Mount Daniel by Mount Hinman and Dip Top Gap is the highest point in Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Meanwhile, it harbors five distinct summits above Lynch Glacier and Pea Soup Lake. Moreover, the route via Peggys Pond is the most direct and the least challenging.
See more trip photos here.
For Mount Daniel East Peak trip, see this post.
Mount Daniel at a Glance
Access: Cathedral Pass Trailhead
Round Trip: TBD
Elevation Range: 3360′-7960′
Gear: helmet, ice axe, crampons
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: with guidance
The Preface
At last, Mount Daniel happened eight years after our first attempt! So it was nice to revisit and cross off the mountain from my redo list. This time yellow pup offered to accompany me on my quest for the actual summit.
See more trip photos here.
Tucquala Meadows
We drove to Tucquala Meadows after yesterday’s conditioner. The two dozen cars in the lots seemed relatively slow for this time of the year. We chilled by the trailhead in the evening and slept in the car.
The many deer in the area looked to have become used to seeing humans. So our presence no longer fazed them. But at times, they were a bit too close for comfort, even knowing the pup was around.
See more trip photos here.
Cathedral Pass Trail
We hiked the Cathedral Pass Trail two years ago to Dip Top Gap. It had an excellent camp with a front-row view of the impressive Mount Daniel and Pea Soup Lake. Snow patches appeared before Squaw Lake. Then small snowfields showed up between the lake and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) junction.
Surprisingly, it was snow-free around the west of Cathedral Rock. Then more snow came before Peggys Pond. Several tents were by the pond when we hiked passed. The only group of campers we saw had a campfire. I guess they didn’t take the “no campfires above certain feet” restrictions seriously.
See more trip photos here.
Mount Daniel East Ridge
Boot tracks in the snow helped with route-finding in getting up onto the east ridge. Then we spotted three skiers going down the eastern basin. Two groups came down when we went up on the 6960′ saddle above Circle Lake. Then I chatted with another party of two on the steep slopes. I used crampons through this section.
The notch between the east peak and Point 7662 gave access to the west side. So we crossed the steep southwest slopes up to the west saddle at 7640′. Then from there, we climbed a short distance to go onto the southeast ridge. With crampons off, we crossed the ridge on scree and talus up to the top.
See more trip photos here.
Middle Summit to Main Summit
So far, the sun has been going in and out of the clouds. Under the uncertain weekend weather forecast, the visibility was weak. But I was glad that there were no signs of rain. We couldn’t see much to the west because of the mists. But we kept hearing voices coming from the main summit.
After a short break and we were off to our real goal– the main summit! Clouds made it challenging to tell just how close we were. But it ended up only taking us 15 minutes to go there. The voices we heard earlier were of the three skiers. They were getting ready to ski down Lynch Glacier. After leaving the snow gear, we then scrambled up to the top.
See more trip photos here.
Mount Daniel Main Summit Plus Outro
It became windy fast. So the fast-moving clouds made it possible to catch glimpses of the nearby peaks. The sky even cleared up a few times above us. But the mists never truly lifted to provide a panoramic view of the area. I was just glad that the rain never came. So we could least see something from the top!
We enjoyed an extended stay and waited out the clouds. So I could take some decent photos before going back down. Before long, we were back at Peggys Pond. Then we hiked back down the trail back to Tucquala Meadows.
See more trip photos here.