive from here. But it was too hazy to take a decent photo of the peak. The rest of the high points along Gold Ridge we’re all visible.
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Back to Silver Lake
We later retraced our steps back to Silver Pass before walking down Buckskin Ridge Trail. We crossed Silver Creek a little over a mile through the trees at 5800′. It happened to be the lowest point of the trip.
We went uphill from the creek for another mile and rose 450′. After we left around noon, a big tent had since shown up by the outlet. Then, two people and their pup walked up to the meadow around the lake before dark.
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Outro
Glad that we climbed both peaks on day one and stayed the night. We covered a lot more ground in the area four weeks earlier, and I felt terrible for the dogs. So this time, I promised to make it an enjoyable outing for all of us.
The night temperatures dropped to the 40s. In the morning, we waited until the sun beamed into the basin so we could warm up a bit. Then we quietly left the lake and leisurely hiked five miles back up to Slate Pass.
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